The Nation 23rd June, 2012

Constitution 57 amendment: Fashola opposes creation of more states

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How Boko Haram 2 kingpin died, 24 hrs after Yobe gun duel

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Wants immunity clause retained

Residents flee Kaduna Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

VOL.07 N0. 2166

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

N150.00

Insecurity: Jonathan fires NSA Azazi, Defence Minister PAGE

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IBB’s ex-ADC Sambo Dasuki is new security chief Sacked

Sacked

Azazi’s sack a welcome development, says Tsav

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Balarabe: it’s unfortunate Azazi

Jonathan

Bello

‘I lost my wife in June 3 crash 48 hrs after my traumatic experience on a Dana flight’ •Aircraft above 15 years may be outlawed as NASS grills Dana MD, others MORE STORIES AND PICTURES ON PAGES 4 & 5

An NSA’s troubled tenure Analysis

Grief-striken… Acting Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour, Paul Okwulehie, telling his story in Abuja… yesterday PHOTO: Abayomi FAYESE

2 News

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

Gunmen kill six in fresh jos attack •Police deploy troops in Mangu

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From left: The GOC 82 Division of the Nigeria Army, Maj.-Gen. Oluwasheun Oshinowo; Secretary to Rivers State Government, Mr George Feyi and the Commander, 2 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Brig.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, at the foundation laying ceremony of the residential quarters for soldiers in Port Harcourt... Thursday.

Photo: NAN

HE Plarteau State Police Command and the Special Task Force (STF) on Jos crisis has deployed troops in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State to prevent reprisal attacks, following the killing of six people early Friday morning.

Eyewitnesses from the locality said six persons, including a 70-year-old woman, six months old baby and four others, were killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

The unknown gunmen allegedly stormed Kumpun village in Mangu in the early hours of Friday and operated for about two hours without the intervention of the security agents in charge of the area.

Mangu, headquaters of Mangu LGA, is about 50 kilometres from from Jos and

How Boko Haram kingpin Bama died 24 hours after gun duel D ETAILS of the capture of Boko Haram high ranking operative, Bama, in Damaturu, Yobe State, emerged last night with a source saying he was shot in what is called Sudden Operation in security circles.

This kind of operation happens by chance.

Bama died early yesterday of gunshot wounds he received while being arrested by security men at a Damaturu market.

Sources said Bama was surrounded at the time by his body guards who were armed to the teeth, and the only way he could be arrested was to demobilise him, which was effected by shooting him in the leg.

Two men, described as key members of the sect were arrested with Bama and are now undergoing interrogation.

A top source gave an insight into the operation and said: “What happened actually was that it was a Sudden Operation or a happenstance. Somebody in the JTF team just spotted him buying something in the midst of heavily armed members of the sect and the JTF men went for him.

“The routine operation would have been fatal for the JTF men if they had attempted to capture

•Two others in his company still alive

Yusuf ALLI, Managing who were also demobilised.

Editor, Northern Operation “These two suspects, who acBama. Being a wanted figure, the JTF did not know the extent to which he was armed with his foot men.

“The real intention was to incapacitate him. That was why he was shot in the leg. But he bled much between the spot and the medical centre.

“The JTF men knew he was an important figure but if he was not immediately incapacitated, he could escape because he knew Damaturu and Yobe very well.

He was familiar with the terrain.

“And the shooting really helped as some armed members of the sect, who accompanied him, ran away, having realised that the game was up.

“Even at that, Bama was given the best of medical treatment to save his life. In the midst of the battle to save his life, he provided some lead for JTF. “As JTF men were battling to evacuate Bama and stave off reprisals, they managed to arrest two key members of the sect,

companied Bama to the market, are still being interrogated and may be flown to Abuja latest by Friday night.

“I can tell you that they have made useful statements.”

Bama could not survive the gunshot wounds and was certified dead early yesterday by doctors who had battled for several hours to save his life.

Security has subsequently been beefed up in and around Yobe and Borno states following fears of retaliatory action by members of the sect.

Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the condition of the dismissed army private deteriorated late on Thursday with his pulse ‘suddenly’dropping. Doctors’ efforts to restore his breath failed.

His corpse was transferred to a morgue in Damaturu, but it could not be immediately ascertained if the authorities would approve Islamic burial (Janazah) for him.

A top source in the Joint Task

Force (JTF) said: “Dismissed Army Private, Habib Bama, who masterminded several bombings by Boko Haram in the Federal Capital Territory, Niger and Plateau States is dead.

“He died of gunshot wounds he received on Thursday during his arrest by the Joint Task Force in Damaturu, Yobe State. .“He was critically wounded on Thursday when we tried to arrest him and he resisted. He died this morning (Friday) from the gunshot wounds.”

The source added: “He was clinically certified dead in the early hours of Friday. I cannot tell you where he died and the morgue we have kept the corpse.

“But I can say that security agencies were able to interrogate him even while in pain and he was able to respond to some questions.”

The source, however, said the JTF has beefed up security in the Borno-Yobe axis because of likely retaliatory measures by members of the sect.

“It was unfortunate that Bama died of gunshots. We had planned

Residents flee Kaduna, besiege markets, ATMs VP denies calling for emergency rule

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UNDREDS of Kaduna residents are fleeing the city.

Also departing are scores of visitors who were caught up in last weekend’s bombing of a church by the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, and the reprisal attack by Christian youths.

They capitalised on the relaxation of the curfew by the state government by four hours to make their exit.

Other residents seized the opportunity to besiege the Sabon Tasha and Ungwan Sunday markets, stores and fuel stations to make quick purchases as well as go for the Jumat prayers.

Governor Patrick Yakowa said the curfew would revert to 24 hours today.

The motor parks were a beehive of activities during the four hours as people made desperate efforts to leave town. The result was a hike in transport fares.

Vehicular traffic was heavy, forcing motorists to park their vehicles far away from the markets Traders wasted no time to cash in on the development.

For instance, a kilogramme of

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HE Presidency has denied the report linking the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, to the call for the imposition of state of emergency in troubled Kaduna State.

According to the media aide to the Vice President, Mr. Umar Sani, at no time did the Vice President discuss or preside over a meeting where the issue of declaration of emergency rule in Kaduna was discussed.

Sani described the report as false and cheap lies fabricated to cause disaffection between the Vice President, Governor Patrick Yakowa and former Governor Ahmed Markafi.

The statement reads: “ Our attention has been drawn to media reports alleging that the Vice President ,Arc Mohammed Namadi Sambo, in purported pursuit of presidential ambition and in order to get at Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa of Kaduna State, ostensibly for his supposed closeness with former Governor Ahmed Mohamed Makarfi, was pushing for an imposition of a state of emergency in Kaduana State.

“At no time was there any meeting involving Tony AKOWE meat, which usually sells for between N800 and N900, went for N1200.

Many of those who wanted to leave spent several hours

Vincent IKUOMOLA, Abuja Kaduna State in which the Vice President discussed the supposed emergency rule. “ We find the story not only malicious in content but an orchestrated attempt to disparage the hitherto good relationship that exists between the trio. It should be noted that they not only enjoy good and cordial fraternal relationship but excellent working one as well.”

He also noted that “only recently, the Vice President commiserated with the Governor over the fire incident that engulfed his official residence in Kaduna. Also, on the invitation of the Vice President, the Governor and Makarfi were with him in Benin-City during the gubernatorial campaign of Charles Edigie Airhiavbere at the Ogbemudia Stadium.

They flew together in the Vice President aircraft.”

He therefore concluded that “these stories are mere cheap lies fabricated to cause disaffection between and among the trio and we urge members of the public to discountenance such falsehood.”

at the Gonin Gora exit on the Kaduna/Abuja road, looking for vehicles to take them to their destinations.

Some of the travellers told The Nation on Saturday that could no longer bear the hardship caused by the crisis.

The various banks were also jam-packed by customers who wanted to withdraw money for their upkeep for the period the curfew would last.

They said the curfew had caught them napping.

to fly him to Abuja for the best treatment, but he could not just make it.

“The JTF has been mandated to strengthen security in Borno and Yobe states because of reprisals from members of Boko Haram, who are well entrenched in the two states.

The late Bama was implicated in the bombings at Mogadishu Barracks, Police Headquarters, UN Building, St Theresa’s Catholic Church at Madalla and many sites in Jos. He was declared wanted by Security agents after the Madalla church bomb blast.

The manhunt for Bama commenced on February 15, 2012 when the State Security Service (SSS) declared him wanted.

Yusufu AMINU IDEGU, Jos, had never witnessed such attack.

A source said the invaders, numbering about 30, stormed the village while the inhabitants were asleep only for them to be woken up with sporadic gunshots.

At the end of the attack, six people lay dead while many others survived with machete cuts.

Armed security men arrived the village at about 6:22 am when the suspected Fulani men had gone and met the people wailing over the barbaric act.

The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. John Clark Dabwan, described the attack as sheer wickedness.

“I can’t imagine that somebody with blood flowing in his veins would carry out such an evil act. This is nothing but a wicked and barbaric act,” he said.

The Speaker implored the people of the area to shun reprisal attacks and be more vigilant, adding that the state government was doing its best to arrest the situation and bring the culprits to book.

The State Police Public Relation Officer, DSP Emmanuel Abuh, confirmed the death of six people, saying they were killed by unknown gunmen.

He said the law enforcement agents were working round the clock to bring those behind the dastardly act to book as more men had been deployed in the affected area to fish out the attackers and forestall breakdown of law and order.

Fears of reprisals grip Niger, Yobe, Borno Jide ORINTUNSIN –Minna

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ANKS, schools and shops in Minna, Niger State, hurriedly shut down yesterday following a rumour of possible reprisal attacks on places of worship, especially mosques.

The rumour also forced residents to remain indoor for much of the day until the State Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Desire Nsirim, debunked it as false.

She assured residents on the security of their lives and property and said the police had put in place measures to ensure continued peace in the state.

These were similar fears in Yobe and Borno States following the capture, on Thursday, of Habib Bama, who had been on the wanted list of security forces for allegedly co-ordinating the Boko Haram bombings of Mogadishu Barracks,Abuja; the Police Force Headquarters; the UN Building and St.Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madallah, as well as others in Jos. He died yesterday of gunshot wounds he received while allegedly resisting arrest at his operational base in Damaturu, Yobe State.

Residents suspect that his fellow sect members may launch reprisal attacks.

As early as 9 am yesterday, head teachers of some faith-based schools in Minna began to send text messages to parents, advising them to come and pick their children and wards from schools.

Teachers at a privately owned school in Bosso area of the capital called parents on the phone to come and pick their children.

A few schools did not open at all, having advised their pupils not to bother to come to school yesterday.

The manager of a first generation bank directed that the banking hall be locked to avoid looting. He claimed to have been informed of a possible attack after the Jumat prayers.

Traders did the same and soon the roads were clogged with people rushing home.

Police Commissioner Nisirim personally drove round the town, debunking the rumour and assuring the people of their safety.

The police boss also met with Deputy Governor Ahmed Musa Ibeto to brief him about the situation and the security measures put in place to deal with trouble before, during and after the Jumat prayers.

Nisirim went to see the deputy governor at UK Bello Arts Theatre, where he had gone to represent Governor Babangida Aliyu at the presentation of pensions to local government retirees.

She later told reporters: “The Command and other security agencies in the state are on top of the situation, as adequate security measures have been put in place to ensure that there is peace in the state.”

The Commissioner urged people to go about their businesses.

News 3

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

Assault: NAFDAC official, policeman testify in court against baker A POLICEMAN attached to the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Osun State Command, Osogbo, Mr. Kareem Mukaila, and an official of the agency, Mr. Audu Michael, yesterday testified before Justice Babs Kuewumi of Federal High Court, Osogbo, on the case of assault instituted against an Osogbo-based bread baker, Mr. Afolabi Nurudeen.

According to the charge sheet, Afolabi committed an offence under Section 25(1) of the NAFDAC Act, Cap 1, Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and punishable under section 25 (1) of same Act. The enforcement Department of NAFDAC is prosecuting the case against Afolabi.

It will be recalled that during the routine check by NAFDAC officials on 15th of March, 2010, when they visited Afolabi’s bakery at Isale Agbara Street, Osogbo, the accused person attacked NAFDAC officials led by an Assistant Director with the agency Mrs. Yedunni Adenuga.

During the trial yesterday, counsel to NAFDAC, Dr. Benson Enikuomehin, and counsel to the accused person, Barrister Aliu Adesina, cross-examined the witnesses. The accused person was also cross, examined by the counsel.

Mrs Yeduni and Inspector James Daudu from Force Criminal Investigation Department, (FCID) had earlier testified at the court.

The policeman and the NAFDAC official told the court that they were in the team that conducted a routine check on bread bakeries in Osogbo as part of efforts to monitor the level of compliance with the regulations, especially on the use of the forbidden potassium bromate by some bakers.

Mukaila explained that after the forbidden potassium bromate was found in Afolabi’s bakery, the accused person hindered NAFDAC officials from performing their official duty. The policeman said Afolabi suddenly snatched the potassium bromate and made attempt to run away.

He added that the accused person was arrested and that the potassium bromate was recovered from him. He said at that stage, there was pandemonium and it led to mob action in which some people beat him along with the NAFDAC officials to the extent that his police uniform was tore into pieces.

The case was adjourned to 19th of July.

ACN lawmaker: House will protect fuel subsidy report Emmanuel OLADESU Deputy Political Editor

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OUSE of Representatives member, Dr. Samuel Adejare yesterday as-

• From Left: Bauchi State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Sagir Saleh, presenting a manual to the legal Adviser, Debt Management Agency, Mr Madina Alhassan, during the agency’s induction/strategic planning workshop in Bauchi... yesterday

• From left: Managing Director, JayKay Pharmacy Ltd, Mr. Jimi Agbaje; Executive Director, Fate Foundation, Mrs, Osayi Alile Oruene; Managing Director, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr Idorenyen Enang; Board Member, MRDC, Mrs. Bunmi Fabamwo; ECO MRDC, Mrs. Modupe Oyekunle and MRDC board memeber, Mr. Rotimi Oyekunle at the Young Enterpreneur Network (YEN) Conference 2012 held at Nneka House, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos... yesterday.

PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

Boko Haram: Nigeria cannot afford to lose terror war, says Israeli envoy

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HE outgoing Israeli Ambassador in Nigeria, Mr. Moshe Ram,wants the Nigeria to do everything possible to win the on going war against terro.

Mr.Ram, speaking at a farewell dinner organised in his honour and the outgoing Deputy Head of Mission, Mr. George Deek in Abuja on Thursday, expressed

John OFIKHENUA, Abuja confidence in the ability of Nigerians to get over “this difficult battle” and the country to emerge stronger and more vibrant.

“You must win this battle. The people of this country are capable of overcoming these challenges; it is a matter of time and training. Nigerians are skilful and

intelligent and you have no option but to win this battle,” he was quoted as saying by the embassy’s media officer, Mr.Tony Obiechina.

Ram, who arrived Nigeria in 2007, said that working in the country was one of his most exciting and complicated assignments in his 37 years in foreign service.

“My five years in Nigeria were

fantastic experiences that I will cherish for the rest of my life,”he stated.

Also speaking, Mr. Deek, who is moving to Norway, described Nigeria as a wonderful country with warm and accommodating people.

He said his experience in Nigeria being his first country of posting as a diplomat has prepared him for the task ahead.

‘Air Nigeria Lagos- London-Lagos flights not suspended’

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HE management of the Air Nigeria yesterday announced that the temporary suspension directive by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) does not affect the airlines’ schedules for Lagos to London and London to Lagos.

The announcement, which was contained in a statement, also urged passengers to go ahead with their confirmed journey.

Besides, the management noted that intending custom-

John OFIKHENUA, Abuja ers could make their reservations through all the airline’s sales channels.

While expressing remorse for the inconvenience that the suspension of the domestic and regional flights by the NCAA will cause the passengers, the management said it is committed to offering safe flight operations.

Meanwhile, the statement added that the management would keep negotiating with the relevant agencies to en-

sure that the ban is lifted.

The statement reads: “Air Nigeria wishes to inform that the scheduled Lagos-LondonLagos flight operation is not affected by the temporary suspension directive of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). Passengers are therefore encouraged to proceed with their confirmed itinerary while intending customers can make their reservations through all our sales channels.

“We however wish to apologise for all the incon-

venience that the temporary suspension of our domestic and regional flights by the NCAA will bring on our passengers.

“Air Nigeria is committed to offering safe and secure flight operations at all times as just recently it was given a clean bill of health by the regulatory agency after a safety audit of its operations.

We will continue to liaise with the relevant agencies to ensure that the suspension order is lifted as soon as possible.”

sured Nigerians that the report of the Ad-hoc Committee on fuel subsidy will not be thrown out in spite of the bribery allegation against Hon. Farouk Lawan.

The lawmaker, who represents Agege Constituency on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), described the bribery allegation as unfortunate at a time the House was enjoying a high rating among Nigerians.

He said, although justice would be done in the bribery allegation involving Hon. Lawan, the House of Representatives would not discard the report, adding that it would press for the prosecution of those indicted in the scam.

Adejare spoke in Agege, where he distributed free GCE forms to students across 13 wards in Agege and Orile-Agege councils. At the constituency meeting, he also charged the people of Agege to live in peace and harmony. The lawmaker enjoined the constituents to be security-conscious, adding that they should report strange movements in the neighbourhood to the police.

Adejare, who tendered his stewardship in the last one year, acknowledged that the bribery allegation had dented the image of the House. But he stressed that ACN lawmakers would do justice to the allegation without throwing the report out.

He said: “This House has stood before Nigerians as a responsible House. Members have approached their responsibilities with greatest sense of patriotism and honour. We are proactive and sensitive to public expectations and yearnings. That was the baseline for the probe of the fuel subsidy scam. The turn of events is lamentable, but it will not discourage us from pursuing our investigation to a logical conclusion.

Adejare added: ”The House is a faithful servant of the people of Nigeria because of its representative nature and character.

Ad-hoc Committee had worked tirelessly to unravel some things.”

Lagos lawyer, Aturu, sues Aviation Ministry LAGOS human rights activist and lawyer, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, has filed a suit against the Ministry of Aviation and the Minister, seeking an order for them to release the reports of all air crashes in the country since November 20, 1969.

The suit followed what the firm called the refusal of the respondents to “comply with clear and express provision of the Freedom of Information Act 2011.”

The plaintiffs are praying the court for an order granting them leave to apply for judicial review and to seek the following relief: An order of mandamus directing and or compelling the 1st and the 2ndRespondents to disclose to or make available to the Applicant or grant him access to the information requested by him in his letter dated the 13thJune, 2012.

The reports cover close to 40 air crashes that have occurred from 1969 to date.

4 NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

DANA CRASH: JOINT SENATE, REPS COMMITTEE HEARING

National Assembly grills Dana Air MD, others over crash

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HE investigation into the Dana Airline crash by the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee entered day four yesterday with the management of Dana Air on the hot seat.

The air plane claimed the lives of over 153 passengers on board when it went down in Lagos on June 3.

The chairman and Co-chairman of the Joint Committee, Senator Hope Uzodinma and Hon Nkeiruka Onyedjiocha respectively and other members of the committee took on the management of Dana Air over their actions and inactions before and after the illfated flight. Onyejiocha particularly read a brief history of the ill-fated aircraft highlighting specifically when it had problem occasioned by excessive smoke and how Alaska Airlines grounded the aircraft for a long time.

The lawmaker said: “In February 2009 Alaska Airlines shifted the burden of the aircraft to Nigeria when it was sold to Dana.”

She told the committee that contrary to the claim of the Managing Director/CEO of Dana Air, Mr. Jacky Hathiramani, that the aircraft was manufactured in 1990, information available to her indicated that it was manufactured in 1980.

She urged the committee to mandate Dana to provide document to show the exact date the ill-fated aircraft was manufactured.

Hathiramani told the committee in an emotion laden voice: “As the operator of the aircraft, we have been in shock since the event. We express sympathy to families that loss their members, we also lost some friends on board and some of our best crew members.

“We wish to reiterate our commitment to those families and all Nigerians to ensure that the cause is investigated and actions taken to forestall reoccurrence. We are cooperating with Accident Investigating Bureau (AIB) and providing them with all relevant details.

“The AIB has not shared any information yet. The aircraft had operated five flights the previous day, everything was per Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) regulations.

“Since the incident, we have focused on ensuring that we adhere to or possibly exceed to provide all necessary information to AIB and to provide as much support to families of victims as we can. We have five aircraft. Two are currently undergoing C check overseas and three on ground in Lagos”.

He told the committee that Mr. Ramesh Romany, an India , has the major share of the airline while about 465 Nigerians work in the airline.

He said that ill-fated aircraft was insured

by Prestige Insurance while Lyiod of London and Global Aviation are the re-insurers.

He told the committee that the crashed airline was insured to the tune of $350million.

He said that about $100,000 is the minimum claim to be paid on each victim.

The make of the ill-fated aircraft, he said is MD83 while the engine type is Prat and Whitney and JTAD. Asked whether owners of the aircraft are also owners of the insurance company, the MD said he cannot confirm that.

But contrary to the claim that the aircraft was insured to the tune of $350 million, the chairman of the committee showed the Dana boss a document which clearly showed that it has insurance cover of only $4.5 million.

On the average age of Dana fleet, the MD gave about 20.7 saying the crashed aircraft is about 21 plus having been manufactured in October 1990. The Dana boss claimed that original documents of the aircraft are with AIB. But the DG of NCAA, Harold Demuren gave the age of the aircraft as “less than 22 years.”

Hathiramani insisted that the age of aircraft is not a factor in the airworthiness of aircraft.

He said: “Everything depends on maintenance; the age of the aircraft does not really impact on the performance of the aircraft if regular maintenance is observed.

“Regular maintenance of the aircraft is the key. Evidence of the age of the aircraft, evidence that modification was carried out on the aircraft as specified were to be produced

by Dana”.

Onyejiocha wanted to know when the aircraft was purchased from Alaska , the last time the aircraft went for C and D checks and who certified the aviation fuel used by

•Aircraft above 15 years may be outlawed Stories: Onyedi OJIABOR, Assistant Editor the ill-fated aircraft.

The Dana boss said that the aircraft No. N944As was acquired from Alaska Airline was true.

He said the aircraft was acquired in 2008 and the last time it went for C check was in September 2011.

He said that aviation fuel suppliers are up to five or six and the quality of the fuel is ensured by the supplier. He said that Dana lacked the capacity to check the quality of the fuel.

“What we do as airline is to carry out water check. The required fuel quantity is 20,600 pounds but we had additional one hour fuel on board,” he said.

Hathiramani said that necessary checks and modifications were carried out on the aircraft prior to its coming to Nigeria. He also said that checking of impurity of water was carried out every night.

On the communication from the governor of Akwa Ibom on the state of the aircraft, he agreed to have spoken to Akwa Ibom Governor, Dr. Godswill Akpabio, once on the state of the aircraft.

Hathiramani said he was not aware of the exit door of the aircraft being rubber-tapped.

He also said it was not true that America ordered the aircraft out of US due to safety reasons.

On the attraction in the purchase of the aircraft, he talked about the potentials in the aviation sector and not the cost of the aircraft.

He said: “I don’t think US would allow any aircraft to leave the US and the CAA allows the aircraft to depart to any country without modification.”

The Dana boss also told the committee that Dana conducts C check on its fleet in Istanbul Turky and insisted that due diligence was conducted on the aircraft before purchase.

He said Dana has 11 foreign pilots, five Nigerian pilots, 17 Nigerian dispatchers, while five Nigerian engineers certify aircraft that fly in the country airspace.

On air returns, he confirmed that Dana had had air returns and that the necessary checks were taken before such aircraft were allowed to fly again.

Onyejiocha wanted to know the number of times NCAA came to Dana for inspection unscheduled. And whether it was true that a lady station manager alerted Dana management about the sorry state of the crashed airline.

Hathiramani said NCAA was with them on a week before the crashed aircraft but he failed to furnish the committee with the record of the unscheduled visit.

He denied that a lady alerted that the illfated aircraft was not air-worthy.

On the age issue, Onyejiocha noted that though she is not an expert, “nobody should come to Nigeria to say that age of aircraft is not important.”

She said: “ If you cannot buy a new air-

•Chairman , Senate Committee on Aviation, Hope Uzondinma (middle) , Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, Nkiruka Onyegiocha (left) and a member of the Committee during the joint hearing ... yesterday

•The Managing Director, Dana Airline, Jacky Hathiramani, making a presentation... yesterday craft, what is the guarantee that you will have the necessary funds to maintain your air craft?”

She insisted that after the investigation, aircraft of 22 years would no longer be allowed into Nigeria .

According to her, “a vehicle whose engine

was changed cannot function like a new vehicle.”

Uzodinma also said that after the probe, the National Assembly will limit the age of aircraft that fly Nigeria air space to 15 years.

He was furious that NCAA DG said age is not a factor.

Why CBN established the aviation intervention fund —Director

•’Size, capacity, impact on economy favour Air Nigeria’

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ENTRAL Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Director of Communication, Onyebula Okoroafor, yesterday said that the apex bank set up the controversial Aviation Intervention Fund to restore confidence and financial stability in the sector.

Okoroafor said that the intervention was in keeping with the bank’s core mandate of maintaining financial stability in the economy.

The CBN director spoke at the Joint Senate and House of Representatives investigation into the crash of Dana airline which claimed the lives of over 153 passengers.

It was also revealed at the sitting that Air Nigeria benefited to the tune of N35.5 billion of the aviation intervention fund because of the airline’s size, capacity and impact on the Nigerian economy.

Okoroafor told the investigative committee that the apex bank in the course of its job found out that there were existing huge systems risks in the financial industry, particularly following the global economic crisis and the melt down of the nation’s capital market.

The situation, he explained, necessitated the introduction of the N500 billion intervention funds, whereby the aviation and power sector benefited to the tune of N300 billion.

He told the committee that the fund was meant to ensure financial systems stability as well as restore confidence in the financial sector, which is the core of the mandate of the CBN. He said: “For us to ensure that our core mandate was adhered to, we had to do something urgently to ensure that non-

performing loans are freed for the interest and confidence of the industry.”

Okorafor added: “The facility is purely for the refinancing of existing nonperforming loans.”

The director said that the intervention fund which is under the management of the Bank of Industries (BOI) stretches the repayment period of benefiting facilities up to 15 years, with a maximum interest rate of seven per cent.

Okoroafor, who was cross-examined by members of the probe committee, noted that for those who access the fund, the CBN expects such beneficiaries to apply the facility to the purpose for which they are meant and that the apex bank does not hesitate in raising the hammer on those who violate the purpose of the fund.

Also speaking, the United Bank for Africa

NEWS 5

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

‘I lost my wife in June Provide more access to justice for Nigerians, AGF 3 crash 48 hrs after my tasks Legal Aid Council traumatic experience T on a Dana flight’ I

T was another day of tears, grief and emo tion on the last day of the National Assem bly probe into the Dana Air crash of June 3 in Iju Ishaga, Lagos.

Director Inspectorate and Acting Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour, Mr. Paul Okwulehie, lost his wife, Maria, in the ill-fated Dana aircraft that claimed the lives of over 153 persons in Lagos.

Maria was the Principal of Federal Government Girls College, Bwari, Abuja before her death.

Okwulehie appeared before the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee investigating the crash.

He told the story of how apprehension nearly killed him when he flew Dana Airline from Abuja to Lagos the Friday before the crash that killed his wife and her relations.

Okwulehie described the investigative panel as a blood assignment that must be done without fear or favour.

He spoke in tears: “I flew Dana Airline on the Friday before the crash. From take-off to landing was simply not what an air plane that should fly with 253 human beings should be.

“I understand air craft because of the schedule of my duty. The noise of the Dana aircraft was terrible. I drew the attention of the crew members and staff to my observation.

“We taxed to take off but for over 30 minutes, we could not take off. When it eventually took off, the noise was terrible and as we flew, the flight was bumpy.

“At a stage, I prayed because I was not sure that we were going to land safely. Again, I prayed to God to make me sleep because I could no longer bear the experience.

“When I woke up, the aircraft managed to land but the landing was not an experience anybody would want to have”.

At this stage, Okwulehie broke down and cried profusely.

He managed to gathered himself together and continued to narrate his awful experience.

“For those who knew my wife, she devoted her life totally to the service of humanity.

“She went to work in the morning but I cannot remember any day she returned before 7 pm. She was particularly interested in girl child education and gave everything she had to ensure girl child education in this country.

“She was able to raise Federal Government Girls College , Bwari, where she worked, to a wold class standard.

“This is an assignment (investigation of the crash) that has blood in its hand. This is a blood assignment. This is not the time to unearth the truth, this is the time to speak to correct the ills in our nation”.

Once again, Okwulehie broke down in tears,

recovered and continued.

“Let this be the last. Let the life of this dedicated woman and others who lost their lives not be in vain.

“Don’t cover up anything. God is aware of this assignment. Do your best and let the report of this investigation not be swept under the carpet.

“The greatest disservice anybody can do to this country now is for the National Assembly Committee investigating the crash not to do a thorough work, uncovering the causes of the accident.

“The greatest disservice anybody can do to this country is for anybody to sweep the findings of this committee under the carpet.

“There have been many air crashes in Nigeria but I can assure you that this is one accident that shook the fabric of the Nigerian society.

“If we want to continue with the business as usual attitude, what it means is that many people are going to go through the pain and agony of the families of the victims of the those who died in the Dana crash are going through now.

“At times like this, I believe God is looking for champions who would dare everybody and speak the truth and make sure that the accident is thoroughly, thoroughly investigated.

“I urge everybody, everybody involved in this business to have the boldness and courage to go into the investigation to own up the stake and do a thorough and proper investigation. Use the record and findings of the investigation and use it as a basis to prevent further occurrences. But the pain and agony of the loss is too deep to be described”.

(UBA) Executive Director (Northern Operations), Mr. Dan Okeke, said that Air Nigeria was able to receive the sum of N35.5 billion from the aviation fund because of “the airline’s size, capacity and impact on the Nigerian economy.”

Okeke, who was also cross-examined by members of the investigative committee, explained that UBA in collaboration with a team from the BOI carried out due diligence on Air Nigeria before advancing the airline the facility.

He noted that the deal was carried out between UBA and BOI and that no physical cash was involved in the transaction.

Asked why UBA charges only two per cent interest rate on the facility, the UBA official noted that “the need to support the airline to recover fully informed the decision to peg the interest rate at two per cent.”

He insisted that the gesture was informed by the desire of the bank to grow the industry.

Okeke was emphatic: “Right now, Air Nigeria is servicing the loan very promptly and on time.

“The airline is doing very well to justify the purpose of the facility. The facility has gone down from N35.5 billion to about N33

billion at the moment at a monthly repayment rate of N244 million.

“Air Nigeria has four aircraft of their own and seven on lease and has bright prospects for the future.”

On the risk level of the facility, Okeke said that the loan was fully collaterised by his bank and dismissed concerns that the fund was too exposed.

He also noted that UBA ensures proper monitoring of the application of the funds and assured that once any beneficiary abused the facility, his bank would not hesitate to penalise such beneficiary.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Hope Uzodinma, who commended the good intentions of the Federal Government in setting up the loan, said the concern of the committee was to ensure that the facility was not abused and deployed to uses other than what it was originally meant for.

The management of Dana airlines and the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Mr. Harold Demuren, and members of the probe panel disagreed sharply over the required age limit of aircraft that should fly the nation’s air space.

•Paul Okwulehie

THE Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke(SAN), has asked the new board of the Legal Aid Council(LAC) to provide more access to justice for Nigerians.

He also asked the board to key into the transformation agenda of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Jonathan, who gave the charge in an address at the inauguration of the board, headed by Mr. Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN), urged the LAC to continue to provide free quality legal services and advice to indigent Nigerians.

Adoke said: “The Legal Aid Council was established pursuant to the Legal Aid Decree No. 56 of 1976 which has now been effectively repealed with the Legal Aid Act, 2011. The Legal Aid Act established the Legal Aid Council with a mandate to provide free quality legal services and advice to indigent Nigerians who otherwise could not afford such services in the event of the violation of their rights.

“Since its establishment in 1976, the Council has contributed in no small measure to widen access to justice for all Nigerians. It has played a major role in enhancing the administration of justice and providing a more robust protection of fundamental human rights as enshrined in the Constitution.

“With the increased mandate under the Legal Aid under the Legal Aid Act 2011, it is expected that the Council will provide greater service to the people of Nigeria and further improve on the administration of justice in Nigeria .”

Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

The minister advised the board to key into the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.

He added: “As you are well aware, this administration is committed to the transformation of Nigeria . In pursuance of this agenda, vital state institutions are being reformed and repositioned to contribute their quota towards the development of the country.

“It is therefore the expectation of government that the Governing Board of Legal Aid Council (LAC) will quickly key into the transformation agenda of government and take proactive steps through policies and effective oversight over the Council to ensure that this objective is achieved. Other members include Mrs. Fatunde, representing the Attorney General of the Federation; Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim, representing NYSC; Adebayo Ajileye, a Commissioner of Police who is representing the Inspector General of Police; Olumuyiwa Akinboro (NBA), Hajiya Fatima Okugade (NBA), Adebayo Adelodun, SAN, (NBA), Okay Akobudu (NBA) and Hajiya Hadijat Usman, representing Kogi State office of LAC. Others are Iyabode Ogunseye (FIDA), Usmantu Ami (NLC), Jibrin Gimba (Taraba), Dapak L.L, representing Prison Service; Mrs. Bob-Manuel (Director General, LAC), as well as representatives of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Finance Ministry.

Designating Shekau, others by US as terrorists is a little drop in the ocean, says Sagay The decision of the United States to designate three leaders of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad, better known as Boko Haram, as terrorists has elicited mixed reactions from a cross section of Nigerians.

The State Department on Thursday branded Abubakar Shekau, 43, widely believed to be the sect leader, Abubakar Adam Kambar, 35, and Khalid al-Barnawi, 36, as terrorists.

By implication,the US has frozen their property interests in that country and US citizens are prohibited from “ engaging in transactions with or for the benefit of these individuals.”

Prominent lawyer, Prof. Itsay Sagay described the US action as a little drop in the ocean in the effort to combat the group.

The measure,he insisted, was inappropriate in view of the status of the three people.

“In my own opinion, the measure is inappropriate. It should not have been applied to these kind of people because they are not international figures. As a matter of fact, they are small fries. Such measure should have been applied to those NGOs who collect international funds and divert same to sponsor terrorism,” Sagay stated.

He would rather want the US to pump its resources into practical efforts that will “destroy the group.”

On what the Federal Government should do, the respected lawyer advised it to deploy more resources into its intelligence network and devise means of breaking the sect’s ranks.

He also advised the Federal Government to deploy troops to protect churches in the North.

“Let the Federal Government work on its intelligence network to identify the brains behind these people. And since they have chosen to bomb churches every Sunday, I think the government should deploy troops to these churches to provide security and save the lives of the innocent Nigerians being

Segun AJIBOYE

killed in the churches.”

Former Kaduna State governor, Balarabe Musa, expressed doubt over the ability of the US to stop violence in Nigeria.

According to him, Nigerians are living in a dream world because the US is not capable of stopping the carnage.

“How can America stop violence in Nigeria? Have they stopped violence in Afghanistan and Yemen? The people that can stop the violence are Nigerians,” he said.

The former governor said the decision of the US not to label the Boko Haram group as a terrorist group is questionable.

According to him, “How can the US label the individuals as terrorists and leave out the group itself? It means the US knows more than they are telling us.”

For human rights activist, Mr. Yinka Odumakin , the action of the US has brought shame to the Nigerian government because as he said: “It’s a shame that we are looking up to America to do what we are supposed to do. Did America look up to Nigeria to resolve their problem when they had the issue of 9/11?”

He said those celebrating the US decision are making a mistake because, according to him, “It is innocent Nigerians that would suffer the consequence when they go to the embassy because they would be subjected to all manners of treatments.

In the view of Yerima Shettima, President, Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, the action of the US is suspect.

He said:”The US should go a step further to apprehend them. I hope they are genuine about the whole thing because there is always a motive behind every American action.”

He went on to berate the Federal Government over its inaction on the Boko Haram issue. “It is a shame that Nigeria had to wait for the US to come and do what the Federal Government ought to have done.”

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

6 News

AMBASSADOR SEGUN OLUSOLA 1935-2012

His death, a colossal loss –Aregbesola

T

HE Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has described the death of former Nigerian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Chief Segun Olusola, as a colossal loss to the entire country.

Also, the Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Hon. Najeem Salaam, yesterday expressed shock over the demise of the former ambassador, describing his death as regrettable.

Governor Arefbesola said the late culture icon epitomised all that were edifying about the art and culture of the Nigerian people.

Aregbesola, in a statement by his Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, recalled the noble contributions of the late Olusola to the growth of broadcasting in the country.

•Osun Speaker sympathises with family Adesoji ADENIYI, Osogbo He said: “The likes of Olusola brought out the best in television programming in the country. Their days in television productions were marked with diligence, attention to the robustness of our culture as black people. Their productions aimed at the development of the human minds and the evolution of an egalitarian society.”

Aregbesola recalled that Olusola as a humanist established the African Refugees Foundation, an initiative the governor said aimed at bringing succor to those suffering from the pangs of wars in many parts of Africa.

“That singular courageous move has placed the late

Olusola among world’s most compassionate people. The best we can do as a country is to ensure that his initiatives are not allowed to fizzle out with his death,” the governor said.

Hon. Salaam, in a statement by his Press Secretary, Mr. Goke Butika, expressed condolences on behalf of the state assembly to the family of the late diplomat.

He prayed that God would provide the late culture icon’s family the fortitude to bear loss.

Salaam stressed that the departure of Chief Olusola has created a big vacuum in the area of humanitarian services, saying that his foundation for refugees was a big testimony to his passion for human development.

Lagos Assembly commiserates with family

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HE Lagos State House of Assembly has commiserated with the family of Ambassador Segun Olusola, former Nigeria’s ambassador to Ethiopia, who died on Thursday at the age of 77.

The spokesperson of the Lagos State House of Assembly and Chairman, House Committee on Information, Strategy, Security and Publicity, Hon. Segun Olulade, said he and his colleagues received the sad news of the death of the renowned culture icon with great shock while they were still in the office in the evening on Thursday.

According to him, Ambassador Olusola’s death is a colossal loss to the nation’s creative art, media, diplomatic and cultural family.

Olulade maintained that the late ambassador was a great asset to Nigeria and the entire African continent while he was alive.

He described him as a celebrated actor, playwright, broadcaster, culture enthusiast, humanitarian, thoroughbred administrator, pan-Africanist, diplomat and a great icon of

G

Oziegbe OKOEKI creative arts and democratic values.

Olulade added that Olusola was the Founder and President of the African Refugee Foundation, through which he sought the support of local and international bodies towards bringing relief to innocent victims of war and social dislocation in many African countries.

Olulade said the entire country would miss the passionate counsels and fatherly interventions of the elder statesman during crisis situations, especially now that the nation is passing through a most trying moment of incessant violence and widespread despair.

He said the late Ambassador is worthy of a befitting state burial and should also be immortalised by the Federal Government, the government of Ogun State and other relevant institutions in appreciation of his prominent contributions to the growth and development of his fatherland.

