THE NATION MARCH 16, 2013 by The Nation

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ORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo and his loyalists in the South West PDP are in no mood yet for the party’s peace talks. Suspended National Secretary of the Party, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, its sacked Deputy National Chairman, South West, Engr. Segun Oni and former governor of Oyo State, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, all loyalists of Obasanjo, shunned a reconciliation meeting scheduled for Ibadan yesterday by the National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. Former Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, though not an Obasanjo supporter, also stayed away from the meeting convened to resolve the crises that have torn the party into shreds in the zone. The peace talks went ahead nonetheless with Alhaji Tukur pleading with members of the party in the zone to sheathe their swords and join forces to rebuild what remains of the party in the South West. He urged forgiveness on the part of every member. He also told them to forget the bitterness of the past to enable them work together, especially in preparation for the 2015 elections. He said: “It is important to have back the South West, considering its importance in the country, in the economy, politics and education. Politics is not a joke. We do it to get power and use the

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

Obasanjo, Oyinlola, Oni shun Tukur’s peace talks Bisi OLADELE and Tayo JOHNSON, Ibadan substance of power to serve our members. “If you do not acquire power through legal votes, you will not be able to serve diligently those that voted you in. “If we fail to toe the line, some people will take over our right to govern the states in the South West. “Let us make it the last time that South West will be under any political party except PDP.” The Chairman of the Zonal Caretaker Committee, Chief Ishola Filani, had earlier explained that the zone was facing some challenges since it lost the states. Describing factionalization as the order of the day in the zone, he said it would affect the chances of the party in 2015 election if not checked in time. He said his committee had been meeting with aggrieved members in the zone. “We will continue to forge ahead in search of unity, which is necessary to win the election come 2015,” he said. He assured Tukur that they would continue to justify the confidence reposed in them to win back aggrieved members into the party. Also speaking, the Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada said PDP members across all the states

• Sheathe your swords, PDP chair urges members in the South West now know the advantage of being in power, stressing that they have learnt their lessons. She said they were ready to reconcile and come together to take back power in the zone in 2015. The meeting resolved to set up a reconciliation committee headed by former national deputy chairman, Chief Shuaibu Oyedokun, to bring

together the aggrieved members in the zone. Each state is expected to nominate two representatives into the reconciliation committee. Other notable members of the party in attendance include former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Otunba Iyiola Omisore; former Senate Leader, Hon. Teslim Folarin, Chief Buruji

Kasamu; former Osun State Governor, Senator Isiaka Adeleke; former Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose; Chief Tunde Olowofoyeku; Chief Abiola Ogundokun; Senator Lekan Balogun; Garuba Umar and Ambassador Gbenga Olofin. Others are the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Adeola Akande; former

Minister of Sports, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja; Hon. AJibola Muraina; Alhaji Yekini Adeojo; Deputy Senate Chief Whip, Senator Hosea Agboola; Oyo State Chairman of PDP, Yinka Taiwo; his Ondo State counterpart, Hon. Ebenzer Olu Alabi; Osun State Chairman, Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa and Lagos State Chairman, Hon. Tunji Shelle, among others.

FUNNAB lecturer crushes two students to death

Pathfinder SUV crushed two male students of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta FUNNAB to death at Isolu village, few kilometres away from the institution’s campus. A witness said the driver of the jeep was speeding excessively but lost control when he wanted to avoid an obstacle and ran into the students, mauling them immediately. The errant driver was said to be a lecturer at the Water Resources Management Department of FUNAAB. The killing, which drew the ire of the students, threw the institution into crisis as the deceased’s irate colleagues chased the lecturer with missiles immediately the incident occurred, but he escaped into safety. However, his vehicle was not spared as the aggrieved

Residents scramble for whale washed ashore in Lagos

he end came on Thursday for a pygmy sperm whale washed ashore in the Lekki area of Lagos. Some residents descended on the helpless whale and hacked it to death with assorted tools, including axes and cutlasses. In a matter of hours, it had been cut into pieces and shared by the assailants. The whale beached close to the site of the Eko Atlantic City. The pygmy sperm whale is a protected animal in some parts of the world. •See picture on Page 58

Ernest NWOKOLO, Abeokuta students set it ablaze. They later went on the rampage and barricaded the road that leads to their campus. Some policemen who were deployed in the place were overpowered as the students disregarded the persuasion of the policemen. The Public Relations Officer of FUNNAB, Mr. Kola Adepoju, said Monday had been declared lecture-free for the school to mourn the victims. He said: “We lost two of our students. They were hit by a reckless driver. As he was avoiding a head on collision with an oncoming vehicle, he rammed into two of the students who had just alighted from the school bus. “There has been a protest over the incident. Vehicles were not moving before, but now they have started moving. “Monday has been declared mourning and lecture-free day. We have got in touch with the families of the deceased students.”

•Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson (left) handing over the PDP flag to the party’s chairmanship candidate in Ekeremor Local Government Area, Barrister Billy Tobiyei (right) while flagging off the state’s local government elections campaign at Peace Park, Yenagoa.

Broken heart may have led Pope Francis to priesthood

broken heart led Pope Francis to the priesthood. At least, that’s what a 76-year-old Argentinian woman claims, Sky News reported. The old flame, Amalia Damonte, told Argentine TV that Jorge Bergoglio, as he was known then, declared his love for her in a letter. “He said that if I didn’t say yes (to his marriage proposal), he would have to become a priest. Luckily for him, I said no.” The future pope was 12 or 13, she recalled. The two grew up in the same neighborhood in Buenes Aries, where Damonte still lives. Although she turned down

•Mark to represent Nigeria at inauguration her admirer, the old friend remembers him fondly. “He had a crush on me. ... We used to play on the streets here. It was a quiet neighborhood then. He was very nice,” she said. “We were 12, 13 years old, no more than that,” she added. “He was a proper guy.” That the new pope is the first South American to lead the Church has led to interest in his background. Like most of the world, Damonte was as shocked as anyone else by his selection. The septuagenarian recalled, “I froze in front of the television. I couldn’t believe that Jorge was the pope.” The two grew up four houses from each other, the now

white-haired lady told Sky News. Bergoglio lived with his mother and Italian immigrant father who worked on the railway. She said, “He is a good man, the son of a working-class family. I hope he can achieve all the good that he holds in his heart.” It took a while for Bergoglio to make good on the promise he made in the letter. First, be studied chemistry at a university before finding his religious calling at the age of 21. Even then, he was a teacher before joining the church and becoming a Jesuit priest. In an interview in 2010, he admitted he had a girlfriend before the priesthood and

First Bank’s CEO to join Nigeria Summit 2013 panel

he Managing Director of First Bank, Mr. Bisi Onasanya, is billed to join other panelists at the Nigeria Summit 2013 organised by Economist Conferences to discuss transformation within the West African subregion. According to a statement signed by the bank’s Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, the participation of the bank’s MD in the summit was informed by its commitment to fostering thought leadership

and promoting economic integration. President Goodluck Jonathan is expected to flag off the event on Tuesday, March 19, 2013 at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island Lagos with a keynote address on Nigeria: The Transformation Agenda. Onasanya will be joined at the session on The Regional Environment for Transformation by the Executive Vice President Africa, Unilever, Frank Braeken; the Vice President Procter & Gamble West Africa, Manoj Kumar; the Re-

gional Chief Executive Officer Africa, Standard Chartered, Diana Layfield and Deputy Director-General World Trade Organisation, Valentine Sendanyoye Rugwabiza. The panel will deliberate on several issues, including regional economic and security integration; existing regional economic blocks; regional cooperation through institutions and rules; functions of regional integrations and challenges of regional integration in West Africa. Ani-Mumuney said the

bank considered its participation at the summit as “an opportunity to align forces with global business leaders in the quest to understand the challenges of regional integrations and proffer viable solutions to overcoming them in the nearest future. “At FirstBank, we recognise the opportunities that regional integration offer and we have consistently demonstrated our support for initiatives geared towards growing integration, entrepreneurship and national development,” she added.

would dance the tango. He said: “She was one of a group of friends with whom I used to go dancing. Then I discovered my religious vocation.” President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday approved the Senate President, Senator David Mark, to represent the Federal Government delegation at the formal installation of the Pope on Tuesday. A statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said that the delegation will also convey a congratulatory letter from President Jonathan to Pope Francis. The statement reads: "Other members of the delegation are Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State; the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah; the Minister of State (Foreign Affairs), Prof. Viola Onwuliri; the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe and the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama. "The delegation also includes the Chaplain of the Presidential Villa Chapel, Venerable Obioma Onwuzurumba; the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, Mr. John Kennedy Opara and Lt. Col. Edor Obi (Rtd.)"

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

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diplomatic row was sparked last night between Nigeria and the United States of America (USA) over the pardon the Federal Governmentgranted a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the US Deputy Chief of Mission after the Embassy said yesterday that it was “deeply disappointed” by the pardon. Alamieyeseigha, who was jailed for stealing public funds, was granted pardon on Tuesday by the Council of State at a meeting in Abuja. Other beneficiaries include the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters in the Obasanjo military government, the late Gen. Shehu Yar’Adua; Chief of General Staff in the Abacha administration, Lt.Gen Oladipo Diya and several others convicted for coup plotting. Yar’Adua had earlier been pardoned by the administration of Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar. The pardon, especially for Alamieyeseigha, has provoked massive criticisms from home and abroad in view of government’s purported fight against corruption for which he was jailed. President Goodluck Jonathan was his deputy when he served as governor. His impeachment marked the start of Jonathan’s rise in Nigerian politics. The US Embassy in a Twitter called the pardon a setback for Nigeria in the fight against corruption. “We see this as a setback in the fight against corruption,” the embassy said in the Twit-

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

Alamieyeseigha’s pardon sparks Nigeria, US row Tony AKOWE,Kaduna, Vincent IKUOMOLA, Abuja with agency report ter. Embassy spokeswoman, Deb MacLean, said there would be no further immediate comment. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a swift reaction, described the US embassy’s statement as undue interference and meddlesomeness in the internal affairs of Nigeria. It argued that this was not the first time a government in Nigeria or elsewhere would “grant state pardon to individuals who had committed one crime or the other. The ministry further stressed that the pardon granted is entirely consistent with the provisions of the Nigerian constitution. “The ministry finally expressed the hope that the Embassy of the United States of America would henceforth desist from making unwarranted comments on Nigeria’s internal affairs which are capable of undermining the friendly relations that exist between them. “ Also yesterday, the Executive Secretary of the National Summit Group (NSG), Mr Tony Uranta, deplored the opposition to the Alamieyeseigha pardon. He said on television in Lagos yesterday that having admitted the crime and completed his jail term, Alamieyeseigha deserved the pardon. He said: ”Alamieyeseigha

•FG’s decision’ll worsen corruption, says US •Nigeria summons US envoy over comment contributed enormously to the ongoing amnesty in the Niger Delta and every Nigerian is currently benefitting from it because of the crude oil production that has doubled after the amnesty. “He played a great role in helping to keep peace in the country and he has done his time in prison. “Should Alamieyeseigha not be pardoned because he is a minority?” He wondered why there was no brouhaha when other people were pardoned in the past. His words: “Why the focus on Alamieyeseigha when coupists are among those that were pardoned?” But Kaduna-based civil rights activist, Mallam Shehu Sani, said by granting Alamieyeseigha pardon, President Jonathan is deliberately aiding and abetting corruption in the country. Sani, in a statement in

Kaduna, dismissed the move as very unpopular and said the extenstion of the pardon to other people was to give the action some level of credibility. He said: “The state pardon granted to Alamieyeseigha is the reason for all other pardon. The inclusion of the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua whom I shared prison cell with in Kirikiri prison from 1995 to 1998 and that of Diya and others was to give credibility to the pardon given to Alamieyeseigha. “And from all indications, the pardon granted to him is to simply clean, deodorise him and reintroduce him to the political scene in Nigeria. So, it is an attempt to clean him, launder him and deodorise him before getting him back into the nation’s politics. “I do not think that such a person should be pardoned, together with others whose offences were purely political. “And what I know very well

is that the pardon for Alamieyeseigha is unpopular, and President Goodluck Jonathan has demonstrated over the years to be rewarding corruption and aiding and abetting it. “We have seen the scandal in Malibu where a former minister who is a man of the president was paid millions of dollars, and now we are having a situation where Alamieyeseigha who was convicted for corruption is being pardoned. These are so many wrongs. We condemn and reject it.” Sani also condemned attempt by some politicians to frustrate the registration of the All Progressive Congress (APC), adding that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is the brains behind the attempt in order to prevent credible challenge against it during the 2015 general elections. He stressed that emergence of the new political

organisations with the acronym APC is a clear indication that there are some politicians who are hell-bent on preventing the registration of the new opposition party by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). “The attempt by some fraudulent and opportunistic individuals to register a political party with the acronym APC in order to frustrate the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is condemnable. “Those that are behind this are nothing but pursuing the goals of the Federal Government. Their aims and objectives are to sabotage the attempt to register the APC, and Nigerians will resist this attempt of mischief with all vehemence. “Our position remains very clear that the APC is on salvation mission. It is a party of redemption. It is the only alternative for Nigerians to salvage the country for the better.”

FG to commence work on 2nd Niger Bridge

HE Federal Government said at a stakeholders meeting held at the palace of the Obi of Onitsha, HRM, Igwe Alfred Achebe yesterday that all was set for work to commence on 2 nd Niger Bridge. Addressing a mammoth crowd, the Minister of Works, Mike Onolemomen, who came with a technical team comprising mostly civil servants and building experts, said the time had come for serious action on the bridge. He said Governor Peter Obi’s efforts towards the project had contributed a lot to keeping it alive. He recalled many letters and visits the governor had made to the President as well as the minister himself and other stakeholders, pleading for the commencement of the project. “Even at our last event at Transcorps Hotel Abuja, Governor Obi was there and made a strong point on the imperative of commencing the construction of the bridge now,” the Minister said. According to him, the project will be completed before the expiration of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in 2015 as part of efforts to deliver on the campaign promises of the present government. He said it was necessary to construct the second bridge across the River Niger in order to ease transportation problems and fulfil President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign promises. Onolememen, who traced the history of the Second Niger Bridge, said it was Governor Obi’s efforts that enlivened the project otherwise, it would have been a closed chapter, adding that the project will

cover Asaba, Ozubulu and Ogbaru areas. He said he was in Onitsha to acquaint Anambrarians with the latest development about the bridge, adding that the project was designed in such a way that there would be a ring road from Asaba to Onitsha to ease traffic challenges. Governor Obi described the project as very gigantic and assured the Federal Government that the state government would provide adequate security and other necessary sacrifices that will enhance effective completion of the project. “Once the project commences, I will relocate to Onitsha and turn myself into one of the project supervisors,” Obi said. He thanked President Goodluck Jonathan for fulfilling his promise of building the bridge, which he said would, among other things, bring the sufferings travellers face in the state to an end and assured the federal government of proper supervision to ensure a hitchfree exercise. The Managing Director of Julius Berger Construction Company, Mr. Wolfgang Goetsch, who was there with other technical crew from the company, pledged to carry out the project according to specifications and time, and commended the federal government for considering them the preferred consortium. The Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, expressed delight that the project is actually taking off and awarded to a very competent construction firm which he said was a testimony that the federal government was determined to fulfill their promises to the electorate.

•President of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Mr. Emeka Eleh (standing right) presenting a plaque to the Minister of Works, Hon. Mike Onolememe, who represented President Good Luck Jonathan at the 43rd Annual General Conference of NIESV in Benin City, Edo State. Seated right is the guest speaker, former Minister of Education, Dr. (Mrs.) Oby Ezekwesili .

PHCN staff urge court to stop govt takeover of Ibru’s property F IVE senior employees of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) yesterday challenged their ejection from a PHCN property said to have been forfeited to the Federal Government by former Oceanic Bank Managing Director, Mrs Cecilia Ibru. They urged a Federal High Court, Lagos, presided over by Justice Okechukwu Okeke, to stop the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) from taking over the property. But AMCON said it merely executed a valid order of the court to possess the houses. According to the workers, represented by rights activist Mr Femi Falana (SAN), AMCON came with the court’s sherriff on March 6 and sealed their residential houses. “When the premises was sealed, some of the occupants were in their various flats with their children while some were outside,” Falana said. Other parties in the Motion on Notice are the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Ibru and AMCON, joined as JudgmentCreditor/Respondent.