It’s a tragic loss, says Obi

OVERNOR Peter Obi has mourned Ambassador Segun Olusola, describing it as a tragic loss to the country In a condolence message made available to the press, Obi described Ambassador Olusola not only as a former

Nigerian Ambassador to Ethiopia, but a worthy ambassador of Arts and Culture of all times. He said that though he died at the ripe age of 77 years, he was one of those people he wished had lived a little longer because of the experience he garnered over the

years which is always valuable in nation-building.

While he prays for the repose of his soul, he condoled with the government of Ogun State and the immediate Olusola family and prayed God to grant them the fortitude to bear the loss.

He’s irreplaceable –OPC

T

HE Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) has described the death of culture icon, Ambassador Segun Olusola, as a great loss to Nigerian cultural family.

In a press statement signed by the National Coordinator of the OPC, Otunba Gani Adams, the group stated that the former Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ethiopia “lived an exemplary life,” adding that the vacuum created by his death would be difficult to fill.

According to the OPC henchman, the late Segun Olusola, who was a patron and trustee of the Olokun Festival Foundation, was a man of

“high sense of humility with deep love for humanity.” His death, he said, “has robbed Nigeria of yet another icon. As a patron and trustee of our group, he brought his experience to bear on all our programmes. We, however, take solace in the truth that he has gone to rest in the bosom of the Lord.”

While commiserating with his family and Nigerians, the OPC leader called on the Federal Government to take steps to immortalise the late ambassador.

Ambassador Olusola died on Thursday in a Lagos hospital. He was 77.

Brazil trip: Maku’s defence of Jonathan disgraceful __Fawehinmi AWYER and human rights activist, Mr. Mohammed Fawehinmi, has criticised the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr. Labaran Maku, over his comment that President Goodluck Jonathan can govern Nigeria from any part of the world.

Mohammed, son of the late fiery lawyer and human rights activist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, said Maku’s statement was “disgraceful and highly irresponsible.”

Fawehinmi, in a release, said the statement was similar to one made by an ex-Minister of Jus-

L

tice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, during the absence of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua as a result of illness. He described the trip of President Goodluck Jonathan to Brazil while Nigeria was facing serious security challenges as “a disgrace to mankind,” describing President Jonathan as “a president without conscience.”

He said President Jonathan had gone against the oath he took to become Nigeria’s President. His words: “In reference to the oath of allegiance taken by the President as contained in the first oath in the 7th schedule of the 1999 constitution (as amended), the Presi-

dent failed to protect, preserve and prioritise the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Nigeria as a nation. He is, however, in breach of the oath he swore to and is not fit and proper to govern or preside over the affairs of Nigeria as a nation.”

Fawehinmi asked the National Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against President Jonathan, saying his tenure has “encouraged terrorism, crippled the educational institutions and system in the country, and has made the economy too expensive to manage with so many unemployed youths.”

•From left: : Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi; widow of the deceased, Mrs Amina Ahmadu and daughter, Miss Vakamiya Mary Ahmadu during the service of songs for the late DIG John Hamza Ahmadu (Rtd), one of the victims of the recent Dana Air crash... in Abuja on Thursday.

Jonathan, Obasanjo, Adegbite extol late ambassador’s virtues

P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan; former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Secretary General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Dr Lateef Adegbite have extolled the virtues of the late Ambassador Olusegun Olusola.

In his reaction to the late ambassador’s death, President Jonathan said his commitment to the promotion of excellence in the arts and culture sector, broadcasting and public service, are worthy of emulation.

The President who recalled how Ambassador Olusola’s popular television drama series, The Village Headmaster, thrilled television viewers for decades, commended the selflessness and professionalism he demonstrated in broadcasting and all his other ventures, including his frontline role as a member of the Iperu Remo Community in Ogun State.

President Jonathan also acknowledged Chief Olusola’s distinguished role as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, as well as his promotion of peace in Africa under the auspices of the African Refugees Founda-

Vincent IKUOMOLA, Abuja and Ernest NWOKOLO, Abeokuta tion (AREF), which he founded.

The President noted that Ambassador Olusola’s dedication to selfless service and peaceloving nature, even at an advanced age, will surely be missed.

While commiserating with members of the Olusola family, the President enjoined them to take solace in the fact that the eminent Ambassador lived a fulfilled, memorable and exemplary life.

He also prayed that God Almighty would grant the soul of Chief Olusola peaceful rest.

In the same vein, former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday mourned the death of the culture symbol, saying his exit was a great loss to the country and its culture.

Obasanjo described the late Olusola as a thoroughbred community leader and a professional who used his refugees programme to bring succour to victims of war-torn countries in the past.

The former President, in a telephone interview, said the late cultural icon was his per-

sonal friend.

He said: “He is a personal friend who devoted his life to the emancipation of African refugees.

“Olusola is a humanist who despite his national and international assignment did not forget his community.

“I remember we met a couple of times in Iperu-Remo, his hometown, where he played the role of a sincere community leader,” he said.

On his part, Dr. Adegbite told the News Agency of Nigeria in a telephone conversation that Olusola’s death was a great loss to the nation.

He described the former Nigerian Ambassador to Ethiopia as an extraordinarily dedicated Nigerian who was always ready to oblige national and international assignments.

“He was a great man of Art who contributed immensely to improving the standard of drama in Nigeria.

“He was a traditionalist to the core as reflected in his attire and appearance.

“The greatest legacy he left was the continuous struggle for the emancipation of African refugees,” Adegbite said.

Aliyu, Amosun mourn him

C

HAIRMAN of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Governor of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, has paid glowing tribute to veteran broadcaster, diplomat and ace television producer, Ambassador Segun Olusola, who passed away on Thursday.

In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo, Governor Aliyu noted that the late patron of arts lived a life of service to the nation and humanity, and impacted positively on his profession as a former director of Africa’s most authoritative and influential television station–the NTAbecause of his rare vision and good leadership.

“It is no longer news that Ambassador Olusola did well as a broadcaster, TV producer and diplomat by sheer dint of hardwork, perseverance and honesty, which manifested in all the plays he created and produced,” the governor noted.

He described the late Olusola as an embodiment of the ‘can-do-spirit’ of Nigerians who excelled in all his endeavours.

Governor Aliyu said the lessons to be learnt from the life and death of Ambassador Olusola is for Nigerians to imbibe the virtues of hard work, honesty, selflessness and absolute faith in God. The statement prayed God in his infinite mercies to grant the late diplomat eternal rest and members of his family the fortitude to bear

In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo, Governor Aliyu said the late patron of arts the loss.

IN A RELATED DEVELOPMENT, THE OGUN State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has also mourned the death of the foremost Nigerian broadcaster, theatre artiste and diplomat. The governor commiserated with President Goodluck Jonathan over the death of the ex-Nigerian Ambassador to Ethiopia and also offered his condolences to the good people of Ogun State, where the renowned television producer hailed from.

In a press release signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Mrs Funmi Wakama, Senator Amosun described the late Olusola as “a thoroughbred professional, consummate administrator and humanist extraordinaire, who distinguished himself in public life.”

He recalled that the late ambassador created the popular television drama series, The Village Headmaster, which has remained a reference point for generations and a source of inspiration to thousands of young artistes.

“His service to humanity through the African Refugee Foundation (AREF), which he founded, brought succour and hope to many African refugees. He will be sorely missed,” Governor Amosun said. He prayed God to grant the family of the deceased and the art community the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

News 7

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

Jonathan fires NSA Azazi, Defence Minister

D

EFENCE Minister, Dr. Mohammed Haliru, and National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Owoye Azazi, lost their jobs last night in a dramatic end to a week marked by severe breach of the nation’s security in Zaria, Kaduna and Damaturu.

Replacing Azazi,a former Chief of Army Staff, is Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd).

Dasuki is the son of the deposed Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki and former aide-de-camp (ADC) to ex-Military President Ibrahim Babangida.

There is no replacement yet for Dr. Bello.

The changes were effected a few hours after President Goodluck Jonathan’s return from the Earth Summit in Brazil.

He first launched into an emergency security meeting to review the raging terror onslaught in parts of the North, especially in the last one week.

The violence covers the suicide bombing attacks on churches in Zaria and Kaduna and the reprisals that followed in Kaduna as well as the massive gun and bomb attacks in Damaturu on Monday. About 70 lives were lost in the Kaduna mayhem and 34 in Damaturu.

The President departed for Brazil hours after the Kaduna?

Zaria violence, drawing flak from different quarters who viewed his action as insensitive.

His Information Minister, Mr.Labaran Maku, defended him, saying he was on top of the situation and that he could rule from any part of the world.

W

• IBB’s ex-ADC is new security chief Yusuf ALLI, Vincent IKUOMOLA and Segun AJIBOYE Azazi, who was appointed NSA on October 4, 2010, has had a turbulent tenure culminating in a crisis of confidence between him and some service chiefs and even with some chieftains of the ruling PDP. Signs that all was not well between him the powers-that- be emerged recently when he declared in Asaba that the PDP was partly responsible for the insecurity in the country because of its insistence that the party’s presidential flag could only be flown by people from certain parts of the country and not others.

The remark earned him severe criticisms from within and without the party with some demanding his resignation.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, confirmed the removal of the duo .

He said: “It is true that the two officers have been dropped. I had twitted it but expect a formal press statement.”

However, a top source said the sack of the two officers might not be unconnected with the increasing level of insecurity in the country.

“As a matter of fact, security agencies, the police and the military were working at cross-purposes during Azazi’s tenure,” the

•Dr. Bello

•President Jonathan source said, adding:” In spite of huge votes for security, the situation has been degenerating in the last one year in particular.

“A major setback during his tenure was lack of synergy among the security agencies.

“And rather than find solution to the insecurity, especially Boko Haram menace, the former NSA attributed it to the January 2011 presidential primary election within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party which produced Jonathan as candidate.”

Another source attributed the change to the President’s desire for a radical shift in addressing

the Boko Haram menace in the North.

It was gathered that the President decided to put a Northerner in charge of national security as a “new way of rapprochement with the North.”

After retirement from the Army, the new NSA served as Managing Director of the Nigeria Security and Minting Company.

Another source added: “I think Dasuki can be a rallying point for Northern leaders to come together to address the Boko Haram insurgency.

“I learnt the President con-

Azazi’s troubled tenure

HEN he was appointed On October 4, 2010 as the new National Security Adviser by President Goodluck Jonathan, succeeding retired Colonel Kayode Are, there was so much expectation from Gen. Patrick Azazi (rtd).

Azazi, a former Chief of Army Staff and later Chief of Defence Staff, took over from the acting NSA, Colonel Kayode Are (rtd), who held the position temporarily following the resignation of Gen. Aliyu Mohammed Gusau.

His appointment was in keeping to Jonathan’s promise to overhaul the nation’s security apparatus following the October 1 Independence Day bomb blasts in Abuja.

Returning fresh from his retirement to assume the National Security Adviser (NSA) post as a civilian, Azazi inherited a range of challenges from extremists, including the militant Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) in his native land, and the rise of a new violent Islamist group called Boko Haram, which first emerged in 2009.

In arriving at the choice of Gen. Azazi as the new Security Adviser, the then President’s Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Ima Niboro, had said in a statement that “Azazi had a rich and illustrious career in the military during which he rose to head the Nigeria military intelligence as Director of Military Intelligence (DMI).”

As if to test Azazi’s counter-terrorism skills, shortly after taking office, he presided over the interception and public exposure of a large illegal shipment of weapons from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In what was considered as a golden opportunity to bare his fangs, Azazi was not only left toothless but speechless on the origin of the weapons and tact-

NEWS ANALYSIS Linus OBOGO lessly conceded to the Foreign Ministry to make the official allegation before the United Nations, refusing, however, to speculate publicly on where the shipment emanated from.

And in a major boost to the anti-terrorism efforts of the government in the face of unrestrained attacks, the United Nations Security Council had sued all countries to cooperate “actively” with Nigeria and Azazi in tackling what has become Nigeria’s Frankenstein Monster.

But if Nigerians thought they were going to get any respite with Azazi in the saddle, they were mistaken. The activities of the Boko Haram sect spiralled out of control. It was believed that his tenure as NSA, rather than address the myriad of security challenges, Nigeria became somewhat a nest of terrorist activities.

Those who hitherto slept with one eye opened, had to learn to adjust to a new style of having both eyes firmly open while asleep.

With listlessness and crass ineptitude as hallmark of reign as National Security Adviser, the country continued on an inexorable bloodbath, much worse than ever witnessed before his appointment.

His public statements as NSA on terrorism matters tended to be circumspect. By allowing the Foreign Ministry and judicial authorities to make definitive statements to the public, he left no one in doubt that he was not sensitive and responsive to counterterrorism matters. In sharp contrast to his public showing, Azazi was believed to be aggressive behind the scenes.

For instance, the State Security Service (SSS), which reported to Azazi, had had to take what ob-

•Gen. Azazi servers considered then as an unusual step in November 2011 by arresting a senator and charging him with aiding Boko Haram.

But anyone who vilified the sacked Security Adviser for only being aggressive behind the scene got a raw deal when at the South-South Summit, Azazi had to hit below the belt at the party in power. He was quoted as saying the PDP’s brand of politics, especially the way it picked its candidates for elections, was partly responsible for the Boko Haram problem.

He had said: “A situation where a political party insists on fielding a particular candidate over another to get a massive win, and that if they get that massive win the party has arrived, is the source of the problem.”

His tirade was considered impolitic by several politicians who refused to take the comment lying down. Not a few insisted that his head must be put on a chopping board for the open show of ingratitude to the party in government.

It was a political faux pas that would navigate the rest of his stay in office as NSA. Despite several calls for his sack, it appeared then that the President was only bid-

ding his time.

Like a similar dish prepared by the Boko Haram sect for the ousted Inspector General of Police, Hafiz Ringim, Azazi’s was carefully reserved for him in the womb of time. Whether it was cold or hot, it did not matter after all. But what matters now is that once again, the nation’s security Augean stable must be cleared for a breath of fresh air.

Rather than adopt pragmatic approach to tackling the menace of Boko Haram which has seen the country’s umbilical cord gradually ebbing away, Azazi appeared to be applying extremist threat doctrine in shaping a national response to Islamist extremism. After the Christmas 2011 Boko Haram bombings of churches, Azazi strongly cautioned fellow Christians against talk of retaliation against Muslims or even wider religious warfare. He called on citizens to question the strategic intentions of the perpetrators, insisting that counterterrorism policy must address those strategic intentions.

Discussing Boko Haram and its strategy to incite retaliatory sectarian violence, Azazi had offered: “Have we thought of what their ultimate intentions are?

Why will somebody go on to bomb Christians on a Christmas Day? Look at the ultimate intentions. Do they want to really raise tempers elsewhere?”

Even though President Jonathan may not have fared well in all facets of governance, his obvious failing is generally believed to be in the area of security. This has led many a Nigerian to conclude that the sustenance of Boko Haram attacks is a failure of the Presidency’s security team. This has severally culminated in the call for the President to constitute a new security advisory team with new ideas and vision on the country’s security nightmare.

sulted widely before settling for him.”

At yesterday’s emergency security meeting, President Jonathan tasked the security agencies to redouble their efforts with a view to ending the incessant carnage in the country.

The National Security Adviser, Gen. Owoye Azazi (rtd) has however assured that the security situation in the country was under control.

One source described the meeting as heated with the President expressing displeasure over the security situation in the country and wondering why the security agencies were finding it difficult to bring the situation under control.

Responding to reporters’ questions at the end of the meeting, Police Affairs Minister, Caleb Olubolade, said: “He (President) didn’t feel too happy about the loss of lives and he feels that we need to do something proactively to stop it at all cost.”

On what prompted the emergency meeting, the minister said it was not unusual, adding:” It’s the usual security meeting with the C-In-C (Commander In Chief), to look at things in a comprehensive manner and see how the security agencies are fairing.

It was a useful discussion.

“Certain areas where we have problems, how to tackle them,

how the security agencies can be more effective, the role the populace have to play in assisting the war against terror.”

On additional measures contemplated, Olubolade said: “Yes, the measures we have been taking before now, we have to reappraise and look at how the populace can be carried along to get more information so that peace can return to the land. We do not really have to kill Nigerians to sustain peace. C-in-C believes that we need to talk, we need to ensure that we do what is right to ensure that we calm down the nerves and these incessant bombings are minimised. It is a source of worry to all.”

Gen. Azazi simply said: ”The situation is under control.”

Those present at the meeting which was also attended by Vice President Namadi Sambo were the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Chief of Naval Staff.

Others were Minister of Police Affairs and the National Security Adviser.

Reacting to the sacking of General A. O. Azazi as National Security Adviser (NSA) to President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, former Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Abubakar Tsav, described his removal as a welcome development.

According to the former police officer, Azazi was “too vocal and inefficient.” He added that the former NSA tried to incite Nigerians against the government.

“The sack of Gen. A. O. Azazi is welcome and long overdue. I recommended this in my earlier write-up. A National Security Adviser should be felt and not heard. He was too vocal, but inefficient. He was indirectly trying to incite the public against the government.

“Instead of advising the government, he turned his advice as an attack on the government. He was disloyal and did nothing to stop the Boko Haram insurgency. He is a weak and talkative NSA.” However, for former Kaduna State governor, Balarabe Musa, the sacking of Azazi was an unfortunate incident that should be left at that. “His removal is unfortunate. That is all I have to say,” said Balarabe Musa last night.

Oil subsidy probe: Lawmaker commends Jonathan, Tambuwal over plans to implement report Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

A

MEMBER of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yusuf Ayo Tajudeen, yesterday commended President Goodluck Jonathan and the Speaker House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, for their principled stance and reassuring commitment to implement the Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Monitoring of Subsidy Regime.

Tajudeen, who is representing Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency, made the commendation in a statement in Abuja.

He said: “It is very heart-warming that President Jonathan has reiterated his resolve to ensure that those found guilty after further investigation by relevant agencies will be brought to book. I am absolutely impressed by our President’s comment, which is further proof of his commitment to the anti-corruption crusade of his administration.”

On last Friday emergency session by the House of Representatives, Tajudeen, who is the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Information Communication Technology, applauded the leadership of the lower chamber and his colleagues for being responsive and consistent in the pursuit of the legislative agenda of the seventh assembly.

The Lawmaker endorsed the resolution reached at the emergency session.

He added: “The House remains committed to the pursuit of whatever is right, true, fair and just, within the ambit of Nigeria ’s Constitution. The collective support and understanding of all is necessary in the anti-corruption crusade. “I appeal to Nigerians to give the Legislature the required collaboration in the fight against corruption. As regards the Fuel Subsidy Report, I strongly appeal that Nigerians should not throw away the baby and the bath water.”

8

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

9

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

T

HE Prime Minister of Paki stan Yousuf Gilani this week lost his job as the Supreme Court in that volatile nation disqualified him from office on the ground that he had been convicted before on contempt charges and nobody raised a finger in protest.

In Egypt the ruling military junta, self - appointed to mid wife Egypt’s transition to democracy first cancelled the parliament elected earlier and this week postponed the announcement of presidential elections results, in which the two contestants have each claimed victory.

From the Vatican the Pope, Benedict XVI called on Nigerians to exercise restraint in living with each other and asked that the killing of Christians should stop in the Northern part of Nigeria just as the Nigerian President left to attend the UN Summit in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

These events to me show clearly the travails of democracy in a world that has been led to believe that the right to vote and be voted for is the panacea to man’s socio economic conditions and the stability of his environment. Generally these events and many outside our focus today show that democracy is not a perfect ideology and that it can indeed be manipulated by those in power for uses and misuse other than those for which those in power got the peoples mandate. Greece which just had a second election in a few months, is a good example of the masses’ frustration with democracy, its workings and expectations at times.

Although Greece is out of focus today, its importance as a birth place of democracy is crucial in any assessment of global democracy- just as Greek management of its democracy can make or mar the future or the fate of global democracy. Luckily, democracy has not been able to make a debt -defaulter of Greece as a sovereign state as Greek voters voted for a party that promised to renegotiate the terms of the repayment of Greek sovereign debts as well as soften the rigors of austerity measures rather than the parties that campaigned on outright repudiation of Greek sovereign debts. The political or constitutional innovation of giving 50 parliamentary seats to the party that came first in the election clearly provides a lesson to be learnt in elections in polities and democracies globally that have many parties competing for power as the bonus seats provide a good buffer to form governments either alone or through manageable coalitions given the added majority of the bonus seats. This is another ingredient for sustainable democracy and I am sure that many troubled and challenged democracies are anxious to borrow a leaf from the Greek book in this regard. The Greek elections results have shown that democracy can work even when the economy is in tatters and tempers have risen over the economic mismanagement of politicians.

Anyway, one thing that is clear though is that the lure of democracy and its global appeal can still hold the hands of powerful leaders such that they tremble before abandoning democratic values and replacing them with their own whims and caprices which they know lack the legitimacy that only democracy can give. Both Pakistan and Egypt in their present political and economic states represent a good example of leaders tinkering with democracy and rail roading it to suit their own designs against the wishes of the masses. This is because in both states powerful institutions are subverting the cause of democracy but are claiming to be doing so in the interest of democracy.

In Pakistan the judiciary is dealing with the legislature on behalf of the army which looks the other way as the Pakistan Supreme Court

Political and economic threats to democracy

calls the politicians to order in the name of the law. In Egypt the army has at last shown its hand that even though it has allowed its leader of decades Housni Mubarak who is reportedly dying to be tried , humiliated and sentenced , it is not ready for full blown democracy and has cancelled the parliamentary elections it allowed earlier this year.

First let us deal with Pakistan in detail. The Supreme Court has removed former PM Gilani effectively and President Asif Ali Zardari has proposed a replacement and even has a standby. Which is just as well as a narcotics court judge has issued a warrant for the arrest of the new proposed PM, Makhdoom Shahabudden who is Pakistan Textiles Minister at present. The warrant for his arrest said that he allowed the importation of a banned drug–ephedrine-into Pakistan when he was Health Minister a charge he denies saying he set up an investigation on the matter.

The lesson to be learnt in Pakistan’s ambush democracy is that even though the ruling Pakistan People’s Party knows that it has a majority in parliament to always confirm its nominee it can not disobey or ignore the Supreme Court ruling as that will give an excuse for the army to move in. Also the President who will be appointing PMs to be rusticated by the Supreme Court is the root cause of the problem because the sacked PM refused to investigate claims that he – the President - siphoned public

funds to Swiss banks when his wife the late Benazir Bhutto was PM of Pakistan.That was why Gilani was sacked and there is no doubt his successor[s] will be sacked as President Zardari will never appoint from his party a PM that will obey the Supreme Court order to probe him. So how many PMs will the Supreme Court consume before it stops disqualifying the president’s appointees? And how long will the army wait before it moves in on the matter purportedly in the interest of national security and stability?

Surely the politicians, judges and the military are on tenterhooks in running the Pakistani state and one can only which them all the best of luck in the days and months ahead.

With regard to Egypt, one can really highlight the statement that when the cat is not around, mice will play. This statement is very apt given the bold way that the military has moved to cancel parliament and seems to be moving to renege on its promise to hand over to an elected President by July 1. This is because a new president will not have a parliament and a constitution to work with. Also while the election campaigns were on, the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces –Scaf – in Egypt gave itself sweeping powers to run government ,make and control state budgets and and security. The SCAF is behaving as if it has forgotten that it was a street revolution that swept Mubarak out of office and the reason is not far fetched.

This is because the three world leaders that in 2011 aided the street revolution that removed Mubarak, by telling him to go, and not ask the army to kill demonstrators at Tahrir Square in Cairo are no longer interested in political developments in Egypt. The three nations are the US, Britain, and France. Right now President Barak Obama is busy with his own re election campaign such that he can not even attend the Rio Summit on Sustainable Development in his back yard in Latin America. British PM David Cameron has been busy with the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Queen as well as preparations for the London Olympics in July.

Indeed most EU leaders are watching the Euro nations Football Cup holding in Poland and Ukraine and praying that their nations lift the cup and provide some happy moments for the austerity and sufferings in their financially beleaguered economies. France has a new president who seemed determined to put a long distance between him and any thing that former President Nickolas Sarkozy stood for and that includes the N African street revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. If you add to this the situation in Syria where President Bashar Assad is ready to kill as many people as possible to stay in power, you can see why the military in Egypt is making a u- turn on its promises on democracy for Egyptians .

In addition the military in Egypt have been encouraged by the type of support given to Syria by Russia and do not see why they can not expect the same given the fact that the Russians supported both Syria and Egypt in the last Middle East Wars against Israel in the sixties.More than anything else the army seem to be regretting making a scapegoat of its commander in chief -Housni Mubarak – and Egyptian democracy is to pray an extravagant price for that . Honestly I hope the army does not cancel the results of the presidential

elections as the signs are ominous for Egypt’ s democracy right now Lastly, as a Nigerian I can only commend the Pope for being interested in the fate and welfare of fellow Nigerians over the killings in Kaduna. I can not however commend my president for going on the trip to Brazil at a time that sectarian violence was claiming lives in Kaduna State especially in Kaduna and Damaturu. Although the official explanation has been given that commitments had been made before and the President can run the nation from anywhere, that explanation is hollow.

Bombing of Churches have become a way of life in Nigeria and the president who is a Christian can not wish that away or pretend that this is business as usual simply because it can never be acceptable as business as usual. The delegation to Rio could have gone without the president if only to ensure that members of the entourage earn their juicy estacodes. Yet, the crisis that broke out on Sunday in Kaduna over church bombings was sufficient for the Nigerian president to have stayed home and personally supervised that the right signals in terms of stiff deterrence are passed to the Church bombers. The apparent apathy the president showed by going to Rio while Kaduna churches are bombed and innocent Nigerians are killed in reprisals, is akin to the ancient Roman fable of the Emperor Nero who fiddled while his city of Rome burnt. It is a sad analogy and a very avoidable one too.

I pray the president finds time when he returns from Rio, a city famous for sexy carnivals and the Summit which is said to be the largest by the UN to pay a visit to Kaduna to show that he regrets leaving those in that unfortunate city to their fate in their hour of need. Humanity after all said and done is the essence of governance and is an essential ingredient of democracy which is the ideology we claim to practice even here in Nigeria as at this point in time.

10 COMMENTARY

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

Of subsidy thieves and representathieves

vincentakanmode@yahoo.com

P

OOR Hon. Farouk Lawan. For 13 years, he bestrode the House of Representa tives like a colossus, functioning variously as the Chairman of the House committees on finance and education. But the towering image of the vocal lawmaker has come crashing like a pack of cards.

His undoing was his comportment as the chairman of the ad hoc committee constituted by the House to probe the allegation that some oil companies defrauded the nation of trillions of naira made up of the various sums they collected from the Central Bank as subsidy payments for refined oil they never imported. He allegedly collected the sum of $620, 000 as bribe from the chief executive of Zenon Oil, Femi Otedola, to remove the names of his companies from the list of indicted firms.

The petite lawmaker had enjoyed significant goodwill from the public since he led some members of the lower chamber under the aegis of Integrity Group to push for the removal of the former female Speaker, Mrs Patricia Etteh, after she allegedly approved the sum of N620 million for the renovation of her official residence in 2007. But his real joker was his chairmanship of the ad hoc Committee on the Management of Petroleum Subsidy. The firmness and seriousness with which Lawan conducted the committee’s business left everyone with the impression that for once, Nigeria could boast of a public office holder who would put nation above self.

It is, however, one of the ironies of life that

an assignment that had endeared him to the public would also provide the platform for his descent from the zenith of grace to the nadir of disgrace.

The moment he was named the chairman of the committee that would probe the malfeasance of a cabal that had been largely responsible for the sponsorship of President Goodluck Jonathan’s election last year, I knew he was up against a wall strewn with broken bottles. Now, he is not only bruised, he is badly injured. The brain box of the People’s Democratic Party, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, had hinted at the impending cataclysm more than two weeks before it became public knowledge, but not even Lawan himself suspected that something was amiss.

As a guest at the fourth annual conference of the Academy for Entrepreneurial Studies, Nigeria on May 22, the former President said the National Assembly was infested with rogues and armed robbers. The statement was a sword driven into the hearts of the lawmakers. They took turns to condemn it, challenged the ex-President to name the rogues and armed robbers among them and even demanded an apology. But their ego was deflated when it emerged a few days later that Otedola had tempted Lawan with a $3 million bribe and he had fallen for the bait.

Naturally, the crestfallen lawmakers turned their anger on Lawan and booted him out of his chairmanship positions. His claim that he only collected a part payment of $620,000 to play along with Otedola did not wash. If that was his intention, the lawmakers reasoned, he would have carried the remaining members of the probe panel and, indeed, the leadership of the House along.

He also would not have removed the names of Otedola’s companies from the list of indicted oil dealers or insist that the oil magnate should pay the balance of the bribe money.

‘

In the current scenario, both parties are worse off. Lawan has crumbled from grace to grass on account of Otedola’s plot, but I also fear that Reps’ opinion of the oil magnate may hold true: a sinking man clinging to a straw

’

Few people would dispute the fact that Lawan is blessed with more than enough intelligence to make up for his loss in physique.

But the experienced lawmaker was not circumspect enough to realise that as far as the present dispensation is concerned, the House of Representatives is in the midst of enemies.

The PDP and the Presidency would not fold their arms while the men and women who bore the brunt of the massive funds with which they won elections are rubbished in the public, particularly when the leadership of the House is more or less a product of votes from the opposition parties and the goodwill of a few PDP “rebels”, including Lawan. That, probably, was at the roots of Otedola’s mantra that Lawan could not have acted alone.

That is not to say that Otedola will emerge from the roforofo unblemished. The oil mag-

Re: As we rue the cloud of tears The government owes us a duty to get those murderous ‘flying iron birds’ with the capacity of turning birth certificate into death certificate off our airspace. I urge Government to deal decisively with those found culpable in the Dana Air plane crash.

Godfrey, 08076823815 I agree with the piece that the rulers hide many things from the ruled. The bitter truth is that the rulers know that the oppressed and the exploited will fight them if they know that the man-made neo-colonial capitalist economy is responsible for their suffering and that the rulers are benefitting by it and do not want it to be changed.

Amos Ejimonye, Kaduna Like we have always said in Nigeria, indiscipline and massive corruption in all spheres and sectors, if not massively crushed, will continue to under-develop this country. Given that the crashed DANA plane had an Acheck four days before the crash, I am of the opinion that mechanical-technical-human error could develop at any point, I am particularly bothered about ‘safety measures and emergency response level’. Without indiscipline and corruption, there would have been fire-fighting equipment

and other rescue officials would have been there on time. At least, some lives would have been saved. But the indiscipline and corruption of the rulers rather than leaders—the National Assembly, presidency and judiciary— would not allow for provision of required infrastructure and safety measures. It is quite unfortunate. May their souls rest in peace, amen. We await the usual report from our government.

Lanre Oseni, Lagos,.07030303636 Yomi, President Jonathan is just offering us false assurances.

Most of the persons involved are PDP members and I assure you that the report will be treated as family affair. Lo ba pari!

Alh. Adeboye Lawal, 08029877703 Hi Yomi, you have turned me into an ardent reader of The NATION on Saturday..I have even enrolled 10 of my friends to read the paper after regularly digesting your splendid column. One of them confessed to me that his English Language writing skill has improved significantly. Thanks to your wonderful column Mr. Knucklehead.

08102601851 Yomi, your piece last Saturday was quite revealing! Your passionate concern on endless avoidable tragedies in Nigeria

nate will be making a mistake if he sees his action as a mere assault on Lawan, his committee or the House of Representatives only.

It is a confrontation with every well-meaning Nigerian who desires the recovery of the trillions of naira a few individuals pilfered from the nation’s exchequer in the guise of subsidy payments. I personally cannot fathom the kind of reputation the son of a Catholic Knight of Saint Sylvester hopes to build by offering himself as the commander-in-chief of Lucipher’s army in a battle between the forces of light and those of darkness. If he is as clean as a hound’s tooth, like he has laboured to tell the world, the easiest thing he should have done is go to court. Unfortunately, it is an option he has reserved until Lawan and other people involved in the probe are thoroughly humiliated.

Were the Bible to be re-written, its authors will most probably change the phrase “lead us not into temptation” to read “lead us not into Otedola’s temptation,”for it is the most irresistible kind. Three million dollars is not a sum many Nigerians, including those that are calling for Laawan’s head, would resist.

Secondly, it was a temptation intended for no other benefit than to pull down a man saddled with a task that borders on public interest.

Renowned economist, Vilfredo Pareto, will feel miserable if he were alive to witness the Lawan/Otedola face-off. In his famous theory, Pareto Optimality, the Italian posited that only a change that makes one party better off without making the other worse off is desirable. In other words, a change is not desirable if it makes a party worse off, no matter the how much benefit the other party derives from it. In the current scenario, both parties are worse off. Lawan has crumbled from grace to grass on account of Otedola’s plot, but I also fear that Reps’ opinion of the oil magnate may hold true: a sinking man clinging to a straw.

Knucklehead With

Yomi Odunuga E-mail:yomi.odunuga @thenationonlineng.net SMS only: 07028006913

could be felt. However, it is sad to note that with crooked folks at the helm of affairs coupled with a decadent system, the situation will not get better. It is quite pathetic.

Gbenga, FCE Pankshin, Plateau State, 07084925819 Cutting corners against the flying coffins called aircraft should stop to avoid future occurrences. Enough is enough!.

Chika Nnorom, Abia, .08062887535.

Re: Standing on the promises of good luck!

I think John F Kennedy was right when he said that “No one has a right to grade a president… who has not sat in his chair, examined the mails and information that came across his desk and learned why he made the decision”. I want to place it on record that Mr. President’s transformation agenda is on course and we will get over our challenges one day.

Ehimare., 08076823815 I am an incurable optimist in the would-be success of GEJ. A Nigerians are simply confused and mischievous. I so much believe in the efforts of his team in power, petroleum, economic, agriculture, trade and industry. But he should take another look on security and corruption. As for the opposition parties and professional critics, we are not deceived by their antics. After all, a lot of them were in power and were responsible for most of Nigeria’s problems today.

Engineer Israel, Makurdi, 08038428311 Oga Knucklehead, thanks for being such a wonderful campaign manager for GEJ 2015.

One thing you failed to tell your supporters

is the breath of fresh air that we have been enjoying since President Jonathan came on board like we never did before.

Ibrahim Shaba, Nassarawa State, 08022185185 As far I am concerned, President Jonthan is lagging and falling. He needs to sit up and employ the services of honest, factual and patriotic advisers. I have not seen any significant change be it infrastructural or otherwise. We cannot keep standing on the promises of Jonathan. Other countries have moved up beyond promises.

Lanre Oseni, lagos, .08033518726 It is a right and democratic to criticise. But our major setback as a nation is our failure to know ourselves. Given wide consultation, objective arguments will never happen in respect of honouring Abiola. Who would have remembered Abiola on that day? Should a man be angry for getting half loaf? The reasons/points being made by critics against the move to rename UNILAG after Chef Moshood Abiola are causing more damage to our national psyche. If the National

Assembly ratifies the act, then it becomes a law and legally binding. Yomi, I now know that there can never be a dull momnet reading your contributions to national discourse. It has become the lot of Nigerian journalists to underestimate the audience and barrage readers with abusive and acidic words. Your piece today has a lot of humour yet the message got across. God bless you and do keep up the good work.

Bolu Adeniji , Lagos, 07057899689 Knucklehead, your joke on ‘Standing on the promises of good luck’ is too hard for me to take.

A. T. MOZIE, 08033912409 I agree with the piece that Jonathan has moved mountains and created streams in the desert. The question is: who will deny him a place in the history Nigerian plastic heroes?

Amos Ejimonye, Kaduna. 08039727512 Yomi , Nigerians must be blockheads for expecting Jonathan to fix, in just one yea,r what his predecessors could not fix since 1960.

Imagine corrupt Nigerians asking the president to fight corruption meaning they are asking Nigerians to fight them? Now, the slow hand of God is slowly fighting them.

Thank God they go to churches and mosques to worship.

08028467471 I read your satire of Saturday, June 2nd and truly enjoyed it. But you must understand that most Nigerians might not appreciate this style. So I recommend a more direct approach. Meanwhile, I believe there is a spiritual angle to this whole Jonathan ‘wahala’ or how do we explain the bloodletting and wasted lives in the last few months.

Femi Abisoye, Oke-Odo, Lagos, 07030189874 Good views and reviews. I just finished reading your piece in The NATION newspapers. Keep on with the flow. God bless you.

Rugged Evangelist.(comedian/writer), Abuja, 08034923805

Michael O’

I can’t wait to work with Genevieve

—OC Ukeje

Victims or ls? criminaof fem ale On the trail drug mules in Nigeria

My parents thought I would not live because I was born with yellow fever

-Ogun Police

spokesman Adejobi

LIFE & STYLE/ 41

SCREEN/ 21

THRILLER / 20-21

Weekend

PEOPLE THE NATION, Saturday, JUNE 23, 2012

Relat io

d e p a c s e How we s

k c a t t a a n u d a -Survivors of K

nship

11

12

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

N

ATHANIAL Jibril, a photo journalist with Daily Independent newspapers, had just closed from the church when he got a call that suicide bombers had bombed the Shalom Church, Trikania. He flagged down the next available motor bike and headed for the scene of the explosion. He never got there as he ran into a mob that inflicted heavy cut on him, leaving him in a pool of his own blood, thinking he was dead. He woke up at the St. Gerard Catholic Hospital, Kakuri, where he was rushed to by good Samaritans and cannot remember what happened when he encountered the mob.

Jibril is one of those who were lucky to survive the reprisal attack that followed three bomb explosions in Zaria and Kaduna churches, leaving several people, including children dead. The attack on the churches, especially Shallom Church, sparked off immediate reprisal attack. Several people who were unlucky to be on the “wrong side” of the town or passing through the “wrong place” at that time had one story or the other to tell just like Jibril.

A fire wood cutter, who claimed to be a Nigerien, Suleiman Mani, said her customer in the Narayi area actually alerted her about the crisis and asked her to leave immediately. “She told me that I should leave the work and run away. As I was running away, I saw two people on a bike carrying machetes and sticks. They hit me with the stick, but I managed to dodge. They dropped from the bike and pursued me and hit me with the machete and I ran back to Narayi again. They hit me again and I fell down.

“The wanted to cut off my head but the machete landed on my hand as I tried to protect myself.

They carried a big stone and wanted to drop it on my head, but one woman who is also my customer came to intervene as I lay on the ground. They wanted to beat her but a man came and intervene and they took me on a bike to this hospital.”

Another victim, Yahaya Dahiru, 27, who said he is an Okada operator, was caught up in the crisis in the Sabon Tasha area and was lucky to be alive.

In his words: “I had just the passenger and I was going back when I saw some people stopping motorbikes. They stopped many of us and asked us to lie down and started beating us and smashing blocks on us. They said that they would kill us because Boko Haram was killing their people. They told us that Boko Haram had been bombing them and therefore they would retaliate. They beat me so much that I became unconscious. I don’t even know how I got here”.

Twenty three-year-old Arinze John was on his way to Abuja when he encountered some angry Hausa youths along the Nnamdi Azikiwe Express Bye Pass, but was lucky to survive to tell the story.

“There were Hausa boys who blocked the road around that area. They were carrying knives and machetes. They stopped me and pulled me out of the car and beat me. They wanted to slaughter me, but the Sarki intervened and carried me away. He handed me over to soldiers who were passing by and they brought me to the hospital,” he recalled.