Joseph JIBUEZE

The applicants include Engr. Michael Dada, Engr. Charles Amadi, Mallam Lawan Muhammad, Mrs Comfort Odili-Iwuafor and Mr. Anthony Abikoye. They sought an order setting aside another order made by the court on March 1 granting leave to AMCON to apply for the issuance of a writ of executive (possession) in respect of the property located on 5A, George Street, Ikoyi. The applicants prayed for an order setting aside the execution levied on the property based on the March 1 order. They asked the court to restrain AMCON and the court’s Deputy Sherriff from taking further steps or levying further execution until all pending suits over the property are determined. During hearing yesterday, Falana said PHCN offered the applicants the properties to buy, which they did by paying the Federal Government for them. He exhibited the receipts of payment. He said

they subsequently filed suits seeking to stop the government from taking over the houses, but while the suits were pending, the March 1 order was executed. Falana told the court that in 2010, when a forfeiture order was made by another judge to relinquish the said property to AMCON, the applicants filed a suit seeking to set aside that forfeiture order. Falana argued that despite AMCON’s knowledge of the pending suit, it went ahead to obtain an order to seal up the premises. “The ownership of the property has not been disputed by the judgment-creditor. We’re the owners of this property,” Falana said. But counsel to the respondents, Mr Chuka Agbu (SAN) urged the court to dismiss the application, saying it was “unmeritorious”. In a counter-affidavit, the lawyer said AMCON was not privy to any pending suit over the property, nor was it a party to any ex parte order purportedly made regarding the

property. The respondent said the property was among those gazetted as having been forfeited to the government by Mrs Ibru following a pleabargain in which she was imprisoned for six months for bank fraud and other related offences. Agbu added that the court’s orders of October 8, 2010 and March 1 regarding the property’s forfeiture and which granted possession to AMCON were subsisting. According to him, AMCON has a valid and proprietary right to execute the order and receive possession as it did on March 6. The lawyer said the PHCN workers would not in any way be prejudiced if their application was refused. This, he said, was because they did not possess any proprietary interest in the property. “None of the applicants was around when the court made the order that has now been fully executed. “This application has no merit,” Agbu said. Justice Okeke adjourned the case till March 25.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY MARCH 16, 2013

Proxy APC: Civil society leaders indict Presidency, INEC

OME civil society lead ers yesterday implicated the Presidency and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the formation of emergency African Peoples Congress and All Patriotic Citizens to frustrate the merger of three major opposition parties into the All Progressives Congress (APC). They alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party and the Presidency are behind the controversy on the APC through some directors of the INEC. They also released the findings of an independent investigation into the APC crisis which exposed the fraud in the manner in which applications for two proxy APCs were filed and received by the INEC. The findings include preemptive move to prevent merger of key opposition parties, registration of emergency parties within five days, abuse of the INEC procedure and desperate use of computergenerated documents to falsify the INEC records; inconsistency in dates on the applications for registration by emergency APCs and when signatures were appended, among others. These highlights of the independent investigation were presented to the media yesterday in Abuja by four civil society leaders, some of whom were part of the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) which fought for the emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan as acting President in 2010. Those who addressed the press were a former National Secretary of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Comrade Salihu Mohammed Lukman; a former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Barrister Abdul Aminu Mahmud; Alhaji Mahmud Abdullahi; and a former Chairman of Gwale LGA in Kano State, Alhaji Kawu Idris. Lukman, who led the group, said the briefing was out of concern for the future of democracy in the country. Lukman said: “I am sure that there are two questions that will be virtually in the minds of everybody. First, who are we? Two, what is the subject that we want to address? In terms of who we are, we are not here as representatives of any platform. We are here first and foremost as Nigerians, but as Nigerians who have been involved in one way or the other with the politics of this country. “And we have, in our own little way in the last few

•Allege smuggling of ‘party’ into commission’s records sion into university you pay money and get the JAMB form. •’Fake document submitted for registration’ You don’t go to a computer centre to reproduce the secuYusuf ALLI and John OFIKHENUA, Abuja

months, tried to see how we can intervene in order to either give advice or engage the political process. “Of course, we are not doing this as an accidental engagement. The last time, I think two months ago, I made a public presentation of my book. Since then, we have been relating with the political parties that are currently negotiating the merger that will hopefully produce the All Progressives Congress. “And when in the last few days the controversy surrounding the name came up, we on our own decided to investigate the matter because we believe that Nigerians deserve better and that the negotiation currently being undertaken by all the parties in the merger process will certainly give Nigerians some ray of hope. And if something as basic as the name is throwing everybody into confusion, we felt the need for informed investigation. “Why we thought we need a press conference is because of some of the findings. We don’t have a text, but are going to ensure that you have these ones. These are the evidence. “We felt that there are pieces of information we have stumbled upon which should be cross-checked further. And we feel that the best people to cross-check it will be the Nigerian press. These are pieces of information that border on the management of the process by the INEC. They are pieces of information on the issue which I can call fraud by some people claiming to have filed in registration. “But my preliminary remark is basically to say that it will be correct to argue that as today there is no party registered with the acronym called APC. At best, there may be some applications before the INEC. So that application cannot have assumed the conclusive position of being registered. Two, there are indications, by the time we give you the documents and we ask you to further cross-check, that the whole thing borders on some people who are desperate to ensure that they fast-track a pre-emptive move so that the registration of the merged party is blocked. “The information we have, you will have copies of it, you will find that there are about

three or four applications with the INEC right now with the acronym APC. And from our investigation, all the applications were filed within five days. And you will see them. Interestingly, all the applications were filed by legal representatives. And one of our findings indicated that when the APGA wanted to get itself registered, their first action was to apply to the INEC through a consultant . And we were informed, this we ask you to go and cross-check with the leadership of the APGA, INEC andAPGA that it is the substantive leadership of the APGA that should file the registration. If that is true, it means that there is a precedent in the INEC that it is the substantive leadership of a party that should apply for registration. “But in the case of the African Peoples Congress, the application is by a legal representative and the letter is here. You will see it there. In the case of the other one, the All Patriotic Citizens, it is also by a legal representative. So if there was a precedent in the case of the APGA, at what time did the INEC change the procedure. “I think these are issues the public should be asking, and we think that the best answer will come from the INEC. “One substantive issue is the fact that we, through our contact in the INEC, were able to access what is supposed to be the ideal application form. Usually from our own understanding and from the technicality if you look at it, you will see the way it is. You cannot have a computer print on it; you can only write. But from what we were able to access and the application that is submitted by the African Peoples Congress, it is computer generated apart from the signatures. “Our concern is to assist the nation to get the truth out of all these things. There is one thing before I hand you over to the technical person.” Lukman said the team had discovered that there are still the PDP card-carrying members in the INEC. He said: “It is clear that the management of the process is problematic and it is problematic probably because when Jega assumed the leadership of the INEC two to three years ago, there was some public expectation that his management of the process will sanitize the INEC to ensure that there are credible and honest Nigerians who are managing the INEC.

I’ll rebrand PFN, says Omobude

EWLY elected presi dent of the Pentecos tal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Rev. Dr. Felix Omobude, yesterday promised to rebrand the religious body. He said the body “is determined to check activities of its members.” Omobude, who took over from Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, spoke at a press conference in Benin City. Omobude, who is also the General Overseer of the New Convenant Gospel Church, said the PFN under his leadership would positively engage the Federal Government to ensuring that peace returns to the nation.

He said the desire to pursue peace does not mean weakness on the part of the PFN. His words: “The PFN believes in Nigeria. We want to explore all avenues and reach out to those who don’t share our faith. The PFN will strive to pursue peace. “We will puruse peace, but the peace effort does not mean that we are weak. Where necessary, we will take our destiny in our hands. “Religious war is an ill wind that will not benefit anybody. We will engage the Federal Government positively.” On the call for churches and church leaders to be paying tax,

Omobude said the Federal Government was in a position to know whether religious leaders should be taxed. Omobude urged President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure that justice is done to whoever has been aggrieved in any part of the country and called for the support of the press to help move the Christian faith forward in Nigeria. “While I do not desire any colouration of facts or glory, I am asking for your support and cooperation to help us in the task of nation building. We believe in the oneness of the country. We will do our best to help bring peace to the nation,” Omobude said.

“Unfortunately, as at today, there are still many card-carrying members of the PDP within the INEC. And clearly one of the officials of the INEC who is in charge of the capacity of the INEC to manage something as basic as party registration is a lady. “We were told she is in charge of party registration process in the INEC and if on something as basic as this the INEC is getting it wrong, we doubt the capacity of the INEC to lead the nation to have a free and fair election in 2015. “And the issue of sanitizing the INEC is what this will lead to. We believe that the PDP and Presidency are behind it through some of these directors. And part of the game plan, from our investigation and we invite you to go and check, is also struggling for the position of secretaryship of the INEC. “There are people who have positioned themselves in the Presidency so that they eventually get appointed as the substantive secretary of the INEC when the tenure of the current secretary expires. “Of course, there is the issue of Jega being a northerner and the secretary cannot be a northerner. I don’t want to go into that. I don’t give a damn where anybody comes from, but what I give a damn about is that we cannot use our privileged position to scuttle the wishes of Nigerians.”

On his part, Barrister Abdul Aminu Mahmud said the civil society leaders have discovered smoker’s cough in the application of proxy APCs, especially the African Peoples Congress. He said: “We have been in this process for the last five days. Luckily for us, we stumbled on what I call the smoker’s cough. There are two documents here. Both are titled Form PA 1. This is the one submitted to the INEC by the political association- African Peoples Congress (APC). “What is the particular difference? The particular difference is that if the Electoral Act prescribes forms which those seeking registration of parties should fill out and submit, we expect that the so-called APC would have submitted this authentic form, not this one. If you look at the first page, this is a document submitted by the proxy APC .If you look at the section for National Executive Committee, it is broken into blocks listed one, two , three. The original document has no block. It is just open space. “In order to take the name away from the political association that has declared its interest somebody rushed the application and processed it for the APC. “When the law prescribes certain procedures, these procedures must be followed intoto. If you are buying the form of JAMB to seek admis-

rity of JAMB form, fill it and send to JAMB. “I am simply worried as a lawyer because we are dealing with a public institution here (INEC), and it is an institution created by an Act of our parliament. I have studied this document. It is very clear to me that this document was produced in one place in the office of the INEC.” Mahmud said there was a case of abuse of administrative procedure in the application of the proxy APCs. He added: “ Administrative practice is guided by three things which are policy, law and precedent. I will take the latter. The INEC is a creation of the law and Act of the national parliament. If through its practice, the INEC came out with practice direction on how you can fill and submit application forms, a precedent that was formed when the APGA applied to become a political party -they used a consultant and the INEC turned down its application and demanded that only national chairman and secretary could make application on behalf of the party, why has INEC departed from that precedent?” When the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Communication, Dr. Doyin Okupe, was contacted for his reaction last night, he neither picked his calls nor replied text messages sent to his phone.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY MARCH 16, 2013

Taraba Governor Suntai phones from sickbed

OVERNOR Danbaba Danfulani Suntai of Taraba State yesterday telephoned from his sickbed in Hannover, Germany apparently to rubbish speculations about his purported vegetable state. The surprise call at 4.03pm, was his first direct communication with any journalist since his involvement in the October 25, 2012 plane crash inYola, Adamawa State. In a slow but audible tone, the governor said: "I'm grateful to God", when asked about his health. The conversation was brief but the voice was unmistakable. The call had been initiated by the Commissioner for Information,Mr.Emmanuel Bello, who is in Germany for the purpose of recording the governor on video and show-

•Says I’m grateful to God Fanen IHYONGO, Jalingo ing same at home to Tarabans who have become worried about speculations on the governor's health. Mr.Bello said he was with Suntai who, according to him,was not looking badly. The conversation went thus: Reporter:Your Excellency, good evening? Suntai:Yes Reporter:This is Fanen Ihyongo of The Nation Suntai: Yes. Fanen how are you? Reporter: I am fine . How is your health today? Suntai: Fine. I thank God. Reporter:I understand you have recovered? Suntai: Yes. Reporter: I am happy to hear

that and to speak with you. How do you feel surviving the crash? Suntai: I thank God. I am grateful to God that I survived. Also, I thank God for the recovery. Where are you?

Reporter:At the state secretariat in Jalingo. Suntai: Ok. How is everybody? Reporter: We are fine. Everybody is praying for your recovery and return home.

Suntai: Thank you. Greet everybody Reporter: Your people are really missing you and they are keen to see you back home. Suntai: (Laughs). I know. I will be back very soon. Mr.Bello had, in a statement on Tuesday, spoken of the governor's plan to return

home soon. Deputy Governor Garba Umar, who had earlier visited his principal, said on his return: "I am going to organise a tele-conference where my boss will personally talk to the media.I will even give you the phone to personally talk to him if you so wish."

Police have no autopsy report on Oyerinde —Ugolor

HAT could have caused the grue some murder of Olaitan Oyerinde, Private Principal Secretary to the Edo state governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole? Who is benefiting from what now seems to be a high profile murder? While these and many more theories are been propounded, the man at the center of the controversy, Reverend David Ugolor, has said that it is only the police that can produce the killers of Oyerinde. Ugolor stated that investigations had shown that there was a deliberate attempt by the police to burgle the reports. In an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Benin City, Ugolor said in the entire police reports sent to both the court and the House

Osemwengie Ben OGBEMUDIA Benin of Representatives public hearing in Abuja recently, there was no autopsy report attached. Ugolor, who is the Executive Director, African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), maintained that the police authority must be prevailed upon to open up on the gruesome murder of Oyerinde. “There was no autopsy report and the police deliberately misled the public by not doing or showing any autopsy. As a matter of fact at the public hearing in Abuja, the autopsy report was not presented. So you can see that the police deliberately made efforts to mislead the prosecution and this is not good for Nigeria,” he said.

Dr. Orhii addressing stakeholders during the Small Business Support Desk forum organized by the agency in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State...recently. He is flanked by representative of NDLEA State Commander, Mr. Alfred Adewunmi (left) and the State Coordinator, SON, Mr. Don Pedro.

NAFDAC introduces Small Business Support Desk

S part of its efforts to promote productive interaction with stakeholders and in line with President Goodluck Jonathan's transformation agenda, the National Agency

ECOWAS/ECCAS ministers meet on MINISTERS in charge of for- security in Gulf of Guinea eign affairs, defence and security of the 25 countries of the ECOWAS and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) are to meet in Cotonou, Benin Republic to discuss security issues in the Gulf of Guinea. The inter-ministerial conference is scheduled for March 19. The meeting will be preceded by the technical meeting of experts of the UN Offices for West and Central Africa (UNOWA and UNOCA), the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC), International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Maritime Organisation for West and Central Africa (MOWCA) and the African Union (AU). The Africa Centre for Strategic Studies and the Institute for Security Studies will also be represented at the conference which will consider several documents, including an ECCAS/ECOWAS Political Declaration on illegal maritime activities in the Gulf of Guinea for adoption by a summit of heads of state of the two RECs. It is in conformity with the roadmap and the need to galvanise the necessary political will around the process that the ECOWAS and ECCAS, with the support of the GGC and the UN, are holding the Cotonou ministerial conference. In addition to a political declaration, the ministers will also

Vincent IKUOMOLA, Abuja consider the Memorandum of Understanding between the ECOWAS/ECCAS and GGC on maritime security in West and Central Africa, and the Code of Conduct among the three entities. Both communities, it was gathered, started collaborative efforts in 2011 which was aimed at developing a joint maritime security strategy to counter emerging and interlinked threats to safety and security at sea. This followed the adoption by the UN Security Council of Resolutions 2018 and 2039, urging countries in West and Central Africa to take urgent steps to check piracy and armed attacks at sea on national and international levels. A series of meetings involving the ECOWAS, ECCAS, UNOWA, UNOCA and GGC representatives led to the development of a roadmap which identified the need to organise a Summit of Heads of State and Government of the two RECs, in Yaoundé, Cameroon in April. The previous meetings also led to the preparation of mutually enforceable texts which will be submitted to the multilateral platform for validation.

The Gulf of Guinea Commission comprises Angola, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Sao Tomé and Principe, while the ECCAS is made up of Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tomé and Principe and Chad.

for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has introduced Small Business Support Desk to encourage small scale businessmen and women in various parts of the country. Director-General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, who made this known at a stakeholders' forum organized by the NAFDAC in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, said the idea behind the introduction of the Small Business Support Desk is to stimulate industrialization and alleviate poverty in the country. Dr. Orhii noted that the Small Business Support Desk will create an opportunity to liaise with the industry. "We have our rules and regulations in the NAFDAC, but we want to hear from you in order to know the areas to correct you," he said.

The aim of the Small Business Support Desk is to create a platform to liaise with small businesses to foster greater understanding of the NAFDAC procedures and also to serve as an enquiry point for clients on regulatory issues. The desk also aims to improve access to information on product registration, to provide timely feedback to stakeholders and sectoral groups and to clarify the NAFDAC laws and regulations to the regulated industry. Dr. Orhii stated that the NAFDAC had come up with e-Registration where business owners can register their products with the agency within the confines of their offices. He added that the agency had reduced the period of registration of products to 90 days provided clients submit the

requisite documents promptly, assuring small business operators of the agency's readiness to support the registration of their products to meet acceptable standards. The NAFDAC DirectorGeneral decried the indiscriminate use and wrong application of agro-chemicals and pesticides on farm produce and said “the agency is working to clean up the chemical market.” The agency has also organize series of workshops and awareness campaigns to educate people on the appropriate use of these chemicals. Stakeholders at the forum commended Dr. Orhii for his dogged effort in bringing the NAFDAC closer to the industry in the fight against counterfeit drugs and sub-standard regulated products.

Security agencies ready for today’s Abuja HE Federal Capital Ter Area Council polls already deployed 7,000 of its ritory (FCT), Abuja Secu

rity Committee has held an emergency meeting with an assurance to the residents of the territory that the security agencies are set for today’s council elections. The emergency meeting, which was chaired by the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, was held at the Banquet Hall of the Minister’s Residence, Gwarinpa I District, Abuja. Briefing newsmen at the end of the meeting, the Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC) FCT Command, Mr. Aminu Abdullahi Kofar-Soro, disclosed that the emergency meeting was summoned by the FCT Minister

•Civil Defence deploys 7,000 personnel Gbenga OMOKHUNU, Abuja who is the Chairman of the FCT Security Committee to finetune the security arrangements so far made to ensure a hitch-free election. The commandant reiterated that the committee noted the importance of elections in a political dispensation and the need to protect lives and property before, during and after the elections. He said the FCT security agencies have taken a pro-active action to protect the sensitive and insensitive materials of the Independent Na-

tional Electoral Commission (INEC). According to him, the committee announced the restriction of the movement of people between 7am and 5pm and solicited for the cooperation of all residents. The committee, however, warned that anybody caught disrupting public peace would face the full wrath of the law as thuggery cannot be entertained. The commandant pointed out that in order to guarantee the peaceful conduct of the elections, for instance, the NSCDC, FCT Command has

officers and men. While appealing for peace, the commandant said the FCT Security Committee used the occasion to call on the residents of the territory to please come out en-masse to freely elect the councils’ leaders of their choice. The emergency meeting was also attended by the FCT Minister of State, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide, Acting Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Nuhu Ahmed, all the heads of military formation in FCT; FCT Police Commissioner; Director, Department of State Security; FCT Commandant of the NSCDC, representatives of customs, immigration and prisons.

COMMENTARY 7

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

New Pope, new hopes and expectations A

RGENTINA in recent times has been widely known for the Falklands War with Britain and before that for the debt default crisis of 2001 that almost collapsed the global financial system. On a happier note though Argentina is respected widely as the nation that gave the world soccer happiness - as the country that produced first Diego Maradona and now Lionel Messi of Barcelona. Just last week the magic of Lionel Messi put paid to Italy‘s AC Milan’s dream at the UEFA Champions League with a masterful display by the magical Argentine, Messi. Yet, the biggest global news this last week was the election of an Argentine by the Conclave of Cardinals in Rome as the new Pope Francis and successor to Benedict XVI, the first Pope Emeritus in 600 years. However, it was not only in Rome that an historic change of guard or a unique event was taking place. Similar events in terms of magnitude and importance took place in China where the Chinese Communist Party confirmed the new President Xi Jinping as president of the biggest nation on earth in terms of population; and in Kenya where a new president Uhuru Kenyatta was elected in spite of a case pending against him before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. Also in Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai rattled American nerves by lumping both ally and enemy together when he accused both the US military and the Taliban of exacerbating the state of insecurity in his nation on the eve of the departure of US troops from Afghanistan next year .Similarly in Nigeria the Nigerian president gave a State Pardon to his former boss who was jailed for embezzlement of public funds and dashed all hopes of successfully fighting corruption in Africa’s biggest black nation. In essence then, from the speedy and fruitful Conclave in Rome, to the murder and mayhem on the streets of Kabul, to the smooth transition in Beijing and Nairobi; as well as the horror created in Abuja, change and transition underpin the events and personalities on display in my analysis this week .I will illustrate my observations in this regard with deductions which I think will be apparent to the discerning eye in all these situations. Again, let us go back to Rome for the election of Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Bueno Aires aged 76 as the new Pope Francis. To me this is a very smooth transition as some say the new Pope was second to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger at the last Conclave in 2005 that saw the emergence of Ratzinger as the next Pope Benedict XVI. Which simply means that the Conclave decided that the no 2 should take over where the no 1 has stepped down. Which really should be expected of a College of Cardinals which is no more that a gathering of conservative minds, very suspicious of any drastic change especially after the rude awakening from the fact that it is possible for a pope to resign, something that had not happened for a long time. However, it is in the choice of an Argentine that I want to dilate on, in the light of what Argentina represents in the comity of nations - in essence its sovereign reputation. First, in global finance Argentina represents something of a way ward child, and most finance houses hold their breath doing business with that nation because

of the threat of debt default. Indeed an Argentine ship was seized in Ghana of recent on account of the debt default saga that happened at the start of the millennium. In politics however Argentina is a highly legalistic nation in that it has brought to book all past military leaders who staged coups and toppled democratically elected governments to gain power. These included past military generals like Viola and Videla as well as Galtieri who was jailed for taking Argentina to the Falklands war without proper preparation leading to a disgraceful defeat by Margaret Thatcher’s Britain. So Pope Francis ascension to the papacy in Rome is a boon and a great boost to the ego and pride of Argentina as a Latino nation and to Argentines generally. I wonder how Britain or Britons will feel about the emergence of an Argentine Pope given the two nations well known truculence over the tiny Falklands Islands. I also cannot resist chuckling at what Argentina’s former colonial lord, Spain, now in austerity chaos and distress that has caused Spaniards to take to the streets in riot, do now that they have to pray to an Argentine Pope at mass. Really, the emergence of a Pope from the slums and dirty streets of Buenos Aires, after the highly intellectual Benedict XVI shows God is not sleeping after all; and that even the poor masses of the world have their hope in high places as their champion and past traveler in the bitter experience of crass poverty now occupies the high and exalted seat of St Peter in the Basilica in Rome. Similarly in Beijing the Chinese leadership gave the western world a lesson in orderly transfer of power from one generation to the other albeit in a 10 - yearly mode. This is in spite of the fact of the skepticism of those in the west who call the Chinese leaders despots with scant regard for human rights. Yet the Chinese are the largest creditors of the US in that they hold the largest chunk of US treasuries in the world. The situation has been compared to cold war ideological war between the US and the former US SR when mutual deterrence or annihilation was the name of the game. Only that this time the game between China and the US has been called the financial mutual deterrence or annihilation war because

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So Pope Francis ascension to the papacy in Rome is a boon and a great boost to the ego and pride of Argentina as a Latino nation and to Argentines generally. I wonder how Britain or Britons will feel about the emergence of an Argentine Pope given the two nations well known truculence over the tiny Falklands Islands

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one can not do without the other in terms of trade and global business and as such they must cultivate themselves in the interest of global peace and stability. Instead of scoffing at the democratic credentials of Chinese leaders, the west is better advised learn something from the slow but sure progress and order in China under their leadership. Kenya’s successful election has shown that democracy is maturing in that part of the world as the people spoke and showed that democracy in local display can be immune to international pressure and clamoring. Uhuru Kenyatta has been elected and there has been no violence as happened last time around. Although Rahoula Odinga has threatened to go to court he should let sleeping dogs lie and allow peace in Kenya. This is because Kenya’s CJ is known to be close to Odinga and his verdict will not be respected or acceptable if he overturns the voters verdict. A word is enough for the wise. President Hamid Karzai’s outburst against both the US forces in Afghanistan and his enemy the Taliban as birds of the same feather, also is a fine example of ingratitude in high places. But for the Americans Karzai would have been ousted out of power long ago in Afghanistan by the Taliban. Now for him to say that both his enemy and ally are prolonging the war is extremely strange and nasty. Anyway that seems to be the fashion that US allies in the region reward the Americans after taking their money to help snuff out terrorists in the region. Just last week the President of Pakistan an ally of the US met with the President of Iran to sign agreement on the building of an oil pipeline between the two nations. This is after the US has spent millions on Pakistan to fight terrorists that all parties in the region know are funded by Iran, an implacable enemy of the US. Lastly in giving state pardon to former Governor Alamieyesiagha, to whom he was a deputy governor President Goodluck Jonathan carried cronyism and impunity to new heights in the fight against corruption in Nigeria . Undoubtedly the cancer of corruption is a major hiatus facing the Nigerian nation state . But at least the government can avoid embarrassing itself by not bringing opprobrium on itself in enacting a pardon which after all is just an act of mercy. It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth to discuss this pardon which is an avoidable embarrassment to Nigerians not only at home but in the diaspora. We know that it is within the president’s power and that of the Council of State to do what has been done. We also know that the saying is true that to whom much is given much is expected. This was one pardon too many and is a real pity for Nigeria’s sovereign reputation.

8 COMMENTARY

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

2015 and the making of Jonathan’s army vincentakanmode@yahoo.com

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan took his defence of corruption a step further on Tuesday with the pardon he granted former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepriye Alamieyeseigha. To be sure, Alamieyeseigha was not the only Nigerian on the list of exconvicts that got presidential pardon. There were others like former Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, the late Maj-Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and some military officers implicated in the 1995 and 1997 coups against the late military Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha. They included former Chief of General Staff, Lt-Gen Oladipo Diya; a former Minister of Communications, Maj-Gen Tajudeen Olanrewaju; and a former Minister of Works, the late Gen. Abdulkareem Adisa. There were also others like a former Managing Director of the defunct Bank of the North, Alhaji Shettima Bulama, and Dr. Chiichii Ashwe. For obvious reasons, however, there has been public uproar against the gesture dispensed to Alamieyeseigha and perceived by many as shocking and scandalous. While Yar’Adua, Diya, Olanrewaju and others were jailed for political reasons, Alamieyeseigha was convicted for using his office as the Bayelsa State Governor to pilfer the exchequer. This was after he had brought the nation to international disrepute by jumping bail in London where he was arrested by the Metropolitan Police for money laundering. Upon his nocturnal return to Nigeria, the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, prodded by the then President, Olusegun Obasanjo, initi-

ated impeachment moves that culminated in his removal and replacement with his then deputy, Dr. Jonathan. But like a dog that would never forget his benefactor, Jonathan’s loyalty to Alamieyeseigha remained steadfast. He was a direct beneficiary of Alamieyeseigha’s gesture and misadventure, without which he would probably be ebbing away as an obscure teacher in an obscure school in the backwaters of Bayelsa. While Obasanjo would be credited with making Jonathan the governor of Bayelsa State and later the nation’s vice president , it was Alamieyeseigha’s intervention that actually rescued him from the misery of growing up without shoes.. It is unlikely that Obasanjo would notice Jonathan if Alamieyeseigha had not made him his running mate in the first place. Jonathan believed the least he could do for Alamieyeseigha as the nation’s president was to grant him state pardon and remove from him the shame and stigma of an ex-convict. Happily, his prayers were granted at the National Council of State meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday. We all have to pretend now that Alamieyeseigha never stole, even though he admitted doing so in court. We must pretend that he never went to jail and that he has become as free as a bird to aspire to any office in the land, including that of the President. It would amount to an offence now to call him an ex-convict. Those who must view his person from the prism of prison will more appropriately address him now as a former ex-convict. For heavens’ sake, I would not be drawn into explaining the difference between an ex-convict and a former ex-convict. What is important now is that our President has emerged a happier man. He has succeeded in using deserving Nigerians as a smokescreen to remove the garb of shame that clung to his political mentor like a cloak. How desperately he needed to do it is explained by the fact that he had to grant the late Gen Musa Yar’Adua another pardon after the one granted by his predecessor, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, on the strength

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Like Alamieyeseigha, a presidential pardon for George would be in perfect sync with the drafting of Obasanjo’s real and perceived enemies into Jonathan’s army for the 2015 battle

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of which Obasanjo contested the presidential election in 1999. Behind all this, however, is the bigger picture that no one needs a crystal ball to see. The battle for 2015 has become so fierce now that the President needs as many Obasanjo’s foes as he can muster to join his camp. About 72 hours before Tuesday’s announcement, I had told a neighbour that I suspected plans by the Jonathan government to grant presidential pardon to Chief Olabode Gerorge, a former National Vice President of the PDP and former Chairman of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), who was jailed for two years in 2009 for contract splitting and inflation. That much was clear from the body language of the President and the utterances of many of his foot soldiers lately. The campaign against George’s ex-convict status had begun with numerous interviews he himself granted the media complaining that he should not have been tried by a Lagos High Court when the money he stole belonged to the Federal Government. Jonathan himself had subtly begun his rehabilitation in January with his appointment into a panel to re-organise the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a move seriously criticised by legal practitioners and civil rights groups. Then there were media reports quoting the Acting Director of Public Prosecution of the Federal Government, Mr. O.T Olatigbe, as claiming that the fiat upon which George’s trial was based did not emanate from his office. This, as reported, was in response to

a memo from the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, requesting for the fiat. With Obasanjo out of the fold of Jonathan’s supporters, the President and his loyalists in the party are in desperate need of a figure that could act as a rallying point in the South West for his second term ambition. No party member seems to fit the bill better than George who, unfortunately, is smeared with the tag of exconvict. Like Alamieyeseigha, a presidential pardon for George would be in perfect sync with the drafting of Obasanjo’s real and perceived enemies into Jonathan’s army for the 2015 battle. All a politician needs to do now to be counted among Jonathan’s loyalists is to openly antagonise Obasanjo or advertise himself as a sworn enemy of the ex-President. The trend proceeds upon the logic that an Obasanjo’s enemy is necessarily a friend of Jonathan. As would be expected in a land that brims with favour seekers, smart politicians are exploiting the trend for their own share of the national cake. That was the case with Dr. Doyin Okupe, a former Obasanjo spokesman who now champions virulent verbal attacks on the ex-President. The schism between Okupe and his erstwhile boss had grown into a chasm in the heat of the crisis that rocked the Ogun State chapter of the PDP in February last year. Addressing journalists at the venue of a meeting held by the Kashamu Buruji faction of the PDP in IjebuOde, Okupe turned his fangs against his erstwhile boss, declaring him a liability on the PDP. For his temerity, Jonathan rewarded him with an appointment as the Senior Special Assistant to Jonthan on Public Affairs five months later. It is no accident that the closest politicians to Jonathan today were trusted associates of Obasanjo who became his sworn enemies. The list grows longer by the day, featuring names like Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chief Tony Anenih, Dr. Bukola Saraki and Chief Jim Nwobodo, to mention but few.

It’s truly complicated, isn’t it? Knucklehead With I Yomi N Nigeria, nothing is as simple as it appears. Our fascination for weaving a web of complications around what others would consider to be non-issues is legendary. We just love moving through this tricky maze that leads to nowhere. And, in that ungainly fashion, we have consigned to history quite a truckload of things that are sure to haunt us later in life. I foresee a situation where those half-buried corpses whose legs are hanging out will, one day, demand proper interment. When that eventually happens, there will be no hiding place for any of us. We just have this queer disdain for treading the straight and narrow path. We hug the mundane while the reality of our folly stares us in the face. Is it that we have become utterly and unabashedly sold to those whimsical deceptions to the extent that we have completely missed the opportunity to apply the brakes? I mean, must we cuddle banality with reckless abandon? I am shocked at how fast we turn every matter of national importance into some huge joke. Why should everything and anything that requires outright condemnation or serious punishment to serve as deterrent end up on the popular ‘soft landing’ table? Just the other day, and to our national shame, a top official of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) who is also head of the agency’s Lagos office, Mr. Obaseye Shem, carried sheer incompetence to its zenith with his bewildering display of ignorance on a live programme on Channels Television. This dude, who has a gift of rambling through simple questions, could not even give us his agency’s correct web site address. It was as if he was battling with a tough geometric question. And when he eventually dribbled his way round the answer, he ended up confusing the viewers and the interviewers with his “www.nscdc that’s all” riposte. Oops! And what on earth was he doing in that hot seat if all he could tell us was a mind-scotching response that his “Ogas” in Abuja are in possession of the keys that could unlock the almighty web site of a public institution that has become notorious for its money-for-ajob racketeering! How and when has making public an organisation’s web address become rocket science such that a senior personnel would be rambling on a daytime live television programme? Yet, Shem’s outrageous outing is just a tip of the iceberg. Those schooled in the art of complicating simple matter would tell you it remains the best way of hiding behind a sore finger. By the time you throw more confusing dimensions into the system, chances are that the issue will naturally wear out like many others begging for attention. It is a diversionary governance tactic that has worked magic in our peculiar socio-political terrain. An example would suffice here. When the former aide to President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, accused the Goodluck Jonathan government of frittering a large chunk of an estimated $67bn (N10.8trn) left in the nation’s foreign accounts by Obasanjo as at May 2007, many Nigerians had expected any government that is truly built on probity and accountability to take serious exception to such statement. They wouldn’t have minded if the government had taken up Oby’s challenge for a public debate on the matter so that the truth, and nothing but the whole truth about what was left, what had been spent and saved, could be unraveled. But today, and almost three months after Ezekwesili threw the bombshell, mum has been the word from the appropriate quarters

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In actual fact, this cheap blackmail which was copied from the Olusegun Obasanjo’s book of political chicanery is staid. You either take up the challenge thrown by Ezekwesili or eat the humble pie since throwing in the towel has never been the option in this clime

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in government. After unleashing the predictable yet uncoordinated ranting of its attack dogs on the former World Bank Chief, it appears no one in this circuit of confused persons is interested in the debate which the National Assembly has gladly offered to explore. Instead, they have resorted to the old, wily trick of dusting up some old files, allegedly linking Ezekwesili or her aide to an investigation being conducted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) on her stewardship as Minister of Education. Now, the question is: how does that distract from the fact that this government is yet to come clean on the allegations that billions of dollars were being frittered away without any physical evidence of governance? If this latest move is not aimed at obfuscating the simple question asked by Ezekwesili on accountability, then what is? Or did the government just wake up to the sudden realisation that a certain ICPC was investigating a case related to presumed fraudulent practices against a close aide of the former minister? For Knucklehead, this trick just doesn’t jell. In actual fact, this cheap blackmail which was copied from the Olusegun Obasanjo’s book of political chicanery is staid. You either take up the challenge thrown by Ezekwesili or eat the humble pie since throwing in the towel has never been the option in this clime. Now, if Ezekwesili or any of her aides were found to have dipped their hands in the public till, it is meet and proper that they be punished in accordance to the law. After all, a former governor of Bayelsa State and a former Police chief were made to dance to the clanging anti-corruption rhythm under Obasanjo. What should be condemned is when these agencies allow themselves to be used as attack dogs or tools employed in complicating seemingly straight forward issues. In the real sense, these things are not as complicated as we always manipulate them to look like. Or are they? There are a host of other issues that fall under this category, which time and space would not permit Knucklehead to discuss. However, it is really surprising that a government adept at complicating the simplest of logic could not understand the hue and cry over its latest sacrilegious move to put a stamp of legitimacy on ‘authority stealing’ as exemplified in the presidential pardon granted the former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepriye Alamieyeseigha, and seven others, including a former Chief of General Staff, Lt.Gen. Oladipo Diya, a former Minister of Communications, Maj.Gen. Tajudeen Olanrewaju, a former Minister of Works, the late Gen. Abdulkareem Adisa, a former Managing Director of the defunct Bank of the North, Alhaji Shettima Bulama and Dr. Chiichii Ashwe.