For Yahaya Usman, his name could not save him. Usman, who said he was a Christian from Kogi State, said he was attacked at Trikania area when he was going to pick his son who had made a distress call after the explosion at the Shalom Assembly.

•Shalom Church affected by the bombing

was so restless ‘ Ithat I felt like

•A victim being rescued from the scene of the bombing

‘How I narrowly escaped being beheaded’ Tony AKOWE, Kaduna He said: “My son telephoned me from the church and told me that there was bomb near the church so I became worried and wanted to go and pick him. On the way, I saw a mob of Hausa boys who started attacking me with sticks and machetes. They stabbed me all over my body. It was the Operation Yaki patrol team that rescued me from them

and they brought me to this hospital.”

These people are a few of those who are lucky to be alive today following the action of angry Christian youths and their Muslim counterparts who started blocking the roads in anger over what they called constant bombing of “our churches and the killing of our people” and the reprisal attack. The Nation overheard some of the youths com-

plaining that the security agents have continued to look the other way while Christians are being killed in their places of worship.

“We will not take this nonsense any longer. They go to their mosques on Friday to pray and when we go to the Church on Sunday, they come to bomb us.

We will retaliate this”, they complained in groups.

As the tension built up, churches in the city began to

something was about to happen.

So I asked all the church members to stand and we should lay hands on our head, and pray that our heads should reject where the evil was coming from. We were in the process of that prayer and I just said in Jesus name when we heard the explosion

,

hurriedly close services while commercial vehicles and motorcycles were hurrying off the streets, saying “enough is enough of the bombing of our churches. We will no longer tolerate these murderers. We have been pushed to the wall and we have no choice than to defend ourselves and our faith. Every Friday, they go to their mosques and even block roads to pray without any one attacking them.

The Federal Government and the security agencies have failed us.

“Please, tell the government and these people who take delight in attacking us in our churches that we are equal to the task. What is going on is pure madness and we must stop it. From now on, we will no longer tolerate the bombing of our churches and the killing of Christians. If those who are in authority want this country to remain one, then they must stand up against Boko Haram. We are tired of cheap talks without action. From now on we are ready

13

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

•Another victim being attended to by FRSC officials

•Shops under lock and key at the ever busy Ahmadu Bello Way, Kaduna

•The Friuts market is also closed and traders abandon their goods •A deserted Ahmadu Bello way, Kaduna

for them. We know that they will bring security men out. But the question is, where were these security men when they attack our churches and kill our people?”

When The Nation went round Kaduna metropolis, it was like an abandoned, war-ravaged city without inhabitants. People peeped out of their gates while those bold enough to come out of their homes stayed in front of their houses discussing in low tunes with friends and relatives.

There has been no market opened since the Tuesday when the 24 hours curfew was re-imposed on the city to prevent bloodshed.

While there were complaints of pockets of violence in some parts of the metropolis and on the outskirts, there were also complaints of brutalisation by security agencies. Even though this could not be confirmed, there were reports some soldiers ate up the bean cake (akara) of a woman who was bold enough to come out during curfew hours in the Sabo Tasha area and refused to pay her, ordering her to go into her house thereafter. Also, some soldiers were said to have beaten up a young man who argued with them mercilessly with horse whip and planks and making him to undergo different kinds of punishment, including swimming in a dirty gutter.

While the drama unfolded, a group of Southern Kaduna

youths under the auspices of Gurara Forum began talking tough, saying they would no longer stay back and watch their people killed in their places of worship. The Chancellor of the Forum and his Secretary General, Vincent Bodam and Jerry Adams respectively, said they would not continue to fold our hands and agree to be annihilated and would continue to hold government and merchandise of death responsible for their illicit actions against Christians.

They said: “As our churches were hit again yesterday in Zaria and Kaduna town, it became glaring that the sect meant what they represent, more so, they have cleared the air and claimed responsibility for the attacks which defied the falsehood being advanced by selfish Northerners.

“We will not succumb to photo shops manipulation and outright deviation of facts and real-

ity of all these deliberate attacks against Christians. We have been watching as churches are being bombed every Sunday for the past few months by suicide bombers. Christians in their Biblical teachings have been told to be magnanimous in their dealings with their fellow human beings and to respect the rights of other people, and be slow to anger and revenge for ‘vengeance is mine saith the Lord’.

“And despite our very slow attitude in response to these incessant bombings and killing of innocent citizens, including women and children in their places of worship, no attempt is being seen to be made by the perpetrators of this satanic injunction to desist or slow down in these devilish acts of murder and slaughter of Christians. The body language of the so-called leaders of the North shows an unfortunate and maniacal mischief going by their lingering ef-

forts of saying the attacks are perpetuated by non-Muslims in contrast to the stand by Boko Haram that has always claimed responsibility.

“Government and security operatives though claimed to be giving their best has failed to bring this acts of impudence to a halt. However, security is the responsibility of all. We therefore observe with total regret that these people who live amongst us cannot be pointed by those who know them. They thus continue to execute their evil plan of annihilation by bombing and killing in the course of charting their religious cause. Thus, we wish to make the following assertions that in as much as we will continue to be law-abiding and peaceful at all times, we will no longer tolerate any bombings in our churches or any other place for that matter.”

But former Kaduna State governor and Senator representing

When the police raided the suspect’s compound, ‘ they uncovered a shocking arsenal of IEDs, arms

and ammunition. The manufacturer who is a wellknown mechanic in Kaduna, ran into the ceiling of his house. By the time we pursued him up the ceiling, he had escaped through a hole

,

Kaduna North, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, blamed the Yakowa government for abandoning the Strike Force bases established by his government in the wake of the Sharia crisis and asked the government to reopen them immediately. He believe that discontinuing the strike force bases was counter-productive. He said “first of all, the bombing that has been happening is condemnable. One cannot rationalise the number of lives of human beings that has been eliminated, the property destroyed, lack of peace created generally that is threatening the survival of the citizens. All of these are things that are very sad and I do not think any individual will support under whatever guise the unfortunate incidents. Also, the action and manner in which the ordinary souls of individual were eliminated are things we should condemn.

“What happened in the first instance should not justify another individual who may even be running away for his or her life. We should not react by visiting further violence on innocent souls.

And, if you study Kaduna, the reaction started in areas that were known even while I was in office as a governor. Unfortunately, the discontinuation with all the Strike Force bases that •Continued on Page 54

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

14

T

WO members of a family last Tuesday presented themselves at Dana Airline’s verification centre as the next of kin of one of the victims of the June 3, 2012, air crash at Iju Ishaga, Lagos.

They were said to have separately visited the centre with the aim of preparing the ground to be the beneficiary of the compensation set to be paid by the airline’s insurers.

Tony Usidiamen, the Head of the Corporate Communications Department, made this known in an interview with The Nation during the week. He identified the family members as the widow and a brother of one of the victims.

He said the management of the airline was not surprised by the development as it already envisaged that such would come in a situation they have at hand, adding that the airline would only pay compensation to the legally approved next of kin who meets the requirements, including DNA test.

“Only a legal document can prove who the next of kin is and also the DNA test that would be done to confirm it. Marriage certificate, drivers licence, national identity card and other documents approved by the government would be used. Above all, a sworn affidavit from a court of law would also be required.

Once we have all these and the next of kin is determined, we would commence payment. We

W

HAT is your understanding of ‘next of kin’ when filling any document and what informs your decision of who becomes your next of kin?

As Dana Airline commences the process of identifying the next of kin of victims of the June 3, 2012 air crash for the purpose of paying the insurance compensation, we spoke with a cross section of Nigerians this. The respondents gave different reasons for choosing their next of kin. While some choose their spouses, others gave reasons why their children and not their spouses are their next of kin.

Femi Benson, Insurance expert: “Next of kin can be your family member or anybody that you choose. For me, my wife is my next of kin because she is the one that has the responsibility of taking care of my children when I am not here.

“In the case of Dana Airline, an insurance company would make use of preference. They would have to give preference to the wife if she is alive. If the wife is late, preference would be given to the children. If the children are underage, the insurance company would have to get two or three members of the family to collect the payment on their behalf”.

Halim Mohammed, veteran city publicist: “My children are my next of kin. They are the closest to me because they are going to be the victims of my misfortune in terms of education, welfare and other matters.

“For married couples, DANA should pay the wives or the husbands of victims. For the unmarried, the parents should ordinarily be paid. It is a bit of a problem where the two died in the accident. In that case, the family may get the compensation if they approach Dana in unity. If any family does not approach it in unity, they stand the risk of forfeiting the claim. What is happening in the pension scam may equally apply here because there would be money without owners”.

Dana crash: ‘How compensation will be paid’ •Victim’s brother, widow tango over next of kin

Who is your next of kin?

•Banjo Omolaraeni

Innocent DURU Chief Ajayi Nicholas Adekunle, businessman and politician: “My wife is my next of kin because if I am not there, the responsibilities would fall on her.

“Who gets the compensation from Dana is a very complex issue in the sense that in the western education context, if you are married, your spouse is your next of kin. But in a situation like the Dana air crash, we saw single ladies that perished in the crash. Their next of kin should be their parents. In primordial African society, the family is the next of kin.

For legality purpose, it depends on who the victim chooses to be his next of kin. There are marriages that are not divorced but the couples are separated.

“In practical terms, the marriage is not working but in theory they are not divorced. In such a situation, the victim may not choose the spouse as the next of kin. The aviation industry must come into this matter and not leave it all alone to Dana. Unfortunately, we do not have good identification system in Nigeria. The ID card project has failed. I think the collaboration of the ministry, the airline and the

•Halim Mohammed

•Tosin Onasanya

families is crucial to make everything work properly.

“I am asking that the aviation ministry should be part of it so that they can come up with a system that would prevent the re- occurrence of such in future.

There should be provision for next of kin on the manifest henceforth”.

Prince John, banker: “I made my wife my next of kin before but when I discovered that she did not make me her next of kin, I decided to change it.

She made her brother her next of kin when I expected that she would make me her next of kin in return. I have the feeling that she was up to some mischief by choosing to do that. Why would she want her brother to get her benefits in case of accident when the children and I are there?

“From my experience, I would suggest that Dana should look for responsible family members of the victims and pay them the money. That one is a father or mother is not a guarantee that he would use the money to take care of the children”.

Bola, trader: “I did not know the meaning and importance of next of kin until they explained it to me in the course of filling travelling manifest provided by some commercial buses. I used to put the name of any family member that comes to my mind

anytime I needed to include next of kin in any document. Now, I use my son as my next of kin. I cannot use my husband because men are not too reliable. If a man can be sleeping about with other women when the wife is alive, tell me what he would do with her wealth when she dies and he inherits her wealth? You can be very sure that such a man would abandon the children and go about enjoying his life with other women. It is better for my son to have my wealth and lavish it than for my husband to do so.

“As a mother, I would advise that Dana should pay the money to the wives and not the husbands of the victims. Women are kindhearted and would strive to take care of the children than men”.

Omolara Banjo, copyright administrator: “My children would always be my next of kin because whatever I have is for them. Whatever investment I am doing today is strictly for my children.

“In my opinion, I think Dana should pay the wives or the husbands of the victims depending on who was involved in the crash. With this kind of problem at hand, it is important

•Ajayi Nicholas that aviation authorities in the country begin to include next of kin in the manifest. This would go a long way in solving any problem about who gets the insurance benefits in case of accident”.

Tosin Onasanya, electrical engineer: “Next of kin to me means a blood relative. It could be a person’s spouse, children, siblings or parents. My next of kin is my younger brother because I am still unmarried, but once I get married and have children, then my next of kin will be one of my children. The reason why I will make my child my next of kin is because men can’t be trusted, if my husband fails me, my children will be there for me.

“On payment of compensation

by Dana Airline, I think the benefits for those that lost their parents should be given to their children, and for those women that lost their husbands, the benefits should be for them, and for those that lost a whole family, the benefit should go to their aged parents to take care of them if they are still alive, and for the men that lost their wives, the benefit should also go to the children and not the man because the man can still work and take care of himself”.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

•Tony Usidiame

Innocent DURU have already had a situation where two people came and claimed to be the next of kin. One was a brother to the deceased and the other the widow of the deceased.

We envisaged that there would be cases like this and like I said, it is only the legal documents that can prove who the next of kin is.

“The process has been initiated and what this means is that some staff of Dana Air have been visiting families of victims to show them the documents of all that would be required for the payment. Once we get evidence of next of kin, marriage certificate for those that are married, sworn affidavit from any court of law, and other things that would show that the person is the next of kin, we would, commence payment. Our insurers are fully prepared for that. All that we are just waiting for is the documentation. This is not entirely in the hands of the airline or the insurance company, this is a legal matter and payments would be made to a legal next of kin as proven by the legal documents that we get. We are guided by laws and we don’t just decide who gets what.

“We only have problems reaching out to some families. We have put public notices in the papers and in the radio to appeal to those that we have not been able to reach to come forward with the details of the next of kin so that we can expedite the process and begin to make payment.

We are ready,” he said.

He went ahead to debunk the allegation that the airline may have difficulty paying the victims’ families because it did not pay its premium before the incident.

He said: “Everything has been done according to the normal insurance procedure and all the documentation in place.

This is not true because Prestige Assurance addressed a press conference at NAICOM office last week to clear the air on this. There are no issues whatsoever

‘

We have already had a situation where two people came and claimed to be the next of kin. One was a brother to the deceased and the other the widow of the deceased. We envisaged that there would be cases like this and like I said, it is only the legal documents that can prove who the next of kin is

’

regarding payment of insurance. We would pay what is due to the families. The interim payment is supposed to be 30 days after the incident but we are trying to even

F

OUR weeks after he accompanied his mother to the Okokomaiko market in Lagos only to disappear in mysterious circumstances, Kofi, a four-year-old boy’s whereabouts remain yet unknown. His father, Mr Bright Edu, and mother, Bridget, remain clueless after visiting many police stations around Lagos in search of their son.

The distraught parents are thus left with no choice but to cry out for help.

Wearing a sullen look, Edu, the brokenhearted father of Kofi, shared his plight with our correspondent when he visited the corporate head office of The Nation during the week. He recalled how his son, a pupil of Kayode Nursery and Primary School, Ajangbadi, Lagos State, had accompanied his mother to Okokomaiko Market, where she sells roasted fish, only to disappear a few minutes later.

Edu said: “The incident occurred at Okokomaiko at about 7.30 pm on Sunday May 20, 2012. He had accompanied my wife (Kofi’s mother) to her stall where she sells roasted fish. A few minutes later, Kofi was discovered to be missing from the spot where he was playing with his elder sister.

“Soon after we discovered that he was missing, we visited many police stations, including the ones at Okokomaiko, Ajangbadi, Iyana-Sashi, Ojo and Iba and even the Alakara Police Juvenile Centre, Mushin, but our search for him was fruitless.”

The Ghanaian father explained other steps the family had taken to locate their son.

He said: “I have even gone to see my pastor and we resorted to prayers, hoping that we would see the boy but our hope is fast turning into despair. We have also reported the incident to the Baale (traditional head) of Okokomaiko and the traditional ruler did all he could to help us find the boy all to no avail.

“We don’t know where help might come from. That is why we are crying out for help through the media.”

Speaking with The Nation on the telephone from Cotonou, Republic of Benin, where she said she had gone to visit her relations, Bridget echoed her husband’s account of their son’s disappearance.

She said: “I had taken him with me to

pay before it is 30 days. Our aircraft was fully insured and all the passengers on board were fully insured. Our policy also covers those that lost their lives and properties at Iju ishaga.

“Our valuers and Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) have been working on this.

We are working with the law. Once LASEMA and our valuers are done with their work, we would verify them and make the payment. We would ensure that everybody that was affected is adequately taken care of. We have two insurance companies that handle our insurance matters. We have Lloyd of London and Prestige Assurance here in Nigeria. When it comes to payment of claims to people locally, Prestige Assurance will handle that.

Asked if it would be advisable for the regulatory body to start including next of kin on yhe air manifest to reduce the challenges identifying the right person that is entitled to be compensated in case of an accident, he said: “I am not sure I am the right person to comment on this issue. It is only the aviation authorities that can decide this. We have always complied with regulations and in this particular matter, we are also abiding by the regulations.

If tomorrow the regulatory body decides that we begin to include next of kin on the manifest, we would begin to do so. As far as we know, only minimum information like the phone number and the email address are required for booking. That has been the practice but if regulations change tomorrow, Dana would comply.”

•Kofi, the missing boy

My son vanished after patronage from a stranger, says mother of missing four-year-old •Mr. Edu, the father

Kunle AKINRINADE

Okokomaiko Market, where I sell fish. He was playing with his sister, Precious, while I was busy attending to customers. I was intermittently watching them as they played. I did not suspect that something bizarre was about to happen.

“A few minutes later, a man walked in and introduced himself, saying that one of my customers had asked him to patronise me. I

told him that the name of the customer he mentioned sounded strange and that I didn’t really know the person. It took him about 30 minutes before he could buy just a piece of fish. I did not know that he had another motive.

“Not long after he left, my Precious ran to me, saying: ‘Mummy, Mummy, Kofi has followed that man who came to buy fish from you.’. I thought she was joking until it

dawned on me that my boy was missing and he could not be found within the vicinity at all.

“We searched every nook and cranny of the area, including several police stations, but the story was the same. I am therefore calling on the public to help us find our son.”

The father gave his mobile number as: 07067222228.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

We are on the brink of a big explosion

—Alani Akinrinade

•Gen. Alani Akinrinade

S

IR, most people seem to have a different view as to what democracy should be and what we seem to presently have in the country?

I can understand where most of the misunderstanding and the shenanigans is coming from. And I suspect it will go on for a long time unless the rest of the political class unite with the people and really fight for something more democratic than what we have now.

Are you saying that the people in government presently were not the ones that fought for democracy?

Well, usually it is like that when you have a revolution, it usually consumes its architects. When people pick up the gauntlet, in some lucky areas when they do, they may have the opportunity to steer things after. But in our own case, we have not had the luck. I think most of the people that have been there right from 1999 have been the beneficiaries of the struggle but most never participated in the fight for democracy .

During the June 12 anniversary the other day, an activist said he regretted that the civil rights group

did not seize the mantle of leadership by participating in politics when Gen. Abdulsalam called for fresh elections. Do you agree with him?

I’m not too sure how the person wanted to define the word ‘seize’.

What we fought for was democracy and what we wanted to see at the end of the day was an election which will be better than what we had in 1993, and which will then put in place a government that will be credible and galvanise the democracy process. The word ‘seize’ maybe a bit confusing in that way. But if he was referring to the progressive group who fought directly for democracy like NADECO and other organisations that were under the umbrella of NADECO and the Gani Fawehinmi group and the rest of them, yes I think he had a point in the sense that, maybe if we had got together and gone into politics, it would have been a lot better. But then also, I don’t think so totally because the more you look, the less you see. It is becoming more and more obvious that there is a cartel that runs this country. Like Campbell, the former American

Ambassador observed, he said it is the Oga syndrome that is in place here and that is exactly what happened. So I think unless the people get together and remove the Oga syndrome and establish democracy the way it is supposed to be, the situation will remain the same. But, we have been in this quandary for too long a time.

Would you say that former President Olusegun Obasanjo fulfilled your expectations during his administration?

Well, if you remember that it did not take him too long to renege on democracy and start telling the whole world that Abiola was not the messiah that the Nigerian people were looking for, after the man had won a landslide, genuine election. So to an extent, Obasanjo was not part of the struggle. He belongs to the Oga syndrome.

They come from all over: the Yoruba, the Ijaw, the Fulani, the Hausa, they are chronic

When we met retired Lt. Gen. Alani Akinrinade at his Opebi, Ikeja residence in Lagos, he had a heavy heart. There were a lot of things on his mind about the state of the nation. Last Sunday was another day of bloodbath in some places in the Northern part of the country namely Kaduna, Zaria and Yobe. This came after the wholesome bloodbath that took place three Sundays earlier when members of the Boko Haram sect attacked two churches in Bauchi, killing people. As if that was not enough bloodshed that same day, a Dana airplane, which took off from Abuja heading for Lagos, crashed two minutes from the Lagos airport, bursting into flames and killing all the 153 people on board. Not forgetting the loss of over 20 souls a day earlier on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in a petrol tanker inferno involving over 40 vehicles. Gen. Akinrinade, The Jagunmolu of Ife, was ready to break his silence. He had been in and out of the country to the African West Coast of late, in pursuit of the business of keeping body and soul together.

But this particular morning, his farming business was on hold in his mind. He had a lot to say about his country, and a lot to share with his country men. In this interview with PAUL UKPABIO, the retired soldier, businessman, farmer and former NADECO chieftain, opens up on topical issues currently affecting the country. Excerpts: port of the core people who fought for conservatives and they have their own vision of how Nigeria should be governed. If you look at the core of those who fought for democracy, this is not what they were looking for. We were not looking for a set of executives who will turn out to be ‘legis-looters’. We were looking for what will help the people. Obasanjo was not part of that.

That was why he did not get the sup-

democracy. And I’m talking about people from the North, East, South and West, those who really knew and understood what they were fighting for, they didn’t support Obasanjo at all.

He was on his own when it came to how he looked and saw democracy.

And that I believe was our collective stupidity to install such a man who we knew that his record couldn’t have

17

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012 been the man who would install democracy because he was an autocrat.

In 1999, the choice was between Chief Olu Falae and Obasanjo.

Chief Falae was already in government and served under Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, while Obasanjo had just been realeased from prison. Why did the Yoruba people support Obasanjo rather than Chief Olu Falae? And looking back now, do you think that Chief Olu Falae would have done a better job than Obasanjo?

No, the Yoruba did not support Obasanjo, did they even vote for him? His second coming was by subterfuge which allowed him to get votes in Yorubaland. I will like to put that record straight. There are facts and figures to prove that.

When Chief Falae was contesting, it was true that he had served as a civil servant, he had been a banker and had served under IBB regime.

But not as a politician, but as a technocrat. If you remember, he was the secretary to the government, and he did creditably well.

Those of us who served with him knew his worth. I believe that Falae could not have been so autocratic and he could have known and done better, because of his experience and education; knowing that he would have to aggregate all the various segments of our society the academia, the religious people, the professionals and even the farmers and the rest groupings together. Falae would have known that to move the country forward, he should do that, and not to lord things on people like Obasanjo did.

And that is what has brought us to where we are today.

It was the belief then that Chief Olu Falae’s government would probably not have lasted. You will recall that when Obasanjo came in, he immediately retired top military officers and that, to him, was a strategic security move to stabilise his government. Do you think Chief Olu Falae would have lasted as president?

Looking back and trying to read history, I think Chief Olu Falae knew what to do to maintain a balanced government. I don’t think that retiring over 90 something officers is what we fought for. Remember something fundamental that should have happened between 1999 and 2003 would have been for Obasanjo to rally all interest groups together other than the vindictiveness that characterised that period, like the retirement of those officers. People should have been retired on their records not just because he was in government. If they didn’t do well, they could go but not on the whims and caprice of a dictator who didn’t like them.

Are we going to wish the northerners away? I don’t think so.

If we want to build a country, we have to get all the nationalities together, in the frame of mind which they will be prepared to cooperate and speak their minds and develop themselves. That is the only way of moving forward. That incident was a record of misbehaviour on the part of Obasanjo, especially if those people that were retired did not have records of wrongdoing in the military. Even if 2000 officers had to be retired, I will feel more comfortable if it is done through a law court process; for instance, just as the Mustapha case ended in court.

Would you support a national conference at this point of our national life?

I have always believed that unless we sit together and first of all recognise that there are nationalities in Nigeria, and not nations, and that we have an amorphous country put together by Lugard and people who were fighting for territory; it is only in Africa that all these happened. Many of the Afri-

•Gen. Alani Akinrinade

can countries never sat back to look at their condition and decide to re-engineer it into something that can work for them and all of us, and move away from that colonial concoction. I am not proud to call myself a Nigerian because, when you are abroad, the first thing that comes into people’s mind, especially once you say you are a military man, is that, ‘Ha, these are the killers, people who kill people just as they like’. If you say you are a businessman, they say ‘Ha, these are the 419 people, the rogues.’

That is what is in the papers everyday too.

But were you once proud to be a Nigerian?

Of course, I grew up as a Nigerian. I fought for this country. I’ve done what I had to do for Nigeria but look at the present, I don’t think that it is treasonable in anyway to say you are not comfortable with your country, the stigma is too black. You go into a forum abroad and people look at you as a

fraudster or someone who has stolen his county’s money. If you buy shirt in a shop, the moment they know that you are a Nigerian, they assume it can only be stolen money that you used to buy it. That is what the whole world knows about us. I don’t want to be stigmatised like that because I belong to a conglomerate which does not work, a conglomerate that is going backward everyday, a conglomerate that is at the precipice of perdition. All of us, collectively, I am not thinking of only the leadership now, all of us are culpable. We are sitting around, looking on and doing almost nothing to retrieve ourselves from this mess which we have found ourselves.

Recently there was an echo of NADECO. Do you see NADECO coming back?

No, I don’t think that is what we need. What we really need now is the goodwill among all of us and the courage, the leadership, the commitment to enlist people of

knowledge, to sit down and really think through this syndrome that we are in. I don’t think that there is anything that puts a threat to Nigeria other than the petro dollar.

That is the reason that we have refused to sit down and speak the truth to ourselves, especially the elite, the so-called ogas who run this country, they run it from top to bottom, they run it politically, they run it economically, and they are not prepared to think out how we are going to get out off this mess.

We are in a big mess. I don’t think MEND is dead, we might just find the resurgence of MEND and there is the Boko Haram and we are not looking at an institutional change that will help us to conquer such things. We are instead depleting soldiers that are shooting at people. Many years ago, one of my friends cooked up the idea of nomadic school and they were trying to cook up a cattle route from North to South and South to North. For how many of them? I don’t really know now. A lot of money was spent and nothing happened. And then, this Jonathan is now talking about Almajiri school. I ask my friend in the North, will you send your child to Almajiri school? What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Why is it that you want to send your own children to UI, UNILAG, Cambridge, Oxford, Havard and Yale, while other children go to Almajiri school?

I don’t think learning the quran is detrimental to getting other education. Even not being a muslim, I tried to go to Makaranta as a young boy because I was fascinated by the reading from left to write and the recitation. Even though my parents wouldn’t have been happy seeing me there. The reason I left there was because of the punishment which we received for things we didn’t do. If one person failed the recitation, we were all beaten.

So as sacred as the holy books are, they are meant to be studied.These children can study all these religions along side their mathematics, geography and others. So when you are trying to solve a problem, don’t create another bigger one.

What do you think should be done to rescue those children from the streets of the North?

I think we know why we are down in this poverty-stricken situation and why we are soaked in it.

And we know that we are this deeply soaked because of corruption. There has been enough money running round this country, North, South, East and West over the years which we should have used to create schools for everybody. I hear that even now in some local governments in the north, those who govern them appear in the local governments headquarters only once or twice a month to collect their allocation and share it among the elite (their traditional rulers, councillors, and others), and then there is nothing left. And people are not insisting that the money should be used for infrastructure.

You find out that over there, the number are fewer for those who go to school. The number of schools too are fewer as compared to those in other parts of the country. These are facts that we all must face up to. We shouldn’t shy away from talking to ourselves very sharply.

‘

We are living on the brink of a big explosion right now.

What that explosion will bring, I do not know. But we might be patient enough to see the 2015 election express the feeling of the people vis-a-vis our politicians, leaders and the elite to see if it will be possible to start from that 2015 to lead the country forward. So, if the elite, the Oga syndrome people are smart, they should just let the people express their feelings...

,

The only competition left in the world today is knowledge. That is, education and continuing to handle such important thing in such a nonchalant manner is appalling. Companies are paying into education funds. Some people sit in Abuja and the money disappears. I have not seen the major impact on support for education, except the Central Bank and a few institutions that have tried in recent times.

So unless the elite do a re-think and are committed to really do something about the educational situation in the North; if we do not do something fast and drastic to change our mindset and investment in education, especially in the North, the Boko Haram will persist. So also will the Almajiri syndrome. This is because the Boko Haram people have been seeing the daily failure of the system and the corruption that has been going on within the state leadership, so they will continue their struggle.

Those people will continue to join Boko Haram and they will join anything to fight their elite leaders.

Almost every weekend now, Boko Haram sheds blood in the North. As a retired Army General and strategist, how do you think they should be handled? Should there be dialogue with them as presently being canvassed?

We are already shooting them down and we are not getting any positive result from that. Unfortunately, rebels always have a cause.

And when there is a cause, it is very difficult to eradicate because it is already in the mind. So when the father drops the baton, the son picks it up. That is the essence of urban guerrilla warfare. That is why they never go away. Unless of course, somebody honestly studies the root of this problem. So the first step is education which all of us have failed to give to these people.

Secondly, is this putting the haves on one side and the haves-not on the other side: separating people along the lines of being rich and being poor. The third one is physical corruption. When the people know that the public fund coming to their area is enough to take care of everybody but it is only taken by a few people who sit in their houses and put up food and wine lavishly for people to see, then there will continue to be problems.

I am not talking about the North alone. This is also happening in the southern part of the country. This ostentatious lifestyle that we are involved in is dangerous. So until such a time that we are smart enough to sit down, not just to set up presidential committee; we need to find a way to have a national conference. These people are afraid of national conference because they think that immediately they call for it, Nigeria will automatically break into pieces. Well, I think that without the national conference, the country is going to disintegrate anyway. So it is better for us to make sure it stays together by talking frankly with ourselves.

From my own experience, I know that nobody has ever defeated urban guerrillas. You know how long the Russians stayed in Afghanistan, 10 years. US has stayed there now and the matter is yet to be resolved.

You know how long they have stayed in Iraq. It has been like that from the dawn of history. In the end, they metamorphose into freedom fighters. From terrorists to guerrilla and from there to freedom fighters.

In the isolated case of Boko Haram, where they seem to be just in the North for now, we have to ask ourselves what really created Boko Haram - poverty, accumulated from the lack of honest leadership, needed to improve the •Continued on Page 22

SOCIETY

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THE NATION SATURDAY, JUNE 23 , 2012

When ANO founding president Isijola clocked 80

T

HE gathering of guests at De Hall Event Place, Ikeja, Lagos on Saturday, June 2 during the 80th birthday of the founding president of the Association of Nigerian Optometricians(ANO) and the ex-president of the West African Students’ Union, United Kingdom, Dr. Alfred Isijola, was indeed a testimony that he is a man of many parts.

The well-decorated hall was a sight to behold, as it became an object of discussion among some of the guests. The hall was decorated in gold, white and orange colours which were the official colours of the host.

To show that they really love him, the heavy downpour that day could not stop the guests who were from different walks of life.

Isijola’s love for tradition was brought to the fore when it was time to say the opening prayer.

Apart from the prayers in Christian and Islamic ways, the prayer was also said in traditional way.

The chairman of the ceremony, Otunba Chris-

Gbenga ADERANTI

topher Adeoye Tugbobo, who led the traditional prayer insisted that there was nothing wrong in the traditional worship. He called on people to embrace African tradition, insisting that God created leaves and herbs for our good.

The host still displayed his love for tradition as he danced to the traditional beat of Owo people from Ondo State. A group of musicians from Owo was at hand to thrill the audience. Many people from that part of the country could not but join the host in the dance. The “birthday boy” danced to the admiration of everybody in attendance.

Isijola’s wife, Veronica, was probably the happiest woman.

The woman, who was in beautiful brown attire, was full of admiration for her husband as she smiled broadly , moving from one table to another greeting guests.

Three people attracted much attention at the party, veteran actors, Adejumo Lewis and Taiwo Obileye, and Chief Jimi Agabaje.

The event was like a homecoming as many people, who had not met for many years, had the opportunity to meet and talk.

•The host and wife

The Adele of Ilaro, High Chief (Dr.) Jas Abiodun Oyekan and his wife

•The host’s granddaughter, Gabriella (m), and her children, Victoria and Richard Isijola

Former Lagos State Commissioner for Urban and Regional Planning, Francisco Abosede, and Chief (Mrs) Williams

Mr. Lewis

Olu of Arepo, Ogun State, Oba Solomon Atanda Oyebi

Former MD, NNPC, Sir (Chief) Festus R. A. Marinho, and Mr. Agbaje

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

Saturday

THRILLER

Victims or criminaof felmsale?

On the trail drug mules in Nigeria

Olatunji OLOLADE, Assistant Editor N the dark kitchen, the electric kettle whistled. It whispered like the interior dialogue of guilt and restitution raging inside Georgina , a single mother of two. Huddled inside her fur blouse like an invalid inside a charity ward blanket, Georgina loomed imposingly like a dreaded and bitter reality.

Fat has thinned on her bones now hence her fur blouse has become too big for her but she puts it on anyway. The fur blouse illustrates the irony of a seemingly contrived metaphor. Among other things, it is one of the very few relics and reminders of Georgina’s hopeful departure for the United States of America (USA), the land of her dreams. It reminds her of her closest shave with fortune just before her dreams of bliss evolved into an everlasting nightmare.

Despite the fur blouse’s seeming coziness to the skin, it is not as comforting as it seems. But Georgina cuddles in it anyway even as it reminds her painfully every time, the night she tried to breeze her way through JFK Airport, USA, to the good life.

Just before she was apprehended, Georgina was living in a house with some members of her extended family in Orile-Iganmu, Lagos. She had been living in the family home of her husband before her marriage hit the rocks. No sooner than her marriage crashed, her husband who is resident in the U.S allegedly ordered his siblings to throw her out of the house.

I

•Continued on page 20

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

20 •Continued from page 19 “I refused to leave my kids behind and after doing battle with them for four months, they allowed me to go with my children on condition that I would not come to request anything from them for their upkeep,” said Georgina.

Georgina was a full time house wife which made survival a hellish experience for her and her two kids. “It was in desperate bid to survive and take care of my kids that I ran into problem with the law,” disclosed Georgina. According to her, she was behind on her rent and she found it unable to feed her kids and pay their school fees. She said; “My landlord was threatening to throw me out of the house and my children had been unable to attend classes for a school term.”

Hence by the time she met her last boyfriend whom she simply described as Fidelis; Georgina was desperate enough to try her hands at any venture, legitimate or not, to survive. “He (Fidelis) was like an angel sent to me from God. He gave me money for food and clothing. He paid my children’s school fees and even bought them toys.”

Fidelis travelled a lot and maintained a highly luxurious lifestyle. He seemed to lack nothing hence when he introduced Georgina to drugs, she was past any inhibitions. They would smoke cannabis, cocaine and methaqualone, every day if possible and one day, while they were getting high, Fidelis told her that he could introduce her to the shortest cut to making cool millions.

Of course, Georgina was game with him.

And subsequently, Fidelis introduced her to a friend who in turn, introduced her to another highly connected friend.

Initially they would meet once a week to discuss arrangements; after a while she was introduced to more senior members of the organization and after four months they agreed to make the necessary arrangements including an international passport.

Georgina was booked for a trip to France.

In France, she met with other agents of the syndicate who loaded her up with heroin bound for the U.S market. She was told that once the drugs were delivered to their partner there and she had returned to her home country she would receive payment to the equivalent of £3,400.

In France, Georgina heard of a few other girls that were involved in similar arrangements. A suitcase containing the drugs was brought to her at the hotel and she was taken to the airport for her flight to the US. Georgina was persuaded to ingest the drugs but she refused and upon her arrival in the US, she was caught with five kilograms of cocaine in her suitcase and received a custodial sentence of six and a half years following an early guilty plea. Eventually, Georgina served her sentence to full term but since she returned to the country, she is yet to set eyes on Fidelis and her kids.

She lamented that she hadn’t thought much about the risks that might be involved in serving as a drug mule. She said she was promised that everything would be okay and that it was only the careless amateurs who got caught. However, she regrets her involvement with Fidelis claiming it has done her more harm than good. According to her, he has disappeared with her kids, her husband’s family is threatening to deal with her if she does not produce them and her people are too ashamed to identify with her.

“My life is in ruins. I wasted away almost seven years in prison. People say you get reformed in a U.S prison. It’s all lies. I am even more devastated than I was before I got sent to prison. Everything seems to be crumbling around me,” said the 41-year old who currently squats with a friend from her old neighbourhood.

More Nigerian women are becoming attractive targets of drug syndicates using them as drug mules. Just recently, a Nigerian woman, Afolake, was arrested with a stash of heroin at JFK Airport in New York.

Awoyemi, who previously claimed she was three months pregnant, was discovered to be carrying a stash of heroin. She had reportedly just disembarked from an Air France flight from Paris and was asked if she was pregnant, to which she said yes, Homeland Security special agent John Moloney stated in a complaint filed in Brooklyn Federal Court.

A bulge was noticed in Afolake’s groin area which led officers to conduct a partial strip-search. During the search, pellets of brown powder, which were later proven to be heroin, began to drop from her groin

•Novel methods deviced by Nigerian drug couriers: A young woman was apprehended with banned narcotics concealed in her bra

On the trail of female area. X-ray results subsequently revealed that she had more heroin pellets stashed in her intestinal tract.

Afolake allegedly passed out 25 pellets of heroin by the end of the day, using a special high-tech commode that sanitizes the incriminating evidence, which customs officials refer to as the ‘Drug Loo’. A pregnancy test was also administered, the result of which proved she was not expecting. The drugs were allegedly worth $20,000.

A world record breaker However, more worrisome was the case of Bola, who allegedly broke the highest world drug trafficking record. Bola set an unenviable world record for amount of ingested heroin ever recovered when she tried to smuggle five pounds of heroin in 180 pellets into the U.S. her dream to acquire a Mercedes Benz, own a house in Lekki/Ajah and become a social bigwig within and outside the country was dashed as she was apprehended by airport authorities at Dulles International Airport.

Airport officers became suspicious when she was questioned after arriving on Ethiopian Airlines flight 500 from Addis Ababa.

Bola claimed she was visiting her brother in the U.S., but she was unable give details of her “brother” and his address. A routine patdown showed that her belly was suspiciously rigid, and an X-ray revealed to astonished officials that she had in her stomach 180 thumb-sized pellets with a total weight of five pounds.

Steve Sapp of the Customs and Border Protection, said: “We were kind of shocked and surprised at the sheer number of pellets she ingested.We usually see men twice her size ingest about half of what she did.”

Bola allegedly broke a previous record for ingested drugs set on March 30, 2011, by another Nigerian man, 46-year-old Yomade Aborishade of Lagos, Nigeria, who was arrested for ingesting four pounds of heroin in 100 pellets.

The lady was taken to the hospital where overnight, she passed out all the pellets containing heroin worth an estimated £150,000.

Christopher Hess, director of Customs and Border Patrol for Washington D.C. said: “The amount of pellets and heroin this woman ingested is incredible, a serious health risk, and very troubling if these numbers become the new normal.”

Authorities say drug mules often attempt to smuggle heroin and cocaine, and sometimes ecstasy by swallowing latex balloons, often condoms or fingers of latex gloves or other special pellets filled with the drugs and later recovered from faeces. It is a medically dangerous way of smuggling small amounts of drugs and a mule can die if a packet bursts or leaks before exiting the body. Statistics from 2003 show over 50 per cent of foreign females in UK jails were drug mules from Jamaica, with Nigerian women making a large contribution to the balance.

In related local incidents, hair stylist, Faith, 24, was allegedly caught with one kilogramme of methamphetamine hidden in her brazier and panties by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) likewise a London-based fashion designer, Bisola, 25, who was arrested with three kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in packs of chocolates.

The arrests were made at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos. The Airport Commander, Hamza Umar, said Faith was detected with the assistance of Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). According to him, Onuoha wanted to take a local flight to Abuja where she will connect another flight to Malaysia but was caught in the local wing of the airport. She packed 750 grammes of methamphetamine in her brazier and inner wear while 250 grammes were also ingested by her. Bisola was arrested during screening of passengers on a British Airways flight to London. “Thirty sachets of cocaine weighing three kg was found inside two chocolate containers in her bag,” Umar said.

NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Ahmadu Giade said the agency would prevent drug trafficking. Giade said: “The officials that made the seizures and arrests must sustain their efforts in prompt interception of drugs. Drug traffickers male or female must be stopped from tarnishing the image of our country. I urge members of the public to collaborate with the Agency in tracing drug barons. We must stop them from the criminal trade and promote peaceful coexistence in our country.”

The structure of the Nigerian drug trade A senior US anti-drugs official, Robert S. Gelbard, described Nigerian drug networks as “some of the most sophisticated and finelytuned transshipment, money-moving and

document-forging organisations in the world.”

He explained that ‘they are sought out by both Asian and Latin American drug producers’ on account of their commercial skills. The Nigerian drug trade is characterised by a distinctive business structure that has developed over decades, and which gives depth to the emerging cooperation with traders from other countries and continents.

Crucial to the success of Nigerian drug traders is their highly flexible mode of operation, as those involved constantly establish and re-establish their business relationships from among a wide pool of acquaintances.

This modus operandi closely resembles a socalled ‘adhocracy,’ able ‘to fuse experts drawn from different disciplines into smoothly functioning ad hoc project teams in a way that, according to some management gurus, is particularly suited to the modern business environment.

It stands in contrast to the more corporatestyle relations of classic American ‘mafias’ that have exerted such a powerful influence on popular ideas about how organized crime works via films like The Godfather or the TV series, The Sopranos.

In the words of a senior Nigerian drug lawenforcement officer, a Nigerian drug baron requires at least three assets. First, he, or she, needs to be able to buy drugs cheaply at source. This is amply facilitated by Nigerians’ highly nomadic business culture.

Historically, Nigerians have been known to travel to producer countries in South America and south-east Asia to buy drugs. In 2003 for instance, some 330 Nigerians were said to be serving prison sentences in Thailand for drug-related offences. Hundreds of Nigerians were living in Bangkok, notably in the city’s Pratunum district that is home to an African community about 500 to 800 strong.

Many of these are occupied in the textile or jeweler trades, but a significant number are alleged to have interests in crime.

There were also substantial Nigerian communities in the south Asian subcontinent, with over 2,000 Nigerians in Mumbai alone.

There is even a small Nigerian community in Afghanistan. A drug baron who lives in one of these locations or has stayed there long enough to build excellent local contacts is well placed to buy heroin.

Sometimes, a baron who has the wherewithal to buy a large quantity of cocaine or

21

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

•NDLEA operatives recently arrested a suspect with drugs hidden in tomato paste

•Hard drugs hidden in leather slippers

•NLiquid cocaine concealed in condoms

•Security operatives examine banned narcotics seized from a mule and a member, Abdulrahman Terab. She explained that a Non-Governmental Organisaton, (NGO), Youths Without Borders, run by Taiwo and Kehinde Afolabi residing in Brazil, had earlier raised concern over the rising cases of Nigerian women serving jail terms for drug-related cases in Brazil.

The lawmaker explained that the grandma, named Fausat, said she was aswas just 18 at the time of his arrest. He had sisted to Brazil by one Patricia for medical gone to Asia in the hope of pursuing a career treatment. Fausat was quoted to have as a professional footballer, but had been reclaimed that she was asked to deliver a cruited as a courier by a fellow Nigerian for a bag to someone in Nigeria when the treatfee of $2,000. ment was no longer feasible but was arOf 316 people arrested at Lagos international rested in September last year at the airport airport in possession of cocaine or heroin bein Brazil when drugs were discovered in tween January 2006 and September 2007, acthe bag. cording to a Nigerian police report, no less According to Dabiri-Erewa, the committhan 69 percent were so-called ‘swallowers’; tee was able to get an NGO, named IITA in that is, people who had ingested condoms Brazil, to place her on house arrest instead filled with hard drugs. Only 31 percent had of prison. She added that the Director, Depacked them in baggage. Of the fifty-five partment of Immigrations, Ministry of Juspeople arrested at the same airport for similar tice, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Dr. Izaura Miranda, reasons in the third quarter of 2007, most were who said the laws of the country had to be in their thirties. According to police analysts, obeyed, noted that the lawyers would act this is a vulnerable age because it corresponds speedily on her case since she was yet to to people losing the support of their parents be tried. and having to make major life choices.

The preferred destination for couriers used A stitch in time to be Spain, on account of its relatively lax Bisola Ogunnaike, a retired immigration residence rules. An applicant can get a tempoofficer and founder of Women Alive, a rary residence permit after just six months, woman rights activist group stated that it which makes him or her far less likely to be is about time that the federal government, searched on entry as it is assumed that adequate NDLEA, NGOs and all other relevant stakechecks have been made. Thus, between Januholders concerted efforts to stem the tide ary 2006 and September 2007, out of 273 people of drug-related offences, particularly by arrested in Nigeria on suspicion of exporting Nigerian women. drugs, 29 percent were heading for Spain.

“It is indeed, very shameful that those According to 2008 estimates, Ms Olga Hathat are entrusted with the raising of promven, Director of FPWP Hibiscus London, put ising leaders of tomorrow have all turned the total number of Nigerian women in all drug couriers. It’s a shame really that our British prisons at 235, 70 per cent of whom women have turned drug mules. The onus were sentenced for drug importation and trafrests on our ministries of youth empowerficking. Haven said almost 90 per cent of drug ment and women affairs to evolve a pracmules globally are mothers or careers to sevtical way to tackle the problem,” said eral children, a situation she described as disOgunnaike. turbing and worrisome given the negative Corroborating her, Yemisi Afolabieffects on both domestic and global econoAwodiya, a U.K. based social health mies. She identified ignorance of conseworker, argued that the solution actually quences of drug trafficking, desperation, begins at the home front. “The family plays harsh economic conditions and poverty as a very crucial role in nurturing the girldriving factors that pushed most of the inchild as well as the boy-child. Parents and mates into the odd business. guardians need to cooperate with teachers Recent findings however, revealed that a of their wards. They need to fashion out an 72-year-old grandmother, 13 women and 443 effective means at reaching out to the chilother Nigerians are currently languishing in dren as they mature. So doing, they can jail in Brazil for drug-related offence. This keep abreast with developments in the lives was disclosed by the Chairman, House of of these kids…the government also has a Representatives Committee on Diaspora Afrole to play. In fact, its role becomes more fairs, Abike Dabiri-Erewa. prominent at the backdrop of bad press Dabiri-Erewa, at a media briefing in Lagos, and unfavourable image accorded the said the findings were made during a factcountry due to various shameful acts by finding mission to the South American counour sisters within and outside the country last week by the committee which intry,” said Afolabi-Awodiya. cluded its Deputy-Chairman, Betty Appiafi

e drug mules in Nigeria heroin at source may sell this to a syndicate of smaller operators pooling their resources for such a major purchase. In December 1997, John Ikechukwe, a Nigerian who reportedly emigrated to South Africa and became rich working the South American route, was murdered after cheating some fellow-traders in such a scheme. According to the South African police, 28 Nigerians were killed in Johannesburg alone in the first quarter of 1998.

A second requirement for a drug baron is a good contact in the receiving country, generally North America in the case of heroin, or Europe in the case of cocaine. North America and Europe have substantial Nigerian communities, some of the millions of Nigerians who live outside their own country. Even if most of these people live blameless lives, earning their keep in respectable occupations, the existence of this Diaspora nevertheless constitutes a medium in which traffickers can move.

Many Nigerian drug barons keep a very low profile in order not to attract attention.

The third necessity for a drug baron is a substantial supply of capital to finance operations.

This poses little problem to anyone who has already made a couple of successful transactions. An example is Ekenna O, first arrested in 1995 and sentenced to one-year imprisonment, and rearrested in October 2005. At that point, his assets were over N500 million or $4.16 million. He owned several properties in Nigeria.

For purposes of transportation, a drug baron works with a second layer of operators, known as ‘strikers’. This word is used in Nigeria in regard not only to the drug trade, but also to a range of other criminal enterprises in which a high degree of logistical expertise is necessary. A striker is someone who can strike deals, quite likely a former courier who has entered the business at the lowest level and worked his way up, acquiring an excellent network of contacts.

Many strikers are middle-aged, from their late 30s upwards. A striker knows exactly the best person to approach for forged documents or who is an expert packer of drugs.

He receives a fee for performing this type of service on behalf of a baron, and will typically work with several such barons while remaining essentially self-employed.

One of the striker’s most important task is

the recruitment of couriers, and one of the features of the Nigerian system that makes effective police detection so difficult is that the use of independent specialists provides a vital cut-out between the top level of operation and the humble courier.

A courier is normally ignorant of the name, or even the very existence, of the baron who is the real initiator of a drug transaction. If a courier is arrested, he or she therefore cannot be prevailed upon to give vital information to police officers. For this reason, strikers often try to recruit a stranger as a courier, although friends and family may also be approached.

A Nigerian striker based in South Africa, for example, may recruit South African nationals, or even better, South Africans with British passports. Gambia is a useful transit point because of the existence of a substantial tourist trade, which makes it easy for a courier to travel with a planeload of tourists, or to recruit a holiday maker and persuade or trick them into acting as a courier.

The favourite recruits for strikers based in Nigeria itself are fellow-countrymen who have residence permits for European or North American countries, or Nigerians who possess foreign passports, the more prestigious the better.

Having recruited a courier, a striker will stay with the person until the point of departure, a period often between a couple of days and a week, to make sure they do not lose their nerve.

In some cases, couriers are escorted to religious oracles during this period to swear an oath.

Male or female relatives, who have been recruited and made to swear a solemn oath of loyalty, do not easily betray their associates.

They can also speak on the phone in ‘deep’ dialects of African languages, difficult for foreign police services to interpret if the conversations are intercepted.

The lowest level of transportation is the couriers or mules, mostly people in desperate need of money. Couriers recruited by Nigerian barons, via a striker, usually carry a small parcel of drugs on their person, in return for cash payment. There are also freelancers, individuals who try their luck at buying and smuggling drugs on their own.

The 21-year old Iwuchukwu, who was hanged in Singapore on Friday 26 January 2006 after being caught in possession of 727 grams of diamorphine, was one such unfortunate. He

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

‘How to tackle Boko Haram’ •Continued from Page 17 people who knew that education is the only way of getting people out of poverty. We have to get to the root cause. Whatever is being done now is in the interim. We must find a real solution to it. But I do not think that it is Almajiri school. I think we should sit down and have a conference. I suspect that at the conference, we will be able to find out what is happening in the nooks and corners of Nigeria.

It is quite possible that we can insist that in the North where this is, we tell ourselves we want to see them educate their people by devoting funds in a very honest way to ensure that it is done.

In the long run, it will help us. If a man straps a death belt on his child and sends him to die in the midst of other people, I don’t think the only reason he will do it will be because he is mad or because of fanaticism. It is more than that. It is very unlikely that anyone who has a piece of a real estate will want to burn it down. People do not feel a belonging, so in any case it could be put on fire. If people feel a part of something, they are likely to safeguard it. You cannot police every house or every church. Even if you can, the security man could fall asleep at some point. So it is a human problem, we have to give a human-faced solution to it.

On the corruption probes Just recently we heard about the power probe. The thing revolves around the top. You know when you go to the fish market, the market women when they want to know whether the fish will go bad quickly, they simply look at the gills in the head. If it is greenish in colour, then they know that they shouldn’t buy it. And Gen. Danjuma said it that fish starts to rot from the head. So if your head is rotten, then you’ve got a problem. Take for instance, when this business mogul Femi Otedola showed up at the police station a f ew days ago, the next day he was seen in a photograph with the president. So that means that as soon as he left the police station, he must have gone straight to the villa. And he had a photograph with the president.

Now, in which country is that done? In other places, by now, heads would have been rolling.

How about the enquiry into the oil subsidy? People should have been hanging themselves now if it was a developed country. But instead of that, what we have here is that, everybody is walking around freely and all we hear now is that, one Lawan Farouk collected $620,000 and he cannot even find the money. Excuse me, if you set up a sting, and the money is collected, you spring up the surprise right there as the money is being collected. That allows you take to your prey immediately. And that should have signalled the end of the operation. But they didn’t do that. They are now telling us that it happened 60 days ago, that they are now looking for the evidence. I must say that they should not insult our intelligence. It looks to me a case where they must have said to themselves that, we trapped this guy, but let’s not catch him yet, if he plays ball, we keep quiet. But if he doesn’t, then we rubbish him.

I’m very disappointed in Farouk because I know he is a young man, brilliant and one of the hope we could have had there. So for being involved at all is unfortunate. So where is all this coming from? Always from the top. And this fish suggests to me that it is not just rotten from the top, the body and tail are rotten as well. I hear that during the last election, they were

sharing dollars at Eagles Square.

Where did all these dollars come from? Who is printing it or bringing it into this country?Again, the pension fund looted by a combination of some outsiders and civil servants; and it was in billions and some were found in the accounts of some people. So where is the money? Some days later, we are not hearing anything again about it. A fraud is announced and the next thing is confusion about those who got out of it and the ratio of what they got. My hunch is that all these are traceable to the top.

This last election, there was so much money flowing around and people talked of billions of naira apart from the dollar that changed hands. Where did all that money come from? I have worked in government before, I cannot remember how it was possible to sign out government money to your pocket as at that time. And that is not too long ago. I served till 1990. Maybe the contractors could take two per cent then, but to just go into pension fund like that and steal it, I don’t think so. But that is the situation we have found ourselves in now.

As a people, we have to ignore these elite, get our acts together and become a formidable movement that can call people to order or to accountability. It is very important that we have to do that.

People are trying, all those women, Dr. Odumakin and others who have been on the street to protest, but those are too disjointed. We have to put our acts together a little more. That subsidy affects all of us, so we should set our eyes on the ball, on the probe. They are taking a lot of money from us which we were not aware of, out of their inefficiency, corruption and lack of good leadership. They are overpricing the product and selling it by force to the people, and that angle worries me. So we as a people must be interested in finding out the end of the probe because I don’t think there was subsidy in the first place. I think David West was correct from the beginning. Quite a number of people who know about the oil pricing say there is no subsidy. So why are we paying to the pump? And government still gets taxes from the pump . So, lets allow the Lawan saga go to the court; let us face that probe report.

What do you think of Lamido Sanusi and the way he operates at CBN? There are only a few people with such confidence to stand up to people at any given time and also have a sense of purpose like the CBN governor. I think he is acting to the best of his knowledge. If he makes mistakes at all over the policies he has brought about in recent times, I don’t think that they will be deliberate. It would be mistakes made in that system because of lack of experience. He has lots of advisers there, including foreigners, so I don’t begrudge him. We cannot afford to distract him; the world is moving at a fast speed. We still don’t know much about the credit system as used in the developed world. What shocks me more was the bankers and stockbrokers during the stock market burst. Those people should be in jail now. They took people’s money by hook and crook, enriched themselves and shortchanged the people. I am still very unhappy with what happened then. But then I’m not surprise that wholesome fraudsters and looters are still walking about free because these are the same people who will line up in the afternoon to contribute one billion naira to the election campaign of Mr. President, and when a president is building a library in his university, people show up with N250m,

•Gen. Alani Akinrinade

‘

We have to ask ourselves what really created Boko Haram - poverty, accumulated from the lack of honest leadership... I think we should sit down and have a conference. I suspect that at the conference... It is quite possible that we can insist that in the North where this is, we tell ourselves we want to see them educate their people by devoting funds in a very honest way to ensure that it is done...

,

N500m and N100m, and we are all sitting down and looking. Who told that president that he has the right when in public office to publicly raise funds for his own private business?

We know how to remove corruption from this system, but we don’t have the guts to do it. The looted money is flaunted at us and we have not developed the mechanism that we can use to tell people to their faces that they are thieves.

How about the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)?

There is no such thing like that.

What we should have is the police and we consolidate them. There they have anti-fraud, C.I.D and everything needed to carry out their duties and objectives. Why is the police arresting people and EFCC too is arresting people? Look at the Lawan-Otedola case now, the police

and EFCC are confused. The police arrested but the oil subsidy matter is with EFCC, what for? It is a matter for the police. We say the resources are not enough which isn’t really true, but at the same time, you are forming all sorts of organisations with boards and people are stealing from left, right and centre.

Al Mustapha who was one of the terrors of NADECO in those days recently got a death sentence. How do you feel about that judgement?

Maybe two wrongs don’t make a right. I am not a staunch supporter of the death sentence. I think people should be made to live through the trauma they have caused other people. Not that the person is not punished but should be made to live it through. You couldn’t have killed people or arranged to kill people even in broad daylight for no just cause and then want to go scot-free.

But the question is, was it only Al Mustapha? He would have been better given a life jail with hard labour because I am not a great supporter of the death penalty. If you shoot Al Mustapha tomorrow or hang him, it doesn’t really pay for Abiola or Kudirat and all the people that they murdered.

As an ex NADECO chieftain, how do you see the recent President Jonathan’s honour given to the Late MKO Abiola by naming the University of Lagos after him?

I must say personally that I am grateful to Jonathan for one reason.

You know Obasanjo had said that Abiola was not the messiah that we were looking for, he was one of the people as a matter of fact, he did more than anyone else to bury June 12. But if there are laws, then you have to obey the laws. I think that Jonathan was just too enthusiastic.

He perhaps wanted to do it out of the ordinary and put it out as a surprise. If he had taken it to the National Assembly, for instance, there would have been no surprise. And it would’ve been a Jonathan gift. So that is where Jonathan made a mistake. But at least he acknowledged that “this is the man who is the architect of our democracy today.” I think that Abiola deserved more than a university. I thought perhaps like Martin Luther King, he should have probably given him a holiday.

Maybe on the day he died or the day June 12 happened.

Do you see an election holding come 2015?

I think we will wobble through to 2015 and hold an election. What I don’t know is the aftermath of that election. I think our people are generally agitated right now. We are living on the brink of a big explosion right now. What that explosion will bring, I do not know. But we might be patient enough to see the 2015 election express the feeling of the people vis-a-vis our politicians, leaders and the elite to see if it will be possible to start from that 2015 to lead the country forward. So, if the elite, the Oga syndrome people are smart, they should just let the people express their feelings.

Do you see PDP winning in that election? And what about ACN and the merger talks?

What I’m saying is that, we will wobble through. PDP will be there, ACN will be there too, but there may be a conglomerate party. I do not know because I’m not in the centre of political jobbing now but what I will counsel is that if the elite want to survive, 2015 will be the time, to allow the people’s wishes to prevail. Nigerians have been magnanimous.

How have you been spending your life after retirement?

Since I was a cadet, I had made up my mind that whenever I left the Army, I would go to my village and become a farmer. I’m a son of a farmer and we have land over there and I enjoy living on the land. When I was in England, I had the privilege of living in a farm. I have visited many retired military officers who have farms and stayed with them during Christmas or such times. We were usually sent out there. I enjoyed the simple life that such farmers live and though they may not be millionaires, they live well. So I didn’t have to think twice about what I would be doing after retirement.

Though it is not very lucrative. But if the banks can support us as they ought to, we will break even and it will provide us more nutrition in the country and more access to food than we have now. Right now, food is too expensive. And a lot of the food is imported, our inputs are also imported and the kind of tariff that we have to pay is unimaginable. It’s like blackmail and we have to pay it. All these are what a good government must be aware of and wave into.

LOCATION

BACKSTAGE

SNAPSHOT

REEL NEWS

MUSIC

SCREEN

Edited by: VICTOR AKANDE

Tel: 08077408676

E-mail: victor_akande@yahoo.com

ntertainment

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012, 2012

e j e k U C —O

t i a w t ’ I can h t i w k r o to w e v e i v e n Ge

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STANDh BY! Wit

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

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

THINK

SNAPSHOTS

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

Thinking the Solution Media film village!

was overwhelmed by the outer space of machines, deposited at 32 Coker Road, Lagos, that I felt for the first time, that the entertainment landscape in Nigeria may soon wrestle oil to the ground and give national acclaim for the non-oil sector of our economy.

This armoury of life mirroring tools, courtesy of Solution Media and Infotech Limited (SMIL), will no doubt perform a picturesque cloning of the human world in the most advanced motion picture format possible.

And although the company is a complete entertainment empire, the crux of this piece is to appraise Media Solution's offering at lifting Nollywood and bringing it at par with Hollywood in terms of technical edge, and with the uniqueness of the African story, another opportunity to beat the American film industry in gross value. “Our standard is Hollywood”, said the Chief Executive Officer of the company Adeyanju Lipede who prefers to be at the background of the operations.

His brother Adeyeloye Lipede is Executive Director of the company, but you can tell that the former's passion for showbiz is more than a hobby that he claims. “We are often limited by laziness and cutting corners,” he says of the attitude of an average Nigerian man to business, as he showed me around. And to buttress the fact that our problem, most of the time, is not because we are limited by fund, rather by planning, Lipede Senior talked about a good film production that is capable of being achieved in two business models: High Budget→Reasonable Time Plan→Good Production on one hand, and Low Budget→Very Long Time Plan→Good Product on the other hand.

With Phantom Flex (F35model), a high speed camera that would capture a motion and render its playback in seeming slow motion, you can tell that the diminutive details of life is not lost.

Phantom Flex, it must be stated was used in shooting the much talked about Avatar- the first 100% digitally-photographed film to win the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. The camera uses Carl Zeiss, the best range

Solution Media. He noted that only a company that is affiliated with PRG, the world's leading supplier of entertainment and event technology could achieve the status of SMIL. He said to me that his company gets technical backups from their Europe affiliate and that over 55 graduates, working full time for SMIL are Germany-trained, and this is outside the expatriates on board.

Adeyeloye Lipede is optimistic that Solution Media will create a spectacular entertainment experience for their clients through these cutting-edge Nigerian-owned equipments.

Interestingly, the company's investment in tent provides an amply range of event of lenses in the world, and its platforms, one of which is a latest, Distagon T* 2,8/15, a new super wide angle lens that film village. Not only could this tent be magnified into, to say came out in May of this year, the least, a six storey building and provides a wide range of image sharpness from close-up or in other words, a standard stadium wherein a football up to infinity. match could be played Needless to say that this effectively with necessary visionary business men also floodlights, cameras and sound pride themselves with the equipment at their disposal, the PMW 500 Broadcast Camera; two pieces of F3 which has only tent is capable of being sound proved with acoustic that been used once in Nigeria for the shooting of actress Ini Edo's brings out the best result imaginable. Adeyanju Lipede is flick; I Will Take My Chances; and ES3, a full High Definition conscious of the fact that sound and lighting are a major bane of camera which Idowu Nollywood, and he is not Ogunbayo, Head of the leaving any stone untouched. company's Production The company's Best Boy, Department says is the least Anthony Okhakhu said he is camera in the the company's capable of turning night to day. repertoire.

Not that he possess any For Adeyeloye Lipede, the bespectacled Executive Director magical powers, but it is imaginable that with a camera of the company, there is no lens that can capture the length gain saying that Nollywood is of Third Mainland Bridge and a matching Hollywood at floodlight that can 'blind' the Interestingly, the sun, he is optimistic that their production can be hindered company's only if God says so. And this is investment in tent because even the rain could be provides an amply circumvented by the tent.

Solution Media boss gave a range of event picture of a film village capable platforms, one of of being built with the tent. He talked of the flats, gardens, which is a film roads and connecting tunnels. village. Not only He hinted on the size of the tent which could be 110 by 60 could this tent be and I thought I can't magnified into, to say metres wait to see a production that the least, a six storey will avail itself with this costopportunity, same building or in other effective way that I can't wait for August words, a standard to come, when Perfect Plan, the stadium wherein a first feature film produced by and first Nigerian film to football match could SMIL be shot with the F35 camera be played will be unveiled.

Not that he possess any magical powers, but it is imaginable that with a camera lens that can capture the length of Third Mainland Bridge and a floodlight that can 'blind' the sun, he is optimistic that their production can be hindered only if God says so.

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

Where is Bimbo Akintola?

S

HE was the favourite of most Nollywood producers following her terrific appearance in Richard MofeDamijo's Out of Bounds. Bimbo is undeniably one of the best in the industry, but her lack of consistency is worrisome and this hasn't helped her career.

Though being scares once in a while on the screen may not be

out of place for the thespian, her fans no doubt, will be delighted to know what the actress is up to. However, a source close to the actress disclosed that the she's working on a few projects, due for release very soon.

Cross over actress, Bimbo Akintola, is talented and versatile, and has featured in several Nollywood movies.

Funmi Iyanda bags award

F

OR the duo of Funmi Iyanda and Chris Dada, it was a landmark feat as Chopcassava.com, their innovative web series, documenting the recent fuel subsidy protests, was nominated as best web series in the nonfiction category at the BANFF World Media Festival, which took place recently in Alberta, Canada Dubbed the "the Olympics of television" by pundits, the Banff World Media Festival, also known as the Rockies, is an annual international media event dedicated to celebrating the best in world television and digital media production. The event which has honoured the likes of Jim Carrey, this year paid tribute to legendary CNN talk show host, Larry King.

The Festival provides a global platform for industry members to discuss and debate, and explore current issues, challenges and trends.

This year's festival featured

seminars given by industry heavyweights from the top echelons of television production including, Chuck Lorre, creator and executive producer of the award winning Two and a Half Men and Roseanne.

This nomination is another landmark for Nigerian stories and the productions that give our stories the opportunity to be recognized on the world stage.

Speaking on the nomination and the event, Funmi Iyanda and Chris Dada said: “It was a great honour to be invited to Banff and a fantastic experience meeting the luminaries behind some of the biggest shows in television in the world” “As the only African representatives it felt good to fly Nigeria's flag at such a prestigious event.”

In 2011, My Country Nigeria, a documentary also produced by Funmi Iyanda and Chris Dada was nominated for a Monte Carlo Television Festival Award.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

RE ELNEW S

COSON sues Wazobia FM

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•Tony Okoroji

OPYRIGHT Society of Nigeria (COSON), has filed a copyright infringement action against Globe Broadcasting and Communications Ltd, owners of the, Wazobia FM in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt and the stations' CEO, Mr. Amin Moussalli.

In a suit filed at the Federal High Court, Lagos on June 5, 2012, COSON is asking for the award of more than one billion naira in unpaid royalties and damages against Wazobia FM and its owners for the unauthorized copying, broadcast and infringement of the copyright in the

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ITH the topic Film, Family Values and the Society, entries are now open for the 2012/2013 edition of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) Annual Film Essay Competition. A statement from the NFC says that, the topic is being released, on the heels of the just concluded Zuma Film Festival, 2012 which among others, featured the presentation of cash prizes to winners of the 2011/2012 edition of the (NFC) Annual Film Essay Competition.

The topic, according to Brian Etuk Head, Public Affairs, seeks to evaluate the challenges inherent in home video/films, whether or not they enhance core and positive family values, and its effect on

the society among others, the statement added.

As part of the terms and conditions, Etuk said, winners in past editions of the essay competition are not eligible to participate, just as the participation age remains 18 years and above, and a participant must be a Nigerian.

He added that submission of entries opened on June 1, 2012 and closes June 30th 2012 as all essays must not be less than eight pages on A4 paper size, single spaced with full contact details of participant(s) and a one page bio-data. The competition offers of N100, 000, N75, 000 and N50, 000 as first, second and third prizes respectively and these will be presented to winners early next year.

BBA Stargame highlights on Gotv A S the Big Brother StarGame enters its second month on television, fans of the show have another viewership option of its highlights. Multichoice reveals that GOtv audiences can now see highlights from the show every single day. This development follows the successful launch of GOtv services in Lagos on Thursday June 14, after previous launches in Ibadan and Port Harcourt.

General Manager of GOtv Nigeria, Mr. Mayo Okunola says that he is excited about the benefit for his subscribers. “We know Big Brother is a massive TV property in Africa; so getting to screen the big moments from the show to our GOtv audiences was something we really wanted to do. Now that the show has been on air for a month, we can see that it was a good decision. There are so many highlights that our viewers want to see and with two months more to go on the show, it's clear that there's a lot still to happen,” he said.

Nigeria has celebrity housemate Goldie currently playing for USD 300 000 in the competition even as can look out for a special performance from Nigerian star Davido coming up in two weeks.

•Goldie

musical works and sound recordings belonging to COSON members, affiliates and assignors.

Endorsed by Lagos Intellectual Property lawyer, Mr. Justin Ige of Creative Legal, Seun Omotoba and Co, COSON has also asked the court for exemplary damages in the sum of Five Hundred Million Naira and aggravated damages in the sum of Two Hundred and Fifty Million Naira in the writ.

COSON is also requesting for a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their agents, privies or servants from further or other unauthorized copying, broadcast and/or infringement of the copyright in the musical works or sound recordings belonging to its members, affiliates and assignors and a perpetual

injunction restraining the Defendants whether by themselves, agents, privies, servants or however so called from evading or attempting to evade the payment of royalties for musical works and sound recordings broadcast.

President of the body, Chief Tony Okoroji said that it is a new day for the creative industry in Nigeria. “Those who have followed this process will vouch that we have been patient with broadcast stations and commercial users of music in Nigeria. We have not been rash.

We have pleaded with them,” he said.

It will be recalled that in 2011, COSON petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Broadcast Commission (NBC) on the activities of Wazobia FM and its owners.

Entry opens for NFC film essay competition

Kano celebrates first Yoruba movie

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EADING players in the Hausa movie genre, Kannywood, turned out for the first red carpet premiere of Yoruba movie, Omije Lamide on Sunday June 10 at Osumenyi Hall, Kano. Joined by their Nollywood counterparts, top on the list of attendees from Kannywood are Salihu Othman Isah (Hotman) and Hamisu Lamido Iyantama.

Isah, a respected actor and producer of several English and Hausa movies described the flick's Director as a trail-blazer.

“I am not surprised that the young man has gathered us here to celebrate the success of his latest flick whose cast is made up of entirely upcoming stars. He has been a trail-blazer in the movie industry which has been sending messages of hope among Nigerians. He has done this through various language films. He believes that Nigerians must co-exist peacefully. I did not expect anything less. If there is anything above the sky, that is his limit”, he said.

Representing Nollywood were Okey Ogbu and Wilson Onazie (Chairman and DGS of the Kano State chapter of Actors Guild of Nigeria respectively), Patricia Patrick, Kunle Jones, Benjamin Ukeje 'Musa', Chinoso Onedibe, Sandra Ibeabuchi, Loretta Uzodinma and Rose Obiwulu among others. They all had glowing words of encouragement for the Edoborn, producer/director of the flick, Peter Andrew.

South African 3D animation film to close Durban Film Festival

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HE animation spectacular Adventures in Zambezia has been announced as closing film for rd the 33 edition of the Durban International Film Festival. The festival, which runs from 19 to 29 July, with principal funding by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, will present Adventures in Zambezia on 28th July, immediately following the festival Award evening.

Adventures in Zambezia is a landmark in the history of the South African animation. With a truly African story, worldclass 3D animation and an all-star voicing cast that includes names like Samuel L. Jackson and Abigail Breslin, the film is destined for success on a global scale.

Director Wayne Thornhill at Triggerfish Studios in Cape Town says: “This coming of age story was a coming of age for the whole crew, and dare I say, South African animation. Over three gruelling years, it turned many young, talented people into talented veterans of the industry. I am exceptionally proud to present their work to the world. I think it is of a quality not seen before in South African animation, and that it points to

a bright future for a small industry that can punch well above its weight.”

The film relates the inspiring tale of an intrepid young falcon, Kai, who seeks out a rumoured bird city called Zambezia, where he hopes to find personal prestige as a talented flyer. But his competitive individualist ways must give way to working together with his fellow feathered friends in order to save the whole community. The film moves away from the predictable narrative of many international animated children's films, towards an entirely fresh, distinctively African structure. While on the one hand this is Kai's story, on the other it is a story about an entire nation - a story of ubuntu.

Adventures in Zambezia will have its world premiere at the festival, and its uplifting message that a spirit of togetherness will allow us to flourish is an entirely appropriate way to close South Africa's largest and longestrunning film festival.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

Born Teria Yarere, M-Trill is a rapper with the “X-factor”. Armed with a degree in Geology from the University of Port-Harcourt, he abandoned his profession to follow his passion. He made a debute professionally into the music industry in 2006, two years after; M-Trill won the 2008 Channel O' Award for Best African Act. The following year, he clinched the African Music Award Best New Act in London. You may wonder then why his name doesn't resound massively in the league of Nigerian leading rappers; the artiste who took a sojourn shortly after these feats reveals even more to MERCY MICHAEAL in this interview.

Y

OU don't look any inch a rapper…

I believe that's my niche. I believe that's what makes me different. I can't be like everybody else. I know I look like an RnB singer than a rapper, but unfortunately I don't know how to sing. I wish I knew how to sing because it will be easier but I'm a rapper and that's what I know how to do best.

Who were your influences?

Growing up, I listened to all the great names in rap B.I.G, Tupac, Dr Dre, Snoop, and all. I listened to all of them but when you start making music, at a point you need to carve a niche for yourself. You need to go deep into yourself to bring out what is in you, otherwise, you get tinted from listening to other people's song and before you know it, you want to start sounding like them. In as much as I enjoy listening to other people's music, I'm usually influenced by real life. Most of my inspirations come from experiences, people's stories, and things that happen to me.

What does Rap mean to you?

Truthfully, I think rap is one of the most intelligent forms of music, because in order to rhyme, you must have some form of knowledge; education. It's not just about putting words together. And then, obviously because you are a rapper, there is more volume, there are more things to say, so you need to go and study in order to put a story down. Rap is poetry as well.

Rap means rhythm and poetry. That's what it used to be called. But right now, it's rhythmic apply poetry. So there is rhythm applied to the poetry. That's an intelligent form of music. Most times some rappers are just too intelligent for the masses. But once in a while, you get that rapper that is able to break that boundary, kick intelligent music that the people can understand. It's a very difficult thing to achieve. But hopeful, I'm part of the rappers in Nigeria that have been able to get close to that line.

At the initial stage, what was it like getting your parents' consent to go into music?

Yes, I remember the question my mum asked me when I told her I was going to be a musician. She asked me: “Do you know the history of rap”? And because I come from a family that is particular about education and being professional, I had already done my own research before I even made up my mind. My folks basically are the type that believe that your life is basically in your hands and they can only guide you. After I finished my school; I studied Geology at the University of Port-Harcourt, from that point, they expected me to make the best business decisions. What I did after that was to attend an entrepreneurship school because I had to look at the business side of music as well to be successful. And fortunately for me, I got signed twice. My last deal has ended, so I'm looking forward to more opportunities now and to do better music now as well.

What have you been up to?

I need to go back to some history. In 2008, I won Channel'O Award for Best West African Act. For a Port-Harcourt artiste it was a huge thing. Again in 2009, I won the African Music Award Best New Act in London, which was another huge accolade. Along the line, I started having a bit of issues with the record label that I was signed to and from 2009 to last year, I couldn't do stuffs because of the deal. But the deal has ended; in as much as I'm not under them any longer, I'm in good terms with the record label. So right now, I'm just coming back into the game. I released

Why I left music for more than two years —M-Trill I have been inspired by Fuji recently. I was watching somebody play the talking drum and I said to myself I'd like to do something like that probably rap a couple of verse while the person will use the talking drum… a video for Thriller which is the first single of the album that is due to drop later on this year. So basically, I'm just promoting my new stuff. I've got the new song Abo as well which is a traditionalistic rap of Niger Delta music.

You are from Niger Delta. How much does it influence your music? …As much as any other traditions have influenced my music. Usually, most musicians would understand that you don't get to chose music, music comes to you and then you make the best out of it.

It came to me as an inspiration at that point in time, and I just made the best of it.

I could be inspired by Fuji for example. In fact, I have been inspired by Fuji recently. I was watching somebody play the talking drum and I said to myself I'd like to do something like that probably rap a couple of verse while the person will use the talking drum…that will be something beautiful to watch. Don't steal the idea (laughs). I'm always thinking of creative ways of entertaining people. Like the song Thriller for example, there was only a snare. There were no drums but it was so full that you would not even know that there was no drum on the song. Some of my friends described it as a movie. I'm inspired by different things basically and I try as much as possible to still make it marketable, because sometimes you can go over people's head. But I don't want to go over people's head and I don't want to drop the standard as well. So it's just finding that thin line and sticking to it.

Two and half years off the game, how has it been like trying to find your feet?

Well, fortunately I obviously have a family that supports me. But two and half years outside the game didn't mean that I was stagnant. It just meant I couldn't release music. But I was travelling. I was performing because I had a big song Beautiful. The one for which people thought I was Ghanaian. I have been performing that song. In fact, I went on

two tours in between all that time -Tanzania, other African countries where calling me based on that song. I wish I was busier, but I was just waiting. But in between all that time, I took that time to write some of the music that people are listening to now.

At the moment what record label are you signed to?

I'm talking to several people to see if I can sign a wonderful deal. But I'm still on my own right now. But because I went to entrepreneurship school, I learnt a bit of accounting. I know how to manage. I know how to maximize and make certain things work. And obviously knowing people in the industry is another plus for me. So I'm just happy to be back.

How would you describe Rap music in Nigeria?

Rap music in Nigeria is growing daily.

One thing I've noticed usually when I go for shows is that most of the up and coming artistes are rappers. It means that there is a growing hunger for Rap and Nigerians would have to accept Rap music because there will be too much material for it out there. There are more up and coming rappers than up and coming singers. Outside of that, people don't understand that there are certain points in modern Nigeria music history where rappers have been the number one artistes in the country. Let's start from Eedris Aldukarim, at some point; he was the number one person. Then Ruggedman, Mode 9, Shasha, Naeto C, MI, Ice Prince.

These are all rappers so the bias towards Rap music is just a mindset because these are people whom Nigerians have accepted and they are trended.

Some of those you've mentioned their names have at one time or the order been involved in beef. What is the relationship between Rap music and beef?

Well, it's an egoistic kind of song. Every

rapper has that; 'I'm the best' mentality.

The term, MC came from Master of Ceremony and it started off in America with the DJ's. DJ's used to go from party to party to play. What happened then was a DJ thought of an idea and he brought somebody who was an MC to come and hail him while he's playing. So while he's playing the music, MC takes the microphone and says, hey DJ XYZ is the best DJ in Lagos. This is why she's the best and they start playing instrumental. That was how it started.

That's the history of it. It is part of the growth. I would not say any rapper is better than me, I would say I respect them.

So beef will always be a part of rap because every rapper wants to be the best.

But the game is changing now. People are looking at moneyor swag. But the typical way in which to access a rapper is lyrically. That's the best way to know who is better or not. All those other ones are external factor.

When did you start doing music professionally?