Odunuga E-mail:yomi.odunuga @thenationonlineng.net SMS only: 07028006913 Feigning ignorance of the public’s derision, the President’s Adviser on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, quipped: “Why all this noise about Alamieyeseigha and the pardon? Is it because it is him? Is it because he is a Niger Deltan? Is it because of his closeness to Jonathan? Even in our laws, though I am not a lawyer, there are certain offences that you commit and after ten years, you receive presidential pardon. There is a Yoruba saying that says: “you asked a thief to run, he runs. You asked him to drop what he has stolen, he did. What else do you want from him?” Fact is: Okupe, his boss and the other jesters at that Council of State meeting simply don’t get it? First, let me put it on record that all those who attended that meeting, including the governors and irrespective of their party affiliations, have betrayed the huge trust reposed in them. We are not that dumb not to understand why Diya, Adisa and some other persons were pardoned. By the way, it is simplistic to say that some persons are kicking against a presidential pardon for the great ”Alams” and self-styled ‘GovernorGeneral of the Ijaw Nation’ on the basis of where he comes from. No. Even Okupe knows that it has nothing to do with what he has ‘stolen” or ‘dropped’ after his trial and conviction. It is something much deeper than that. It hangs in the realm of morality, common sense and the perception out there regarding the noise we make about giving corruption a deadly pin fall. Now, is that too much to ask of government? Is it too much to demand that they stick to the rules wherein the poor and the rich get equal right and justice? Why should the government allow some VIP thieves to walk away from justice with a slap on the wrists while petty thieves rot or die in jail without as much as enjoying the luxury of a well-rounded meal per day? What is so complicated in this matter that Okupe simply can’t understand that this presidential handshake of a pardon has gone far beyond the elbow? Anyway, to simplify it for him: maybe we should dispatch a letter to the British government asking them to free one Chief James Onanefe Ibori so that he too can be granted a presidential pardon by GEJ. Or is Ibori not a Niger Deltan? Or has he not dropped some of what he allegedly stole? Fortunately, an arrangement for the transfer of Nigerians in British jails is getting concluded by both governments. Soon, Ibori could be here. In any case, we can always complement Okupe’s warped knowledge and application of the Yoruba proverb with an English saying, what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Maybe we should just scrap the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the ICPC so that we can close the chapter on this toothless fight! Or is that also too complicated to comprehend by the jokers in power?

COMMENTARY 9

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

Letter to Malam Umar Musa Yar’adua Nigerians are now being D ‘challenged with a leadership that EAR Malam Umar Musa Yar’adua, Your Excellency Sir, Nigeria has undergone systematic transformation since you departed from us. Most of these are not good; hence it is not my intention to take you through all the calamities. However, I will crave your indulgence on some present political happenings and our expectations come 2015. You took over in 2007 from a leadership that was dictatorial and corrupt; what you inherited was an inept administration, a deteriorating polity and a functionless civil service. Those who know you and what you stood for were happy that, once again, God has done something great by honouring us with a focused, independent-minded and honest leader. You promptly displayed your independence on all national issues: you were steadfast in reviving decayed infrastructure; sanity was already returning in all arms of government, courtesy of your due-process attitude. You were patriotic, revolutionary, exhibited inbuilt concern for Nigeria and Nigerians. The fruit of what you stood for was maturing, in some instances getting ripe, when you answered the call of Allah. Before your funeral in the ancient city of Katsina and at the famous Danmarna Cemetery — oh sorry, even when you were lying sick, months before your departure — the country was already drifting to your predecessor’s era. They started by squandering the foreign reserves you painfully saved, and then racketeering of the nation’s Bonny Light. Before you left, government agencies had compromised their ethics and pledge to serve Nigeria diligently, with truth and honesty. These unfortunate trends continue. The effect is so devastating that it has affected all strata of the society. Nigerians are now being challenged with a leadership that lacks capacity: provision of even the lowest form of basic infrastructure is still a mirage. Needless to say, even in the Federal Capital city, inhabitants resort to patronising the ‘mai-ruwa’ for their water needs. These new occupants have made corruption a way of governance: there is stealing in the energy, transport and pension sectors of the economy. Their vandalism has also swallowed the nation’s foreign reserves; we are now indebted to the tune of $7 billion and N8 trillion foreign and domestic debt respectively. Security-wise, the English man is short of words to describe the present situation, but surely it is safer to live in the jungle of Animal Farm in faraway Russia than the Nigeria territory in this century. Killings are a daily occurrence; nobody is safe, with prime target mostly primary school pupils, females and sometimes the aged. Recently, this issue necessitated an amnesty call which the government rejected, arguing that if JTF wiped out communities somewhere, mere killings and breeding of orphans should not be reciprocated with an amnesty. Sir, you’ve tested leadership; you knew about the total control of the nation’s purse; you have worked with praise singers that believed a leader should be worshiped, and, of course, the unnecessary and lofty protocol associated with the office. For these reasons, they are bent on elongating their tenure by all means. This is made clear by their desperate moves to pocket the party so as to give way for a single candidate at the primaries. Even if a promise is a promise – so what? After all, he was a signatory to a two-term zoning

Ogochukwu Ikeje ohgeeoh@gmail.com 08084235961 (SMS only)

INCE the beginning of the administra tion of Governor Theodore Orji he has never relented in the provision of the infrastructure for the people of the state especially in the area of housing as he set out to ensure that there are houses for all categories of people in the state irrespective of where they are from or living. Orji started from the renovation of all general hospitals scattered across the state, then he moved to the building off 250 health centres in all nooks and crannies of the state, which are now being equipped. The governor worried over the development that many workers are still coming to work from outside the state capital, he set out to commence the building of housing estates in the state capital with the hope of making houses cheaper for everyone in the state. The special adviser to the governor on housing, Engr Nwabueze Onwuneme said that the governor has been worried over the lack of houses for the workers of the state most of who come from Aba, Owerri and other neighbouring state capitals and cities around the state. Onwuneme said that this made the governor to start the massive building of estates across the state. He said that the estate at Adelabu Street was started and completed in record time and the houses have been sold to the beneficiaries, stressing that other estates have been moving on simultaneously, thereby making

lacks capacity: provision of even the lowest form of basic infrastructure is still a mirage. Needless to say, even in the Federal Capital city, inhabitants resort to patronising the ‘mairuwa’ for their water needs

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agreement which he dumped in the dustbin and Nigerians still call him ‘Excellency’. So what’s the big deal being unhonourable? Their members are optimistic that government apparatus would be employed to make sure our votes do not count. The Obasanjo group that promoted your candidature is on the political field. They felt alienated by all the regimes and so needed some relevance again. After all, the PDP is theirs, hence newcomers should stay clear. They have one of the governors as their only sucker. Governors Muazu, Lamido, Shema and possibily Kwankwaso are already in line for this adventure. Another interesting group jostling to occupy Aso Rock come 2015 is that of the governors. They have made it a tradition that only one of them should be there for corruption to continue. Their ways include cornering of delegates, intimidation and rigging of votes, which you knew very well. These governors are already in secret alliance with OBJ, since their supreme criteria is to have one of them in Aso Rock; Baba’s choice is therefore perfect; but, as expected there will be political gimmicks before the primaries while a shameless concession and unification is intended minutes to the elections, of course, to the astonishment of the government group. I know you will be wondering why I did not mention that previously powerful IBB group. They are in agony for being the architects of the ship but now completely lost out of the power game. If you remember, they were uncared-for passengers in OBJ’s regime; you did not harbour them because of your independence. They are not on the Jonathan train and now not part of the so-called elongation. Their only option is either to surrender or engage in anti-party activities. We believed the general was still combatant. From the above analysis, coupled with governors’ influence at the PDP primaries taken into consideration, PDP merger with the NNPC, Pension Fund, etc, and INEC’s professorial ability to rig election, the Katsina governor may be gradually ascending to the exalted seat. I am sure you know about the progressive merger and the formation of the All Progressive Congress (APC). Already, this milestone is causing sleepless nights to all the PDP groups. We are confident you would have been in this team,

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were you to be alive today and not in position of leadership. Your memories and radical contributions during our good old days in the PRP, PDM and lately the SDP are still fresh with us. Comrade , Sir, ALUTA CONTINUA, VICTORIA ACERTA. We are proud of you, you are a role model; you served sincerely and with all your strength. You left us without anything worldly but an enviable legacy of empirical honesty, humility and commitment to serve. The APC is now positioned to provide the required challenge to the ruling party. Already, the progressives have a crack team — solidly aggressive and with a termite-like unity. You know united we stand, divided we fall. The vote-protection techniques used in previous elections is now improved to actions from the polling units to the supreme courts if need be. Our flag-bearers are already in shape – vibrant, blunt, mobile and with the courage, commitment and foresight of the like of the late Hugo Chavez. Your excellency, please permit me to use this medium to appeal to the founders of APC to, as a matter of urgency, include the office of a vote protector in the executive offices of this new party at all levels. The occupant should be next only to the secretary of the party in hierarchy — fearless, aggressively wise and also unable to use all known and unknown means to protect votes and at all cost. I repeat: at all cost. No stupid errand boy will dare tamper with progressive votes when the like of the Oshiomholes, Al-Makuras, elRufais or even the combatant and the no-nonsense Sam NdaIsaiah is occupying the office of national vote protector. If you are not comfortable with my harsh language, I’m not sorry and no apology: this time round, it’s victory or nothing else. The Nigerian masses have pledged to elect candidates based on their integrity, track records and sincere commitment to serve their cause, while the APC leadership is on hand to provide an all-encompassing flat form for institutionalising genuine democracy devoid of vices for the interest of the common man. Finally, Sir, our consolation is further strengthened by our total conviction that leadership at whatever level is beyond human power, the control of the nation’s purse, command of the armed forces and INEC notwithstanding. No government succeeds with injustice; whoever doubts that is surely not among the wise and the enlightened. May I conclude, Your Excellency, by saying, ‘O Allah, forgive Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and elevate his station among those who are guided. Send him along the path of those who come before and forgive us and him. O Lord of the worlds, enlarge for him his grave and shed light upon him in it. Yours sincerely, Garba Dankani

Governor Orji politically transforming housing policy in Abia State the state one big construction site, where people of all shades and sizes have been coming to work and earn their living. Onwuneme said that the government of Abia state is set to commence the sale of 1000 housing units at Ochendo Liberation estate at Amauba and Isieke housing estate before the end of the year and has asked interested would be owners to collect the forms for the allocation. The Special Adviser to Abia state governor on Housing, Engr. Nwabueze Onwuneme said that the housing policy of the present administration has gone above 80% in the revolution aimed at providing housing for all before 2015, with the addition of more houses at the commissioner’s quarters. The governor believes that the state has the capacity to increase its executive council which caused the need for more houses at the estate. Onwuneme said that the state government under the present administration is determined to deliver over 1000 units of different categories of houses across the state by the

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end of the second quarter of this year apart from others earlier delivered. The housing adviser said that from inception, Governor Theodore Orji’s administration set out to ensure that housing problems will be a thing of the past, as the governor directed that a road map to housing revolution be produced and followed to the end. Onwuneme said that after looking at the United Nations data on housing in the state, “Which gave the state a deficit of 300,000 houses, we decided to change the situation by starting what we called mass housing so that there will be affordable houses for all”. He said that this made the governor to start the building of several housing estates like Amauba, Isieke, Amauba 2 for civil servants called Ochendo Liberation estates, adding that government is also developing a cluster business area apart from the housing estates. The adviser on housing said that the governor has directed that a new housing estate be established in all the three senato-

The housing adviser said that from inception, Governor Theodore Orji’s administration set out to ensure that housing problems will be a thing of the past, as the governor directed that a road map to housing revolution be produced and followed to the end

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rial zones in the state, stressing that the aim is for housing pressure to be reduced in both Aba and Umuahia respectively. Onwuneme regretted that former governments did little or nothing in the area of mass housing and laying solid foundation for the growth of the state, “This why the governor is in a hurry to develop the state by doing the basic foundation after 21 years the state was created”. He noted that the governor’s housing projects have cut across all sectors of the society, “The governor has built 256 health centres, 2 diagnostic centres in both Aba and Umuahia, dialysis centre, new structures at the school of midwifery Amachara and the building of doctor’s quarters. We have also not allowed the judiciary to suffer as all old court houses have been renovated, new ones built; the legislature has not been left behind as new office complex has been built for them and the new government house. We are not going to forget the new state secretariat, international conference centre, four new additional blocks at the commissioners’ quarters, ASEPA building, the new markets for both relief and industrial and the administrative block for workers of the state radio/television among many others”. Onwuneme assured that the government of Theodore Orji will not have any uncompleted building by the time it will be leaving office in the next few years, “We know what we are doing as they are well thought out, which is why all our projects are moving at a lighting speed”.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

I still visit my father’s grave to talk to him

How invading soldiers killed my monarch father

– AMAA’s founder Peace Anyiam-Osigwe

–Pioneer chair of Odi council •Pages 48&49

•Pages 44&45

13 THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

It is wrong to think that disabled people would not do well in bed. I must let you know that we are more active in bed than most able-bodied men. The power we lack because of our disability, we make up in lovemaking...

ALL HAIL THE KING!

•Amazing love life of beggars’ rulers

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

14 •A view of beggars colony at Sabo Ibadan

Amazing love life ,

•Adamu and his wives

HEN you come across beggars on the street, what comes to your mind? Do you see them as vagabonds who have no place in the society? If you have so acted, you may have unknowingly despised the king of a large community of persons. Just as every big community across the country has kings that represent and protect their interest, checks showed that even among the beggars, there exists those who hold the ace and dictate the pace for others to follow. For instance, in some suburbs of Lagos State like Ikotun, Igando and Egbeda areas, the beggars have duly elected leaders who govern their activities. Though they appear ordinary and inconsequential when begging for alms on the road, they command unreserved respect and honour when they are among their peers and council of chiefs. Their span of control also covers the able-bodied men and women in their domains. They all squat or kneel to greet their kings ‘rankadede’. Interestingly, each of the beggars contributes an average of N100 every Friday from the income they get from begging for alms for the day-to-day running of the domains. Some of the beggars’ kings who spoke with our correspondent said the money they collect from their subjects is not for

I spend my time and energy attending to them everyday. As their king, I I feel very happy that I take time to settle disputes for them and attend to have beautiful wives. You those that have challenges. can attest to it that my The money that they remit every Friday is strictly for wives are beautiful. My meeting their needs. The kids too are very healthy king has no right or power whatsoever to use it. When and handsome. They do recently lost somebody not look famished and that we in our community, it was from the purse that we tells you that though I am took the money that we a beggar, I take good care spent for the burial. It is of my family with the little challenging but we are doing it for the money I get. My wives fell simply good of our people and the glory of God.” in love with me not Though they are not at because I have money or liberty to use the money in because of my looks. It is their care for personal use, the kings are not prevented my humility, patience and from marrying more than caring attitude that made one wife. In their various colonies in Lagos and them to love me Ibadan, love between the males and females does not have bounds. The males feel very proud to say that to govern they have more than one wife while the the community. He makes sure that we females express no regret for marrying practise true democracy in its simplest cripple beggars. form. I don’t take decisions all alone as a Adamu, the king of Igando beggars, king. I have other executive members who told our correspondent that he was assist me and check my activities. previously married to three wives before ‘’All the beggars in this area remit at the only one that is a cripple left him for least N100 to our purse every Friday from what he described as ‘irreconciliable what they make from begging. Anybody differences.’ who hears that the beggars remit money The secret of women’s attraction to him, to us every week would think that I’m he explained, is not because of his now a wealthy man. It is not so because I handsomeness but because of his also work (beg). I am not feeding from the simplicity and patience. The three wives, sweat of others. I also sweat to make both except one, according to him, is physically ends meet. I stay at home to attend to their challenged. He stated that he met his ﬁrst needs and complaints from morning till wife, Shafatu, a native of Ilorin in Kwara late in the afternoon after which I go out State while she was still in secondary to work. school and also assisting the mother in “The money is not meant for my selling beverage at Ikotun market. To personal use. I don’t even have the power demonstrate the depth of his love for their to dip my hand into the purse and spend daughter, he said he had followed the the money. It is meant for the welfare of mother-in-law to her home town on a few our people. We use the money to take care occasions. The in-laws, he hinted, never of them when they are sick or have other objected to his marrying their daughter challenges. It makes it possible for us to despite his disability and less-dignifying attend to the needs of our members job of begging. He said that he met the promptly without waiting for anybody. If second and the third wives at Igando area as their king I need money, I would of the state. Altogether, the three wives inform them and get the secretary to sign have given him seven children out of before I can take the money.” which one born by the physically His Egbeda counterpart, Seriki Lawal challenged wife is late. He, however, said Bawa, said the task of being the king of that he married them long before he was the community is overwhelming. He said: made the king of the beggars. “It is a Herculean task leading the people.

n Innocent DURU n their personal use. They said the money is kept in a common purse from where they take care of their members’ welfare. Adamu Hassan is one of the kings. He is popularly referred to as Seriki among his subjects in Igando area of Lagos State. As a king, he wields big influence in the community and beyond. His ability to speak fairly good English language, Yoruba and Hausa languages fluently makes it possible for him to relate with people within and outside his domain effectively. All these, according to him, qualified him to emerge the king in the area. Though he wields authority and gets weekly remittance from his subjects, he said he does not have power to spend the money for personal needs. He said: “I was crowned the king of the beggars by the Seriki Hausa of Igando after an election in which the people elected me to lead them. I think they chose me to be their king because I am civilised. I speak Yoruba, English and my language, Hausa, very well and by so doing I have the confidence of my people to lead and represent them. “Our overall king was at liberty to make us answerable to him but he selflessly made us to choose from among ourselves

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

of beggars’ kings

He said: “I was married formerly to three wives. Now I have two living with me. I met my ﬁrst wife Shafatu at Ikotun market where she was helping her mother to sell beverages. When I spoke to her, she accepted. The mother didn’t object to it. I have even followed her to her home town in Ilorin, Kwara State, on few occasions. She has given birth to four children. She sells soft drinks and provisions at Igando market. My second wife, Ramatu, has two children. She is yet to start any business but as time goes on, she would start one. I want her son to become a soldier. The third is physically challenged like me but she is no longer with me. She gave birth to a child that later died. She left because we were having recurring misunderstanding. I feel very happy that I have beautiful wives. You can attest to it that my wives are beautiful. My kids too are very healthy and handsome. They do not look famished and that tells you that though I am a beggar, I take good care of my family with the little money I get. “My wives fell in love with me not because I have money or because of my looks. It is my humility, patience and caring attitude that made them to love me. I don’t ﬁght and I will never do so. I give good attention to everybody irrespective of his condition. I show genuine concern for people and you know that when you do that, women would

naturally like you. ‘’It is wrong to think that disabled people would not do well in bed. I must let you know that we are more active in bed than most able-bodied men. The power we lack because of our disability, we make up in love making. If an ablebodied man takes my wife today, she will run away from him shortly and come back to me because he would not be able to satisfy her the way I used to do. Unlike you who do energy-sapping work, I don’t do any hard work. I stay at home from morning till I come out in the evening. With that, I have my energy intact. I don’t need to use any aphrodisiac before I can satisfy my wife sexually. God forbid. It comes naturally.’’ Asked why they fell in love with him, the two wives simply replied that they married him because they have true love for him. Shafatu said: “He is a handsome man but that is not the reason why I married him. I married him because I fell in love with him. There were many other ablebodied men who came to me for marriage but I chose him not minding the fact that he is disabled and begs for a living. It is not tribal closeness that made me to fall in love with him because I am from Kwara State and not an Hausa person. It was also not hunger that made me to marry him because he met me where I was helping

•Aliyu Mohammed and his two wives

my mother to sell provisions after school hours at Ikotun market. ‘’My parents could have rejected him when he came around but they neither rejected him nor dissuaded me from marrying him. We are blessed with four healthy children. I am not ashamed to be his wife because he does more than many able-bodied men can do. I have seen many able-bodied husbands that do not provide for their families and still beat up their wives but he does not do any of those. He is a responsible and a perfect gentleman.” Ramatu also spoke glowingly of her husband. She said: “He is the best thing that has ever happened to me. He loves me and cares for my children from the little he gets from his work. I probably would not have had the same level of joy and peace of mind if I had married an able-bodied man.” Seriki Lawal did not, however, allow his wives to speak nor have their pictures taken. He simply said that he has two wives and that he loves them and that they love him equally. The situation was not different when our correspondent visited the colony of beggars at Sabo area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. There, Aliyu Mohammed and his wives spoke about their love life. Speaking, Aliyu said: “I love my wives with all my heart. They had the freedom to marry better placed men but they chose to settle for a poor beggar like me. I am very proud of them. I make between N600 and N1000 everyday from begging for alms. When I get the money, I spend it on my wives and children because they are my priority.’’ The wives, Hadiza and Sande, told our correspondent that they knew him to be a beggar before they accepted to marry him. Each of them has three children for him. Hadiza said: “ He is a very handsome man. He is also very caring. I really love him because he is very jovial and friendly. He made us (the two wives) to live like siblings by removing everything that could cause division between us.”