I would say since 2006. That's when I came into the industry professionally, but I didn't release any album until four years after. The album was titled, Number One. And even at the point, I got a bit of beef because people were saying, I'm I trying to say I'm number one. But to me, I was just saying this is my number one album. I'm not a cocky person. I'm cocky on the track but in real life, whatever gift I have is from God so there is a limit to the way I can boast about it.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

BBA 7: Junia, Keagan off to Upville

Fela’s residence now Kalakuta Museum

…Jesica, Lee evicted

•Fela

Tussle over Tope Alabi's work:

Court vindicates Remdel Optimum Communication

M.I, Morachi, HarrySong light up Umuahia

•Tope Alabi

•M.I

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R R R R R R R R R E E E E E E E V V V V V V V E E O O O O CO O O V V C C C C C C O O C C THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012,

COVER

COVER

‘How I dumped medicine for acting’

The first couple of years after White Waters in 2008 were difficult, harrowing, discouraging. But with some training and some insight, it all opened up new vistas and I'm honestly grateful

My music career is going to take off soon. At the start, I was all confused because I was trying to figure which way to go. I was trying to act and sing at the same time and it did prove difficult. But as I grew up, I realized that I needed to stick to one

S

L-R: Okey, Keira, Hewatch, BlessingEgbe, StellaDamasus and OC Ukeje

OC UKEJE

OME of your fans feel you are gradually shedding your 'good boy' image especially with the role you played in the movie entitled Rubicon.

What's your take on that?

Here's the thing: it is good to have a career which allows you play diverse roles from the years of looking young and innocent, which I think is still on my side, to whatever other role that is brought to the table. I cannot tell you I'm shedding anything yet; I'm just going to be as diverse as I can for the sake of my career.

Is there any chance that you would dust up your Marine Science degree anytime soon?

(Laughs out loud) I honestly don't think it will be anytime soon. I think it will be a while before I touch it and even if I do, it will be primarily to frame it properly in my house. But I know that I intend to have some investments in that field in the future anyway.

How did you get the role in the movie Rubicon?

Let me just say that building a network of friends, senior colleagues, peers and likeminds is a good thing. And that is what was solely responsible for the opportunity I got.

A filmmaker, Yemi Morafa recommended me to the producer of the movie Dami Alabi and we had conversations and our conversations yielded fruits.

What was your reaction when you got the script for the movie?

I tried to figure out what the writer and director is trying to achieve, so I took time out to look through as I would with any script. In the process, pictures started to form in my head of what I hoped to achieve for the character and movie as a whole.

How have you fared thus far since making a debut some years back in the movie titled White Waters?

I think I have done pretty well; it's been decent for me and I can't complain because of the opportunities that have started opening up. Needless to say, it wasn't a walk in the park as such. The first couple of years after White Waters in 2008 were difficult, harrowing, discouraging. But with some training and some insight, it all opened up new vistas and I'm honestly grateful.

Are you working towards getting more awards after emerging Best Upcoming Actor at AMAA 2008?

Well, working towards it makes it sound like one is working his butt off to win an AMAA. No doubt, it feels good to have won one and it will certainly feel better to win a couple more, but the focus really is on the beauty of the work and the acting. Once that is done right, I don't think I'll have a problem being nominated and eventually winning.

Are you still just a bathroom singer?

I have started recording materials but I'm picking the music I want to circulate. I'm writing new stuff and I am open to

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

• Kemi Akindoju with OC Ukeje

Though, OC Ukeje initially set out to become a medical doctor, his flair for the arts later got the better part of him. His sojourn into the world of make-belief started when he emerged winner of the second season of the Amstel Malta Box Office; next was his first movie White Waters produced by Izu Ojukwu and his performance in the movie earned him an award for Best Upcoming Actor at the 2008 AMAA awards. Since then, the multitalented actor has not looked back as he sets his sights on conquering new challenges. He revealed more about his love life, acting career and his current plans for music in this interview with AHMED BOULOR. recording other materials too. So I guess I'm gradually moving from closet-singing to mainstream releases.

How soon will your music career take flight?

My music career is going to take off soon.

At the start, I was all confused because I was trying to figure which way to go. I was trying to act and sing at the same time and it did prove difficult. But as I grew up, I realized that I needed to stick to one, build it up, and use that as a conduit for other things I want to do. The time is ripe now; so very soon, my career in music will begin.

How soon should we expect an album from you?

I'm going to work on singles first, as feelers, while I'm recording the album. And I don't anticipate any pressure, but I know

that in the period of one year, there'll be healthy enough music from me.

Do you still find time for MC jobs?

Yes I do! I had an audition recently to handle a new job and I got about three phone calls last week about events people want me to handle. I am still very much in the business of doing MC jobs.

When did you actually discover that you could sing?

I think I discovered that in SS3. I was handling the school fellowship choir then but I didn't think I had any extraordinary voice with dynamics and all but I knew I could sing. I started discovering the extent when I was done with secondary school.

How come a guy as handsome as you is not yet romantically linked to any lady?

Well, maybe that's because I know how to

keep my affair out of the reach of the press.

What's your definition of a beautiful woman?

A beautiful woman should have a good heart. She should also have really good intentions. A beautiful woman should know how to abase and how to abound. A beautiful woman should be down-to-earth and at the same time sophisticated. A beautiful woman should know how to support her man through emotional, financial and psychological peaks and troughs life in general. That is my definition of a beautiful woman!

Do you currently have one in your life?

Yes I do!

What's the most romantic date you've had in recent times?

I have not had a romantic date in a long

time. Seriously! Not recently at least.

How do you contain your female fans and admirers?

I just find a way to contain them; I appreciate their support a great deal.

What future goals do you have in the pipeline?

I'd like to go international; I'd like to feature in films across Africa's emerging markets and the West as well. I want to break into those markets. I'm working on a line of tee shirts. I'm working on new music material for Nigeria and the world at large. I'm toying with a movie production of my own and a few other projects.

What does it feel like going

through so much stress all in the name of acting?

I don't really regard it as stress. It's all preparation; it is essential preparation because if you don't prepare, the audience is going to point out your mistakes when they watch it. But it can be stressful when you're working on a production and you can tell the team is just not it. I'm talking about calculated disorganization but as an actor, when you look beyond all of that it makes you psychologically stronger and that toughens you.

Is the money worth it?

It isn't yet. But it will come. And it has started coming.

Has being on TV changed your life?

Being on TV changed a couple things. For one, you become popular and people identify you easily. It changed my level of personal discipline and my appearance in public. You're a role model so you do your best to be one. It changed my cost and standard of living. It has changed the expectations people have on me, mounting a pressure that is sometimes unnecessary.

But I'm a strong man.

How many movies do you do in a month?

I wish I could tell you it worked like that.

There isn't any schedule as to how it works.

So I really don't know. I just work when it comes.

Which actress do you enjoy working with the most?

I really don't know; I think everyone brings their own strength and that makes it attractive enough to put in your best too on set. I'm eagerly waiting to work with Genevieve and a host of other new and brilliant actors.

Was acting what you wanted to do from the beginning?

I wanted to be a medical doctor; I remember it was medicine or nothing for me then. But I also had a flair for the arts and I think that was more evident in me. That flair evolved when I was part of the second season of AMBO till present times.

37

Amstel Malta Showtime hits Port Harcourt

S

ENSATIONAL singers, P Square, and contemporary Highlife crooner, Flavour were the cynosure of all eyes as headlining acts of the 2012 edition of Amstel Malta Showtime in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The event which took place at the classy Atrium Hall, also featured ace comedian, Senator, who delivered rib cracking jokes. Exciting dance group, Outrage, also thrilled the audience with their exciting dance routines, while music crooner, Darey 'Art' Alade, was the anchor of the occasion.

The event, a unique activation platform from the stable of Nigerian Breweries Plc., makers of Amstel Malta, also featured competitions in singing, dancing and comedy categories.

High point of the night was the performances by Flavour and P Square. Nabania crooner, Flavour, was at his

element as he performed various tracks from his songs.

Hip Hop stars, P Square also gave a good account of their act. They were soon joined by rising star, May D, to perform the hit song, Chop My Money.

The winners in all the categories of the talent hunt competition also had the chance to perform alongside P Square, Flavour, Senator and Outrage on stage.

Speaking on the occasion, Flavour commended Nigerian Breweries Plc, manufacturers of Amstel Malta, organizers of the event, stating that the unique activation will encourage the youths to aspire to greater heights. ”I want to say a big well done to Nigerian Breweries Plc for putting together a wonderful show. It will surely be an encouragement for the youths. This will surely inspire them to greater heights,” he stated.

A-list personalities for MTV meets with MTN Season 2

T

V viewers across Africa will witness the return of the exciting MTV Base Meets...with MTN on August 1, 2012. This is coming on the heels of a highly successful first season that saw African youth make positive life-changing decisions after meeting their heroes on the show.

First initiated in 2011, MTV Base Meets…with MTN is a motivational youth empowerment and mentorship initiative and multimedia campaign that connects African youth with the thought leaders, opinion formers, decision makers and role models who shape their world.

Sponsored by Africa's leading mobile operator, MTN, the show features an exciting and varied line-up of interviewees, including leading figures from the realms of entertainment, politics, fashion and sport, hand-picked to inspire African youth to fulfil their full potential. Among the opinion formers and thought leaders taking part in the series is SenegaleseAmerican R&B and Hip-Hop artiste, Akon alongside other world-famous personalities including Hip-Hop pioneer and entrepreneur, Russell Simmons, South Sudanese super model Alek Wek, His

Excellency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria, and Togolese international soccer star and Manchester City striker, Emmanuel Adebayor.

Season 2 of MTV Base Meets…with MTN, hosted by MTV VJs Sizwe Dhlomo and Vanessa Mdee, will air across Africa from August 1, on MTV Base (DSTV Channel 322) and on terrestrial stations across the continent, including STV and NTA (Nigeria), Spectrum TV (Cameroon), Viasat (Ghana), Rwanda TV (Rwanda), Swazi TV (Swaziland), Muvi TV (Zambia) and NTV and WBS (Uganda).

• Akon

By

Harry Iwuala

MESSI BARCA VOWS TO STAY WITH

ROONEY: KEY FOR UNITY WILL BE INST ITALY ENGLAND AGA

Inside The

Glass House WITH AMINU MAIGARI

AKINLOYE

AT LARGE

08050246155 atlarge84@yahoo.com

38

W L O H L Y OOD

Johnn Depp, Amber Heard heat up romance

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

Lohan was banned from driving She crashed on the Pacific Coast Highway last week, in between shooting for new production Liz and Dick. But now reports have emerged that Lindsay Lohan had been banned from driving while filming the movie by the insurance policy taken out by the production company.

The policy, it is said, included conditions that prohibited Lohan from driving during the shoot, given that she had been involved in various accidents, and been convicted on driving under the influence in the past.

According to the website, bosses on the movie set had been aware that Lohan was flouting the policy by driving, but were unconcerned until last week's crash, which was witnessed by a production vehicle following closely behind the Porsche she was driving.But now, there are reports that Lohan has been told in no uncertain terms that she is no longer allowed to drive for as long as the shooting continues.

R

UMOURS about the nature of their relationship have been swirling for some time, but it's being reported that things 'seem to be heating up' between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

The Rum Diary co-stars are said to be so close that bisexual actress Heard, 26, has been a 'regular visitor' to the New Mexico set of The Lone Ranger where 49year-old Depp is currently filming.

And Johnny, who made an official announcement that he had split from partner of 14 years Vanessa Paradis on Tuesday, is even said to have bought Heard a horse so they can ride together, according to a report in Globe magazine.

A source claims Depp is smitten by the Hitchcock blonde, and reportedly said:' When I first saw Amber, it was like seeing an old-time movie star like Lauren Bacall.'

The American actress who was born in Austin, Texas, previously worked as a model and before starring in The Rum Diary alongside Depp had had small roles in a number of films.

•Johnn Depp and Amber

•Lohan car

Alec Baldwin drops pants for Letterman

A

FTER a not entirely favourable response to his Twitter rants following recent fracas with a photographer, Alec Baldwin arrived at the Late Show today in the mood to play it all down.

But even dropping his pants for host David Letterman at the Ed Sullivan Theater didn't knock the host off course.

After taking the stage to the Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Baldwin, 54 , broke the tension

by declaring that he'd lost weight and dropped his pants as proof, Letterman then downed his trousers too.

But sensing the inevitable, Baldwin then said: 'Let's get to it, shall we?'

Earlier in the day, Baldwin rolled his mountain bike over a television reporter's foot outside his East Village apartment. The 30 Rock star then allegedly used the bike to knock the Inside Edition reporter aside as she asked Baldwin a question about the row.

Crane over Ghollywood

G

Deborah Vanessa takes acting classes in London

HANAIAN TV star and fashion icon Deborah Vanessa is currently taking acting classes at the London Academy of Media, Film and TV. The beautiful lady was named among five hottest women in Ghana a couple of weeks ago by 4syte TV. She placed third on the list, behind Joselyn Dumas and Nadia, beating Becca and Stephanie Benson who came fourth and fifth respectively. Deborah no longer hosts the Late Night Celebrity Show on eTV, the reason she has got the time to study acting outside of Ghana.

It appears she wants to make acting her career. “I always admired actors, but never knew how much joy acting would bring to me till I landed a major role in a sitcom-like telecom commercial among other roles I have played,” she said.

Deborah is currently one of Ghana's fashion icons. She was adjudged the best dressed personality on three episodes of popular television show, 'Fashion 101' and overall best for the season last year.

Artistes boycott GMA presentation

M

OST of the 2012 Ghana Music Awards winners boycotted the official presentation ceremony held at the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) office in Accra on Tuesday June 12, 2012.

Out of about twenty winners for this year's award, there were only four winners present to receive their cash prize. The four included; Kesse, who won the award for “Best Male Vocal Artiste”, Blakk Rasta, the “Reggae Song of the Year” winner, Guy One winner of “Traditional Artiste of the Year” and Stay Jay, the “Best New Artiste of the Year”.

Findings revealed that they were either too busy to be present, are out of the country or they simply refused to go for reasons best to them because according to a source at Charter House, Organizers of the event, they were all contacted.

Nicki Minaj rocks Amsterdam stage

S

HE'S never one to shy away from trying on a bold style but it appears Nicky Minaj found inspiration from an unlikely source. The Superbad singer appeared to have raided Bridget Jones's underwear drawer for her latest ensemble. Nicki, 29, donned a humongous pair of pink knickers as she took to the stage at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam.

The singer and rapper teamed the bold briefs with garish graffiti-print leggings, a white top and a denim bra-let. As if that wasn't enough she accessorised her outfit with a chunky gold chain and stacks of bangles up her arms.

It appears that Nicki thoroughly enjoyed the concert in the Netherlands as she later tweeted she had never seen fans like those in Amsterdam. “I've toured for the last 5 years of my life. I've never in my #LIFE experienced a crowd like the one I just witnessed tonight in #Amsterdam,” she tweeted The rapper performed tracks from her second album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. The album, she said is a reference to her hottempered alter ego, Roman Zolansk i.

Roman, she has explained, is her 'twin brother' who is emerging from her with his own voice.

O'jez Entertainment set to fete Okunuga

I

N continuation of its monthly award series, celebrity restaurant, O'jez, will play host to former president of Lagos Country Club, Ikeja, Chief Babatunde Okunuga tomorrow.

The event is scheduled to begin at 7pm with the arrival of the special guest of honour and it is coming days after a fire incident caused a scare at the celebrity restaurant. Sparked by a power surge, it took the quick response

by O'jez staff members, sympathizers and fire-fighters from Orile, Ilupeju and Surulere fire stations to quickly douse the fire.

Chief Executive Officer of O'jez Entertainment Centre, Chief Joseph Odobeatu said Okunuga was being honoured for his exceptional leadership skill. “With the likes of Chief Okunuga, Nigeria has hope for a bright future because he is a natural leader with a human face. O'jez Awards singles out rare people like Okunuga for honours, so he is going to be inducted into the famous O'jez Hall of Fame on Sunday.”

In line with its tradition, the O'jez Entertainment Awards committee has lined up series of activities to make the evening a memorable one. “We will ensure that Chief Okunuga and his entourage will be treated to a rain of highlife music by veteran Fatai Rolling Dollars, Alaba Pedro backed by the O'jez band. Comedians Plenty Mouth, Elder O, Akpororo, MC Shakara, Elenu will all be in the house to heat things up. The presentation of the award plague has been planned to be another ceremony on its own and top Nollywood stars are in charge of that aspect,” Odobeatu said.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

Help Line

Hearts With Adeola Agoro

E-mail: libranadeola@yahoo.co.uk

I’m not rich enough for her brothers’ liking

H

ello, I’m Mr. P from Kaduna. I like the way you advise people on love matters. Please, I need you to advise me; I’m in love with a lady and both of us are from Kaduna State. I want to marry her but her uncles and brothers are refusing but her mother has accepted me; her father is late. I’m a business man - a bulk broker with Nigerian Breweries and a distributor. Her brothers are rejecting me because I’m not as rich as they are. They have been mounting pressure on her to forget about me but she has refused to listen to them but she is passing through hell at home with them. My plan was that we would get married by December but her brothers will never let me marry her.

Dear Mr. P, I really sympathize with you but I also know that there’s a way out.

In our kind of African settings, a girl needs her parents’ consent before she gets married because family plays an important role during our times of happiness and during the time we’re experiencing sorrow.

If her father were alive now, it would have been a different cup of tea because he would have the final say. But now that he’s dead, the uncles and the brothers will all be

playing daddy to the poor girl and they will be confusing her. Mama likes you, but she’s a woman and she doesn’t have the final say, so you have to go to the uncles and the brothers with your family members and appeal to them to allow you marry this girl that you love so much.

You wouldn’t need to show them your bank account, but you should let them know that she won’t go hungry and she won’t wear rags. You will also need to let them see that you won’t maltreat her in anyway and that you both wouldn’t be coming to beg them for handouts. That you’re hardworking and properly engaged in a trade should be enough for them to see that you can take care of her.

If they haven’t already found a moneybag for her, you still have the chance to make them see you in a positive light.

Get close to the brothers if possible and be involved in the games they play without appearing to be licking their boots. If they’re nice and only concerned about their sister’s financial stability in marriage, they will soon begin to warm up to you. But if they are full of ego and make you feel like a rag, take a break from their sister. Hopefully, she will fight them until they call you by themselves that you should come and pay her dowry. Getting off a hot scene works wonders at times.

Hello Aunty Adeola, my name is Promise, 24 years old, a follower of your column in The Nation newspaper. I pray may you never be face with any problem and thanks for being there for people like us. Aunty this is my problem: I have no parents and my uncles turned everything to their own by subjecting me to hardship. I labour before I eat because of this I ran away from home to another state and I’m in Owerri where I was able to work and I sat for WAEC. After that, I was still working and also seeking for admission but I could not get it due to our bad system of education. In 2010 I was able to save up to N285,000 because they were paying me N10,000 monthly in my working place. My friend told me what is involved to gain admission in Nigeria so I sat for JAMB for the third time and also thought that the money I saved would go a long way, little did I know it would not so I quit the work and paid more attention on how to go to school because my aim was to go school so that I can get a bigger work.

The person that worked the admission for me took N80,000 from me and when I got to school I met a lot of expenses in my first and second year, right now I have nothing left on me to pay for my third and final year and also have a project that is coming up in no distant time and I have only six months left on my house rent. Aunty please I have come a long way, I don’t want to drop out of school, right now I have nowhere to turn to or someone to call upon and I have sold some of my belongings at cheaper rate in school. Aunty I am appealing to you and all Nigerians to help me graduate from school, please Nigerians don’t let my effort be in vain, I school in Owerri. My account number is 6016077148, Promise O., Keystone Bank (former bank P.H.B). Thanks.

(Email: edorastephen@yahoo.com).

Her parents are insisting she must marry a guy from their tribe Dear Aunty Adeola, I have been in a relationship with a lady for three years now. My love for her is unquantifiable.

The relationship has never been a regrettable one. God has been elevating both us since we started dating. The only problem we are having is that, we are from different places of origin. The parents are insisting she must marry a guy from their tribe. This has generated a lot confusions and controversies.

What is the panacea to this ambiguous and confusing situation? Your advice is needed please.

– Dammy.

Dear Dammy, it seems that every time I treat an issue related to different tribes and different religions, the very next week, somebody is going to come up with the same question. What can I do than assume that you probably haven’t read any of my responses on this.

Let me answer you the best way I can.

Dammy, parents seem to have an idea about

what is good for their children (even if such ideas are barbaric). Good parents plan from the time a child is born details such as the schools they would want the child to go to, the kind of friends etc. And because marriage is such a big life-long experiment, parents would want their children to do it right.

Sometimes based on the experiences they have had about intermarriages, they may have formed some views about their children not marrying from particular tribes.

While I am always in support of intermarriages, I will always ask couples to be open about some customs and traditions which may interfere with the other person’s life. In some tribes for instance, in the event that the husband dies, the wife would be asked to not only shave off her hair, but she would be mandated to sleep overnight with the husband’s corpses as well and take a sip of the dirty water used to wash his corpse.

Would I easily allow my daughter to marry from that tribe? Not likely except I have a team of JTF (Joint Task Force) to protect my daughter in case her husband dies while

they’re both young.

You may need to find out the reasons why your girlfriend’s parents are against their daughter marrying from your place of origin.

They may have valid reasons to be acting this way. It is your duty to assuage their fears. If possible, suggest signing a pre-nuptial agreement with them that their daughter is going to be safe.

You will need to also work on your girl letting her know that apart from having to waste time waiting from a good man from her place to come, she may also not be able to find the good relationship you both have elsewhere.

Also let her know that the fact that a man speaks your language alone gives him the liberty to punch you as he likes because you are the same kind of people, so nobody will challenge him; like my people would say, ‘Gambari pa Fulani, ko si ejo nibe’. She should make up her mind about you and let her parents know it is either you or nobody else.

With prayers, they will support the marriage however; tell yourself you won’t let them regret that decision.

39 I love these people from Sokoto

I

T’S almost two weeks (June 12) since my film, Pencil ni Kadara was premiered at the Nnamdi Azikwe Hall, Nicon Luxury, but memo ries of it are still so vivid in my head that I’m actually flying without wings.

I could recollect every hour of that day starting from the time I woke up and I felt like hiding under my duvet until somebody would call me to say we had jumped to June 13. Such was the feeling of dread and trepidation that gripped me on that day.

Coming out to say I wanted to bring my very first attempt at filmmaking to the public was like bringing a piece of art one was not totally sure of to the scrutiny of the whole world. Despite positive reviews here and there all through the editing period, I still felt like a child who was wobbling on its feet at the first attempt to walk.

Right from the beginning of the concept of the film, I had no doubt in my heart that I would dedicate it to the man who has stood over the years as my own guardian angel - Sen. Umaru Dahiru (OON). Sen. Umaru Dahiru, though from Sokoto State, has been the mirror through which I see the world most times. I have my biological father in Dr. Olapade Agoro but my spiritual father cum friend and mentor has been in Sen. Dahiru.

When I decided late last year that I was relocating finally from Lagos to Abuja, leaving properties behind, I entertained no fear in me because I already had a ready-made family in Abuja. The Dahirus received me with joy and they gave me the comfort. So, it was just natural that I would say thank you through a project like Pencil ni Kadara.

Funnily enough, some of the ideas that I wove round the story of Pencil ni Kadara came when I was writing a fiction I meant to title ‘The Man from Tambuwal’. It would have been a story of the struggles of survival for a girl until she was rescued by the man from Tambuwal.

Why would the girl in my fiction be rescued by the man from Tambuwal? Many may wonder. The answer is not farfetched. Sen. Umaru Dahiru is from Tambuwal Local Government of Sokoto State and as a woman struggling to climb to the top; I have had reasons to reach out for Dahiru’s ladder many times. So, my fiction would have had one or two truths in my personal experiences.

If I thought being good, being humane, being generous and being fantastic stopped with Sen. Dahiru as far as Tambuwal is concerned, I was proved wrong when the Speaker House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal came to the premier of my film and made my head swell with his encomiums on the packaging of the event. The Speaker was Special Guest of Honour but he did more than that when he took control of the event and added so many colours to it so much that I glowed with pride. I bowed at the Speaker’s ability to crack jokes and make everybody feel comfortable. To make it even more beautiful, unlike most big people in his shoes (he’s the Number 4 man in the country for that matter) who breeze into events and breeze out, this suave gentleman from the same Tambuwal as his brother Sen. Dahiru sat all through the event and was even the one who gave the ladies the chance to serve themselves first before the men. He shared in our cake (yes, we had giant cakes as I planned the launching and film dedication to be made on Sen. Dahiru’s 60th birthday) and drank out of our juice. He didn’t do any bigmanism till he left.

I wouldn’t say I hadn’t heard a lot about Mr. Speaker’s way of carrying his office with a lot of humility before that day, but seeing him display so much comradeship close up has made me one of his million of fans.

I’m using this opportunity to thank the other great people who made it to my event. Mother of the Day, Hajia Zainab Maina, Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, I love you so much for giving us your time and your love. Honourable Minister of Youth Development, Alhaji Inuwa Abdulkadir, I appreciate you. Yes, that’s another person from Sokoto State who made us walk tall on that day. Alhaji Danladi Bako thanks for making Gov. Aliyu Wamakko proud with your presence and words of encouragement. All the senators that came, I can’t mention you all, but I’m sure you read Hearts with Adeola Agoro, so I’m saying thank you to you. My big brother and friend and mentor, Sen. Ganiyu Solomon could not make it to the event, but he moved his office there. Thank you.

I love all of you Hearts people whose prayers supported that dream.

I love Okorie Uguru, my friend and colleague in The Nation and I like Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal and I like the people from Sokoto who have made me their sister and daughter. I love you all.

...at the premiere of Pencil Ni Kadara

Speaker Hon. Aminu Tambuwal and Hajia Adeola Agoro

Mr. Ade Shinaba, Commissioner of Police (FCT) acting as Chairman of the Day while ushers and M.C look on

40

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

O

“

GA, No! Please don’t!” screamed the maid who had come into the room with the baby in her arms. Mack was temporarily distracted by her screams, and I took advantage of that. I ran to the maid, grabbed the baby and ran out of that house as if the devil himself was after me.

I ended up at Diane’s house as we lived in the same neighbourhood.

“Are you sure of what you are saying? Mack actually wanted to stab you?” Diane asked, a look of disbelief on her face. I had recounted to her the incident with Mack. I was still in a state of shock, finding it difficult to believe myself, that my own husband would do such a thing to me. His action meant he wanted me dead.

But what had I done to deserve such treatment, I wondered.

“It was an unprovoked attack. I didn’t do anything to him,” I stated quietly.

“Was he drunk?” she asked again.

I shook my head.

“He had not been drinking so it couldn’t be that. I don’t know what came over him.

Whatever it is, I’m not going back to that house, at least for now,” I said.

“You know this is your second home. You can stay for as long as you want,” Diane offered.

I had been in her place for about a week when Mack came to see me. He must have gone to my parents’ house and had been told I was not there. I refused to see him even after Diane had pleaded that I should at least listen to what he had to say. I could not get over what happened and how I might have ended up if my maid had not come into the room at that moment.

Despite Diane’s words, I still stubbornly refused to see him and he went away.

About a week later, Francis, his good friend came to see me in the office. I initially thought he had come on an official matter as his company often did business with ours.

It was lunchtime, so he took me to an eatery close to my office. We had started eating when he opened up.

“Eva,” he began “I know you might think it’s none of my business. But Mack is my friend and since your marriage, you’ve become like a sister to me,” he stated. He stopped to take a sip of water, then continued.

“I will not be a good friend if I see what is going on with you two and do nothing. That’s why I’ve come.”

I looked at him coldly.

“Did Mack put you up to this? Did he send you?” I asked.

“No! He doesn’t even know I came to see you,” he said quickly, then added. “Just see him, that’s all. He loves you and misses you and Annabelle.”

“You say he loves me! Then why did he want to stab me?” I asked angrily.

I pushed the plate of fried rice away as I had lost my appetite.

“I know what he did was wrong. But you should understand that he’s been under a lot of pressure lately because of what’s going on in his office.”

I was aware of that. The company where Mack worked had recently been bought over and the new owners wanted to bring in their own people to run the place. Consequently, the jobs of all the old staff including Mack were on the line.

“But when we spoke about it, I assured him that I will support him and we’ll live on my salary until he got another job,”

The enemy beside me (3) I pointed out.

Francis gave a wry smile.

“That’s generous of you.

But the truth is that most men want to be the main breadwinner of the home. They don’t mind their wives contributing something.

But they believe the onus falls on them to be the main provider, to be able to take care of their families. Maybe, its a male thing, but that’s just the way it is. I think the thought of losing his job which will make him unable to provide for his family is driving him crazy, making him frustrated,” he explained.

“Well, he should look for other ways of letting off his frustration instead of trying to kill his wife,” I said sarcastically, wiping my lips with a serviette.

We spoke some more then parted and I went back to work.

Second honeymoon But Francis’ words had softened me a bit. And there was also pressure from my own family especially my mum who kept cajoling me to return to Mack.

“Don’t use your own hand to destroy your marriage or you might regret it. You know there are so many desperate women out there just looking for a home like yours to take over. Be wise, my child. Forgive him and go home,” she had advised the last time I had gone to see her.

So, based on that and the love I still had for him, despite all that he had done to me, I agreed to see him. He was full of remorse, saying he didn’t know what had come over him. He swore on his honour that he would never lay a finger on me again as long as we were together. I believed him and I returned to my home.

Mack was true to his words. He became loving and caring again, like the old Mack during our courtship days, the guy I fell in love with. He showered me with gifts and promised his undying love.

“From now on, it’s you alone I will focus on,” he said one day, shortly after our reconciliation.

“What about your concubines?” I asked, teasing him.

“Who?” he asked with raised brows.

“There’s only one woman for me,” he stated, pinching my nose. “You, my sweet Eva, my honey, the only mosquito in my net...”

I laughed at his silly words but quietly thanked God for bringing peace and love back into our lives. I prayed fervently that it would last.

“You are calling me a mosquito. I can bite you o!” I said, smiling.

“I don’t mind. You can bite me as much as you want. In fact, come and bite me here, now,” he said pointing to his lips.

I laughed again, went over and sat on his lap. I kissed him and he responded, kissing me back deeply and caressing me.

Soon, we were both turned on.

He quickly removed my top and was unhooking my bra when I remembered we were in the living room and the maid, who had gone out on an errand could return any minute.

“The maid might walk in on us,” I said.

“Forget her. I want you...” he stated as his lips descended on my breast. * * * Shortly after my return, Mack got his retrenchment letter. To my surprise, he took the loss of his job quite well, even boasting he would bounce back in a short while.

He began job-hunting, contacting all the people he knew especially in his industry for possible links. Within two months, he got another job.

There was a problem thoughit was for a much lower position and salary than the one he had in his former workplace.

Mack rejected the offer, despite my advice to take it until something better came up.

“You know how scarce jobs are right now in the country,” I noted.

“That’s no reason for me to sell myself so cheap. I’ve put in quite a number of years in this industry and I know my worth. Don’t worry sweetheart. Something better will turn up. Trust me,” he assured me.

But it wasn’t as easy as he thought. Six months later, he was still without a job. I could see he was becoming increasingly frustrated though he tried to keep it from me. He became moody and frowned most of the time. I tried to ease the stress he was going through by being extra loving towards him. With time, however, even that was not enough.

As the days went by with no job in sight, he became more irritable and started finding fault with whatever I did.

There was a day I went shopping and I bought him some ties. He complained about the colours and design, then wondered why I should be buying him ties when he had no office to wear them to.

“Maybe, you should wear them. You are the one still working,” he said drily.

I ignored his words even though I felt bad about his deriding such a good gesture of mine.

That was just the beginning. We started arguing more often, mostly over things that never caused quarrels before. Previously, he used to help look after the baby whenever I needed to go out and the maid was not at home. But all that changed.

One Sunday afternoon, I wanted to visit the salon to have my hair done and being the maid’s day off, I asked him to take care of the baby in my absence.

To my surprise, he flared

up angrily.

“Have you now turned me into a nanny that I should be taking care of the baby? You better take her with you as I’m going out!” he stated, before storming out of the room.

At death’s door Most weekdays, I usually left the house around 7 am so as to be in the office on time.

When he was still working, Mack used to leave before me and hardly took breakfast most days. But since he lost his job, I would make his breakfast and place it in the warmer before leaving for the office.

One morning, I woke up late maybe due to tiredness as I was about five months pregnant then. In my haste to get to work, I instructed the maid to prepare his food, and rushed out of the house.

When I returned from work in the evening, I was shocked to learn that Mack had refused to eat both the breakfast and the lunch my maid had prepared for him.

When I enquired why he had rejected his food, he retorted angrily: “It’s you I married, not the maid. As my wife, it’s your duty to prepare my meals. But you are too busy, gallivanting all over the place, being a career woman to take care of your own husband.”

He was being unreasonable and I told him so, pointing out that it was my job that was sustaining our home until he started work.

That got him incensed.

“So, you are calling me a useless, jobless man, one that can’t provide for his family?” he said, his eyes blazing with anger.

“It’s not that. I meant to say...” I began but he rushed at me and slapped me. I fell on the couch and he came after me, punching me heavily. I started screaming at him to stop, because of my condition.

I managed to wriggle free from his grasp and fled to the balcony as it was the nearest escape route, closing the door after me. I could hear the maid crying and entreating Mack to stop but he was like a man possessed.

He forced the door open and held me by the throat, trying to choke me. What happened

But the truth is that most men want to be the main breadwinner of the home. They don’t mind their wives contributing something

after still plays in my mind like a bad movie, two years after the incident. I struggled to remove Mack’s hands from my throat and the next thing I knew, I toppled over and fell from our first storey apartment to the pavement downstairs.

I woke up some hours later in hospital, seriously injured and in deep pain. Worse still, I had had a miscarriage due to the fall. That broke my heart more than anything, the loss of my baby. I had a broken leg, some cracked ribs and numerous cuts and bruises. The doctor told me I was lucky to be alive, that it could have been worse.

But what could be worse than what had happened, I thought, weeping quietly as I lay in the narrow hospital bed.

My mother also wept when she saw me.

“What kind of man would do this to his own wife? You are not going back to that house! I’m not ready to lose you yet,” she declared vehemently.

I shared in her sentiments. I was so traumatised by what happened that I never wanted to see Mack again. I was in the hospital for nearly a month taking treatment and nearly everyone; friends, family members, colleagues, church members all came to see me.

But my husband, who put me in this state, never showed up one day.

What further proof did I need that he wanted me dead? That he was the enemy beside me all this while?

Throughout this trying period for me, Jeri was very supportive, a pillar of strength. No week passed without his checking on me, either through visits or phone calls. He was really wonderful. After I was discharged and moved to my parents’ house, he still came to see me and with time, I grew really fond of him.

As soon as I was strong enough, I got a lawyer and began divorce proceedings against Mack. At first, he resisted, pleading for forgiveness, that he still loved me and we should get back together.

But whatever love I had for him died when he threw me over the balcony. What if I had died? Will he be fighting to reconcile with a ghost?

In a few months, my divorce will be final and I can put the nasty experience with Mack behind me for good. I never thought when we were getting married, that I would end up divorced in less than three years of marriage. But that’s life. Most times, things never turn out the way we plan. With time, Jeri and I started dating and who knows what this new relationship might lead to?

My mother told me that some members of our extended family were not in support of my divorce, that it was against our family tradition. I laughed when I heard that.

“Family tradition, my foot!

If I had died in that fall, will they be talking about tradition?” I asked rhetorically.

But that made me think about the society’s attitude to divorcees and one salient question: Must one remain in a marriage at any price, even when one’s life was in danger like mine was? Is it not better to be single, alive and well than be a Mrs Deadbody? I will like the views of readers of my story on this. Thank you.

The End Names have been changed to protect the narrator’s identity.

Send comments/advice to 08023201831 or email psaduwa@yahoo.com

&

LIFE

Society Profile

THE NATION, Saturday, JUNE 23, 2012

STYLE Gossip Interviews

My parents thought I would not live because r e v fe w o ll e y h it w n r o b s a Iw -Ogun Police spokesman Adejobi

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THE NATION SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

With KAYODE ALFRED E-mail:kayflex2@yahoo.com

Linda Edozien returns

Funke at Femi Kuti’s 50th birthday bash

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LIFE

Society Profile

Gossip Interviews

TEL:08035733605

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LIFE

Society Profile

Gossip Interviews

THE NATION SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

TEL:08035733605

Bella Naija, Bode Pedro exchange marital vows

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Miss Zainab Waziri

Angela Onyeador makes premature exit

Kayode Akinyemi lands the big one

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

Unknown to many, the Public Relations Officer of the Ogun State Police Command, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, is a prince of the Owu Kingdom. In this interview with GBENGA ADERANTI, he speaks about his love for culture, life as a prince, dress sense and why he shuns women and alcohol. Excerpts:

‘I consider myself an apostle of African culture’

•Adejobi

W

HAT was your childhood like?

I am a special creature. I am very sure I have a purpose in this life. I was told by my parents sometime ago that I was born with jaundice. My mother was not discharged from the hospital until the seventh day.

They were not sure whether they should hold the naming ceremony until the doctor told them that I was not going to die and that they should go ahead and do the naming. My eye balls were very yellow and were not attractive in any way.

My father was like, ‘Is this boy going to survive?’ But I thank God I survived the sickness.

When I was in primary three or four, the same thing came again. I was down for a month but I survived it. Any time I had malaria, the eyeball would be red. I am what I am today because God has been so kind to me.

Did you at any time live in the palace?

My father was the immediate past Olowu of Owu, Orile Owu. Orile Owu is an ancient town in Osun State. My father reigned for almost 29 years. As soon as he was made the Olowu of Owu, we moved to the palace together. I stayed in the palace till I finished my university education. I read Archeaology at the University of Ibadan. I know the culture and tradition. I have passion for

studying African culture, the Yoruba culture in particular.

Oyo people usually have the two ears of their native cap up. In your own case, one faces down while the other faces up.

What is this about?

There is no particular way you wear it.

This is my own style and the uniqueness must be there.

I thought I was going to see you dress in suit or at least a jacket. But here you are in the full attire of a Yoruba prince.

I belong to the class of people who are bent on preserving the Yoruba culture. I can call myself an evangelist in that area, because like I said earlier, I read Archeology. The job of an archeologist is to sustain culture. And if you want to sustain African culture, you need to consider your past and adjust the present.

As an archeologist, I don’t have a choice but to promote African culture. In addition, as a prince, the prince of Owu for that matter, the cradle of the Owu people, I just have to promote the Yoruba culture.

I did my research on the artefacts, culture and the history of Orile Owu. I have personal interest in the study of cultural heritage, cultural resources of the Yoruba or African culture. I strongly believe that without culture, we cannot succeed in life.

I believe that culture is the life of people.

Some people consider culture as something negative, particularly the concept of Esu. This can be harnessed in a positive way to develop the South West or even individuals.

I did my master’s in Peace and Conflict Study at the University of Ibadan. That department falls under the Institute of African Studies. I told my supervisor that I would like to write my project on tourism development in Nigeria and the impact of conflict management on the culture and tourism development in Nigeria. The cultural aspect of it is that most of the conflicts we have experienced in Nigeria could be used to boost our tourism development. Where the Kiriji war was fought should be seen as a tourist attraction.

We have the inner and outer ditches at Orile Owu. Inner and outer ditches were dug by the slaves. See the Jalumi war in Ikirun, at the Iba Junction, Osun State. That was conflict centre where they had Jalumi war.

That was the place where northerners and southerners engaged in a battle. Today, that place should be a tourist attraction. I did that as part of the thesis for my master’s degree. I went to Igbajo where they had Kiriji war. That was the first place they used canon or gun that sounded kiriji. Most of these places should be tourist centres today.

How come you know so much about Yoruba history?

Being a prince made me to know so many

things about the Yoruba. My father would sit me down then and tell me the history of Yoruba. When I was in secondary school, my father made me read the book about the history and people of Yoruba.

I’m not the only one who loves the history and culture of the Yoruba; so also do my siblings. There was a time I did not have a single shirt. I’m talking about T-shirts or packet shirts. I never had a pair of jeans. I did not know where they were being sold.

My own was to go to Gbagi Market in Ibadan, Oyo State and buy ankara, adire or kampala. I was wearing that with beautiful cap.

I love our culture and I will continue to promote it. I would appeal to government to make use of our culture. Probably if I was not doing this job, I would be a tourist consultant. We still need to harness all these endowments in our environment to promote tourism. We can even use tourism to promote our GDP. There are some countries today that depend on tourism.

Do you have any ambition to become the traditional ruler of your town?

Becoming a traditional ruler has to do with destiny. If God says you will be, you will be. Right from the day your mother gives birth to you, people will say whether you will be a king or not. In my own case, I have always been seen as a leader. In my primary school, right from primary 1, they made me a class representative. I started becoming a prefect in the secondary school from JSS 2. I was a time keeper till SS2. It was when I got to SS3 that they made me the Social Prefect.

I was the youngest in the class.

Even when I was at the University of Ibadan, the grace had been there when people would just come and call me, ‘Muyiwa, please come and be the leader.’

When the University of Ibadan was hot, we used to have students’ union problem; the union was factionalised. They came to call me to become one of the leaders for peace to reign in the school, call it reconciliation committee or something like that. I would just be on my own and people would call me to be a leader. Many prophets have said they have seen the trademark in my life.

They would say, ‘People will worship you.

You will hold a position of authority.’

I never thought of becoming a king in my life, but recently, my father, the late Olowu of Orile Owu, Oba Moses Oladosu Adejobi, Afelele 11 died in an accident with his only surviving wife. A truck drove against the traffic and his vehicle was hit. His wife died immediately, and Baba being a strong man and a king, managed to say one or two things before he gave up the ghost. I think

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012 issues like this have to do with spirituality. It is not a physical thing that you see.

We were told that he made some proclamations. He cursed the town because it was generally believed by many that he was spiritually attacked and that was why the accident took place; that it was not so common in the Yoruba setting to have an ugly incident like that—that an oba will just die like that in an accident.

To the best of my knowledge, I know that my father would not just die like that. He was a strong man; a very strong man. I saw him escape many accidents. It is not a story. I saw and witnessed, I have been driving since 1988 and had been taking my father out as young as I was. Taking him out made me to see so many things in life. So, when the accident took place, they said he made some proclamations before he gave up the ghost; that: ‘Because you have decided to kill me, my son will become the Olowu.’

Before I knew it, I was in my office and people would just come, they would say we have a problem. I would talk to them as a policeman and mediate on the issues.

They would ask me, ‘Sorry, are you a king?’ They would say they could see a crown on me. I will tell them that they can see my blue shirt on me; that I’m not a king. Then they will say very soon, you will become a king.

It got to a point that almost 30 prophets came to say the same thing. It got to a stage that I had to call my sister, but she said I should not be embarrassed; that she too had got such message even before now.

She said that when she was in Jerusalem, she was praying for everybody, they said her brother would become a king very soon.

You have said so many things that border on spirituality. How much of juju do you have?

It is God. I don’t joke with fasting. I fast a lot. I can go for 21 days. I’m not a prophet, but I know how to talk to God. I’ve seen so many things. You can be eating and I will see strange people sitting beside you. Some will come as friends. I’m talking about midnight. I will ask if they are friends or enemies. If they are enemies, you tell them what they want and they leave. But if they are friends, you give them assignments.

As a man of culture and tradition, I believe so much in God’s power. I’m a Christian. I go to church. I believe that Jesus died, resurrected and he is coming back again. When you have the fear of God, God is going to be good to you. Be nice to humanity. When people have problems, take care of them. I don’t have savings. When I have, I give to people. I don’t keep money. So, it is spiritual. When you are good to people, the eleda (creator) of those people you are helping will continue to fight for you.

I’m not ruling out the powers of my father and that of my grandfather, Aworinde, who was araba, the head of the herbalists in the town. I cannot rule it out that the blood is not in me.

You have not answered my question.

Do you have juju?

I don’t have juju, but I’m not ruling out the fact that if it is in your lineage there is one power or the other. Whether you know about it or you don’t know about it, it will work for you. But the power I have is that I make use of my praying and fasting very well. I can decide to be on my own. As sociable as I am, for seven days you may not see me in any social gathering. I would be in a sacred place, praying to God. You know God likes fasting so much. You have your own secrets. Like me, if I strip myself at night and talk to God, it must be like that.

Does your duties as a policeman conflict with your beliefs?

Not at all. I use my belief to do my job better. My belief now is not just religion per se; it is to do my job better. I have a value and belief. I have a name to protect.

I must not tarnish my name. I must not collect bribe. I must not misuse my power.

If I did, a whole prince of Owu, what would people say about me? I’m using these to check my excesses. As a prince, must I be going around to flirt, following women all about? I don’t drink. If I drink and get drunk and start messing up, what would people say about me? My belief

‘

I’m not the only one who loves the history and culture of the Yoruba; so also do my siblings. There was a time I did not have a single shirt.

I’m talking about T-shirts or packet shirts. I never had a pair of jeans. I did not know where they were being sold

’

and value bring decency into my job.

I cannot be talking to you and you perceive alcohol or any sign of drunkenness in me. If I am an officer in charge of anti-robbery sent to frustrate robbers, do you think I will just carry a rifle from the armoury and be running up and down? I will tell people in the village that they said we should pursue robbers on the expressway, how do we do it? Any position you are, it is either you call your father in heaven or you call your father in the village. So, I can decide to fast and pray. You must call your father in the village. I’m one of those who believe that with our Yoruba culture, we can have effective policing of our society. I know that if I have a car, I don’t need to install a security gadget. I can have an agadagodo (native padlock) and put on my car and no thief will steal it. It is very, very true.

I know that there is this one that if robbers come to your house, they will continue to sweep your floor till daybreak and you will meet them there. You have a situation whereby robbers will be operating in a place and they will attempt to flee; as a typical Yoruba man, you can say fall down. there so that they stay there. I have that belief that I can use my value and belief to do my job. That is the truth. I may not know so much about this, but I know some boys in the village that can do it. Your own is just to tell them.

I use my value and belief to promote my job. I do all these to earn a good image for the police. As police public relations officer, people must see good things in me.

What are your regrets?

My greatest regret was when I was told that my father was dead. I went to Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital and saw my father and my stepmother. My mother died a year before then. That means within two years, I lost three of them. When I saw the two of them, my step mum didn’t have any injury. My father had some cuts. There was a bucket under the table where he was kept filled with blood. I asked why is it like this? I wish he had died on his bed. I had that regret. But I take solace that God is there for us and whatever it is, I’m still going to write the federal government to name that junction after my father.

Were you the closest to your father?

My father was a lover of children and education. He would sponsor you to any length you want to go. He loved everybody and we were very close. He would not want you to be far away from him. He did not allow any of us to attend any school outside Orile Owu. Looking at the Lagos/Ibadan expressway, it still saddens one to see robbers on the road. How do you explain

•Adejobi this?

It is normal. Any place where you have more than one human being, there is bound to be crime. Even there is intra-personal crime. When you consider your metabolism or chemical composition and reaction within your own system, there is an element of criminality within those systems. And the people you are talking about don’t reside in there; they are in transit. They operate and go. That is why I have told our traditional rulers who can use all the resources they have to police their environments. They should use their resources to protect their community.

I know of some communities where only one person is protecting the community. He will just put something down and go and nobody will come there. I have used my office to get to traditional leaders. We are all Yoruba. I always tell traditional rulers to use what they have to protect their environments.

You cannot leave it all in the hands of the police.

On the issue of the expressway, we are doing our best. We are not folding our arms. There are so many ways they can help us. They can go physical; they can also go spiritual.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

Oleku back Omowumi OGUNTUASE

F

OR those of us who did not witness the era of oleku style, it has come back to be a major fashion style in our time. Oleku has brought out the Nigerian cultural style and even the youngsters who normally favour Western fashion are now adopting the style and they look good in it too.

Apart from being a trending fashion style, oleku is very comfortable with the short handed buba and short iro just above the knees. You get to move freely and not get your attire tangled with anything. It is a universal style that can be worn to a lot of places, weddings, birthdays and some social events, but not for red carpet events though.

Some people even add their own styles as they use French lace for the top and ankara for the wrapper ,while others use a different material for the top and ankara for the wrapper, even aso-oke can be used for the wrapper ,while lace is worn on top. Oleku allows you to mix and blend colours well and makes you look good.

Add a statement necklace or bead for a more exquisite look.

To get the overall oleku look, put on wedge shoes. You can also put on any other high-heeled shoes.

If you are not using a head tie, make your hair into a bun so as to show your features and jewellery well.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

Pretty long skirt S

OMETIMES a lady just wants to go out without worrying over what she is wearing. That is why every woman needs one good long skirt she can slip on, zip up and feel super fabulous wearing. Long skirt is not just for Sunday service anymore. These days, a great long skirt can take you from looking ordinary to looking fabulous, especially when paired with the right accessories. In this season, long skirt is a wardrobe basic that is an instant complexion-brightener anytime.

With the wrong blouse, shirt, or top, a long skirt can either make or mar your look. But with the right styling tips, you can look effortlessly glamorous in this season’s hottest skirt. So, we present tips on how to wear long skirts.

Tips for Long Skirts Generally, a fitted top looks best with a long flowing skirt. If you are large all over, and you want a fitted top, you absolutely must have good undergarments or flab will bulge out in the wrong spots. If you don’t look good in a bodyhugging top, try wearing a belt over a button-down shirt or getting a fashionable wrap blouse or top.

Bunmi Oyeniyi to launch Unveil MUP Bunmi Oyeniyi of the Unveil Make-Up Institute (one of the nation’s make-up brand and training company) will on June 30 launch her new range of make-up line known as Unveil MUP. The collection consists of eight striking products: Smacker – these are lipsticks that come in 40 different shades, Glaze of Light – the lip gloss comes in 13 shades, Eye Silhouette – Eye Shadow in 52 shades, Cheek Glow – the blushes come in 13 shades, Smog - foundation comes in five shades, Face Glow – Powders in three shades, Lip Definer – the lip pencil comes in 12 colours and Eye Intensifier – Inner eye rim pencil comes in 10 colours

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

PANAFEST:

Celebration of common heritage Pan African Historical Theatre Festival (PANAFEST), Nigeria edition, was recently held. It was a prelude to the Ghana edition scheduled for next month in Cape Coast, Ghana. Apart from the celebration, dance and music, it was an opportunity for participants to reiterate the need for regional integration.

OKORIE UGURU captures the event.

E

VERY two years, blacks from all over the world gather in Ghana to celebrate a common heritage.

It is usually an opportunity to put the black and African civilization on the front burner as scholars , distinguished Africans and the blacks in the Diaspora gather to celebrate one of the oldest civilizations on earth. That is the black civilization and culture and also chat a course for the future.

PANAFEST has also become an opportunity for blacks in the Diaspora to come and have a feel of the continent of Africa. For many of these blacks, it has become a kind of an epiphany, an opportunity where the scale is removed from their eyes to truly appreciate Africa. Many use the opportunity to visit tour-

ist sites and enjoy African hospitality.

The 2012 edition of the PANAFEST is not only celebrating its two decades of existence, but also seeks to brainstorm and proffer solutions to myriads of problems facing the continent.

According to organizer, “the integration and rebirth of African societies will facilitate and re-energize our commitments to developing our communities, creating more jobs, building new businesses, hospitals, new road networks and better health care system in Africa, dictating a new direction for Africa’s political and economic policies.”

The PANAFEST was to use its platform to bring people of African descent to the continent in the effort to integrate and help in the collective efforts to build and re-engineer the African

•A troupe performing at the event

societies with enduring lasting values.

It is in line with these values that the coordinators of the PANAFEST in Nigeria, Taiwo and Kehinde Oluwafunso, decided to replicate the event in Nigeria as a prelude to the main event in Ghana. This year’s edition was the second to be held in Nigeria. It had the theme: African economic and social integration, the

experience of Ghana and Nigeria.

The event held at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos was a one-day event that was offered guests the opportunity to have a taste of African culture and arts laced with music and fashion.

On display were works of art from top Nigerian artists and state cultural troupes from Lagos and Osun were

on hand to entertain the guests. Some artistes like Jaw Jaw and Ara, the talking drummer, also entertained the guests.

Speaking on the PANAFEST, Kehinde, in the opening speech, said: “T he reason for having the Nigeria edition of the festival is because the PANAFEST has been able to provide Africans at home and in the Diaspora opportunity to dis-

cuss the development of Africa.”

He said: “The PANAFEST is a veritable platform for the promotion of tourism in Nigeria, if the countries of Africa, most especially, West Africa, can come together.

“What we are saying is that African nations should come together to remove bottlenecks at borders and so on.

Governor Rauf

Tourism News

The governor assured the Governor Wada commends NCPC on pilgrimage NCPC team that his governG20 recognises tourism as driver o ment would continue to give

T

HE Governor of Kogi State, Captain Idris Wada(rtd), has commended the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC) for its effective organization of Christian pilgrimages in Nigeria.

The governor gave this commendation on Wednesday ,while playing host to the management staff of the NCPC led by the Chairman, Archbishop Nicholas .D. Okoh, during a sensitization visit by the commission at Government House, Lokoja, Kogi State.

The governor said: “It is a great honour for me that you have come here to intimate us with the good work you are doing”.

He commended the NCPC for increasing the

scope of Christian pilgrimage from Israel to Rome and Grace. He stated that “this feat is commendable because it shows that the NCPC is moving forward.”

He added that it would also afford Christians the opportunity to pray at more holy sites.

Governor Wada further commended the NCPC on the robust synergy existing between it and the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NHCON).

He said: “ This is good for Nigeria. I will urge you to continue to work together”.

Governor Wada further stated that pilgrimage was one of the best things that could happen to this nation.

According to him,”pilgrimage is good for

•Governor Wada this nation”.

He said as a nation, the only way to move forward was to move closer to God. He affirmed “if there is one thing this country needs now is closeness to God.”

the NCPC the necessary support to excel, especially in the area of increased sponsorship of pilgrims.

He assured that this year he would surpass the number of pilgrims sponsored last year by the state.

He further explained that his administration was determined to reform the education sector through moral education.

He said: “Moral education and closeness to God lead to good governance. It is important to reform along this line because this nation needs prayer and deliverance.”

Earlier, Archbishop Okoh congratulated the governor for his victory at the polls which he described as divine.

T

HE G20 leaders have, for the first time, recognised the importance of travel and tourism as a driver of jobs, growth and economic recovery.

The Leaders’ Declaration from the annual meeting of the G20 held in Los Cabos, Mexico from June 18 to19 states: “We recognise the role of travel and tourism as a vehicle for job creation, economic growth and development and, while recognizing the sovereign right of states to control the entry of foreign nationals, we will work towards developing travel facilitation initiatives in support of job creation, quality work, poverty reduction and global growth.”

This is the first time that travel and tourism have been included in the G20 Leaders’

•Taleb Rifai, UNWTO secretary Declaration and was the culmination of long-term efforts by the industry, led by the UNWTO and WTTC, to encourage world leaders to see the potential of travel and tourism to create millions of new jobs and billions of dollars of GDP.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

•Governor Aregbesola (right), his deputy, Mrs. Tomori and another guest at the event

Aregbesola has been opening up the state in the area of tourism in his efforts to move Osun State forward..”

On the PANAFEST, Nigeria edition, the former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku,said he decided to be part of it because the event has to do with the promo-

•A model in aso oke

tion of Africa.

He continued: “People forgot that human history began in Africa. It has been proved by historical evidence that human beings began in Africa. The history of the continent is the history of the world, but our continent is regarded as the least continent to develop.

“I like the idea of the integration of South West. I think it will be a great example for the rest of the country. If our country is to realize the hopes of the founders of the country, I think we need to restructure our existing structure of government. We need a true federation. What we have now

cannot develop this country the way we want it.

“We, Nigerians, have the chance of working with Ghana to keep the flame of African development alive.”

In his speech, Ogbeni Aregbesola said he shared the vision of the PANAFEST in its effort to integrate Africa adding that “it is an idea whose time has come.”

He said for Africa to effective play a leading role in the contemporary world, “the idea of integration is something that needs to be pursued.” He also said that his state, in its effort to improve the economy of the people, “is developing its tourist sites and also opening up the transportation system.”

Among those present at the event were Governor Aregbeasola and his deputy, Mrs. Ttilayo Tomori, Chief Anyaoku, the representative of the Lagos State governor, Rev. Tunji Adebiyi, Professor Ropo Shekoni, Mr. Bruce Onorbrekpeya, Otunba Wanle Akinboboye, Mr. Yemisi Kuti and many other dignitaries.

The 20th PANAFEST to be held in Ghana is expected to run from July 21 to August 3 with the theme: Rebirth of Motherland: The Role of People of African Descent.

•Otunba Wanle Akinboboye and other guests

Tourism News NTDC, NDE strategise on job creation

er of economy According to the WTTC, the industry directly will contribute $2 trillion in GDP and 100 million jobs to the global economy in 2012. When the wider economic impacts of the industry are taken into account, tourism is forecast to contribute some $6.5 trillion to the global economy and generate 260 million jobs – or 1 in 12 of all jobs on the planet.

Research by the UNWTO and WTTC, released at the T20 Ministers Meeting last May, showed that the G20 could boost their international tourist numbers by an additional 122 million, generate an extra US$ 206 billion in tourism exports and create over five million additional jobs by 2015 by improving visa processes and entry formalities.

I

N view of the alarming unemployment situation in the country, the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation(NTDC) and the National Directorate of Employment(NDE) have decided to explore ways of generating employment for the teeming population in line with the transformation agenda of Mr. President.

This was disclosed during a visit to the NTDC Headquarters by the Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment, Mallam Abubakar Mohammed, and members of his management team.

During the visit, the DG, NTDC, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, and his counterpart at the NDE agreed to project local products like handi-

•Abubakar Mohammed crafts of variegated range, hair weaving and locally produced fabrics like “adire”, production of local snacks and the proliferation of a mobile toilet facility at strategically busy points all aimed at generating employment at the grassroots, especially in clustered areas

across Nigeria perceived to be of economic interests.

According to both DGs, the idea is to harness the innate potential of people by way of empowerment, while engaging them positively to be self-employed and also create jobs which will translate into major gains for tourism and the economy in totality.

In his address, Mallam Abubakar stated that his coming to the tourism village was predicated on developing mutual areas of interest given the mandate of both outfits which, according to him, could be subsumed into employment generation, stressing that this was the inner logic of the transformation agenda.

O’odua spends 30m on Lafia Hotel

•Event Hall, Lafia Hotel

L

AFIA Hotel, Ibadan, the first hotel to be established in the old Western Nigeria, is currently renovating its accommodation facilities to help it gain back its position as one of the leading hotels in the South West.

This is part of the phased renovation efforts currently on to reposition the hotel.

This was disclosed by Mr. Adebayo Jimoh, the group Managing Director of O’odua Invest Limited, owners of the hotel.

In addition, the hotel, under a new general manager, is renovating its leisure and fun facilities for parties and other activities. The new general manager of the hotel, Mr. Olawale Ilori, while taking some journalists on tour of the hotel facilities, said the renovation on the chalets has been completed, and other aspects of the hotel will also be touched.

Speaking also on the renovation, Mr. Jimoh said the group had spent about 30 million naira in renovating the hotel. “ Until recently we probably didn’t have all the little renovation work that you see. We didn’t have an event hall. The event hall was opened about three years ago. We opened the hall to attract people that would want to have a one-stop event, one-stop meaning, I have a hall and I can accommodate some of my guests.

That was the major goal. The facilities are tired. They are very old facilities and are over 60 years, but we have started phased renovation work.

“We have done the administrative section. We had to re-roof the whole

building because it was leaking. The 30-room chalet has been fixed, we have to now move to the main building and that is in this year’s budget.

“We only want to look at what is called the down time in the hotel business. Their down time is usually during the rainy season when patronage becomes a bit low, but we are going to do that.

That will be the final phase.

Thereafter, we will do the environment, the environment, meaning the internal roads and we try to maintain the green ambience because that is the major attraction. When people come out of their rooms, they can take a walk. People come here to lodge because they have a place to jog. You can come here to sleep, walk and jog.

“We are constrained with bigger issues of looking at buildings, bigger rooms and all that because we also have in town Premier Hotel. That Premier Hotel is our major focus in terms of branding.

We are still targeting an international brand for Premier Hotel to add a lot of value to it. But before we get to that level, we want to make it very attractive, and that is what we have been doing.

“The new manager joined this hotel late last year. He has done very well bringing new ideas, especially entertainment because he has got the facilities for entertainment and I think his entertainment activities have attracted many people to visit the place.

“So, in a nutshell, we are happy that at least for some months now, the hotel has started making profit. That shows that if we do more, we can get more”.

.DG, NTDC, Otunba Segun Runsewe (left), presenting A DVD containing various tourist sites to some members of the House of Representatives during their oversight visit to the tourism headquarters.

50

FEATURES

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

Probes that turned the hunters to the hunted

T

,

•Lawan

•Otedola

Segun AJIBOYE As part of its findings, the panel stated: “The committee identified the brains behind waivers of due process on NIPP disbursements. The justification at that time was to fast-track the completion of the projects. But rather than fast-track or facilitate the completion of the projects as envisaged, waivers of due process became the major plank that facilitated payments to contractors and consultants that have failed to perform, at the expense of the nation and the power industry. These officers need to be thoroughly investigated by the appropriate agencies for economic sabotage to the country.”

Referring to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, it added: “In view of the enormity of the issues entailed in the findings, it is recommended that former President Olusegun Obasanjo should be called to account for the recklessness in the power sector during his time. The committee recommends that EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC) should investigate him.”

But the committee was soon embroiled in controversy. In what seemed like a reversal of roles, rather than those

,

HE House of Representatives is fast building a reputation of a chamber whose probe panels are veritable platforms for controversies. From the probe panel on the Independent Power Project (IPP) to the recent probe of the management of fuel subsidy, the lower chamber of the National Assembly has repeatedly become the object of the searchlight of the security and anticorruption agencies each time it probes into the activities of public office holders suspected to have engaged in one act of corruption or the other.

For instance, Nigerians had celebrated with fanfare the decision of the House to constitute a panel to investigate the sum of $16 billion allegedly sunk into the power sector between 1999 and 2007. At the head of the panel was a young, toughtalking Hon. Godwin Ndudi Elumelu.

Prior to his appointment as chairman of the panel, he had proved himself as a popular, no-nonsense member of the House.

The public hearing was captured live on national television. During the panel’s sittings, there were loads of revelations that explained why the touted 10,000 megawatts of electricity expected to be produced at the end of 2007 could not materialise. The revelations left many Nigerians wondering what went wrong.

While the public hearing lasted, Elumelu and other members of the panel became darlings of the public, as they grilled individuals and groups previously considered untouchable over their roles in the scam. This was followed with a marathon tour of project sites across the country in order to verify the veracity or otherwise of the stupendous claims made by the contractors that handled the power projects.

The Elumelu-led committee allegedly unearthed monumental corruption as most of the contractors were discovered to have collected billions of naira without doing any work. Some of the contractors were also said to have been guilty of overinvoicing and breach of due process.

•Elumelu...cleared by the court

In an incident reminiscent of a soap opera on corruption, Nigerians were treated to a scandalous story in which Lawan, leader of the ‘Integrity Group’ in the House was alleged to have collected the sum of $620,000 as part payment for a $3 million bribe to remove Zenon Oil from the list of indicted firms

mentioned in the committee’s reports facing trial, Elumelu and some of his men were the ones being investigated for alleged gratification.

However, Elumelu turned to the court; he got a big reprieve at the Court of Appeal which gave him a clean bill of health.

Not long after, another member, Hon. Herman Hembe, the Chairman of the House Committee on Capital Market and other Institutions, was fingered in another probe that turned messy.

Yet at the beginning, his job seemed simple and harmless—the role played by the regulatory agencies in the crash of the Nigerian capital market. According to the House of Representatives, the probe was intended to address some of the issues that

,

had discouraged many investors from returning to the market. But the probe assumed a dramatic twist when the Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Aruma Oteh, accused the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market of demanding N44 million from the regulatory agency.

Oteh alleged that the committee demanded the money as the agency’s contribution towards funding the public hearing. According to her, the demand came in two tranches of N39 million two weeks before the public hearing and N5 million 24 hours to the commencement of the investigation.

•Continued on page 51

51

FEATURES

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

How we produce fake recharge cards with Road Safety stickers —Suspect I F the confessional statement of a suspect in the police custody in Jos, Plateau State is anything to go by, Nigerians, particularly those that are resident in the northern parts of the country will need to be more careful when buying recharge cards for their phones. Fake recharge card syndicates are on the prowl.

A shop keeper in Jos, Bulus Bala, a few days ago apprehended a suspect who attempted to dupe him with fake recharge cards. Bulus had fallen victim to fake recharge card syndicates on several occasions, during which he lost his hard-earned money to the fraudsters. His experience as a victim made him to realise the tricks usually employed by the fraudsters, including the last one that came to him with the same tricks.

Dressed in long-sleeve shirt, a tie and a pair of trousers, the handsome young man had gone to his provision store at Hill Station Hotel Junction, in front of the secretariat of the Plateau State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Yusufu Aminu IDEGU

Bala said: “The suspect came in his usual style to ask for an MTN recharge card. He approached my shop and demanded for three recharge cards of N1, 500. When I told him I had them, he demanded for three, which I gave him. He told me he would call someone to ask if he could also buy more cards of other networks. I pretended that I was attending to other customers. He did not know that I was watching him.

“He pretended to be making a call to someone. He then moved to a corner and changed the cards I gave him with the fake ones he had in his pocket. Then he came back and returned the MTN cards I gave him, saying the buyer would prefer a Glo and Zain recharge cards. That was the point I knew he was one of those fraudsters who had used similar tricks to dupe me in the past. I immediately held him and raised the alarm.

The people around responded promptly and descended on him with thorough beating.

“It was some journalists at the Press Club that came to the rescue of the suspect from being lynched by the mob. They later handed the suspect over to soldiers at the STF headquarters, just behind the Plateau State secretariat of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).”

The suspect, who later gave his name as Triumphant Okpateye, claimed to have come all the way from Abeokuta, Ogun State. While explaining himself to the STF soldiers, the suspect said: “I had been looking for how to raise money for the treatment of my daughter with cancer ailment. I went to Lagos from Abeokuta to look for money. I went to friends to lend me some money but I was told of how to make the money without begging or borrowing.

“They taught me how to make money by using fake recharge cards. But they warned me not to practice the trick in Lagos because Lagos people were already used to the trick and that I should go somewhere far away from Lagos. So, I decided to come to the North to practice the trick. I have already made

•Okpateye

N50, 000 by applying the trick.

I wanted to make it N100, 000 before I was caught.”

Asked to explain the trick he used in duping people, the suspect said: “I was instructed to buy the road safety stickers motorists place at the back of their cars. The sticker has a veil similar to the ones used in con-

Probes that turned the hunters to the hunted •Continued frrom page 50 She claimed that her refusal to part with the said sums appeared to have angered members of the panel and resulted in their seeming bias against her when she appeared before the panel. She added that Hembe had last year collected from SEC an undisclosed amount of money and a business class ticket to travel to the Dominican Republic for a conference, but he neither made the trip nor returned the money.

Incidentally, Otteh decided to ‘open’ up when she came under fire as the probe delved into some extraneous issues relating to her recruitment, conditions of service, qualification, competence and personal integrity.

Probably angered by the audacity of the committee to question her despite all she had allegedly done for them, Otteh said: “You had implied that as a regulator, that by having people on secondment from the private sector, it could undermine the capacity of the regulatory functions of the commission. In asking the SEC to contribute N39 million for this public hearing, don’t you think that you are undermining your capacity to carry out your duties?

“When I took this job, I was warned that when you fight corruption, it will fight back, but I did not know that the fight would come from the House Committee on Capital Market.”

Reacting, Hembe said: “I hope this is not a ploy to distract us from achieving the main objectives of this public hearing. Please let this not be a ploy to distract us from achieving the main objective of this hearing.

I believe that we have the representatives of the ICPC and the EFCC with us. The issue

•Otteh •Hembe of corruption or no corruption should be put aside. They are here and they will write their report. I think we should concentrate on the major issue here.”

However, Hembe’s counsel could not bury the matter. He lost his position as the Chairman of the House Committee on Capital Market. He told the House that on the strength of the allegations against him, he considered himself no longer fit to continue to preside over the probe.

Hembe insisted that he was innocent in the face of the allegations but added: “In my innocence, however, I am aware of the impact of these false allegations on public perception; and as a legal practitioner, I am conversant with the principle of law that in the exercise of judicial or quasijudicial functions, it becomes inappropriate to continue to preside when allegations on pecuniary interest are made against your person. “ Then came the latest bribery scandal in the House involving a member of the House Committee on Fuel Subsidy Management, Hon. Farouk Lawan. In an incident reminiscent of a soap opera on corruption, Nigerians are being treated to a scandalous story in which Lawan, leader of the ‘Integrity Group’ in the House is alleged to have collected the sum of $620,000 as part payment for a $3

million bribe to remove Zenon Oil from the list of indicted firms.

The lid had been blown open by the Chairman, Zenon Oil and Gas, Mr. Femi Otedola, who alleged that Lawan indeed collected part payment of the bribe money.

He even said that when he told the lawmaker that the money was in Lagos, he suggested that a chattered aircraft be used to ferry it to Abuja.

Irrespective of the clarification made at the hearing, Otedola said Lawan still approached him a few days before the report was to be tabled on April 18, 2012 before the House of Representatives, demanding money so that Zenon’s name would be kept out of the report.

“When this happened, I was very angry and reminded him that Zenon has never participated in the subsidy scheme and that it would be criminal to rope in the company for something it did not do. But Lawan responded, stating that several other marketers were playing ball and had offered the members of the committee large sums of money to ensure that their companies’ names were not published in the report,” Otedola added.

Otedola said initially he balked at Lawan’s attempt to extort money from him and told the legislator that he would not pay up, as Zenon had not committed any crime.

cealing the PIN of recharge cards. After that, we would look for used cards and cover the already scratched PIN to make them look like new ones. We change the fake ones with original ones from recharge card vendors. That was exactly what I wanted to do before I was caught.

“Another way to use the road safety stickers is to buy them in bulk.

We picked used recharged cards, sealed them with the veil we got from the road safety stickers and used a machine to seal them with white thin leather to make them look real.

“The truth is that I learnt the trick to make the N100, 000 I was looking for, and I intended to withdraw from the crime as soon as I made the money I was looking for. I had made half of the money with the trick before I was caught.”

Asked why he denied the act while at Bala’s shop, Okpateye said: “Ah, if I had told them the truth, they would have killed me there. But I know the soldiers will not kill me if I tell them the truth.”

The STF commended the journalists who rescued the suspect from the mob and promised to hand him over to the police.

He added: “Then a day before the report was to be submitted, Lawan called again, informing me that Zenon’s name had been included in the report. I, of course, was very angry and asked him to desist from his course of action, but Lawan insisted that I must pay up as other oil marketers had done before me.”

Otedola said he could not believe his eyes the next day when the report came out and Zenon’s name was listed under the category of companies that had bought foreign exchange from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) but had not imported petrol.

The amount ascribed to Zenon in the report was $232,975,385.13. The report had recommended that Zenon and 14 other marketers that had bought the foreign exchange be referred to the anticorruption agencies to determine what they used the monies for.

Otedola said at this point, he again called Lawan, demanding that Zenon’s name be removed from the list, as there was no way his company could have bought that volume of foreign exchange without importing products. “I reminded him that the amount ascribed to Zenon was wrong as what the company bought was over $400 million,” he said.

Continuing, Otedola said on April 21, the Saturday before the plenary, Lawan came in person to his residence and collected $250,000 in cash, as the first installment, and “then the next Monday night, he came and collected another $250,000.”

Farouk has, however, owned up to the receipt of $500, 000 from the Zenon boss, but quickly added that it was intended as an exhibit. The lawmaker insists that the allegation was diversionary, a ploy meant to make nonsense of the committee’s report, which indicted many players in the oil industry.

However, more theatrical of the episode was the fact that Farouk was recorded on video while allegedly receiving the bribe.

Unknown to him, Mr. Otedola had a hidden pen that recorded the transaction.

Aside from this, the money, which was allegedly given to Mr. Otedola by security agents, were also marked.

The video has now become a ‘blockbuster’ and an innovation in the war against corruption in the country.

FAMIL Y HEAL TH AMILY HEALTH

52

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

COMMITMENT:Backbone of successful

D

EAR Reader, Calvary greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! For the past two weeks now, I have been teaching on commitment as the backbone of a successful marriage. From these teachings, we have been able to establish what commitment really means.

Last week, we did examine the second level of commitment. This week, we shall be examining the Benefits of Commitment.

To the husband, Commitment Compels Love: Your primary responsibility is that of loving your wife, and commitment compels love. That is, where there is commitment to God and to your spouse, love becomes automatic.

Commitment becomes a driving force, pushing you to love your wife

(Ephesians 5:25).

When I see a man who finds it difficult to love his wife, I know that the problem is essentially that of lack of commitment to God and to his marriage. When there is commitment, you won’t need to be persuaded to love your wife; it will come naturally.

My husband, for instance, is highly committed to God and to the success of our home. Therefore, it is easy for him to lavish so much love on me, even without my asking for it.

That is commitment!

You must know that there is no wife who hates to be loved, and there is no woman that will not respond positively to love.

Someone once said that submission is a response, because when you love your wife she responds by submitting. Therefore, ten-

sion and quarrelling in a home are indications of the absence of love. The same principle goes for other members of the family.

Commitment to the success of your family makes you invest time into the lives of your children. You must ensure that the children have a constant assurance of your love.

A commitment to love your family is not complete, until you give voice to it. No matter how spiritual a woman is, she still wants to be told that she is loved. I can tell you this as a woman, that I want to hear my husband give voice to his commitment by telling me how much he loves me, and he does!

These are some of the things that hold our home together.

To the wife, Commitment Triggers Submission: Just as commitment provokes love, it also triggers submission. If you are truly committed to the success of your marriage, you will be submissive to your husband. But when you are stubborn and naughty, it is a sign of lack of com-

marriages (4) mitment to your home.

Contrary to some people’s thinking, submission has nothing to do with slavery. Rather, it is an act of the will. Submission means willingly putting yourself under someone else’s authority. A committed wife needs no advice to submit to her husband. Her commitment is a driving force. I am not talking about submission under duress, but from a willing heart.

An area where many women find it difficult to submit in marriage is in their finances. Money is a “god” to such women. I learnt to submit my earnings to my husband right from the time I was engaged in secular employment. Mark you, I was not just throwing it at him, but handing it over to him respectfully. That’s why now he does not wait for me to ask for money; he just keeps giving to me!

I would, however, like to sound a note of caution here, for the sake of balance. It was easy for me to

•A stressed-up surgeon lost his temper and cut off a patient's penis during surgery to correct a testicular problem. In court the doctor confessed it was "a temporary loss of judgement due to personal problems".

•A woman went to surgery for her tonsils to be removed and, instead, her voice box was cut and she remained dumb for life.

•A patient was killed by a gas tank that came at him like a missile during an MRI. The magnetic field around the MRI machine sucked the metal tank out of a technician's hands.

•A delicate error caused leakage of inflammable anaesthetic gas which, on contact with a probe being inserted into a patient, burst into flames leaving the patient with severe permanent damage.

The Institute of Medicine

•Medical equipments

has looked critically at medical errors and while admitting that "to err is human," it also attributes errors to faulty systems: "good people working in bad systems."

Wikipedia and other websites give various reasons why medical errors occur. Some of the causes of medical errors are: Lack of competence, faulty education, inadequate training •Inexperience •Poor documentation including bad writing and incorrect records •Medical tourists and communication problems •Patient actions and noncompliance •Poor medical staff teamwork •Delayed attention to a deadly disease due to an overcrowded waiting room •Complex and urgent care •Cost-cutting measures •Poor infrastructure or failure of infrastructure •Unfamiliar settings •Fake and undocumented doctors, especially in alternative medi-

cine.

Wikipedia informs us that "acording to the World Health Organization, 50 percent of medical equipment in developing countries is only partly usable due to lack of skilled operators or parts. As a result, diagnostic procedures or treatments cannot be performed, leading to substandard treatment." • Medical staff are often overworked. •Time pressures, urgencies, sleep deprivation, fatigue and burnout are also identified contributors to medical errors.

In countries like the USA where the system is some-

what accountable, patients can get financial and other compensations for medical errors. In other countries, the "all-powerful" medical staff may get away with errors and their victims are helpless. In either case, being informed helps us to limit our risks.

Medical errors are preventable. Make sure that your name and some other important identifiers such as date of birth and residential address are used to identify you and to follow up your case. Do not rush or pressure the staff if you can wait.

Do not be afraid to make requests for your safety such as reminding your care giver to wash his or her hands if you see that it is necessary, or asking questions about drugs or procedures and their effects. Do not be afraid to double check with the staff before surgery because any misinformation between technical, nursing, and surgical staff can cost you.

Be respectful, be peaceful, be watchful, be collaborative, and be cautious.

Dr. 'Bola John is a biomedical scientist based in Nigeria and in the USA. For any comments or questions on this column, please Email bolajohnwritings@yahoo.com or call 07028338910

Jesus as Lord and Saviour of your family. If you know you are not committed to God and you want to, you can say this prayer of faith: Dear Lord, I come to You today. I am a sinner.

Forgive me my sins.

Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour.

Now I know I am born again!

Congratulations! Till I come your way again next week, call or write, and share your testimonies with me through: E-mail: faithdavid@yahoo.com Tel. No: 234-1-7747546-8; 0 7 0 2 6 3 8 5 4 3 7 , 07094254102 For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all the Living Faith Churches, and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, and Building A Successful Family.

Dry skin

T

Medical errors •Continued from last week

hand over my salary to my husband, because our relationship permitted that. I could trust him. He was not bullying me or spending the money in an unaccountable manner. Don’t expect her to submit all her income to you if you are going to spend it frivolously, without any consideration for her own needs as well.

Wherever there is commitment in a marriage, there will be love and submission: both parties working together for the success of their home. Personally, I don’t find it stressful to submit to my husband, not just now, but right from the days of little beginnings. I never had to be coerced into doing so. I have always found it a thing of great joy.

To get God committed to your marriage, you need to first of all be committed to God. Getting committed to God entails confessing your sins and accepting

HE skin’s oil glands pro duce natural oil, which protects the skin against water loss. Dry skin (xerosis) can be the result when the oil is depleted.

Most people struggle with dry skin at some point in their lives, especially when they are past middle age. The lower legs, sides of the abdomen, arms and thighs are most commonly affected.