He is a handsome man but that is not the reason why I married him. I married him because I fell in love with him. There were many other ablebodied men who came to me for marriage but I chose him not minding the fact that he is disabled and begs for a living

Though 70-year-old Garuba has only one wife, his marriage to Zainab sparks off some interest. While he hails from Kano State, the wife is an indigene of Ibadan. They told our correspondent that they do not live in the midst of other beggars in the colony but only come there to work (beg). “It was love and it is still love that brought us together. When he saw me, he told me that he loved me and proposed to marry me. I accepted because I was not under any man then. We have been living together for some years now without any bickering. He does not understand my language but I understand his. I am from here in Ibadan while he is from Kano State. “Love does not have barriers. There is nothing like true love. Love is love. If it is not love, then it is not love. I love him and he loves me too. We manage whatever little money we get from begging for alms. We live in a rented apartment at Ode-Olo around Mokola roundabout because we need privacy which we would never have if we live in the colony. We still make love in spite of the fact that we are advanced in age (laughter). You are right to express surprise about our union but the truth is that it is love that bound us together,” Zainab submitted.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

Sad tales from Ketu •Whole families lose all to night ﬁre

•The rubble of the razed market. Inset: when the ﬁre ﬁrst started

n Segun AJIBOYE n LITTLE over a week after the fire incident that gutted the Ifelodun plank market in the Ketu area of Lagos, traders at the market are still taking stock of their losses. When The Nation visited the site of the ruins on Wednesday, most of the traders were seen in groups discussing their huge losses, while they watched the smoke from the rubble of their decades of investment billow into the sky. With heavy police presence to prevent thieves and vandals from invading the site, huge cranes are already clearing the debris, ostensibly to allow for space to go. With most of the traders still in deep shock, one after another, each of them tells his or her pathetic story, with most of them taking almost the same pattern. For most, the loss affects the entire family, with the father, mother and children owning shops in the market. That is the case with Pa Lateef Amuda (aka Baba Onimalu). Though the fraillooking old man could not say his exact age, it is very obvious that he must be well into his 80s. For him, the fire brought to naught his struggle of almost four decades. To compound his problems, his entire family members are into the same kind of business, and indeed had shops in the burnt market. “I don’t know how old I am. But I am sure you can estimate my age by looking at me. My entire life has come to an end with this fire. What do you think I can do or where can I run to? My son is here, the wife and every other member •Soliu Bello, chair of my family did business here. What that means is that of the market the fortunes of my entire family went up in flames with the fire.” Asked what his plans are, Baba Onimalu said: “I came to the market in 1976 when we started business here. I have been here since that time. So what plan do you think I can make now with my age?” The old man is not alone in this pathetic experience. Alhaji Aliu Bello, chairman of the market, deals in furniture materials. He lost six shops to the inferno. That is not all, his wife and other family members also owned shops in the market. “We cannot say for real how much is lost to the fire at the moment. What I can tell you is that the loss is huge. Let me start from my own, I lost six shops to the fire. My entire family is into this business. So when you talk of

families who lost their entire savings to the fire, then you are referring to me.” Unsure of where help might come from, Bello pleaded with the government to come to the aid of the victims of the fire. “I beg the governor to please come to our aid. The lives of several families are tied to this market, and the fire brought sadness to the homes of these people. Only the governor can come to the rescue of the people. “There are different types of relief. Most of the traders here have lost everything, so the government can come our aid by first alleviating their sufferings by donating materials like food and others to the victims.” Afusatu Salawu is still distraught. Having lost her husband a few years ago, the responsibility of taking care of her family solely rests on her aging shoulders. And though it is already one week since she lost her shop to

the ﬁre, she is still at a loss with how she can make a comeback from the

loss. The grandmother, who claimed to be 50, said she lost her husband some years ago, and has since then looked after her large family. “My husband is dead, I feed my family from the little that I make from this place. I came here in 1983. Let me confess to you, a good Samaritan gave me N200 to buy food this morning. For how long can I continue with such?” she lamented. According to her, because of the economic situation in the country, some of her children who went to school later joined her in the plank business because they could not get a job in the office. Razak Ademola was at home when news reached him that the market was on fire. He sold planks, while his wife sold foams at the market. He said they both lost about six million naira to the fire. “I really don’t know what to do now. I lost everything to the fire. And to make matters worse, my wife also had a shop here. But we have lost everything and there is no hope coming for us from anywhere. “Aside from my wife, my brother and younger brother also had shops in the market. It is my entire family that is

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

plank market traders •Mrs. Ganiyu

•Razaki

•Soliu

•Mrs. Salawu

•Pa Amuda

I really don’t know what to do now. I lost everything to the ﬁre. And to make matters worse, my wife also had a shop here. But we have lost everything and there is no hope coming for us from anywhere. Aside from my wife, my brother and younger brother also had shops in the market. It is my entire family that is affected. It is a terrible experience for us. I live in Ikorodu, and it is already getting difﬁcult for me to come here. People now assist us with money to feed

affected. It is a terrible experience for us. I live in Ikorodu, and it is already getting difﬁcult for me to come here. People now assist us with money to feed. As you can see, most of us have no other source of income than this place.”

Afusat Ganiyu is still grief-stricken days after the fire. With tears streaming down her cheeks, the grandmother said she lost all she had laboured for all her life. Afusat is not alone in the present state of shock, her entire family has been left in shock by the huge loss. According to her, “My story is pathetic. My whole family is affected by the fire. My husband owned a shop, my daughter also owned a shop here. So you can see that we are all in big trouble. Who do we run to for assistance? “I received a new supply a day before the fire. As I speak with you, I cannot really say how much we have lost to the fire. And I don’t know what we can do, except to pray to God Almighty to come to our rescue by raising people that will help us. Between us, we owned four shops, and none of us was able to pick anything from the ruins.” Sidikat Abidoye’s experience is the same out of the books of other victims of the fire. A combination of more than four decades struggle of three members of her immediate family evaporated with the smoke of the fire. Aside from her plank shop, her husband and daughter also lost their shops to the fire. Left with nothing, Sidikat told The Nation her story amidst tears: “I lost all that I have struggled to gather all my life. My husband is here, he too lost everything. My son owned a shop here too, with everything gone. His wife also had a shop here. That makes four of us. I am confused and don’t know what the future holds for me. “My son went to school and could not secure a job. He had to join us here to survive. But that too is gone with the fire. Our only hope rests with God at the moment because none of us can say that

•Mrs Abidoye we have anything elsewhere.” Five members of Mukaila Kareem’s family were also affected by the inferno. They include his wife, mother-in-law and two brother-in-laws. For him, nothing can be more devastating than the fire. “We brought new goods to the market a day before the fire. To make matters worse, my relations lost five shops to the fire. My wife, her mother and two brothers lost all their life savings. I lost mine too, this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me. “As a matter of fact, I am still in shock. I have had several nightmares since the fire, each time waking up that it wasn’t true. But I have woken up each time to discover that it is true.”

•Ajala Ibrahim Musbau Ajala drove a bus which he used to carry planks and other materials from the market to other destinations. For him, business had been good since he left school and decided to earn a living as a driver. “I went to secondary school before I came to do this job. I feed my family ferrying goods for people who come to buy planks at the market.” But the fire has put an abrupt end to Musbau’s job. His bus was among other materials lost to the fire. “I normally parked my bus in the market at the end of the day. I was not around when the fire started, so it was one of the things that were burnt by the fire. Now, I don’t know what to do. My life is in ruins

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

‘My exploits as mother-general of five robbery gangs’ Ebele BONIFACE

HE most wanted woman robbery gang leader, Alhaja Faith, addressed in the underworld as mothergeneral, has been arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command. Thirty-seven-year-old Faith whose gangs are believed to operate across three South West states, is alleged to have ordered the killing of more than 10 policemen and five civilians, including a pregnant woman . Narrating her exploits in armed robbery, Faith said she had resigned from active robbery when she felt she had made enough money and had spilled the blood of too many innocent people. She said she could no longer operate smoothly after a manhunt for her was declared by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko, forcing her into retirement, particularly because members of the five gangs under her control were being netted by the State Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on a daily basis. She said she remained yet surprised that she was tracked down by SARS after she had cut off all her links with the five members of the robbery gangs she was coordinating in her heyday. She also said the death of her gangs’ native doctor and that of one of her gangs' leaders whom she had been assured could not be hurt by bullets, forced her to go into hiding. The 37-year-old native of Iruaya village, Edo State, said she used to sell beer, spirits and pepper soup before she ventured into robbery. She said: “I reside with my parents at Command Estate area, Meiran in Lagos. I live there with my mother but my younger sister is the owner of the house. I am married with three children. My husband is a businessman. He is also an importer who normally travels abroad to import clothes. He has five wives and normally travels to

‘

Benin Republic, Ghana, Sierra Leone and other African countries. “He does not give me much attention as he used to give other wives because I have been sick since 2011. They said I had tuberculosis. I am on drug. I used to go to the general hospital every week where I am given free drugs. “I am not comfortable with my husband because he does not take care of me and my children. He abandoned me not only because I am suffering from tuberculosis but also because he did not pay my bride price and had no moral right to question other men who were giving me the attention I needed as a woman and a mother. I am his third wife. “The situation made me to take my beer and pepper soup business in Oshodi (Lagos) very seriously. I started getting money to feed well and take care of my three children. Unfortunately, most of the men that patronised me and gave me the assistance and comfort my husband could not give me were armed robbers. “When I found out that my friends and customers were armed robbers, I could not report them to the police because they were the only reason for my survival when my husband had abandoned me. Moreover, I became interested in what they were doing and later became one of them. How can I report my gang members to the police? Does that make any sense? “Even after I had I retired from robbery, I did not report them to the police because they were looking for me. Reporting them was risky because they would see it as foolishness for me, a senior member of the gangs, to report my fellow members. It is like declaring a war and the result is suicidal. “When I became their full member, my role was to link them with buyers of stolen goods and take a percentage of the proceeds. It could be 5, 10 or 20 per cent, depending on the type and value of the stolen good. It was when they

I am not comfortable with my husband because he does not take care of me and my children. He abandoned me not only because I am suffering from tuberculosis but also because he did not pay my bride price and had no moral right to question other men who were giving me the attention I needed as a woman and a mother. I am his third wife

Faith

crowned me their mother-general that I started going to operations with them.” Asked why SARS operatives arrested her, she said: “I did not know that SARS men were still looking for me. I had already cut off all my links with the gangs. Some of my gang members were killed by police. Others were arrested, charged to court and remanded in prisons. Some others are still at large. “Police told me that they arrested me because of a man I usually called Alhaji and never cared to know his other names. They said the Alhaji used to buy snatched cars and that I was the one acting as the middle person between him and car snatchers. I told them I knew the Alhaji but for some months, I had not been doing anything with him. I told them that I had resigned and any transaction I did with the Alhaji was done before I resigned and went into hiding when I was informed that the police were after me.

“I did not carry guns. They lied that I used to carry guns. It was the men that used to carry guns. They were the ones who fired the bullets that killed people. I was merely the middle woman. When the gangs snatched cars or robbed people, they used me to get buyers or dispose stolen items. Whenever I followed them to operations, I didn't carry guns. “Whenever Alhaji collected a vehicle from me, he gave me N50,000. He used to pay the gang that snatched the car N250,000. So, the total sum he paid for each car delivered to him was N300,000. “The total number of cars I delivered to Alhaji was 12. Therefore, the total sum I made from the business was N600,000. I used the money to take care of the feeding and education of my children.” Asked whether she had gone to Continued on Page 20

‘

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

I'm desperate to see my mother, says 35-yr-old man who lost contact with mom 28 years ago

Sunday

Kunle AKINRINADE

Continued on page 20

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

I'm desperate to see my mother ‘My exploits as mother-general

of five robbery gangs’

Continued from page 18

Faith

Sunday at age 8, with ‘missing’ sister

Sunday’s late father

His uncle, Eniaiyekan

Continued from page 19

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

2015: It's too early to speculate

about Aliyu's successor

-Niger Commissioner Kuta Yahaya

Prof. Yahaya Continued on page 22

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

Prof. Yahaya

‘Why Niger State is birthplace of literary icons’ My husband led a quiet life Mrs. Asadu and her son

Continued from page 21

-Widow of

slain Kwara CP Asadu The late Asadu

Chris OJI, Enugu

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

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Edited by: VICTOR AKANDE Tel: 08051101822 E-mail: victor_akande@yahoo.com

It was an honour to be named the sexiest man alive but… —Indian actor

Akshay Kumar

Bollywood star actor and producer Akshay Kumar rose from a humble beginning on the streets of Chandni Chowk, to being admired by many fans worldwide. In this interview with Online Editor, LEKAN OTUFODUNRIN and MERCY MICHAEL, the actor opened up on Bollywood @100 and the future of Indian films. He also talked about relationship with his female fans among other things: •CONTINUED ON PAGES 28 & 37

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

STAND BY! h

Wit

VICTOR AKANDE

E-mail: victor_akande@yahoo.com Tel: 08051101822 (SMS only)

ntertainment

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 factors th f other success o s.—Eric civilisation rt Reine

Nollywood: Exuberance @ 20 (2)

share the sentiment of my colleague, Shaibu Husseini of The Guardian newspaper who posited that: “practitioners of the Nigerian motion picture industry ought to consider themselves lucky for having President Goodluck Jonathan, who has demonstrated considerable admiration and disposition towards them. The President proved his admiration for the industry and showed that he was somewhat a Nollywood practitioner by inclination, when he again, announced the provision of funds for the development of the industry. President Jonathan had on Saturday, March 3, at a presidential dinner to celebrate the home video industry at 20, announced the provision of a N3 billion grant for the development of Nollywood under a scheme the President said will be called 'Project Nollywood'.” No doubt, the magic works for the entertainment industry, in such a way that each time Nollywood practitioners meet with the President, he makes promises of some funds for the filmmakers. As praiseworthy as this may be, it gets me worried, considering that this incidental benefits tend to displace the industry from a position of rights to that of favours. Little wonder the filmmakers saw Mr. President's utterance about Living in Bondage as a mere joke. Jonathan had said metaphorically that the film industry is under repression by pirates, probably because the acclaimed first Nollywood movie; Living in Bandage carried a derogatory title. I think this is not a statement that any deep thinking practitioner should swallow hook line and sinker. Indeed, an uncle who gives you proceeds from your late father's property forgets in a minute that it's your right and not a privilege with three billion naira being dangled before the face of a 20 year old, they could denounce their parents, let alone their name. Such was an expensive joke, if you ask me; that the industry's woes should be judged by a mere movie title. Perhaps the thought could have achieved a balance, if Mr. President had also added that some Ministry, meant to help protect intellectual property does exist but has failed. Perhaps, he could have said, in like manner, that the failure of this Ministry is also a problem of nomenclature. And perhaps, we should have had a Nigerian Copyright Fighter instead of Nigerian Copyright Commission? My drift is that the industry is being taken for a ride, and

The magic works for the entertainment industry, in such a way that each time Nollywood practitioners meet with the President, he makes promises of some funds for the filmmakers. As praiseworthy as this may be, it gets me worried, considering that this incidental benefits tend to displace the industry from a position of rights to that of favours practitioners are either too blind to see or too weak to act. The Nigerian Film Policy is embedded with everything that the motion picture industry should have, including intervention funds, grants, film village etc. You do not need a presidential dinner to bring all these to fruition. The practitioners should push for things that will give them some level of autonomy. Only the constitution gives such leverage. I cannot but recall the largest convergence of artistes through their various associations on Monday, March 21, 2011at the Eko Hotel & Suites, and the comprehensive communiqué passed on to the president by each association, detailing how they can function well. Unfortunately, not a significant aspect of these demands has been met by government. A sensitive and proactive government does not make its subject to look beggarly before doing the right things. If government truly believes that the entertainment industry means so much to the country as a potentially viable non-oil sector, then now is the time to begin to prepare for an alternative source of income even if oil, that has sunk our

The Nigerian Film Policy is embedded with everything that the motion picture industry should have, including intervention funds, grants, film village etc. You do not need a presidential dinner to bring all these to fruition. The practitioners should push for things that will give them some level of autonomy

WRITE TO US!

groundnut pyramid and turned our cocoa plantations to grave yards will never dry up. When I see what a country like The Gambia is doing with sun and beaches, I get certain that the culture of wastages in Nigeria is a hundred percent. Did they not say that a house without a solid foundation is precarious? What do we think that Nollywood can achieve with all the grants in the world, if it is still lacking in basic structures? The industry has argued for and against Motion Picture Practitioners Council (MOPPICON) which Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, boasted during Zuma Film Festival in Abuja last year that it will be actualized in three months. That turned out to be another political statement. Whether or not MOPPICON will work, I am of the opinion that it can only make the industry learn when it makes some attempts and fails. A society cannot continue to live in assumptions it must act. Sadly, Maku did not live to his promises, and to imagine that people had clapped for him when he made that pronouncement. He had even talked about the much anticipated National Film Fund. It was heart-warming to hear Maku say that he was pushed to ensure a quick consideration of the film fund policy by the Federal Executive Council, and I thought that, that made President Jonathan's administration proactive to issues of the film industry. But could the latest three billion naira be the fund we are talking about? Mr. Minister, I recall your light joke that night, saying that journalists do not usually write unless the issue is meant to criticise government. To that, I had personally led a group of entertainment writers to reevaluate the disposition of the Jonathan led government to the plight of the entertainment industry ever since beneficiaries of the $200 million intervention fund were unveiled, and I think the government will get even more of positive reviews when it begins to see itself as truly needing the film industry to boost nation income, rather than seeing the industry as dependant of government largess. Next week, we shall take a look at the complexity of the Information Ministry and whether the film industry is not a victim of inattention. It will also be interesting to know who the real parent of the motion picture industry is, if indeed, like some say, the Information Ministry is just a surrogate father.