Dry skin can result in scaling, flaking or itching and the appearance of fine wrinkles.

It is rarely a serious condition.

However, some people suffer from a severe form of dry skin called ichthyosis vulgaris. This condition develops when the skin cells fail to shed and form thick, dry scales instead, hence the alternative name: fish scale disease. It can be inherited, or may be due to other medical conditions, such as AIDS or hypothyroidism, and can be disfiguring.

Cause Dry skin is most frequently caused by the following: •Weather: It is more common during the harmattan period, because of the lower humidity. Wind and extreme heat can also dehydrate the skin.

•Frequent bathing or showering washes away the skin’s natural barrier.

•Harsh soaps, perfumed

moisturisers and detergents can dry out the skin.

•Air conditioners and heaters.

•Metabolic changes that occur with normal ageing or as a result of certain medical conditions.

Symptoms Signs and symptoms depend on a person’s age, health status, exposure to environmental factors and the cause of the problem. It includes: •Discomfort or tightness •Skin appears rough, shrunken or dehydrated •Itching •Fine lines or cracks •Severe redness •Deep fissures Prevention and treatment Dry skin usually responds well to home treatment. Take the following steps: •Don’t bath or shower more than once a day.

Cleanse your face only once a day.

•Don’t use harsh soaps.

Mild moisture bars are best.

Avoid highly alkaline products, or products that contain alcohol.

•Use warm (not hot) water.

•Pat-dry your skin instead of rubbing it.

•Apply a bath oil or moisturiser on damp skin.

Thick, greasy moisturisers are most effective.

Tips on how to prevent urinary tract infection •Adequate fluid intake to ensure the passage of 1½ to 2 litres of urine per day. There is no benefit in excessive fluid intake.

•Women should always wipe from front to back after passing stool.

•Women should empty the bladder after sexual intercourse.

•Avoid spermicidal creams and diaphragm contraceptives as both these are associated with a higher incidence of urinary tract infections.

•Regular intake of cranberry juice appears to have a protective effect. A substance in cranberries prevents the adhesion of bacteria to the lining of the urinary tract.

•Daily low dose prophylactic antibiotics reduce the rate of infection in patients suffering from recurrent infections.

However, this does not alter the underlying propensity to develop infections once the prophylaxis is stopped.

FAMIL Y HEAL TH AMILY HEALTH

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

53 Coping with diseases with Prof. Dayo Oyekole

Reduce cholesterol, fight cancer with walnut

W

ITH the rains come certain seasonal foods that are usually eagerly awaited by a majority of the populace. One of these is the popular walnut fruit.

Walnut is a popular nut that is packed with nutrients that are of great health and medicinal benefits. It is an annual agricultural product, widely cultivated in the South-West zone of the country. The African walnut is locally called ‘asala’ or ‘awusa.’ The fruit is capsular in shape and contains subglobular seed that is edible when cooked.

The nut contains many health benefits. For instance, it’s an excellent source of antiinflammatory Omega-3 essential fatty acids. They are

also rich in anti-oxidants.

“Walnuts are good for the health and the circulatory system,” stated Dr Idowu Ogunkoya, the Provost, Federal College of Complimentary and Alternative Medicine of Nigeria. “For optimal function of the cardiovascular system, there must be ample presence of anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients, proper composition and flexibility in our blood vessel walls and research has shown the ability of walnuts to have a favourable impact on all these aspects,” he said.

Besides, he stated that the nut helps to reduce problems in the metabolic syndrome in type 2 diabetics and some

cancers. “It helps to reduce the risk of prostrate and breast cancer by consuming large

amounts of walnuts. They are also a desirable food for support of weight lose and prevention of obesity.”

Coping with cold

O

NE downside of the rainy season is the array of cold-weather ailments that come with this period. These include colds, cartarrh, sore throats, asthma, flu, pneumonia and other respiratory ailments which can cause a lot of misery and keep you indoors for days.

The young are especially susceptible to catching colds because of their immune system that is not fully developed. For cold sufferers,

the sad news is that there are no cold cures or remedies that will make it go away faster. Colds usually run their course in five to 10 days or less depending on their severity.

However, certain remedies can provide relief for the symptoms such as headaches, fever, runny noses and nose congestion. One of such which has been used for ages is the drinking of plenty of fluids. Water, juice, clear chicken broth or

warm lemon water with homey helps loosen congestion and prevents dehydration. Avoid alcohol, coffee and caffeinated sodas which can make dehydration worse.

The efficacy of chicken or fish pepper soup as effective remedy for colds has since been scientifically proved. It relieves cold and flu symptoms by acting as an anti-inflammatory and speeding up the movement of mucus.

Remedies with honey are ideal for colds and sinusitis, sore throat and other cold-

related ailments. A honey, lemon and ginger cocktail can offer great relief. Drink hot for best results. Ginger tea is also good for cold and cartarrh. Sprinkle a ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger and add two teaspoons of honey to make a pleasant drink.

Also eat lots of fruits like oranges and pawpaw to boost your immune level.

Over-the-counter cold and cough medications such as decongestants and expectorants can also provide relief for stuffy noses, coughs and throat congestion, sneezing, watery eyes and nasal discharge.

The power of positive thinking

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IFE can be stressful and it gets worse during times of economic downturn like the one being experienced these days. This can impact negatively on one’s mental and physical wellbeing. But positive thinking can help. It brings inner peace, success, improved relationships, better health, happiness and satisfaction. It also helps the daily

affairs of life move more smoothly, and makes life look bright and promising.

It’s long been a popular idea that our levels of optimism or pessimism can influence physical health.

Think how we often tell ill or injured people to look on the bright side. Now scientists are finding that our internal philosophies, especially how optimistic we are, potentially have a greater impact on our health than we ever thought possible.

Dr. Becca Levy, from the Yale School of Public Health, has found some extraordinary benefits of an optimistic outlook. In one study, she looked at 660 people who had completed a survey about their attitude to aging in 1975, then correlated their responses to the ages at which they died. “We found that indi-

viduals with a more positive view of aging tended to live seven-and-a-half years longer than those with more negative views of aging,” says Dr. Levy. “This advantage remained after adjusting for a number of factors such as age, gender, socioeconomic status, loneliness and functional health.”

True optimism does not mean being perpetually positive no matter what, and it is not about denying legitimate feelings of sadness or grief.

“It’s actually quite normal if you are diagnosed with a chronic or potentially fatal illness to feel upset about it,” Dr. Louise Sharpe, a psychologist from the University of Sydney who has studied the link between emotions and arthritis. “You have to process it and seek treatments before you can reach a point where you’re ready to accept it. What normally happens is, people around you

feel very uncomfortable with the grief and distress, and they try to get you to think positively, and sometimes that can be invalidating.”

The mind-lifestyle connection But an optimistic attitude may also influence the way you live your life, which has an impact on your health. “If you’re under a lot of stress, you’re more likely to not look after your diet, not exercise, not sleep as well, drink more alcohol. These lifestyle things are also risk factors for cancer and other diseases,” says Dr. Price.

Understanding how emotions are linked to physical conditions is important in helping to create new treatments, and also to offer hope to people who believe they may have brought their illness on themselves.

To be continued Source: Best Health

Holistic remedy for HIV/AIDS

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OLISTIC Healthcare is the application of the best com bination of natural therapies, in the provision of complementary and wholesome health care services.

Natural therapy in this context implies a non-conventional system of preventing or eliminating physical, mental, social or spiritual ailments; which may rely exclusively on past experience and observation handed down from generation to generation, verbally or in writing. It involves the use of natural plants (herbs), animal matter and mineral compounds.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a complex of diseases and symptoms resulting from unexplained immune deficiency; caused by a retrovirus, culminating in a “mixed-bag” of life-threatening opportunistic infections, which invariably result in death. The retrovirus that causes AIDS is known as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) with types I, II, and III already isolated.

Paradoxically, while orthodox researchers have been struggling unsuccessfully to produce a single drug remedy for AIDS, there has been a tremendous advance made by the unorthodox, self-financed but highly ridiculed holistic approach; and it has become clear that the natural defence mechanisms of the individual sufferer can be augmented towards evolving a panacea to the disease problem.

It is against this background of unproductive waste of human, material and financial resources, in the face of the physical, psychological and social hazards imposed on mankind

by Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and several other devastating, insidious and otherwise intractable diseases; that I have embarked on this exposition of the “wisdom of ages”, as a private sector contribution to the strategies towards attainment of the much-desired “Health For All” in this millennium.

Over the past 28 years, I have conducted research at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria; as well as at Interdisciplinary Research Centres in Europe and Southern Africa; on holistic and complementary healthcare systems.

In the course of my research activities, it has become glaring that the body’s ability to protect itself from the onslaught of offending virus, bacteria, fungi, cancer cells, etc can be enhanced by holistic herbal ‘immuno-modulators’ , because, apart from supporting the body’s own immune defence mechanisms, they also prevent opportunistic infections.

In Holistic Lifecare, we are committed to total cure of HIV/ AIDS sufferers when they have just been tested and diagnosed positive, when they are still able to eat, drink and move around on their own, but not when they are expecting their funeral the next day!

The Holistic Natural Remedy being suggested for restoring good health, vitality, and total cure in HIV/AIDS sufferers; is a combination of herbal, nutritional and psycho-social therapies at the appropriate time and in the right proportion.

Notable among the useful herbs for HIV/AIDS are Aloe vera, Allium sativum, Harpagophytum zeyheri, Echinacea augustifolia and Zingiber officinale.

For further information and consultation on Holistic Lifecare research and services, especially on Blood Infections, Infertility, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Chronic Debilitating Conditions as well as mental and social problems, please call on: 0803-330-3897 or visit: Mosebolatan Holistic Lifecare Centre, Adeyalo Layout, Ogbere-Tioya, Off Olorunsogo Express Bridge, Ibadan. Website: www.holisticlifecare.com. Distance is no barrier, we can send remedies by courier if need be. We also have facilities for accommodation, admission and hospitalization in a serene and homely environment.

54

Special Project Unit Publication: THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012 Outstanding Chairmen, Transition Committee in Ogun State

‘How I narrowly escaped being beheaded’

The Chairman of Ikenne Local Government Area, Ogun State, Barrister Olufemi Adeniyi has demonstrated that after all, administrators of third tiers of government are capable of impacting lives of the people at grassroots. Recently, the Ogun State governor Senator Ibikunle Amosun adjudged Ikenne Local Government Area as one of the best local governments in the state. This commendation scorecard remains a direct reflection of a true visionary leader in action

The success story of Olufemi Adeniji, Chairman Ikenne Local Govt Area, Ogun State

W •A deserted petrol station

•Continued from Page 13 were established, for me, has created a vacuum because the essence for which they were set up there has been eliminated. Before they were set up, there was a study by security agencies and it was concluded that they should be set up in those places to secure major highways, to prevent taking away the lives of travellers who in many cases are not even from Kaduna State. Somebody will just be passing by and because there was a crisis, he falls victim on the highway.

“Unfortunately, that was discontinued. I think it is high time government brought back those Strike Force bases. They should man them well and equip them well so that negative reactions to any incident can be curtailed in good time.”

However, respondents to a local television programme blamed politicians for the current crisis.

They argued that the politicisation of religions and the use of religions in campaigning for political offices has a role to play in the current crisis. The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Oluseyin Petirin, agreed with them saying that the on-going act of terrorism in the northern part of Nigeria is more political than religious and assured that the security agents would sustain its role and defeat the people behind it.

Petirin, who spoke while on a visit to the Kaduna State governor, Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, said that the security challenge is a serious phenomenon that all hands must be on deck to defeat and not for the security agents alone as Kaduna State does not play with security even before now, adding that “this evil people have no religious agenda, they only have a political one. They are only trying to make use of people and we must all come together to defeat them and not only for the securities agents alone.

Because we are talking about people who are among us, do all such of devilish things and make life untenable for an average Nigerian.”

He noted that while they know that the evil people would eventually fail, they would rally round to ensure that the failure comes sooner than later “but it is left to us to make it a quick

failure. We can do it and we would do it”.

The Acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Dikko Abubakar, said: “We are working to ensure that security of lives and property is improved in and around Kaduna State our duty is to ensure that every human being is protected and guaranteed.”

Interestingly, Christian leaders in the state appeared to have a fore knowledge of what was coming. The police authority and other security agencies appeared to also have knowledge of the impending danger, but apparently under estimated the magnitude. The Secretary of the Second ECWA DCC, one of the churches affected by the explosion in Zaria, told Governor Yakowa that they had information that the Boko Haram sect will attack Churches on Sunday, but that while they were thinking of how to arrest the situation, the attack came. He wondered why soldiers normally positioned close to his church were withdrawn 24 hours before the explosion took place.

According to him, “we were cautioned on the fact that Boko Haram were already in Zaria. We heard vividly there was a meeting on Friday and the chairmen and secretaries of CAN Zone 1 were actually invited for a meeting; we were told that Boko Haram were already in Zaria and there were going to strike this (last) Sunday.

Some of us were very concerned and were thinking of what possible thing to do to avert such happenings”.

Also, the Senior Pastor of the Shalom Church, Pastor Oyewale Israel, said they envisaged the attack and prepared for it “in case it gets out of hand and requested for some military officers to come and handle our gate for us”. He said he had gone to preach in one of his branch churches and was returning to the headquarters when he saw a suspicious Honda Accord car near the church. He entered the church and the congregation was already waiting for him.

He said further: “Around 10 minutes to 10am or thereabout, I was so restless that I felt like something was about to happen. So I asked all the church members to stand and we should lay hands on our head, and pray that our heads should reject where the evil was coming from. We were

in the process of that prayer and I just said in Jesus name when we heard the explosion.”

He said while the prayer was on-going, he was looking through the window and saw the military man at the gate and the driver arguing and suddenly, the driver sped off and drove towards the church but fell into a gutter in front of the church, adding that while struggling to reverse the car out of the gutter, the bomb exploded and killed three people: the soldier at the gate, one of the church security men and a man standing by the entrance of the church, while others sustained various levels of injuries.

In what looked like a confirmation of these claims, the state Police Commissioner, Mohammed Jinjiri Abubakar, said that the suicide bombers had initially planned to start their bombing on Friday, but that security agents were quick to burst them, pointing out that the bombing on Sunday would have been worsted. He noted that 15 high caliber IEDs were recovered by the police.

“When the police raided the suspect’s compound, they uncovered a shocking arsenal of IEDs, arms and ammunition. The manufacturer who is a well-known mechanic in Kaduna, ran into the ceiling of his house.

By the time we pursued him up the ceiling, he had escaped through a hole. This was last Friday. The idea was to start the bombings on Friday. But, we were quick to stop that. If not, last Sunday’s bombings could have been worse.

“A total of nine suspects were arrested and on interrogation, they confessed to killing some innocent persons in Kaduna metropolis and environs as well as snatching several cars. Exhibits recovered include, 15 high calibre EIDs that could have caused serious catastrophe in the state unintercepted.”

For now, residents of the state are suffering the hardship occasioned by the crisis as many people were caught unawares by the development. Businesses are suffering, recording great losses.

But some relaxation spots in parts of the city are making brisk business just as some soldiers and policemen who are not on duty take advantage of the curfew to make brisk business, ferrying stranded people from one part of the city to the other.

HILE leadership to some people is an opportunity to enrich themselves, few others see it as a rare privilege to better the lots of the masses and put smiles on their faces.

Hon. (Barrister) Olufemi Sunday Adeniji, Chairman Transition Committee, Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State belongs to the category of politicians who are in government to better the lots of the masses.

He has not only demonstrated that he is really a man of action, but also, he has demonstrated an exemplary life of dedication, service and ultimate desire to transform the lives of his people at the grassroots.

In fact, since assumption of office about a year ago, the people of Ikenne Local Government Area have had cause to smile and thank God for giving them a leader with a high sense of dedication and service to the people. Call him a ‘Godsent’ and you may not be wrong. Indeed, to the people of Ikenne LGA, Hon. Adeniji is a ‘God sent’ leader.

Despite his initial complaint of meeting the council in a state of decay, Hon, Adeniji declared “I ‘m here to serve my people”. Indeed, he has proved his words going by the various laudable programmes he has carried out in almost one year in office.

However, following his excellent performance, Governor Ibikunle Amosun recently after his assessment tour of the 20 local government areas, adjudged Ikenne LGA as one of the best local governments in the state.

This commendation scorecard remains a direct reflection of a true visionary leader in action.

What Ikenne people are witnessing today is a realisation of Hon. Adeniji’s dream to delivering the dividends of democracy at the grassroots. He believes in carrying everybody along, and that is why, upon assumption of office, he did not overlook the need to consult with the various community leaders and opinion moulders, all in the bid to transform the area.

Today, it has paid off, and Ikenne people can tell better.

Often times, people have had this negative notion that the third tier of government operates either appendages of the state governments or out-rightly has outlived its usefulness to the grassroots people owing to the activities of some corrupt politicians, but people like Adeniji, have proved that this wrong with their selfless services.

Being a one – time chairman of Ikenne Development Association, Hon. Adeniji perfectly understands the problems and challenges

•Adeniji facing his people. And that’s why, upon assumption of office, he rolled out a holistic programmes geared towards jumpstarting even development in the area.

Prominent among the programmes, was the continued maintenance of the local government’s oil palm plantation which is situated in Ikenne.

As one of the economic base of the council, the administration occasionally carries out weeding and pruning of the plantation.

The last exercise was carried out between September and October last year. The palms were harvested after weeding as planting were also carried out in the same vein, the fruits according to the council boss had since been processed into palm oil in line with the states government’s programme on agriculture. Also, the administration boasted of collecting 1,000 day old chicks (pullets) for rearing last year. Today, the chicks are said to be doing well as various vaccine and medication were giving to the birds to boast their growth.

Apart from the administration’s concern for boasting agriculture in the area, its sustained health care programme restored the hopes of a number of indigent patients in the area and has given them reason to live a fulfilled life. His construction of a new medical centre at the now evacuated dump site in Iperu, and the renovation of two health facilities in Ogere and Ikenne, remains a clear testimony of his believe in the slogan that ‘health is wealth”.

Other achievements of the administration in the area of providing primary health care to the people, were the provision of equipment to health facilities, sponsoring

of caesarian section and appendicetory operation of two indigent patients. Also, provision of Caesarian section and appendicetory packs to care for emergency operations, sponsoring of vision screening and provision of eye glasses and drugs to patients screened according to their needs, as well as taking care and transportation of abandoned baby welfare department in Abeokuta.

Furthermore, considering the importance of water to human life, the administration embarked on the drilling of boreholes in some communities in the area.

Such communities that benefited from this project included; Ademo/Abara quarter, IIisan, Oja-ale market, Iperu, Yawa, Ikenne, Ogere market amongst others.

Also, the administration undertook the rehabilitation of solar borehole at OkeOla street, Ilisan, as well as the ancient shrine at Ikenne market, construction of open- stores at Ogere and Ikenne markets.

In the area of sanitasizing the environment, the administration, carried out a number of laudable projects, including the clearing of dump sites within the local council, prominent among them was the evacuation of debris/silts from the blocked drainage system in the area, cutting of roads verges with the council, landscaping the median of the road, and procurement of reflective safety jackets for participants during environmental sanitation day exercise which the council observes monthly.

Despite facing a lot of distraction from his opponents, the council boss has remained resolute and determined to give the people the best of governance at the grassroots.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

55

READER’S, VIEW

56

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ONSISTENCY and brutal frankness were some of the traits of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. For his consistency, he could be predicted and for his frankness he was loved by some, hated by some and outright condemned by others. Whatever the case, serious-minded individuals or groups could not afford to ignore Awo’s pronouncements, especially when such carried a tag of warning.

For example, in the early 1980s, Chief Awolowo warned the Shagari administration a few months after its inception of the dire consequences of the profligacy of the Federal Government. Rather than listen to the voice of wisdom, Chief Augustus Akinloye, the National Chairman of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), the ruling party at the centre, went to London to address a world press conference, condemning Awolowo’s chastisement of the Federal Government on financial recklessness. For his position, Chief Akinloye told the world that Awolowo was “a prophet of doom”.

However, before the shout of Jack Robinson, months after Akinloye’s world press conference, the Nigerian economy under the administration of President Shagari was nosediving fastly into the precipice.

Since the assumption of office as the Governor of Borno State a year ago, Kashim Shettima has been consistently consistent in his actions and pronouncements. It is observed that what he pledged to do when elected as the governor is mostly what is being currently translated into reality, especially on youth empowerment and poverty alleviation.

Besides, Shettima had persistently indicted the elite of the north of being responsible for the poverty, backwardness and the present state of insecurity in the region, warning that except there is a change of heart and urgent steps taken to remedy the situation, trouble is ahead. For example, speaking in Maiduguri recently after a year in office, Governor Shettima declared. “….. The hottest place in the hell fire will be reserved for the northern elite who are living in the Islands of affluence and extravagance in an unending ocean of poverty and deprivation where over 80 percent of our people are ex-

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

The Awo, the Goni in Shettima Victor IZEKOR tremely poor. We take our own wards to posh private schools, abandoning the children of the poor to become ECOMOG, Yau Kalare and Yan Tauri and sundry elements to be used during electioneering campaigns.”

Shettima went on, “the youths are angry. We have a few years, five to ten years to make amends or these young men will descend upon us.”

While the persistent brutal frankness of Governor Shettima has been praised, especially by the masses, the elite are indeed uncomfortable, some saying he is inciting the masses against the rich. However, some of my colleagues would say, “This is another Awolowo.”

They both belong to different political parties and were infact political rivals in the last gubernatorial election in Borno State in 2011.

Alhaji Mohammed Goni, a respected political icon and an old horse is from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while Alhaji Kashim Shettima, a promising new comer hails from the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

Notwithstanding their political antics and divide, both have a point of convergence as governor of Borno at different periods. They are both achievement personified, nationalists, champions of the oppressed and crisis managers. The centre-piece or policy thrust of their respective administrations is anchored on massoriented projects.

At the take-off of the respective administrations, the road was littered with huge boulders and crisiscrossed by several ravines and deep gorges. Road blocks, both natural and artificial, expected and unexpected, were mounted on the route.

For example, apart from the socioeconomic problems inherited at the onset by Goni’s administration of the Great Nigeria Peoples’ Party (GNPP) in 1979, he was beset from the first day in office with political and security challenges masterminded by the National Party of

•Shettima

Nigeria (NPN), federally controlled government which incidentally was the opposition party in Borno State.

Though Governor Goni won the governorship election on the platform of the GNPP having defeated his rival in person of Alhaji Kam Salem (a former Inspector General of Police) on the platform of the NPN, but he (Goni) was told categorically by Kam Salem that Goni’s administration would not “last three months” on the grounds that his election was rigged.

This threat was followed by a series of political clashes by supporters of the NPN and GNPP at various points in the state, resulting in arson, deaths and ultimate deportation of Alhaji Shugaba Darman, the GNPP Majority Leader in the Borno State House of Assembly by the Federal Government on the allegation that he was not a Nigerian and a security risk. For example, the Bembem Judicial Commission of inquiry into the bloody Bembem po-

litical clash between supporters of the NPN and GNPP in its findings, captured the mood of mutual hostility in the following words: - To the supporters of both parties the slogan “Adalchi” of the GNPP and “Aminchi” of the NPN were abusive and repulsive words or taken as such; and neither side at Bembem on the fateful day took kindly to them”.

The commission continued: “….

Daggers drawn animosity and hostility permeated the political arena in the state; the political situation was tense and security of the state was unstable, riots, clashes, ambush, threats to life, killings and destruction of properties were rampant.”

Goni, in response to the challenges, fought back as one-time students’ union leader, making it clear that he was on seat to defend the mandate given to him by the people at whatever cost provided the method is legitimate. According to him, “….those with vested interest in the perpetuation of the entrenched ills of the society will find the stand of this incoming administration at best uncomfortable and at worst down right objectionable. This administration wishes it be known right from the start that it has not been elected by the public to perpetuate the status quo. It has been elected because people want change and God willing change they shall get.”

In like manner, Kashim Shettima on May, 2011 inherited a hydraheaded problematic Borno with daunting security challenges at its peak. Apart from the traditional socio-economic problems, Shettima was bequeathed a blood-stained Borno as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency culminating in deaths, bombings and what have you. He was left to bolster through the debris of catastrophe in the midst of staring and tasking challenges. He chose, like Goni, not to be cowed but stayed afloat in the storming sea with the belief that the ship in the troubled water would ultimately land safe. After a year in office, and, inspite of mountain of challenges, Shettima, through cunning skill and

mind focus, is gradually taking Borno to safe a haven.

A true patriot and nationalist, Shettima like Goni is not impeded by any myopic or tribal consideration. Goni’s open door policy, fair mindedness, just and result-inclined are some of the traits exhibited by Shettima. They both share the view of an African socialist thinker who believes in the synchronisation of value, principles and polices to make the best of it and use it.

“We pledge firmly to explore all areas of cooperation with the Federal Government and synchronise our policies with theirs in the interest of peace, tranquility and rapid economic development of Nigeria in general and Borno State in particular,” he said.

Deliberate and sustained efforts through fair distribution of political offices and even development to narrow down the perceived ill-feelings between the major tribe and the minorities is indeed the hallmark of Shettims’s administration. Both administrations (Goni’s and Shettima’s) were disposed to the use of resource persons, irrespective of their places of origin, creeds, political affiliations or persuasions provided they could deliver the desired results. Apart from maximum output expected from such resource persons, this disposition gave both leaders wider acceptance and credibility.

After four years in office (19791983), Goni’s Administration was tagged the golden age of Borno in the light of unprecedented achievements in various sectors. For Shettima, morning shows the day.

His first one year in office was eventful and action-packed inspite of security challenges. He is racing against time and all odds. The masses are his allies and if he continues in this disposition, history is on his side.

In concluding this piece, let me state that this is not an attempt whatsoever to denigrate the efforts of past governors or administrators of the state. Rather, the effort is informed by the uniqueness of the two administrations in challenges and leadership disposition.

•Izekor wrote in from Maiduguri.

BRACED states and opportunities in agricultural value chain development

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EDUCTION of international trade barriers such as tariffs, export fees and import quotas, as well as the global distribution of goods and services have led to growing integration of world markets, creating a highly competitive business environment which stifles businesses in poor countries that cannot compete adequately because of diseconomies of scale. To achieve competitive advantage, businesses in poor countries are increasingly adopting the value chain model. For example, small holder agricultural producers in Honduras that were disenfranchised by the sheer force of globalisation leveraged the model to attain integration with international partners, thereby attaining global competitiveness. The value chain model improved agricultural processes, productivity and profitability among small agricultural producers in the South American country.

The model is premised on the fact that a product is rarely directly consumed at the place of its production; it is transformed, combined with other products, transported, packaged, displayed, and so on until it reaches the final consumer. In this process the raw materials, intermediate products and final products are owned by various players who are linked by trade and services, and each adds value to the product. Various types of public and private services, like business development services, electricity, transport, financial services, are as important as favourable framework conditions, i.e. laws, regulations and their enforcement.

The value chain model estimates the value each particular activity adds to a product or service, and in so doing,

Jacques TAYLOR manages the linkages between these activities to achieve competitive advantage.

The feat achieved in Honduras can be replicated in Nigeria through the development of regional agricultural value chains that would enhance investment, trade, marketing and food security. Developing regional value chains and markets is both feasible and important given the country’s high population and income growth rates, which have led to increasing demand for high-value food commodities such as wheat, dairy and meat products and processed food commodities, a trend that is expected to continue. More so, recent increases in food prices have created pressures and opened up opportunities for the country and its geo-political zones to carefully assess the potential benefits of implementing the food production and agribusiness value chain strategy.

Using the BRACED states (Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta) as a model, steps such as identifying and mapping potential supply chains must be taken by member states to enable the region develop a competitive and all-inclusive agricultural value chain. For instance, Edo State is rich in cassava, while Delta State is highly industrialized and has skilled workforce which may better suit cassava processing. Going further down the value chain, Rivers State has good intermodal transportation system and networks for domestic and international distribution which makes it a good location for sales and distribution. An interstate value chain

•Governor Amaechi of Rivers State such as this will improve productivity level, business processes, knowhow and profit, which will better the lives of agricultural producers, especially small holders in the region.

Identifying and evaluating opportunities among partnering states will provide valuable perspectives on the strengths, limitations and opportunities for member states in the value chain. A number of conditions are necessary for selecting production and/or processing areas, the main one being proximity to the user.

Owing to the bulkiness of cassava and the need, at times, to process freshly harvested cassava, the distance between production and processing sites may become a critical decision factor.

A study carried out in 2004 by the International Fund for Agricultural Development suggested that states with low population and village density may have greater opportunities for cassava production expansion and perhaps larger contiguous blocks of land. Production and price variables are also considered in the selection process. It is suggested that states with higher than average yields (greater than 12 tonnes/hectares) were better locations for increasing cassava production. Low absolute root prices (less than N8, 000) and root prices below the 80 per cent maize threshold price were also interpreted as indicators of competitively priced cassava and good producing states.

Edo State is ideal for cassava production. It has a relatively low population, not the lowest out of the BRACED states, but still low enough to give maximum utility when coupled with cassava root prices (which historically stood at N4,000N8,000) as well as the fact that agriculture remains the predominant occupation for people within the state.

All these together create a good environment for cassava production.

Bayelsa and Cross River State also fit into the cassava production group.

On the other hand, the availability of good road networks is beneficial to new industries, both in terms of their sourcing of raw material and their ability to move their products to markets. The existence of industries that are potential cassava users (animal feed, flour and starch) is also a positive indicator. Delta State fits into this group for a variety of reasons. Primarily, better infrastructure and a skilled workforce is in place

here as well as a large poultry density that can serve as off takers situated close to the source. Finally, the ability to distribute and trade with partners globally will greatly serve the value chain. Rivers State with a large port situated at Port Harcourt can serve this purpose within the value chain.

Once an existing value chain is in place, business partners (BRACED states) will have to go a step further in order to sustain development. This will involve a lot of self assessment and answers to questions such as, what are you doing well? What would you like to improve? This will prove vital in determining where the greatest opportunities are for value chain development such as product quality, systems efficiencies or differentiated or specialized products.

Last but not least in the value chain development is the need to build vital business relationships between different segments in the value chain.

Successful value chain managers report that relationships are the most important element of a successful value chain. Successful value chains are built on relationship strength which includes the following elements: a common vision, communication, cooperation, trust, adaptability, interdependence and commitment. This is what makes forums and commissions such as the BRACED Commission vitally important to the development of each of the member states. Each can come together, share ideas, and develop a common goal/ strategy in order to drive economic growth.

•Jacques Taylor is the Head of Specialised Banking at Stanbic IBTC Bank.

NEWS 57

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

Constitution amendment: Fashola wants immunity clause retained, opposes creation of more states L AGOS State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, yesterday said the removal of immunity clause from the constitution would not be a welcome idea as being canvassed by some members of the public.

Fashola stated this at a one-day public hearing on the proposed amendment to the 1999 Constitution organised by the Lagos State House of Assembly and held at the Lateef Jakande Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

Fashola, who noted that

•Sagay, Okunnu canvass for more powers for states Oziegbe OKOEKI the immunity clause as provided in Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution should be retained, pointed out that the clause is more for the protection of the office than the office holders.

He said “the section preserves the dignity and ensures the effectiveness of administration”, adding that “while it is regrettable that there may have been actions which are indicative of abuses of the privilege by some office holders, the privilege of immunity is not for the benefit of the office

L-R: Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, presenting international quality Nigerian rice to Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, while the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Engr. Ayo Olubori, watches with admiration, during the kick-off of the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) and Growth Enhancement Support (GES) in Abeokuta on Thursday.

I’ll uphold judicial independence, separation of powers — Ajimobi

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OVERNOR Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has said that his administration will continue to uphold the principle of separation of powers among the three arms of government and ensure the independence of the judiciary in the state.

The governor, who said this at the swearing-in of members of the state Judicial Ser-

vice Commission in Ibadan yesterday, said that he would do everything possible to rewrite the history of the judiciary and put it on a good pedestal for quick administration of justice.

He called on members of the commission to partner his administration to ensure that the judiciary in the state regain its lost glory.

Murtala Muhammed Foundation donates computers to Ekiti schools

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HE vision of the Dr. Kayode Fayemi-led ad ministration in repositioning education to meet the global technological standards has received a boost as a charity organisation, Murtala Muhammed Foundation, donated 90 desktop computers to six secondary schools in the state.

Taking delivery of the computers in Ado Ekiti, the state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Dr Eniola Ajayi, said the Murtala Muhammed Foundation was convinced of the vision of the Fayemi-led administration to place a computer on the desk of each student by 2014 with the intent of making the state education sector rank among the best in the world.

The commissioner said: “The computers are from the Murtala Muhammed Foundation; they were donations they gave to us after requesting that we signify an intent to receive this kind of gesture,

Sulaiman SALAWUDEEN, Ado-Ekiti and once we completed their documentation, they alerted us that they would bring the computers today. They gave us 90 desktop computers for six schools in Ekiti State”, she said.

The benefitting schools are Isan Community High School, Isan Ekiti; Aisegba Coomunity Grammar School; Doherty Memorial Grammar School, Ijero; Government College, Iyin Ekiti; Orija Grammar School, Emure; and Ekiti Parapo College, Ido Ekiti.

Dr Ajayi said computers were also being provided for the state College of Education, Ikere Ekiti and Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti under the Tertiary Education Fund.

She added that the Information Communication Technology Department of the state university was being equipped with more computers.

Gov. Ajimobi also charged them to work towards the rehabilitation of courts and judges’ chambers across the state, computerization of the judicial process, introduction of digital recording of court proceedings as well as appointment of more judges and magistrates.

According to the governor, members of the commission are also to review and improve on the welfare of judicial workers and arrange for a comprehensive review and standardization of training programmes for the judicial personnel, both locally and internationally.

He said they should bring their wealth of experience to bear on the quick and successful execution of justice, imploring them to live by the dictates of justice to ensure equity and fairness in their activities.

“Let the judiciary remain the last hope of the common man as it is supposed to be,’’ Gov. Ajimobi said, adding that they should embrace faithfulness, diligence, service above personal interest, shun discrimination and abate corruption in the performance of their duties.

The commission has the state Chief Judge, Justice Badejoko Adeniji, and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adebayo Ojo, as its chairman and vice-chairman respectively, while other members are Alhaji Lasun Sanusi (SAN), Messrs Paul Ayoola, Adeniji Ademola and Oseni Abdulganiyu.

holder.

“Retention of the clause would prevent unfounded allegations of criminality against top public officials which, if allowed, would bring massive distractions.

“Even where the allegation that necessitates trial relates to corruption or other criminal offences, it is trite that time does not run against investigation and prosecution of offenders.

What would have been achieved with the removal of the immunity clause could be achieved at the expiration of the tenure of the serving officials.”

Speaking further, the governor described the agitation for the creation of additional states as an attempt to balkanise the existing states.

Fashola stated that instead of demanding for additional states, people should request for additional local governments which, he said, would enhance development at the grassroots, as well as bring government closer to the people.

“Most states are currently not sufficiently viable to

justify further subdivisions.

It may well be that the agitation for more inclusiveness in governance and for rapid development may be better addressed by the creation of more local governments than it can be done by the creation more states,” he said.

On the call for devolution of power, Fashola said this became imperative, noting that the present system backed by the 1999 Constitution gives more power to the government at the centre.

He said “there were certain functions which are being performed by the state governments that are supposed to be devolved to state”.

Commenting on the present sharing formula, the governor stressed the needs for its review, submitting that if the principle of the true fiscal federalism would be adhered to, the ratio formula should be FG 25 per cent; state governments 45 per cent; derivation pool 25 per cent and intervention fund 5 per cent.

On his part, former Minis-

ter of Works, Femi Okunnu, said: “I don’t think the 1999 Constitution is all that bad.

It is the way we exercise our powers that is bad.”

He, however, called for the removal of Sections 3,4,5,6 and 8 of the constitution. He spoke against creation of more states, saying “it weakens the fabric of the federation, and that no law should stop states from evolving its local government system.”

While presenting his position, constitutional lawyer, Itse Sagay, said a lot of power should be taken away from the federal government and handed over to the state governments.

“The minimum wage, for instance, is another issue that the federal government should leave for the states.

Each state should be the one to determine its minimum wage and federal government should not determine what to be paid,” he added.

He said further that states and not Federal Government should conduct census to help them in developmental plans. “Local government creation and funding should be out of the constitution; states should create and fund them”, Sagay said.

‘I’m still in Ondo ACN — Ondo governorship aspirant Rawa

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N Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) gover norship aspirant in Ondo State, Mr. Felix Rawa, yesterday said “he is still a member of the progressive party”.

According to him, Governor Olusegun Mimiko invited him to his office last week concerning his re-election where he also addressed reporters on happenings in the ACN. Rawa said he had not defected to the the Labour Party (LP), stressing that “he still remains a chieftain of the ACN in the state.”

It would be recalled that Rawa’s encounter with Governor Mimiko was widely reported in some national dailies that the ACN governorship aspirant had defected to the LP.

Damisi OJO,Akure He said: ”I am still in the ACN. I have not declared for the LP. I only addressed the press on my grievances at the Cocoa Conference Hall, Governor’s Office, Akure.

“For me to be indentified with the ruling party, there must be a formal declaration that requires me and my teeming supporters to be officially received into my new party and that has not taken place.

“I met with Mimiko. I had a heart-to-heart discussion with him, but I quickly discovered myself and retraced my footsteps.

“I know the governor is a crafty person and for you to dine and wine with such a person you must do that with a very long spoon.

“He wanted to lure me to

work against my conscience.

I am a stakeholder in this state and nobody can rubbish my reputation. If Mimiko wants me to join his party, there must be a superlative negotiation and an agreement between us”.

The politician alleged that “Mimiko is fond of causing crises among opposition leaders in order to promote his second term agenda.”

The ACN chieftain said he had met with all his coordinators in the state and mandated them to remain in the ACN and work for the success of the party.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the party has met with all its governorship aspirants and some stakeholders where all burning issues were amicably settled.

Community applauds Police over reduction in Ota gridlock

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TA community in the Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State has commended the new Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Sango-Ota Police Station, Mr. Muyideen Obe, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), and his officers and men for the current reduction in traffic jams in the Ota metropolis and its environs.

Giving kudos to the new DPO at an interactive session with newsmen in Ota, Ogun State, early in the week, a community leader and former member of the House of Representatives for AdoOdo/Ota Federal Constituency, Hon. Remi Babawale, said he was impressed by the police officer’s leadership by example in personally leading his officers and men to

control traffic and clear the roads of street traders who often constitute nuisance to motorists.

He noted that these past few weeks of Mr. Obe’s successful management of the traffic situation in the community has impacted positively on the quality of life and economy of the people as motorists now meet up with business appointments on schedule.

Babawale said pedestrians and motorists in the community were proud of the new DPO’s initiatives in putting in place all necessary mechanisms geared at ensuring a total reduction in traffic jams on the ever-busy Sango OtaAbeokuta expressway, Sango Ota-Ijoko road and OtaIdiroko road.

He further stated that since

the arrival of the new DPO everything looked like a miracle as all roads in the Ota metropolis had been relatively free, especially at this rainy season where traffic gridlock were expected to occur often.