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 07029013958

STELLA DAMASUS out with Love Me Quick video

OLLYWOOD actress, Stella Damasus has taken a bold step into launching herself into main stream music with the release of the music video titled “Love Me Quick”. The urban and trendy actress has overtime honed her musical skills and indications are rife that she is ready to plunge headlong into the murky waters of the music industry with the release of her latest music video. Though there have been attempts by her other colleagues in the movie industry to make headway in music, such moves have not yielded positive results for many of them. The likes of Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Jim Iyke, Ramsey Nouah, Nkem Owoh and most recently Tonto Dike have all tried their hands on music which has yielded fruitless results but Stella says she into it to make a mark for herself.

Chioma Toplis living large

EDUCTIVELY endowed Nollywood actress, Chioma Toplis is currently having the time of her life. The talented actress who is loved by many for her acting prowess is living large in the UK where she has been for a while now. The actress according to sources is taking a break from the movie scene as she hopes to take things easy for the time being. Though Chioma has featured less in movies in recent times, she is not perturbed as she is looking forward to better times ahead in her career. It could be recalled that the controversial actress once dispelled rumours about the crash of her 17 year old marriage saying the allegation is 'wicked'. She also used the opportunity to advise rumour mongers to mind their business and leave her marriage alone.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

ntertainment

RE ELNEW S

Soul Train Awards premieres on BET

Best of Nollywood holds Tribute Day for Justus Esiri

S part of activities to honour the late Nollywood icon Justice Asiri, Best of Nollywood is organising a tribute ceremony tomorrow, March 17, 2013 at The Prince of Anthony Hotel in Anthony village from 12noon to 8pm. The event will see fans, friends and colleagues of the late icon see to movies he featured in, hold prayer session and tribute by friends, fans and colleagues. According to the CEO of Best of Nollywood, Seun Oloketuyi ,“Uncle Justus was a great man. A through professional who inspired many and added so much value and he deserved all we are doing for him and more. The event through free needs pre registration and all you need to do is to send a mail to info@bestofnollywood.tv.

Miss Institute flags off pet project

Apeebrand-Excellent presents Easter with orphans By Adeoye Keme Arubayi

•Keyshia Cole

Honours for Olu Jacobs at AMVCA

T was a moment of glory for accomplished veteran Nigerian actor Olu Jacobs as he was named the recipient of the Industry Merit Award. This was one of the many magic moments that flooded the recently held AfricaMagic Viewer's Choice Awards (AMVCA) held on Saturday, March 9. Held in association with MultiChoice and sponsored by Amstel Malta, the awards recognized Africa's best film and television talent in a glittering three and a half hour ceremony, hosted by Big Brother's IK Osakioduwa and StarGist's Vimbai Muntinhiri. Winners include Nigeria's Mercy Johnson (Best Actress Comedy) for Dumebi The Dirty Girl, Ghanaian Jackie Appiah (Best Actress Drama) for Perfect Picture, Nigeria's Hafiz Oyetoro (Best Actor Comedy) for House a Part and his compatriot OC Ukeje (Best Actor Drama) for Two Brides and a Baby. Category wins for Best Supporting Cast in a Drama went to Uganda's Matthew Nabwiso for A Good Catholic Girl and Kenya's Maureen Koech for Lies That Bind. The prestigious award for Best Director went to Akin Omotoso for Man on Ground.The announcement of the winners of the hotly-contested Best Movie Overall and Best Television

LANS are underway to flags off of Miss Institutes Nigeria 2012's pet project. The pet project designed by Sylvia N. Ekwenibe (Miss Institutes Nigeria 2012), a final year student of Estate Management of University of Nigeria Nsukka which goes by the title Strategic Transformation Agenda for Regeneration (STAR) is in line with her key responsibilities as Miss Institutes Nigeria which includes “serving as an ambassador worthy of emulation for Nigerian youths, especially the females.” ITH the viewing of CNN across Africa at an all time The flag-off phase of the project according to high, according to Tony Maddox, Executive Vice the MIBP Coordinator, Bode Mac Oserinde, is President and Managing Director of CNN International, CNN aimed at encouraging the leadership towards International and MultiChoice have officially launched the maintaining a successful and exemplary CNN/MultiChoice African Journalist 2013 Awards. administration. Expressing delight to be a part of The one-day conference with the theme: the CNN/MultiChoice African “Right Steps against Wrong Time: Hallmark of Journalist Awards, now in their Purposeful Leadership” is scheduled to hold on eighteenth year, Maddox said that the Thursday, 11th of April, 2013 at the prestigious awards represent the very best in Lekki Oxford Hotels, Lekki Lagos. journalism from across the African Billed to impact knowledge on participants continent. “I'm proud that they are motivational speakers such as Azuh Arinze, continue to grow in stature and Ogbo Awoke Ogbo, Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri, prestige, and the 2013 competition and Dr. Ausbeth Ajagu (MFR). promises to deliver another year of Miss Institutes Nigeria 2012 is the crownstellar African journalism,” he added. bearer of the first-ever beauty pageant- Miss “We are honoured to once again be Institutes Beauty Pageant- (an initiative of part of Africa's largest and most Fanafillit Integrated Concepts) for students of Colleges of Education, Polytechnics and coveted journalism awards. These Universities in Nigeria. Awards provide us an opportunity to •Tony Maddox

•Taiwo Lycet-Ajayi presenting the Award to Olu Jacob

categories produced the biggest ovation of the night, with Otelo Burning and The XYZ Show scooping top honours. “It has been a wonderful night. Fantastic performers, glittering fashion, deserving winners; it has been a night of huge excitement and emotion. Most importantly, it's been a true celebration of African film and television, a fitting platform for the stars of our continent, both in front and behind the cameras,” said M-Net Africa MD Biola Alabi.

CNN/Multichoice launches African Journalist Awards

showcase the continent's journalistic talent and provide a platform to tell the African story. As an African company, we believe that our participation makes a significant contribution towards the development of media in Africa,” Nico Meyer, CEO MultiChoice Africa says. Kenyans Tom Mboya and Evanson Nyaga were awarded the top prize at the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2012 Awards ceremony. Their work 'African Tribe in India', which aired on Citizen TV, Kenya was chosen from among 1799 entries from 42 nations across the African continent. This year, the competition will recognise excellence in the following categories: Culture Award, Digital Platform Award , The Coca-Cola Company Economics & Business Award, Environment Award, Free Press Africa Award, Mohamed Amin Photographic Award, MSD Health & Medical Award, Print General News Award, Radio General News Award, Sport Award, Television Features Award, Television News Bulletin Award, Francophone General News Awards, Portuguese Language General News Awards. From these category winners, an independent judging panel chooses the overall winner - The CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2013.

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

haranwa aka A e ey in h C , ss re st Versatile song out her chances on ab re su ck co e b to er Kryztal seems her resoluteness. Hhas om fr g in g d ju e en st the music sc -Quest music contelidate ar St 11 20 e th in n so participatio as she hopes to conrgeoning h ig h a on er h t se u already ired niche for her bens up on es d a e rv ca to id b op in her lly endowed singerces from male fu ti u ea b e h T . er re ca she handles advan her career and howrview with AHMED BOULOR. fans in this inte

A guy once told me he liked my boobs. It is not too nasty but some people just say crazy things to you when you're trying to make them feel your music

t s e i t s a n e Th e l a m a g n i h t fan once said to me Kryztal ‘goddess’ ic s u m t s e u Q r ta —S

HAT actually influences your kind of music? Basically, my environment plays a major role in my music, God also inspires me and the love for music also influences my kind of music. What stands you out in the midst of your female contemporaries? I'm not comparing myself with people but sometimes as a human being, it is good to have people you look at and say, I'm going to challenge this person. But I believe in myself because apart from singing, I have a unique voice and I write meaningful music. So, I'm not comparing myself with Tiwa Savage, Niyola or any other artiste but I believe in myself. When did you discover you have a unique voice? Just like the normal old story, I discovered myself when I was very young. I actually grew up in the church choir. From being a member, I was made the choir director. Tell us more about yourself My name is Chineye Aharanwa and my stage name is Kryztal. I'm a singer, song writer and I do all genres of music. I was a member of the band that emerged first runner-up at the Star-quest 2011 music contest. I'm a graduate of Pure and Industrial Chemistry from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Aside singing, I'm also a voice-over artiste and I am also into music consultancy. Tell us about your family background I'm from a family of five. I'm the second. My dad is from Owerri in Imo State while my mum is from Akwa Ibom State. When did you start music professionally? I went for Star-Quest in 2011 music contest, after the competition, I decided to take it up since it is what I enjoy doing. Before then, I had always been doing it as a hobby but the Star-Quest competition made it official. Tell us more about your first album which is still in the works? I'm not done with the album yet but I'm

working on nothing less than 12-tracks for the album. For now, I have one “Cindarella” on air, I have 'Waka Waka which is a reggae song; then I have 'As E Dey Hot' which is pop, and the “Azonto Dance”. I have many songs that are of different genres. How prepared are you for the challenges ahead of you on the music scene? I'm fully ready; I've never been this sure. How do you cope with male fans who want more than your music? It is not something I cannot handle. There are some male fans that actually want you not because you're singing. Though, some really appreciat e you because you're a singer , so you just have to know when to draw a line. What is the

nastiest thing a male fan has said to you? A guy once told me he liked my boobs. It is not too nasty but some people just say crazy things to you when you're trying to make them feel your music. Do you have a man in your life? (Laughing) I have Jesus in my life. Have you encountered any major challenges thus far in your young career? Every artiste faced different challenges especially when you're not there yet. Number one, no one wants to associate with you until you're already known. Some people look down on you because they feel that, anybody can wake up tomorrow and call himself a musician. Also, trying to break into the limelight is more challenging because we have many already established artistes. Who are the people you look up to in the industry? 2face is a common person, so I try to avoid him but sincerely, 2face is a rare gem. I like 2face and Dare Art Alade because of their unique voices and they don't just do anything like the other artistes. For female, I like Omawumi because she has a crazy part aside her scintillating voice. What type of image do you intend to portray as a female act? I just want to surprise people at every point in time. For instance, I'm coming out with a video “Waka Waka” which is quite different from the video I just did “As it Dey Hot”. The first video portrays a crazy image but the “Waka Waka” video portrays my and gentle and soft persona. So, at every point in time, I just need to keep surprising my fans. I want to be unpredictable with the kind of image I portray. Have you performed with any established artiste? You know I started with a band; I've not really performed with some of them. I was formerly in Gloria Ibru's band; I was the only female in her band. So, I've worked and performed on stage with great musicians like Raskimono, Shina Peters, 2face Idibia Alex O, Mike Okri, Oritz Wiliki, Gloria Ibru, Kween and several others. Has the Star-Quest music contest impacted in your music? It has contributed a lot, it was fun all

through, we went there individually but they later put us in a band. It is always two vocalists and instrumentalist. It was fun because we were singing live, showcasing our unique talents. They want to see how well you can work as a team, and how well you can entertain people. So, it was fun, I learnt a lot. Though, it was hectic, it also helped me discover myself. When did you have your first kiss? Do you know that I kissed Jesus this morning before stepping out? I've been kissing Jesus from my mother's womb. How has your beauty affected your love life? There is nothing negative about being beautiful, but the only disadvantage is that, people keep coming; you can't say this person is coming because he truly loves you or because you're beautiful, I won't say it has affected my love life positively or negatively. Like I told you, I'm in love with Jesus. Have you been heartbroken? No, I've not been heart-broken by any man. How many hearts have you broken? Nigerian men can't be heartbroken these days. Their hearts are as strong as iron. For real, I don't think, I've broken anyone's hart before. Are you working with other artistes on your debut album? For now, I don't really want to bother myself on who to feature, my utmost concern now is coming out strong, carving a niche for myself in the industry. The track on the album is not complete yet. If I have to feature any artiste, I will definitely do it. Can you kiss a male fan on stage? The truth is that, as an entertainer, you can't say you can't do it because when I used to sing with a live band, there were some things that I found myself doing. If I'm doing a love song and situation warrants that; I will do it but that doesn't mean it will go beyond that stage. For instance, you see D'Banj removing his shirt on stage just to make the audience feel his message. So, as an entertainer, anything can happen. What are your hobbies? Obviously, my hobbies are singing and reading.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

Samini attacks

Charly boy's cousin killed

Adeoye Keme Arubayi

P-square in cover track

•CB

Gov. Akpabio Nigeria Idol Season 3: redeems Anxiety mounts as two pledge to the more contestants are evicted Idibias

•Tuface with Annie

Star leads revolution with music app Adeoye Keme Arubayi

•Wizkid

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

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r wants you to do to the best of your ability, but

There were times when things were bad, even ugly, but I loved what I did too much to bow down to the pressure

ntertainment Lara George to thrill fans at Nnena & Friends on Easter

OU have been variously described as the undisputed king of Indian cinema, one of the world's most famous Indian film stars and the global ambassador for Indian cinema, how would you describe yourself? I have been so lucky for my career to have been so successful and I am very thankful and grateful to all my loyal fans and the great directors, producers, film crews and actors who have helped me give my best performances. Although I may not have come from a 'traditional' background in regards to what makes a successful Bollywood star I believe the support around me and the love of my family (whether or not they have been in the industry) has really been at the roots of my success. Every movie has been momentous and life changing for me because I have learnt, whether to play a different type of role or from the character I'm playing. As someone who stumbled into acting, what has been your general experience as a film actor and producer? My journey has been incredible - a guy from the streets of Chandni Chowk, to being admired by my adoring fans the world over, and making my mother, father, wife and children proud of what I have achieved (and yet to) I am truly blessed. I think the key to success for any actor is determination and ambition. Being a producer is a tough job but an extremely satisfying one. As an actor you only have to focus on your character and playing it convincingly. You do what your directo

‘I have many more stunts coming’ as a producer it's the whole film that you have to look after and it's a big responsibility. As with any industry there will be a number of ups and downs to overcome, therefore it is so important to stay positive at all times. There were times when things were bad, even ugly, but I loved what I did too much to bow down to the pressure. What are the gains and pains of being a superstar? I love my profession and working in this industry. I owe my life to it on so many levels. As far as the competition goes, rather than cut throat, I see it as healthy competition which keeps you on your toes - it keeps things fresh and ever evolving. One cannot afford to become complacent in this, or indeed in any other industry. As long as my fans will have me, I am happily here to stay In 2008 you were named the Sexiest Man alive by People Magazine. How were you able to cope with your numerous female fans then and now? Numerous female fans? Lol. If a person lets such an honour go to his head, then he will become arrogant. I am so flattered and humbled to have received this notable honour, but I also try and stay gro unded and not let it affect me. My

main purpose is to make good movies that I'm proud of and happy with at the end of the day, and most importantly, that my fans will like my work. Compared with other films, what would you say is unique about Indian films? The Indian Film Industry started out in 1916 and has grown into a multimillion dollar industry. We are a very cultured country so obviously we portray a lot of dance from many cities as well as the multiple cultures and religions we have. We are very full on. Any excuse for a song and a dance number. As the years go by we are making many urban modern day movies but they will always have a touch of Masala. Indian films will always be Indian. It is a genre within itself albeit adaptable to new audiences and wider changes in the world of cinema, but without losing its core essence. The Indian film industry is booming. It has enjoyed a lot of success over the past 100 years as it celebrates its 100 year anniversary in 2013. Indian films have a mass, global appeal as they feature drama, comedy, music, dance and romance all in one! Indian films entertain, inspire

and engage the audiences across the world. What do you think is the future of Indian films? We have an amazing new generation emerging in the industry, be it filmmakers, artists, scriptwriters, etc. They bring such a fresh and innovative perspective to the industry. I wouldn't want to single out any particular individuals as there are many, hugely valued new members of our fraternity. It's incredibly refreshing to work with such enthusiastic newcomers who just wanna change the way of everything positively You have been involved with helping to bridge the gap between Indian cinema and Hollywood. How successful have you been in this attempt? I think that as the world becomes increasingly connected, it is inevitable that the respective industries will continue to converge and collaborate. Slumdog Millionaire was a good example of that integration and highlighted the need and benefits for the two to merge. Hollywood and Bollywood differ hugely in terms of production, content and aesthetics but it is an exciting prospect to think of the potential that we can forge together, moving forward to create an entirely new genre of 'world' cinema. Through my own film projects, I was lucky enough to work with international stars such as Kylie, Snoop Dogg and Sylvester Stallone. Each was a wonderful experience in its own right, and so much that we shared and learned from each other in terms of our respective experiences in the entertainment industry. What film are you working on now? I have Boss this year which is directed by Tony D'Souza and also the sequel of Once Upon a Time in Mumbai. I am also filming for some very exciting new projects. I also have some very interesting regional projects through my company Grazing Goat Pictures such as the Punjabi film Ba Ji in Problem and the Marathi film 72 Miles. We also just announced another Marathi film Adhantari which will be shot extensively in London and stars Tanisha Mukherjee. Do you still have any dream role or stunts you would want to play in films? Now that's a tough one for sure, let's just say that there are many and more to come.

ENOWNED entertainment company, Wale Adenuga Productions has engaged the services of award-winning inspirational artiste and ex-KUSH member, Lara George to headline the upcoming Easter live show for Nnena & Friends, a foremost children brand. Organisers say the event will hold at the st National Theatre, Iganmu Lagos on Sunday, 31 March, 2013 with three shows holding at12pm, 2pm and 4pm respectively. Thousands of fans are expected to see Lara George light up the stage with her classic and new hits as well as brilliant performances by Papa Ajasco & Company, Nigeria's popular comedy troupe; the Marvelous Linda; electrifying dance groups Point X and Trace; as well as the young and versatile N-Stars who will be delivering a variety of exhilarating performances with MC Prince and wapTV's very own Omo Nla serving as coanchors. The event is sponsored by Indomie, Afrab Chem Ltd., Toasties Bread Chips and other corporate organisations, expected to provide gifts and prizes for the children and their families. The show is expected to be broadcas t across Nigeria on wapTV (StarTimes Channel 222) and other •Lara key stations.

B-ice set to release

African Lady

IRECTED by Clarence Peters, B-ice, an upcoming artiste and producer under the av'lanche music label is set to release the music video to his debut single "African Lady". The burgeoning artiste just moved back to Nigeria to concentrate on his music career after completing his education in Ghana. Whilst in school, he worked with Kay-Switch of db records on a single titled "Kiss and Tell". Both songs “African Lady” and “Kiss and Tell” are currently been played on radio nationwide in Nigeria and across borders in Ghana. The video will be premiered on satellite TV, local TV stations, blogs, vlogs and other networking and communication media. He also has a mix tape titled U Can't BICE which he released in 2011 while he was still studying in Ghana. Tracks off the mix tape received major airplay on radio stations, clubs and other social events.

Pg 30

AKINLOYE

AT LARGE

08050246155 atlarge84@yahoo.com

Inside The

Glass House WITH AMINU MAIGARI

GOLFLINE with

Tony Akhigbe golflineintl@yahoo.com 08094863638

ntertainment

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

W L O H L Y OOD

Nicki Minaj

ICKI Minaj showed up 13 minutes late to the first live show of "American Idol" on Wednesday night, claiming she was stuck in traffic. While fellow judges Keith Urban and Randy Jackson tried their best to make light of her tardiness, Mariah Carey did not look amused. Maybe that's because anyone that spends time in L.A. knows you always avoid the 405 freeway! Or maybe that's because the "Super Bass" rapper has been notoriously late before. After berating her stylist for what seemed like hours, Minaj delayed production after showing up late to her first day of "American Idol" auditions because she hated her wardrobe options. The next morning the singer missed her appearance on "The View" because she didn't think it was taped live. “I did think it was a taping,” she explained. “So we could be 50 minutes late. It's nothing.” But somehow, that excuse just isn't flying with Idol viewers.

Johnny Kabas gather gospel heavyweights for The Encounter

GIST

blasted on Twitter

•Nicky

Bieber deletes Lohan diss, slams rehab rumors

Mercy Michael

ROONER of gospel bangers such as Naija, Back to sender, Udom Ufok John but who goes by the moniker Johnny Kabas is planning a shindig that will bring together gospel heavyweights in an event tagged: The Encounter come March 31, 2013 at the Church of God Mission International (CGMI), Mile 12, Lagos. According to Johnny, the soul lifting musical and comedy event which will kick off with a green carpet •Johnny Kabas will parade some of the best hands in the Nigerian gospel terrain. Expected to grace the event from comedy clan includes MC Kollinz, MC Chop Chop, Proff. Holy Rock, MC Sholly Boy, and MC J.P. these young fellas will join a train of vibrant gospel music act such as David-T, CK Collins, Vee-Sion, OGV, DJ Nostalgia, DJ Favour among others to deliver an unrivalled gospel jamboree. The event which is at its inaugural stage will also feature guest appearances from a number of artistes Obuss Zalee, Cee-Y, Sohlah Babs, Centrik, St.Herk, HeavyMan (Inspiration FM), Small Mummy, Carlibird, and Grand Komanda. Speaking on what gave birth to The Encounter, Johnny who launched his debut album titled The Experience last year said, “The event as you know is free. The reason is so attract more souls to God through music. This is what I know best how to do so I want to give more people that opportunity to have a personal relationship with God through music”. “I see myself as a minister of God with music as my platform to discharge my ministerial duty. I strongly belief that music has a big way of influencing the minds of people, the youths in particular so with my music I hope I'm able to influence the youth positively,” he said.

DCCR moves into multimillion naira office

•Bieber

Ghollywood

TAFF and other executive members of Don Corleone Cribs Records, home to music acts such as Alabai, Ruthless Diva, Sym 19 and minders of the high in demand CRIBX Champagne and Wine brands recently moved to its official headquarters and studios at a mansion located at Lekki Phase 1 for operations. DCCR and Cribx Champagne and Wine brands owned by Hugo Edmund (aka) Don Coleone according to source recently lavished a whopping sum in the refurbishment of the newly acquired property in a highbrow Admiralty Way in Lekki. Music acts on the new record label are already enjoying a high rotation of music videos on TV and Radio while plans of a new TV series will roll out soon on TV titled 'Celebrity Lifestyle'.

Nigerian artistes set to rock New York

FTER series of firsts, Orbit Entertainment, powered by showbiz wizkid, Mike Fash, is set to rock the entertainment scene with another first, with a show billed for Friday March 29. The event, which will take place at Tropical Reflections Ballroom,4501, Glenwood Road, Brooklyn, will feature ultimate Fuji king, K1 De Ultimate and Hip Hop star, 9ice live on stage. The concert will also showcase outstanding performances from Dj Tunez, Dj Afoo and Brave Boi Music Group. In a chat with Mike Fash, the CEO of Orbit Entertainment, the outfit which in the past promoted the likes of Lanre Teriba (Atorise),Tope Alabi,Late Dr.Sikiru Ayinde Barrister,Lagbaja, K1 De Ultimate, King Sunny Ade and Yinka Ayefele among others. He revealed that the concert will be the first time in New York with the two Nigerian super stars performing •KIM on one stage.

SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

I still visit my father's grave to talk to him - AMAAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s founder Peace Anyiam-Osigwe

Peace Anyiam-Osigwe is a name that means different things to different people. Some know her as a film-maker, others know her as the founder of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA); while some others know her simply as the only daughter of the prominent Anyiam-Osigwe family. But one thing that stands her out is her undying passion for the African film which she is in the forefront of projecting. In this interview with MERCY MICHAEL, Osigwe speaks on the AMAA at nine as well as her family and life. See Page 44-45

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

With KAYODE ALFRED

E-mail:kayflex2@yahoo.com

Rhythm FM big girl sends wedding signals

TEL:08035733605

Ngozi Nkoloenyi's son hooked

Sulivan Chime's son set to wed

Yinka Oshai savours single's life

Uduaghan's daughter set to empower women

Omorede Osifo bounces back

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

TEL:08035733605

Bashy Kuti

in low-key celebration

Obasanjo, Fasawe sheathe swords at last

Abdulraham Giwa joins golden club

Henry Alade ups the ante

Victor Ochei, Ifeanyi Okonwa

get set for governorship battle

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

‘I trained as a lawyer but gave out my certificate’

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

Now that we are comfortable, people are saying my father used other people’s luck

OOD evening Aunty Adeola my name is Stephanie. I am 18yrs old. Please I don’t want this published in your column. I and my family stayed in a compound for more than 15 years. I and my elder sister were out of school for more than 2 years due to financial problem. My dad is a nice man who helps people in simple way he can. Now God has made a breakthrough for us and we are being accused of using people’s glories. Nobody answers our greetings and nobody wants to associate with us, and the people behind all these stories are those my father has helped. Law 10 in the book, 48 Laws of Power is - Infection: Avoid the unhappy and unlucky. It goes on to say, ‘You can die from someone else’s misery—emotional states are as infectious as diseases. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and fortunate instead. That is that. We’ve all met them and we all have them. We all have people who drain you

From you to me •Good morning. Adeola you are quite a nice good looking lady, I like you. Do have a lovely day +2348064975891. •Dear ma, I read your column of March 9 2013. It’ a pity that a mother like you will advise youths on ways to avoid contacting STIs when engaging in sex (I least expected it). A mother should with all her strength advise her children against any form of sex (not telling them to avoid it but if it’s unbearable to be careful with condom). I know maybe you’re not a Christian. I’m 22 and I know what God said about sex in Hebrew 13. I’m looking up to people like you for good advice not the other way round. 07036258032. P.S: The particular week you referred to, I dedicated the Hearts page to youths on why they should avoid sex. However, because I know that some are already experimenting with it and to some, no matter what you say, they will still do it; the best thing is to pass on the message that if they cannot hold it, they should use protection. All local and international agencies preaching against early and pre-marital sex still go ahead to say ‘if you cannot practice abstinence, use condom’. If at this stage my message is still being misinterpreted by you, you’re welcome to your opinion. •Dear beloved, last Sunday was Mothers’ Day. I bless the Lord who spared your life to see the day. As a mother, I pray that the Lord will keep your children and deliver them from evil. He will be gracious to them and bless them with all they need to make it in life IJN. E o jeer e awon omo yin loruko Jesu.amin. - Dayo Ige.- 08105018048. P.S: Ese, mo dupe sir. God bless your family too, amin.

of energy instead of enriching us, the people who pull us down instead of pushing us up, the people who require more than they can provide; the negative, wining, needy, manipulative people who can turn a happy day into a living hell. They are toxic people. One thing is that no matter how good our intentions are in general, most of us have problems with dealing effectively with this kind of people. The good news is that there are effective ways to deal with toxic people. 1. Avoid them: The best way to deal with toxic people is to not deal with them at all; to avoid them. In some cases it may not be an option, but more often than not, it is. It is also common to believe you can get a toxic person to change while interacting with them. But, unless you are a professional, you will not get them to change and trying it simply is not worth it. 2. Set firm boundaries: Toxic people will often use you, one way or another. They may complain to you all the time while you listen hopelessly (?), or they may constantly get you to get them out of trouble. This is where boundaries come in. Boundaries are reflections of what you are and are not willing to do. Setting firm boundaries means not allowing toxic people to use you in any of these ways. It means refusing to listen to them complain, refusing to get them out of trouble. When you have firm boundaries, there is basically nothing bad any person can do to you. 3. Get over your guilt: Most toxic people are very skilled at making others

feel guilty when they don’t do what they want. This makes it particularly hard to set and maintain firm boundaries with them. But, there is a way out of this dilemma: getting rid of your guilt. It is your own guilt which toxic people use to break down your boundaries. When you can set and maintain boundaries with them without feeling guilty, the weapon they have against you is gone. Realize that your guilt is irrational, pointless, and it is used against you by toxic people. This is the best way to get over it. 4. Do not defend yourself: When you avoid toxic people and you set boundaries with them, they frequently resort to accusing you, complaining and playing the victim in an attempt to get you to change your behavior. One of the worst things you can do when this happens is to defend yourself. It is usually a futile action and it only keeps an immature dialogue going which eventually helps the toxic person get what they want. You won’t get anywhere with them by defending yourself and your actions. Unfortunately, toxic people are everywhere. And they tend to attach themselves to those persons who are kind and have the most to offer. When you have the people skills to deal effectively with toxic people, you have the option to respond to their attaching in the best ways for you.

How can I save my relationship with my hot temper?

ood evening, I am a 20-year-old student of English and Literary Studies, (200Level). I want my relationship to last for me. My guy is 27, loving and caring. My problem is that I’m hot-tempered. Please tell me what to do to stop it. I don’t want to lose him. My name is Kenny from Uyo. There are definite triggers that may cause you to lose your temper – stress, anxiety, demanding workloads, hectic lifestyles, family, social and financial responsibilities and unrealistic expectations of people. If someone constantly calls you names, bullies, torments or humiliates you, this is bound to cause a reaction. Some people have a shorter temper than others and often become easily provoked and enraged. When it hampers your personal relationships with friends and family, leads to violence, creates trouble in your professional life and people fear your temperamental nature, you need help. The next time you get angry, try to breathe calmly and slowly. Science proves that breathing is directly related to anger.

If you breathe faster, your blood pressure increases which results in anger. On the other hand, if you breathe slowly and calmly, the body temperature becomes neutral and you are able to control yourself in that situation. For the long run, deep breathing meditations benefit in many ways. Like mentioned above, it helps you form thoughts in your mind. Thoughts arise, and dissolve. There are three kinds of thoughts you can expect: Positive, Negative, and Neutral. Your mind helps you choose the best one for you since your breathing is in control. Breathing meditations actually make you realize that the choice, you thought you didn’t have when you were angry and did something you regret, is now available to you. Deep breathing increases a man’s will power, to bring self-control over himself, to bring him the strength to make the right choice.

•From left: Wife of Apapa Local Government Chairman, Mrs Sarah Joseph; Ex-Mainland Local Government Chairman, Otunba Ayo Oyemade, cutting the tape, and Apapa Local Government Chairman, Hon Ayodeji Joseph, during the commissioning of Apapa Skills Acquisition Centre, Apapa, Lagos.

My girlfriend is a two-timing, lying person, yet I want her in my life

EAR ma, my girlfriend whom I have been dating for the past three years broke up with me early this year. When I insisted that she should tell me the reason she lied to me that her family is not in support of the relationship, which I found out is not true. She also told a lot of lies against me to her friend which she said were her reasons for breaking up with me. One of the reasons she gave was that I’m not capable of taking care of a woman, that if she gets married to me when things are tough I would send her back to her parents because I once asked her when I was duped to get some money from her mum so that I could fend for myself. The most unfortunate thing is that this girl is not schooling at the moment she was once in school but expelled because of exam malpractices and when it happened she lied to me that someone implicated her which I later found out to be a lie. I still forgave her because of the love I had for her. I later on sought admission for her so that she would go back to school through my uncle but she didn’t meet up with the university’s cutoff marks for the course she was applying for. It was during that time that we broke up. Ma, sorry to say that this girl wasn’t sincere to me when we were dating. She was dating her two of her former boyfriends whom she dated before me, yet I was patient with her and I always talk to her in a calm voice so that she will understand that what she was doing is not right till when we finally broke up. It hurts me so bad that after showing her so much love we still broke up. Recently she called and apologised to me about what happened and she confessed that she wasn’t sincere to me though I was sincere with her and I showed her real love. She said I’m the kind of man that she would ever wish to be with but it is not

possible. When I asked her the reason why she said that, she has been posting me till today. Nowadays she always calls me and we talk and crack some jokes but inside me I still love her and I want her back to me but I don’t want to openly tell her that she should come back to me. Now what I should I do? I need your advice please. – Danaka. Dear Danaka, We all know what we see in the people we love, so I cannot question you for loving somebody who has done everything in this world to dishonour you. She has lied against you, she has cheated and she continues to make you feel like a fool, yet you love her and want her back after she left you. It’s obvious that with her, you have nothing like pride; just emotions, so set your shyness aside and tell her you want her back. One thing I’ll like you to know is that if she comes back to you without you giving her the chance to be penitent, she will continue to sleep with other men without feeling guilty; after all, you knew about her hot pants and still asked her to come back. Don’t expect her to go back to school if she’s not ready and if and when she does go back, don’t expect her to be clean. If she’s set in her ways, you may just have to put up with her the way she is since you have been blinded by love. But if I were you, I’d ignore her for a while and let her realise her mistakes and turn a new leaf. Love is worth waiting for when you’re sure it will come to you without much complications.

Job Search Dear Deola,Pls I am an HND holder in Computer Science. Am in dire need of a job. Pls can you help me publish it so as to get prospective employers because as the first son in the family, there’s so much pressure on me to get something doing to help my family and siblings in school. Thank you. Thomas. 07034339955.