The former federal lawmaker added that the community was equally appreciative of Mr. Obe’s efforts in doing everything possible to tackle the menace of armed robbery and communal clashes in Ota and its environs.

Babawale, however, urged the DPO and his officers and men to keep up the level of their dedication to duty and the efforts to ensure that the people keep enjoying the current free-flow of traffic, pleading with him to carry on the good work that has endeared him to the people.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

Terrorism: Okah assaulted over ‘strange’ phone in cell, prison notes A SUSPECT on trial for October 1, 2010 independence anniversary bomb blast, Charles Okah, was on Friday interrogated in Kuje Prison over alleged ‘strange’ phone found in his cell.

The interrogation also covered obtaining details of the discussion between Okah and a government official on June 7 at the prison yard.

The condition of Okah’s grilling was, however, described as dehumanizing as he was allegedly assaulted by a nine-member prison armed squad.

Charles is the younger brother of the leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), Henry Okah, who is also in detention in South Africa .

Charles has been on trial

…interrogated on Friday for alleged security breach Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation before a Federal High Court in Abuja with Obi Nwabueze, Edmund Ebiware and Tiemkemfa Francis Osuvwo.

Francis Osuvwo died in Kuje Prison on March 2, 2012 as a result of alleged dehydration.

They are being tried by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, for alleged complicity in the two explosions which hit the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on October 1, 2010 during Nigeria ‘s 50th Independence celebration.

About 12 people died in the

bomb explosions.

According to a relation of the suspect, who spoke in confidence, Charles Okah had been having it rough since Tuesday when a nine-man prison armed squad invaded his cell.

“About 9am on Friday, Charles Okah was summoned to the office of the Officer-in– Charge of Kuje Prison, DCP Sambo on the orders of the Comptroller-General of Prisons for further interrogation and trial concerning a phone found in the single block where Okah and two others are being remanded.

“The aim of the trial was to

find out the content of the sheet of paper that Okah passed on to a senior government official who visited him in prison and the details of their conversation.

“DCP Galadanchi was the man who led the team that assaulted Okah. Okah’s notes and writing materials were carted away from his cell.

Another source, who spoke in confidence, gave graphic details of what transpired between Okah and the squad on Tuesday.

The source added: “On Tuesday at about 9pm, men of the Nigeria Prison Armed Squad, led by a Deputy Controller of

•Governor Peter Obi flanked by his wife, Margaret (right) and his deputy, Emeka Sibeudu, administering immunization to a child at the flag off of maternal, newborn and child week at Orumba General Hospital...recently

76 Oil wells: Akwa Ibom indigenes fault CRS claims

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ESS than 24 hours after some people who claimed to be indigenes of the Bakassi peninsular which was ceded to Cameroon protested in Cross River State over the ownership of the 76 oil wells, the people of Mbo local government area of Akwa Ibom State have condemned the protest describing it as uncalled for and part of an orchestrated propaganda aimed at confusing some members of the public.

Reacting to the protest yesterday in Uyo, he Ibaka Development Organisation (IDO) observed that the protest by the indigenes of Bakassi was a cheap blackmail sponsored to whip up sentiments ahead of the Supreme Court ruling on the case instituted by the Cross River State Government.

The Chairman of the Ibaka Development Organisation, Engr. Asuquo Ating told newsmen that the protest was unwarranted since the facts of the ownership of the oil wells are clear and locate the wells within Akwa Ibom territory.

He said since the case is still in court pending it was totally wrong for anyone to make unnecessary comments on it.

Engr. Ating recalled that the Supreme Court had in 2004 decided on a similar case

brought by the Cross River State that the statevwas no longer a littoral state with the ceding of Bakassi peninsular to Cameroon and therefore cannot benefit from the 13 percent derivation funds.

Engr. Ating stressed that the people of Cross River State should be thankful to Akwa Ibom State for allow-

ing more than N600 million to be drawn monthly from the allocation of the Akwa Ibom State government and paid to Cross River State Government under the guise of ‘effect of oil exploration on the environmental’ and wondered why the people of the area are trading ‘half truths’ On the status of the purported Bakassi indigenes,

Engr. Ating argued that the issue of Bakassi returnees should be of greater concern to Akwa Ibom State than any one else pointing out that since the peninsular was ceded to Cameroon about 10 years ago, the brunt of managing returnees had been of greater concern to Akwa Ibom which has a larger number of citizens residing there.

Prisons from the prison headquarters led a nine-man team to the single cell block of the Kuje Medium Security Prison where Charles Okah and two others are being held as they await their trial.

“Only Okah’s cell was opened and he was escorted out dressed only in a pair of boxer shorts to be interviewed by the squad.

“The nine-man team, led by the Deputy Controller of the FCT command, moved Okah out his small cell clad only in his boxer shorts into the open area where he was thoroughly frisked, while the other two defendants, Edmund Ebiware and Obi Nwabueze watched helplessly from their locked cells.

“The Deputy Controller who presided over the entire proceedings watched on as Okah was interrogated and thoroughly drilled. The interrogators wanted to know what information Okah had passed on to a government official who had visited him recently in Kuje prison, the contents of his phone and a list of all the people he had contacted with his phone.

“They also wanted to find out if he had passed on any information damaging to the image of the Nigerian Prison Service.

“A phone was retrieved from Okah’s cell but no SIM was found. Okah who had lost complete use of his right hand was brutally assaulted, bruised and battered and pinned down in a stranglehold by several men of the Nigerian Prison Service including the acting chief warder of the prison, his assistant and the orderly to the officer in charge of Kuje prison, in a bid by the men to retrieve the said SIM which they suspected was lodged in Okah’s mouth.

“Okah was later led to his cell and locked up. His notes and writing materials were carted away. He was given emergency treatment in the morning at the prison clinic.”

A top prison officer said: “It is normal to investigate breaches in any prison yard.

No one assaulted Okah at all contrary to any insinuations.

“There are regulations guiding inmates in prison and it is incumbent on all those in custody to respect these rules.”

Kidnap horror in Rivers: Doctor, businessman's wife held

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IDNAPPERS are still holding a member of the Rivers State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Frank Chukwudi, and the wife of the Chairman of Egi Oil and Gas, Mr. Uche Ogura.

Chukwudi and Ogura's wife were kidnapped on Tuesday.Their whereabouts remain unknown.

Chukwudi was seized by gunmen in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on his way from work at about 6.30pm, while Ogura's wife was abducted at Obubu community in Ogba/ Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of the state.

However, the wife of Mr. Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), Olanrewaju, who was kidnapped in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, has regained her freedom, with the kidnappers earlier demanding

•Amaechi’s counsel’s wife freed Bisi OLANIYI, Port Harcourt N100 million ransom. But it was not clear if the ransom was paid before she was set free.

Adedipe was the lead counsel to Rivers governor, Rotimi Amaechi, at the reconstituted Election Petitions Tribunal in Port Harcourt.

She was kidnapped by four gunmen in a Toyota car, as she was driving out of her Rumuodomaya, Port Harcourt residence in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.

The hoodlums reportedly shot sporadically into the air to scare passersby, having earlier used their car to block the lawyer's vehicle.

The Nation on Saturday

gathered that two of the kidnappers forced Mrs Adedipe into the back seat of their car with the two other occupants, including the driver. The operation lasted about ten minutes.

The kidnap took place at a junction between Woshikem and Okpowowabasi Streets in Rumuodomaya.

Rivers Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ben Ugwuegbulam, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), yesterday confirmed Olanrewaju's release, but was silent on whether ransom was paid.

The Rivers chapter of the NMA, while condemning the kidnap of Dr. Briggs Aluye, in Port Harcourt yesterday, said the criminals initially demanded N150 million ransom but

reduced it to N12 million yesterday.

NMA said: "The fact remains that kidnapping is still on and has become a lucrative business for many misguided persons. The NMA is not comfortable with the ugly trend presently rocking the state (Rivers) and the nation at large.

"As doctors, we will not take it kindly and hope that the relevant authorities are alive to their responsibilities. We are, therefore, calling on the Rivers State government and the general public to intervene and ensure his (Dr. Frank Chukwudi) immediate and unconditional release."

Rivers Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Indabawa, confirmed the kidnap of the doctor and Ogura's wife but pledged that the two victims would soon regain their freedom.

Army parades 93 suspected cult members in Calabar Nicholas KALU, Calabar

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HE 13 Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, yesterday paraded 93 persons suspected to be members of the two rival cult groups that have caused unrest in the city in the past few days.

Parading the suspects, the Public Relations Officer of the 13 Brigade, Akim Barracks, Calabar, Captain Joseph James said some of the suspects were arrested at the scene of the events while the others were arrested in their hideouts, where they also sell hard drugs.

He said: “Following the incident that took place on Tuesday June 19, 2012, in Calabar South which led to the killing of some people, and another mayhem the following day, based on the intelligence report which we got, our men, alongside the Quick Intervention Squad which is the joint security force in Calabar saddled with the responsibility of upholding the security of the state, went out and conducted a raid.

“When they got to the scene, several arrests were made. As you can see in the background, some of these people are suspected cult members and their arrest was made and we brought them here last night.

“It is very surprising to see some young persons, after the incident still moving about at that ungodly hour.The operation which was carried out by the Operation MESA and Quick Intervention Squad covered some hideouts where they sell Indian hemp and where some group of people gather very late at night.

“The whole essence is to investigate and fish out the perpetrators of the clash. The Nigerian Army will never relent. The 13 Brigade officers and soldiers will never give up, we will never relent. We will continue to make arrests, we will continue to hunt those perpetrators and make sure we smoke them out wherever they are and hand them over to the law.”

DFID to expand programme in Anambra

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HE United Kingdom Department for International Development will expand its programmes in Anambra State. The Regional Coordinator, South East and South-South of the Agency, Mrs. Olachi Chukus Ronnie disclosed this after a courtesy call on Governor Peter Obi at the Government House, Awka, yesterday.

Ronnie said the DFID had three additional programmes coming to the State to support the National Malaria Programme, already domiciled in the State.

According to the Coordinator, the new programme would include SPARC which would support governance reform, Justice For All which works in the entire area of justice delivery system and State Accountability and ODICE initiative working with the State House of Assembly, the Media and Civil Societies.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

VP denies calling for emergency rule in Kaduna

Wada denies begging Echocho for reconciliation Mohammed BASHIR, Lokoja

Vincent IKUOMOLA, Abuja

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HE presidency has denied the report linking Vice President Namadi Sambo to the call for the imposition of state of emergency in the troubled Kaduna.

According to the media aide to the vice president, Mr. Umar Sani at no time did the vice president discussed or presided over a meeting where the issue of declaration of emergency rule in Kaduna.

Sani described the report as false and mere cheap lies fabricated to cause disaffection between the vice president, Governor Patrick Yakowa and former Governor of Ahmed Markafi.

The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to media reports alleging that the Vice President Arc Mohammed Namadi Sambo in a purported pursuit of a presidential ambition and in order to get at Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa of Kaduna State ostensibly for his supposed closeness with former Governor Ahmed Mohamed Makarfi was pushing for an imposition of a State-of-Emergency rule in Kaduana State.

“At no time was there any meeting involving Kaduna State in which the Vice President discussed the supposed Emergency Rule.

“We find the story not only malicious in contents but an orchestrated attempt to disparage the hitherto good relationship that exists between the trio. It should be noted that they not only enjoy good and cordial fraternal relationship but excellent working one as well.”

He also noted that “only recently, the Vice President commiserated with the Governor over the fire incident that engulfed his official residence in Kaduna.

Also, on the invitation of the Vice President, the Governor and Makarfi were with him in Benin-City during the gubernatorial campaign of Charles Edigie Airhiavbere at the Ogbemudia Stadium.

They flew together in the Vice President aircraft.”

He therefore concluded that “these stories are mere cheap lies fabricated to cause disaffection between and among the trio and we urge members of the public to discountenance such falsehood.”

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Sambo

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•Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno (middle), speaking to engineers during the inspection of new roads and drainage construction in Maiduguri ...yesterday Photo: NAN

Representative of wife of Plateau State Governor, Mrs Maureen Longjang (l) presenting a souvenir to the national president of NAWOJ, Asabe Baba Nahaya, who visited the first Lady Dame Talatu Jang in Jos on Friday. Photo: NAN

Police avert explosion at 15,000-capacity mosque in Kano A last minute intervention by the Police yesterday spared the nation what would probably have been the bloodiest terrorist attack in Kano.

The Police anti-bomb squad removed from the 15000 capacity Fagge Mosque a high volume of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) shortly before the Jumat prayers.

The explosive was concealed in a plastic bag and neatly planted inside the mosque.

Three suspects were arrested in the mosque in connection with the bomb planting.

State Police Commissioner, Ibrahim K. Idris confirmed the development.

He said: “The person that planted the explosive entered the Mosque before

From Kolade ADEYEMI, Kano

the prayers. He concealed the explosive in a plastic can, dropped it, sat down, picked a Qu’ran and pretended to be reciting it.

“After some minutes, he went outside, entered again, sat in the same position and pretended to be reading the Holy book. After a while, he went outside, abandoned the plastic can and never returned. At this point, the Mosque committee suspected the plastic can and alerted the police.

“When the anti-bomb squad arrived the mosque, they took the plastic can outside, checked the content and discovered it was an explosive; and they immediately detonated it.”

•Three arrested

He advised residents to remain vigilant and report any suspicious movement or strange item dumped anywhere to the police.

“People should be very careful even in mosques and churches.

Worshipers should not be allowed to come inside places of worship with strange materials,” he said.

Alhaji Kabiru Isah,a worshipper in the mosque said of the incident: “It was

by Allah’s grace that we were saved. People were already rushing into the mosque as prayer time was fast approaching when one of the mosque committee members observed a polythene bag abandoned inside the mosque.

“He was suspicious of the content of the polythene bag and he immediately raised the alarm. The Police were informed. At this point, three men outside the mosque who thought the bomb had exploded shouted Allahu Akbar (God is great).

They were immediately identified as the masterminds of the evil act and the police arrested them with the help of worshipers.

“I thank Allah for saving the lives of his servants. It would have been another tragic story; and only God knows what their motive and mission were. I believe they are detractors who simply want to cause confusion and commotion in the state, but Allah exposed them.”

A co-ordinated bomb and gun attack on Kano in January claimed at least 200 lives.

OVERNOR Idris Wada of Kogi State yesterday described as unfortunate a report credited to him that he begged the National Leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to reconcile him and Alhaji Jibrin Isa Echocho.

The governor who spoke through his Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Jacob Edi, said his visit to the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was to identify with the party chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

The governor said his administration since its inception has been clamouring for a genuine reconciliation with all agrieved members to move the state to the promise land.

“We did not move the state PDP stakeholders to Abuja to beg for reconciliation with any individual. How can you imagine the governor calling for reconciliation with an individual whose case has already gone far in the court?

“It is very normal for a responsible leader to always gather his subject around with the aim of development.

It is over ambitious for an individual to fantasise that the governor of the state with his paraphernalia of office which include all the party stakeholders traveled to Abuja just to see him. It means they have a limited understanding of the import of that visit,” Edi added.

Reacting to the comment that the governor declared that all is not well with the Kogi PDP, Edi said it is a common fact that the leadership of the party has been working on the internal democracy in the party.

“Even the National Charman of the party and other stakeholders at the top have been working on the internal democracy in the party. It’s never a new thing for the governor to have said that.”

He therefore urged all aggrieved members of the party to come around his administration to deliver more dividend of democracy to the people of the state. He also called on the people to come together to move the state forward and ignore any information that is capable of dragging the state backward.

Gov Wada

THE NATION SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

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EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 22-6-12

Key indicators close slightly higher by 0.22%

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T the end of regular transaction on Custom Street yesterday, indicators rebounded from the temporal dip recorded on Thursday on account of value gains posted by Nigerian Breweries (one per cent), Zenith Bank (1.46 per cent), Lafarge WAPCO (2.5 per cent), Access Bank (0.88 per cent) and some mid capitalised stocks.

Lead indicator, the AllShare Index, gained 46.66 absolute points, representing 0.22 per cent growth, to close higher at 21,394.77 points.

Also, the Market Capitalisation of all listed equities gained N14.9 billion, representing 0.22 per cent growth, to close higher

By Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

at N6.83 trillion.

Healthy demand for Stanbic IBTC during the session drove up its price, recording a five per cent mark-up. A holdback on offers could lead to further appreciation early next week.

Fidelity Bank and Zenith Bank were also on the uptick closing with gains of 1.7 per cent and 1.5 per cent. On the flip side, profit taking sent Union Bank southwards, shedding full points with closing sentiments, suggesting the possibility of this trend continuing early next week.

The petroleum marketing

sector was skewed to the sell side, with demand for most companies at the lower end of the market. Eterna Oil was, however, divergent to this trend as it bagged maximum points with robust demand likely to result in further appreciation next week.

Bearish sentiments shaved off a further 4.3 per cent from Transcorp, glutting offers could lead to further losses next week; on the other hand, a dearth of offers for Unilever and subsequent upward review of prices by buyers led to a 1.4 per cent gain. Others in the sector recorded no change.

On the list of gainers are GTAssurance, Eterna Oil and Gas, Stanbic IBTC, Mandrib, Glaxosmithkline, Cutix, Ikeja Hotel and Japaul, among others.

On the losers table, are UBN, Livestock, Arbico, Berger, Avon Crown, Morison, Seven-Up, Bagco, Jos Breweries and Paint Company.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 22-6-12

THE NATION SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012

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SPORT EXTRA

Moses is indebted to us — Wigan Chairman W

IGAN chairman Dave Whelan has blasted Victor Moses’ proposed move to Chelsea and suggested that the only motivation for a transfer would be greed.

The outspoken 75-year-old has hit out at the role of agents in turning players’ heads after this week losing Mohamed Diame to a huge offer from West Ham despite offering the midfielder a

pay rise to stay.

The Latics face a similar situation with Moses, who has been offered double his present salary to stay at the DW Stadium but is wanted by the European Champions.

Chelsea had an opening bid of £4million for the 21-year-old forward rejected on Monday and Whelan insists that a move would be counter-productive, with the player not guaranteed

first-team football at Stamford Bridge.

Whelan also suggested that Moses owed the club and its manager, Roberto Martinez, some loyalty after nurturing the player following his move from Crystal Palace in 2010.

‘We took this lad as a teenager, and everything he has he owes to Roberto Martinez and Wigan Athletic,’ Whelan told the Wigan Evening Post. ‘Roberto has

Warri Wolves FC fined N2.5M • To play home matches behind closed doors

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HE management of the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) has ordered Warri Wolves FC to pay the sum of N2million (Two million Naira) only as penalty following the disruption and violence that led to the abandonment of its Week 28 rescheduled league match with Rising Stars FC of Akure at the Warri Township Stadium on Wednesday, June 20, 2012.

The fine which is in line with Article 4.3 of the NPL Statutes also covers for ineffective security arrangements for the match.

Warri Wolves FC is further

fined the sum of N200, 000. 00 (Two hundred thousand Naira) only for the treatment of the player of Rising Stars FC that was assaulted during the match in question in addition to paying for all the medical expenses incurred by Rising Stars FC. Acting Executive Secretary of the NPL, Tunji Babalola in a Press Statement signed on his behalf by Head, Competition Department, Auwalu Baba Jada, explained that the penalties were preliminary decisions by the league management pending the determination of

EURO 2012 QUARTER FINAL

Germany defeats Greece 4-1

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ERMANY produced a dominant display to sweep past a limited Greece side and set up a possible Euro 2012 semi-final with England.

Germany wasted a host of early chances before captain Philipp Lahm fired them ahead in spectacular fashion.

Greece threatened a scare when Celtic striker Georgios Samaras levelled on the counter-attack, but

Sami Khedira and Miroslav Klose soon responded.

Marco Reus thumped home a fourth before Dimitris Salpingidis netted a penalty.

Germany will now take on England or Italy in the last four in Warsaw next Thursday.

TODAY’S FIXTURE

Spain v France

AHEAD OF LONDON 2012 QUALIFIERS

FirstBank commends Okagbare on new record

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IGERIA’S Number One Bank Brand, First Bank of Nigeria Plc has said the performance of the nation’s athletes at the just concluded London 2012 Olympic Games Qualifiers is indicative of a good showing for the nation when the sporting fiesta commences next month.

The Bank commended the efforts of the medal hopeful and Nigeria’s fastest woman, Blessing Okagbare who successfully defended her 100m title at the 66th Cross River State/All Nigeria Open Athletics Championships ended in Calabar. Posting a winning time of 11.12 seconds, the feat was her fourth consecutive victory.

Okagbare who is also the Bank’s ambassador to the London 2012 Games leapt to a new 6.97m personal best in the long jump event to win the gold medal at the event. “Given the quality of our athletes at the event, we believe the nation has every reason to be hopeful for

medals at the Olympics. We are particularly delighted that Blessing our brand ambassador is maintaining the pole position as one of the star athletes to look out for at the Games. FirstBank is indeed very proud to be part of the history that is about to unfold in London,” said Folake Ani-Mumuney, the Bank’s spokesperson.

Okagbare as the Bank’s ambassador recently had an interactive session with a group of students at the National Institute for Sports (NIS) where she charged them to be determined in the face of challenges.

She said: “In life, you have to set goals for yourself and work towards achieving them. At the same time, you have to surround yourself with positive-thinking people and stay focus, even if things are rough. At the beginning of my athletics career, one man told me not to bother myself, saying I was too fragile to run and that I cannot achieve anything from the track but look at where I am today.”

the case by the Disciplinary Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

All the fines are expected to be paid on or before Warri Wolves’ next home match.

Meanwhile, Warri Wolves FC is to play its subsequent league home fixtures under closed doors pending the decision of the Disciplinary Committee.

coached him and coached him, he’s helped him through games, and he’s played him and not played him at exactly the right time.

‘He’s looked after him in every single day in training, making sure he does the right things. But these lads are being told one thing now, time and time again: listen to your agent, not the manager.

‘The agents are just coining in money off the backs of these lads.

INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY

Banyana’s tie a must win—Ikhana

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UPER FALCONS’ manager, Kadiri Ikhana has said his wards will go for convincing win against the Banyana Banyana of South Africa in today’s friendly tie in Lagos.

Although Ikhana admitted that the tie is a friendly but he told SuperSport.com that the rivalry between both countries makes the encounter a must win for his side.

“We’re not looking at the match as a mere friendly match, we’re rivals, we’ll go for a straight win.

“We just came out from a

Osun agog for Olympic Day run

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HE 24th edition of annual Olympic Day celebration will come up in Oshogbo, Osun State capital today and it is expected to take off from the state government secretariat Abere, this morning and terminate at Oshogbo Grammar School field.

Osun State Governor, Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola and other top government functionaries will flag off the auspices of International Olympic Committee. The yearly Olympic Day run is to celebrate sports and

values by bringing together hundreds of thousands of people across the globe and to share the Olympic spirit with people of all ages from all walks of life.

The Day run which is also an instrument for generating national unity through grassroots sports development and side attractions have been designed for the interest of the spectators which includes aerobic exercises, demonstration of sports as well as cultural display.

competitive game with a victory. We need to follow it up with another victory whether it’s competitive or friendly.

“Nigerians won’t forgive us if we lose or draw with them here after we pulled a draw in South Africa.

“Nigerians want us to win and that is what we’ll do on today.

“Everybody is fit, no injury worries, and the players are raring to go,” he said.

The Nigerians are yet to lose to the South Africans in any game.

However, the former Enyimba manager denied knowledge that the players have not been talking to the media.

“I’m not aware, I’m sure I never gave any instruction to that effect.

“They’re free to talk to the media but we don’t welcome nor allow the media at their hotel,” he said.

SuperSport.com has made several efforts to talk with the players but met stiff resistance rather was referred to the media officer and coordinator.

One of the veteran players, name withheld, was blunt with SuperSport.com’s overtures for a chat.

Clap for Keshi • Continued from back page because they are more committed than the local boys, but they will quickly understand Keshi’s tactics. When they leave the camp, they will return to their clubs where the quality of training and competition for positions in the teams are fierce.

We are in this quandary because former Super Eagles chief coach Samson Siasia played politics in players’ selection. He opted for the overage kids who won Nigeria a silver medal at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Holland, irrespective of current form. This fixation cost Nigeria a place at the 2012 Nations Cup. Siasia refused to graduate the gold medal winning 2007 Golden Eaglets tutored by the late Yemi Tella into the U-21 side he led to a woeful outing in the Africa Championship in Egypt.

Siasia’s myopia in insisting on parading only players that he has worked with is chiefly the reason why no one can locate those dazzling kids that the late Tella introduced to the world in South Korea in 2007, despite his failing health that led to his demise.

The politics of “Siasia’s boys” and the others in the Eagles broke the ranks among our big boys culminating in the feud that consumed Osaze Odemwingie, Obafemi Martins, Vincent Enyeama, Kalu Uche, Danny Shittu, Dickson Etuhu and others.

It is easy for people to say that the big boys failed us in the last decade but the question remains, what was the quality of training they got from the coaches? Did we also have the type of peace now existing between the NSC and NFF? Goalkeepers Vincent Enyeama, Austin Ejide and Agbim are among the best in the country. They are tested and it’s quite interesting to note that going to the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations held in Ghana, Ejide was rated ahead of Enyeama by Germany great Berti Vogts, the sacked Super Eagles technical adviser.

At the right back position, Oboagbona has shown traits of being able to compete. But there are better exposed Nigerians in that position who can challenge him for the shirt. They include Apam Onyekachi. Keshi could also invite QPR’s right back Nedum Onuoha.

At the left back, Juwon Oshinaka doesn’t fit. Elderson Echijile did well against Rwanda and has been in-and-out of the team.

He needs an unbroken run of matches although Taiye Taiwo could give him a fight for the shirt.

Joseph Yobo is Nigeria’s best at the centre-back. Papa Idris and a host of others have either paired Yobo or played together in his absence. I feel strongly that it would serve Keshi better if he remains in the country to fish out better players from the local league. Yusuf Ayila plays for his Russian team in the central defence against top teams like Real Madrid and could fit in, with what we saw him display at the Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin, in Keshi’s first match.

Keshi has paraded home-based players in the defence but their dilemma has always been with passing the ball to a colleague. They would rather lift it high in the sky, only for the taller opponents to head away. Put simply, Eagles transition from defence to attack has been disappointing. A few critics have ascribed it to the absence of the big men in the midfield.

We appear to have big and small men in the midfield, such as John Mikel Obi, Joel Obi, Dickson Etuhu, Ayila, Kalu Uche, Gabriel Rueben, Victor Moses, Obiora Nwankwo, Nnamdi Oduamadi, Victor Ighalo and Raheem Lawal. There are others. But the problem has been finding the right combination in Keshi’s two-man midfield, held by holding midfielders who deliver penetrating passes to the strikers.

The two-man midfield lacks creativity, which is shocking, given what we see Moses do for Wigan in the Barclays English Premier League. One cannot understand why Nigerian coaches shy away from inviting Mikel.

Mikel has worked with seven managers at Chelsea. They have fielded Mikel in 70 per cent of their matches. Jose Mourinho, who brought Mikel to Chelsea, noticed that he couldn’t compete with Frank Lampard but saw Mikel’s defensive qualities. He drafted the Nigerian to that position, having seen that Makelele’s days were numbered. Today, I don’t know of any player who has won the ball off Mikel in the defensive midfield position, playing for Chelsea. It says a lot of his talent. Any rebuilding in the Super Eagles that excludes Mikel is akin to using a basket to fetch water.

Our coaches lack the courage to explain what they expect Mikel Obi to do. He holds the key to any rebuilding process. He can play the Chelsea way, if our coaches’ tactics are right. If Keshi swallows his pride and sits with Mikel over his plans, he can conveniently play the 4-4-2 and the 4-3-3 formations with three creative midfielders.

Kalu Uche, a midfielder, was Nigeria’s top scorer at the South Africa 2010 World Cup. He scores goals for his Spanish side, yet he isn’t in the Eagles.

Keshi has fallen into the Mikel arrogance trap because he played at the highest level and captained his European clubs. One has seen Keshi nurture young midfielders, such the late Osaro Obobaifo, Austin Igbinabaro, Thompson Oliha and Ghana’s Nii Odarty Lamptey. Keshi, Mikel is a better player than these boys. Mentor Mikel like Mourinho did and see how your team will blossom.

Wait a minute. How is Mikel’s conduct different from that of those handling the Eagles today? Were they not some those who opted out of Westerhof’s 1990 Africa Cup of Nations’ silver-winning squad? Were they not the ones who flew in our presidential jets in the Sani Abacha junta era? Were they not the ones who declared during the Abacha one million-man march in Abuja, that the evil one should be our president for life? Were they not the ones who held the NFA hostage before the game against Demark, which the Danes won 4-1 at the France’98 World Cup? Were they not the ones who reported in camp in France even when they were not fit?

Spain’s manager has thrown open a six-man midfield with an arrow-head striker and it is working amidst high criticism. We don’t have that luxury. But with strikers like Emmanuel Emenike, Brown Ideye, Ike Uche, Obafemi Martins, Ahmed Musa, Keshi should be talking of ruling Africa in 2013.

Good luck Big Boss.

Tomorrow in THE NATION PUNCHLINE

SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 2012 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL.7, NO. 3065

If the critics wanted an Obama type of president, why did they not tell God their preference so they could be born in the United States and be U.S. citizens? Having accepted to be Nigerians, President Jonathan they wanted; President Jonathan they got

—Tunji Adegboyega

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HIS, for Nigeria, is another season of anomie. Thirteen years into this civilian dispensation, the much envisaged dividends of democracy remain largely unrealised.

The polity totters on the verge of anarchy as state failure looms. In the midst of widespread poverty, unemployment, hunger, ignorance, disease, squalor and avoidable death, massive corruption continues to widen the gap between a microscopic minority and the vast majority of Nigerians.

It is thus unsurprising that not many Nigerians have faith in the much touted inherent capacity of democracy to deliver good governance and rapid national development. Yet, in spite of the bleakness of the current governance climate, particularly the inertia and lack of vision at the centre since 1999, there are still pockets of effective leadership and impressive service delivery in some states and even local governments across the country that offer some cause for hope.

The situation in the South-West region is particularly interesting. Here, there has been much passionate talk and some meaningful action towards greater regional integration and cooperation since the current progressive political resurgence. But this has not inhibited a fierce but healthy competition among the Action Congress of Nigeria’s (ACN) governors of the region to outdo each other in the realms of employment generation, radical modernisation and expansion of infrastructure, education, health and poverty alleviation that constitute the core of progressive ideology.

Of course, even though Lagos is the country’s commercial nerve centre, Oyo State remains indisputably the centre of political gravity of the South-West. When Ibadan sneezes, the South-West, and indeed Nigeria, easily catches cold. It is not for nothing that Oyo prides herself as ‘the pacesetter state’. For, it was from Ibadan, between 1952 and 1959, first as Leader of Government business and then regional Premier, that Obafemi Awolowo, led one of the most productive and impactful administrations in Africa’s chequered history of largely pathetically inept governance.

Under Awolowo’s visionary and focussed guidance, Ibadan, the western regional seat of government, set the pace for others to follow.

Among its accomplishments were the revolutionary free primary education scheme; the first television station in Africa at a time when this artefact of modernisation was unavailable in key European countries, including France, Spain or Italy; the ultra-modern Liberty Stadium; the 25-storey Cocoa House, the country’s first skyscraper; in addition to scores of modern roads, industrial and housing estates as well as agricultural cooperative schemes.

It is not often realised that a key factor in Awo’s success was the existence of a vibrant and viable opposition led by Chief Dennis Osadebey, the National Council for Nigeria and Cameroons (NCNC) leader from the MidWest. His salary as opposition leader was not only raised by the Action Group (AG) government, Osadebey was given official accommodation to enhance his capacity to effectively play his role in the region!

We must not also forget the immensely popu-

Is Oyo on the march again?

‘

Yes, these are early days yet. Ajimobi has made a brilliant start and Oyo is clearly on the march again. But then, governance is not a 100 metres dash; it is a marathon. Can he keep his head, shun sycophants and remain focussed?

Time will tell

’

•Gov. Ajimobi lar, precociously brilliant, fiercely patriotic and hugely charismatic even if unrepentantly egotistic NCNC leader in Ibadan, Adegoke Adelabu of the ‘penkelemeesi’ (peculiar mess) fame, who remained a persistent thorn in the flesh of the AG. In the Second Republic, the great ‘Cicero of Esa Oke’, Chief Bola Ige, sought as Oyo State Governor on the platform of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) to re-enact Awo’s feat. Even though he faithfully implemented the party’s cardinal welfarist programmes as best as he could, Ige was constrained by a deformed federal structure that had come to concentrate enormous powers and resources at the centre to the detriment of the component parts of the polity.

Despite his intellectual brilliance and unrivalled political sagacity, Ige finally succumbed to the political turbulence of Oyo State in 1983.

At the commencement of this dispensation in 1999, the unrepentant disciple of Awo and Bola Ige, a polemical newspaper columnist and accomplished parliamentarian, Alhaji Lam Adeshina, emerged as governor of Oyo State.

Four years later, he was blown out of power by the OBJ mainstream whirlwind that left Lagos as the only remaining South West state under

the control of the progressives. Of course, those who had earlier accused Adeshina of non-performance were soon to look back with nostalgia at his tenure when they experienced the sheer disaster of conservative, mainstream Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governance for eight years.

In my frequent visits to my favourite bookshop at Jericho area of Ibadan, I observed the descent of the city into sheer neglect and utter anarchy. The traffic was chaotic. Mountains of filth held the environment captive. On one occasion, machete- wielding thugs perpetrating violence on a major highway in broad day light prevented us from getting to our destination. Factions of road transport unions operated with impunity, destroying lives and property as if there was no government in place.

Allegedly aggrieved that a state governor did not make part of official security votes available for his personal use, a famous godfather and erstwhile ‘garrison commander’ got the erring Chief Executive illegally impeached with a factional chairman of one of the road transport unions reportedly presiding over affairs right in the legislative chamber! It was a season of sheer madness.

When Senator Abiola Ajimobi emerged as the ACN Oyo State governorship candidate for the last election, I harboured serious doubts as regards his ability to effect the fundamental change needed in the much abused state. First, what were the progressive credentials of a man

who crossed over from the PDP just before the election? Secondly, the man seemed to me simply too polished, urbane and aloof to withstand the twists and turns of the often treacherous political terrain of Oyo State.

It appears, however, that I was mistaken in my assessment of the governor. Behind his quiet exterior apparently lie both wily political instincts and the courage to take tough but necessary decisions. A strong signal was sent in this regard when Ajimobi, possibly to the displeasure of career politicians, appointed a cabinet made up largely of brilliant technocrats. His political appointees rank among the youngest in the country. The energy and dynamism of the Administration is thus not surprising.

Yes, Ajimobi looks too gentle to hurt a fly.

But he has found a way to tame the transport unions that once held the state by the jugular.

The Joint Security Team tagged ‘Operation Burst’, which he established and equipped with 88 Hi-lux trucks, has obviously been effective in enforcing the peace and security needed for the achievement of meaningful development.

Listening to the Governor’s annual State of the State address to the State House of Assembly, itself a remarkable innovation, I had the feeling that Oyo State is on the march again and poised to resume its pace setting role in governance and development. Within its first 100 days in office, the administration employed 20,000 youths through the Youth Empowerment Scheme of Oyo State (Yes –O). About 3, 500 of these are being trained as Agriculture Extension Cadets as part of initiatives to boost technology-driven agriculture.

It is significant that within this period, work has either been completed or reached an advanced stage in the construction/rehabilitation of 199 roads and eight bridges across the state.

Impressive strides have equally been taken in education. At least 235 blocks of primary and secondary school classrooms are being rehabilitated, tuition fees have been reduced by 50% in some tertiary institutions, N396 million was paid as WAEC fees for students while N3.3 million worth of exercise books were distributed to primary school pupils in public schools.

Much more importantly, there is a government in Ibadan that is once again daring to think big. For the first time in 35 years, the administration has begun the construction of a flyover at Mokola. It has also commenced preliminary work on a 110 KM Circular Road in Ibadan conceived to serve as a new corridor of socioeconomic development. The governor recently turned the sod for the construction of a 150 room 5-star hotel in Ibadan valued at over N6 billion.

Equally on the cards are the new Technical University of Oyo State and the Okerete Trans border Market to transform the economy of the Oke-Ogun area of the state.

Yes, these are early days yet. Ajimobi has made a brilliant start and Oyo is clearly on the march again. But then, governance is not a 100 metres dash; it is a marathon. Can he keep his head, shun sycophants and remain focussed?

Time will tell.

•Last week, I inadvertently referred to the Attorney General of the Federation as Mr. Moses instead of Mohammed Adoke. The error is regretted

Ade Ojeikere on Saturday talk2adeojeikere@yahoo.com

Clap for Keshi

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TEPHEN Keshi deserves a pat on the back. He has brought out new lads that seem to have the potentials to be great, except that they lack the basic ingredients to hit the ground running and produce the desired results.

Keshi was not an exceptionally skillful defender but he did the job. He inspired his mates. He made things happen. He introduced long throws, the secret weapon which the Eagles and the defunct new Nigeria Bank (NNB) used to score goals.

Keshi could shoot the ball from the distance into the goal. He did severally for NNB during the league games and the WAFU Cup. Nothing was impossible for Keshi. These are

the things that he has taught his boys.

But modern day football has grown beyond players’ grit, zeal, zest and mere determination. These traits must be anchored on good tactics and technique to produce a winning side. Eagles are known for playing flair football. Little wonder Nigeria was rated the fifth best entertaining side at the USA’94 World Cup (not the fifth best playing squad as it is being bandied in the media).

Expectedly, Keshi is copying Clemens Westerhof’s rebuilding template, which was not restricted to home-grown players.

Westerhof’s search in Europe brought Austin Okocha from Germany, Sunday Oliseh, Richard Owoboukiri, Rueben Agboola, Efan Ekoku, the first player to score four goals in the English Premier League for Norwich, et al. Westerhof’s camp provided the platform

for Europe-based stars to fight for shirts with the home-grown boys, culminating in his preference of the late Rashidi Yekini to Owoboukiri, for instance.

Unfortunately, the talents of the Big Boss’ era don’t exist in the domestic league. Little wonder, the same crop of players have been prosecuting the CAF’s inter-clubs competitions, achieving the same resultsfailure.

This structural flaw will stunt Keshi’s big dreams because it may take forever for them to excel. Some of these players have been around and have made a pilgrimage of tours to Europe for trials.

They are not new to European managers and scouts, who appear to have infiltrated Keshi’s new selections. The new boys cannot hop into Europe the way Daniel Amokachi,

Ben Iroha, Friday Elahor, Okechukwu Uche, George Finidi et al did, after Westerhof fielded them in the Eagles.

The absence of outstanding talents in the domestic league appears to be the missing link. It was in Europe that the stars of Keshi’s era polished the raw parts of their game, which eventually rubbed off on the Eagles during matches. Finidi played for Calabar Rovers in one weekend only to wear Ajax Amsterdam’s jersey the following week in the Dutch league for 90 minutes.

The resultant effect is that anytime the team regroups, Keshi and his men return to the basics. What they taught the kids have been destroyed by the medieval times coaching tactics in the domestic league. Such rebuilding process won’t produce the team that will make us qualify for the 2014 Mundial in Brazil.

To bridge the gap, Keshi needs to invite players who play regularly in Europe, not

•Continued on Page 63

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