•From left:Deputy Executive Secretary (Services), Universal Basic Education Commission, Professor R.A. Aderinoye; President, Oduduwa University, Dr. Ramon Adedoyin and Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmad Rufa’i, during a seminar in Abuja.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

“S

O you are married! But you don’t look it,” he stated, his eyes going over the blue Tshirt and skinny jeans I had on. I found his comment amusing. “So, how do married women look?” I asked him. “Well, they look stressed and harassed most of the time, especially the ones with kids. You look cool and calm,” he said in an admiring tone. We chatted for a while before he left. To me, he was just a customer I had to be polite to for the sake of business, but I did not know I had made quite an impression on him. The following week, he called me on the store’s landline. “What gift are you getting for your sister this time?” I queried after he had introduced himself and remembering what he had come for the last time. He laughed. “No gift this time,” he stated. “I just wanted to hear your voice.” “Is that so?” I noted, adding: “Don’t you have anything better to do than be calling to just hear someone’s voice?” “You are right. I’m on leave so I have a lot of leisure time right now,” he explained. “Good for you. But not everyone is so lucky. I’m a bit busy at the moment as there are a lot of customers to attend to. So, bye,” I stated and tried to hang up. “Hey, hold on a minute. I’ll be in your neighbourhood later in the day. I was wondering if I could take you out for lunch or something,” he quickly stated. “Well, Mr Max, thanks for the offer but as I said I’m busy. Besides I don’t do lunches with strangers. Have a nice day,” and I dropped the phone, a bit annoyed. Thinking he was one of those young men who liked to date married women for monetary gains, I dismissed him from my mind. Though, he called several times after that day, I refused to speak with him. About a month later, I went to the bank to transfer some money to one of my suppliers abroad. It was a large sum of money and I was directed to one of the managers to help with the transaction. I opened the door to the

The contract (3)

manager’s office and sitting behind the table was Max! “What are you doing here?” I queried, surprised to see him. He looked shocked to see me too. “I work here,” he stated, offering me a seat. “I didn’t know you worked in this bank. I come here often,” I said. “I was transferred to this branch after my leave. Besides you never gave me a chance to get to know me,” he said a bit accusingly. “So, what can I do for you, Madam?” he asked. I told him what I wanted and he quickly attended to me. Before leaving, I said: “I’m sorry about the abrupt way I treated you the other day. I thought you...” “I know. That I was one of these hustlers in town,” and he laughed. I smiled, glad that he had taken it in good faith. He called a few days later

Patience Edirin Saduwa

Saturday

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HIS year will mark the centenary of the city of Port-Harcourt. Thus, in terms of seniority, the city is older than the contraption called Nigeria which will ‘mark’ its own 100 years of amalgamation next year. Many commentators have written about the propriety of celebrating Nigeria’s centenary. What is there to celebrate about the forceful union of the Southern and Northern parts of the country by British colonialists purely for administrative purposes without considering the wishes and desires of the indigenes of the land,

‘

‘Yes. You. I want my husband.’ I slipped the straps of the gown over my arms and it slithered down on the floor. I stood naked, waiting. But instead of desire, the only reaction I got from him was anger

they have wondered. They might have a point considering some of the problems this forced ‘marriage’ have caused which we are still battling with nearly a hundred years after it was consummated. Anyway, this piece is not about Lord Lugard’s creation that has become a problem to its people and the world at large. This is about a lovely city which was born out of necessity and has today become something those who conceived it can be proud of. A little background info and history will not go amiss here.

and we began to speak regularly on phone. I got to know a bit about him. He had been married but his wife had died in a car accident two years before, leaving behind a little girl of four. “My mother and sister help look after her as I’m too busy with work,” he stated. I felt sorry for him, that he had to lose his wife so young. At this stage, Max and I were just good friends. I grew to like him with time as he was such an amiable and likeable person. I remembered the arrangement I had with my husband though and tried to keep things platonic between us. I was not ready to lose everything just for a fling. Things however changed some months later. It was a Saturday morning and I was in the store when Max walked in with a little girl in tow. It was Lola, his daughter. “This is Aunty Amanda.

Greet her,” he said. “Good morning, Aunty,” she said, looking up at me with her big, innocent eyes. “Hi, Lola!” I greeted, bending down to hold her. “She’s so cute,” I said. “Yes. She must have taken after her mother,” he stated, smiling. “You are not bad looking yourself,” I said and we both laughed. He explained that he wanted to spend some time with Lola as it was his day off. “I had told her about you and she insisted on meeting you and inviting you to join us on the outing,” he said. I initially wanted to turn him down but seeing the little motherless child touched my heart and I agreed to the date. Max drove us to a theme park in town. It had lots of games for children and Lola ran around, playing excitedly on some of them. Later, I watched as Max pushed her

on a swing and seeing the closeness and love between father and daughter affected me strongly. Call it the maternal instinct, but at that moment, I felt this strong urge to have a child of my own, a little girl like Lola that I will dress in pretty clothes, plait her hair and do other things that a caring mother did. For one of the few times, I felt sad that I did not have a normal marriage with my husband. ‘How wonderful it would have been to have a couple of kids that we could take to places like this, have fun together as a family,’ I thought glumly. “So, how’s your husband?” Max asked sometime later as we had lunch at a nearby eatery. “He’s fine. He’s out of the country right now on business,” I stated. “It looks as if he travels a lot. So, how do you cope in his absence?” he said.

I shrugged. “I’m used to it. Besides, I have my own business to run so I’m quite busy as well,” I explained, with a forced smile. He looked keenly at me for a while but said nothing. Days after the outing, I still could not shake off that broody feeling, that strong desire to have my own baby. I knew my arrangement with my husband did not permit that but I kept thinking, what if it happened by accident? Perhaps, we both got drunk, slept together and I got pregnant? Will he ask me to get rid of the baby? I thought about this a lot until it evolved into a plan. My intention was to seduce my husband and hopefully conceive. So, on the night of his return from his trip, I showered and put on one of my sexy nighties, a short pink one with thin straps. My husband was sitting in bed, working on his laptop when I entered his room. He looked up in surprise when he saw me. “I thought you were asleep. Is there anything you want?” he asked. “Yes. You. I want my husband.” I slipped the straps of the gown over my arms and it slithered down on the floor. I stood naked, waiting. But instead of desire, the only reaction I got from him was anger. He jumped up then from the bed, his eyes flashing with irritation. “Amanda! What do you think you are doing? Get hold of yourself! And go to your room. Now!” he ordered, fuming... •To be continued •Watch out for the concluding part of Amanda’s story next Saturday! •Send comments/advice to 08023201831(sms only) or psaduwa@yahoo.com

As the Garden City turns 100... Unlike most other major towns and cities in the country that developed from hamlets and villages founded by the local indigenous population, PortHarcourt was a purposebuilt creation of the then British colonial administration in the early part of the 20th century. After coal was discovered in Enugu in 1909, the administration then needed a port to export the product to Europe. Diobu or Iguocha, an area originally inhabited by the Ikwerre people, was chosen and by 1913, construction of a port town began. Seeking a more cosmopolitan name for the new town, Lord Lugard, the then GovernorGeneral of Nigeria renamed it Port Harcourt in 1913, after Lewis Vernon Harcourt the then Secretary of State for the Colonies. From such small beginnings, Port-Harcourt has today grown into one of the

most vibrant and bustling cities in the country. I spent some of my childhood and formative years in the city and I can tell you it was one of the best places in the country to grow up in. Back then, it was a peaceful, quiet and neat place full of trees and other greenery hence the nickname, ‘Garden city’. Today, the city has lost some of its innocence and it’s suffering from a malaise afflicting many major cities and towns in the country: overcrowding and overstretched infrastructure. Due to population explosion and perhaps, poor planning most of the roads are a motorist’s nightmare because of the heavy traffic jams which is nearly at par with that of Lagos. Housing too is over stretched thus making accommodation expensive and not for the poor. The administration of Governor Chibuike Amaechi, in trying to resolve some of these problems announced

plans in 2009 for the creation of a new city to be called the Greater Port-Harcourt City. It’s a laudable plan which when implemented, will help decongest the city centre and improve the quality of life of the residents. Indeed, this is an idea that needs to be emulated by other states particularly heavily populated ones like Lagos. Lagos is long overdue for decongestion because of its huge population which has placed enormous strain on the available infrastructure. Thus, the creation of satellite towns that will reduce pressure on the city is something that needs to be considered as a matter of urgency as the population keeps growing each day. In its 100 years of existence, the city of Port-Harcourt has witnessed steady growth from a small colonial port to a bustling, commercial centre and the hub of the nation’s vital oil industry. It is one centenary celebration

that a lot of people like me who have fond memories of the city will not begrudge. This is unlike that of Nigeria’s centenary which the Federal Government is planning to mark in a big way. To me, it’s a waste of funds and an exercise in futility. The government should focus on improving the lot of Nigerians rather than celebrating colonialism and the subjugation of our forefathers who fell to the British military might. Or it could build new towns and cities for with vision and proper planning, the country would have had more purpose-built cities like PH and Abuja. But that dream has been impossible due to the rapacious looting of public funds by those in positions of authority and their cohorts who cart away our resources to Europe and the U.S and lately Dubai and Asia-the newest destinations for the country’s looters and money-launderers.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

‘

’

•Nature walkway

HE peacocks lazily spread their wings, enjoying the cool ness that the conference building shade offered from the scotching

sun. Just a little further, Mona monkey, watched a lady sitting just about three feet away from it. She was munching biscuit. After a

while, the monkey was bold enough and had a go at biscuit. But the lady was a bit faster and removed the biscuit. The sequence went on for some time until the lady

•Man and monkey

became at little terrified of the monkey. This reporter went close to take a shot at the game unfolding between man and animal. Seeing a man coming, the monkey made for the thick forest just a metre or two away. This particular incident did not happen in an outof-the-way forest far removed from human habitation. This scene is more of an every-day occurrence at the Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC), Lekki, Lagos. The LCC is a 78-hectare green oasis that has been encircled by the fast developing city edifices. On its right is the site of a construction company and on the left are the residential areas. The opposite side of the centre is a Chevron office, just after the Lekki-Epe

Expressway. It was opened in 1989. The LCC was established by the National Conservation Foundation (NCF) to conserve Nigeria’s vast natural resources. The centre also houses the national secretariat of the NCF. The conservation forest was aimed at having, within the metropolis, a place that will serve as a biodiversity conservation icon and environment education centre. The foresight of the founders of the LCC has paid off. It started when almost the whole of that area was forest, but now, it offers the opportunity to see Nigerian rain forest. Taking a tour through the forest is an exciting experience. This laudable concept could have come at no better time, going by the daily degradation of the city’s remaining natural environment fragments due to ceaseless urbanisation, thus making the LCC one of the few natural environment relics within the city. Visiting the LCC, the excitement is not about the peacocks that one could see pecking at the ground in search of some unseen meal. The excitement is going on nature’s walk through the huge rain forest reserve with their multiple flora and fauna, soaking in the experience of being in a location that tends to share one of two things in common with Ju-

rassic Park of the Hollywood film of the same name. The nature reserve, according to the LCC brochure, traverses a mosaic of vegetation types, namely: secondary forest, swamp forest and savanna grassland. One notable impact of conserving the LCC land area over the years is the significant growth of the secondary forest. To go on a nature’s walk, one could follow the trail walk built with wood. The walkway was constructed in 1992 to enrich the tourists’ view of the vast resources of the nature reserve which is encapsulated on a mangrove terrain. The trail stretches a length of two kilometres. Some of the side attractions along the trail are swamp outlook, bird hide, rest stops and the tree house. The swamp outlook affords visitors and tourists, especially nature lovers, the opportunity to sit and watch aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem interaction. The bird hide enables avid bird watchers snipe at unaware avifauna that are wading through the pool overlooked by the hide or foraging within the vicinity. The tree house is one of the most fascinating features one can ever come across in an ecotourism zone.

Tourism News

HE Ghanaian govern ment through its tour ism coordinating agency, Ghana Tourism Authority, has thrown her weight behind Tribe Media towards the successful organization of the second edition of the Ghana-Nigeria Tourism and Culture Showcase 2013. The two-day event which was first held in 2011 is scheduled to hold from April 18 to 19 at the Accra International Conference Centre, Ghana. Though initiated by Tribe Media, publishers of Horizons Int’l magazine in collaboration with Pan-Africa Ghana, the Ghana-Nigeria Tourism and Culture Showcase remains not just the first privately organized bilateral arts, tourism and culture event in the West African sub-region, but the biggest Private Public Part-

Nigeria, Ghana hold tourism show in April ATQ, Wakaabout go online

Bisi OLADELE nership (PPP) in the sub-region credited to be the most prestigious and best attended arts, tourism and culture forum geared towards promoting Africa’s tourism potential as well as the restoration and sustenance of the people’s cultural heritage. A statement by the Deputy Executive Director/Operations, Ghana Tourism Authority, Frank Kofigah said: “The board is very pleased with the efforts of Tribe Media aimed at maximizing the tourism and cultural potential of both Ghana and Nigeria for mutual socio-economic gains”. In a similar vein, the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana, having endorsed the

•Ghana event in a letter signed by Andrew Idi for the High Commissioner, Ambassador Ademola Onafowokan, the High Commission expressed delight in endorsing the event, while urging Tribe Media to improve on the remarkable

success of hosting the 2011 event just as “the High Commission hopes this year’s edition of the Ghana-Nigeria Tourism and Culture Showcase will further provide a greater basis for the projection of Nigeria’s culture”.

FRICAN Travel Quarterly (ATQ) and Wakaabout, two of the leading travel and tourism magazines have gone online in a bid to expand their frontiers and reach out to more readers. ATQ news.com, a member of Travel Media Group, is the online platform for the ATQ, the first travel magazine in West Africa which solely focuses on travel and tourism issues. It started publishing offline about 10 years ago. ATQ news.com features reports that cover a wide range of topics within the travel and tourism sectors which are intended for an ever-increasing and passionate audience of readers and travellers from all over the world. After two years of promot-

ing Nigerian arts, culture and travel-related stories in print, Wakaabout has launched its online version (www.wakaabout.net). “Wakaabout’s primary objective since its launch in 2011 has always been to show readers and tourists alike the various tourist assets in Nigeria and the fascinating aspects of Nigerian life,” said Pelu Awofeso, the publication’s Managing Editor and winner of the CNN/Multichoice African Journalists Award in the tourism category. “In a country with as limitless a potential for tourism development as Nigeria is, going online and reaching out to the world’s travelling community is just the right step to take, and we’re only

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

•Entrance to the LCC

At the end of the trail walk is the nature station. The station is a recreation island in the middle of a forest. It has a semi-enclosed block structure containing the indoor picnic facilities and conveniences. The outdoor has outdoor game facilities mostly for children. The initial trail boardwalk was said to have been constructed in 1990 for easy access to the nature reserve designed to last a period of five years. In 1997, the trail underwent substantial maintenance. This was supported with minor maintenance from time to time. Major maintenance took place in 2002 to boost the shell life of the trail. All these maintenance activities lasted till 2006 when the trail began to fall apart. Chevron, the sole benefactor, was later approached, and a sum of N40.8m was donated by Chevron to reconstruct the trail. The reconstruction took a year. A new construction concept was intro-

duced to one of the loops of the trail. Rather than using the traditional wood, the wooden boardwalk was suspended on a metal framework. This has made nature’s walk in the forest not only pleasurable, but also educative.

too happy to be a positive voice on a global platform and help with improving the perception that the world has of Nigeria,”Awofeso added. Wakaabout online will regularly feature stories on indigenous Nigerian festivals, recommended tourist attractions, travel-book reviews and interviews with tourists who have visited Nigeria and have positive stories to share, among other segments. There will also be a dedicated link to a hotel directory to help intending visitors make guided choices about where to stay when they arrive. Meanwhile, Awofeso said the desire to reach a global audience informed the decision of Wakaabout to go online. He said: “Over the years, as our writers and photographers have travelled around Nigeria on assignments, they come across a lot of foreign tourists who obviously have enjoyed their time in Nigeria.

It is not every day that one plies through a walkway that the monkeys claim right of occupation and noisily make their dissatisfaction with your intrusion known to you. It is not every day you walk through huge trees that are

probably hundreds of years old where the sunlight had to struggle to pierce through the foliage. It is not everyday that one had the opportunity to quietly sneak into the bird watching enclosure and peep at birds as they enjoy the comfort of their environment. These are things one could only experience in a few places like the LCC. For the adventurous, towards the western axis of the walk are two 50 feet twin trees encouraging climbing adventure. On top of one of the trees, one feels like a Tarzan in his tree house. One thing good about the conservation forest is that even children and toddlers could have a swell time with the children’s play ground that is deep in the forest. The city of Lagos may be fast eating up the mangrove forest of the Lekki peninsula, but in the LCC, one could be rest assured there is always a place to return to nature and enjoy its solace. Many in Lagos may not know this, experiencing a walk in the wild does not have to be embarking on a trip to Okomu of Gashaka Gumbti National Parks. It is just a bus ride away.

Starwood forges ahead

TARWOOD Hotels and Resorts Worldwide has announced that it anticipates a strong year of openings and new hotel agreement signings in 2013. “Rising wealth, increasingly global businesses and a digitally connected world are creating unprecedented demand for travel and new travel patterns, and we continue to be as bullish as ever about our long-term growth,” said Frits van Paasschen, President and CEO. “Whether it’s manufacturing in Vietnam, mineral resources from Nigeria, or outbound tourism from Brazil, Russia, India or China, globalization is spurring economic development and creating many exciting expansion opportunities for our business,”he further said. Simon Turner, President of Global Development, said: “After a strong year in 2012 of openings, deal signings and increased owner interest in development, we are entering 2013 well-positioned for continued footprint growth in both emerging and developed markets. Our longestablished global presence remains a competitive advantage, and our local teams provide know-how and strong relationships paving the way for future growth and the continued expansion of our nine brands. In 2012, Starwood signed a total of 131 new hotel management and franchise agreements which represented an increase of 17 per cent over 2011 signings

•Frits van Paasschen levels, including 31 conversions, 12 of which opened during 2012.” Consistent with macroeconomic growth trends, nearly two –thirds of Starwood’s new hotels in 2013 will open in fast-growing markets. Starwood plans to open its first property in Tajikistan, while also expanding further in such important markets as Peru, Mexico, Panama, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Hungary, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, as well as perennial growth markets like China and India. The company will also continue to focus on identifying the right partners for continued development in Brazil, Russia and throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Asia remains a high priority market for Starwood, accounting for approximately one quarter of Starwood’s existing hotel rooms and over half of Starwood’s pipeline.

NTDC, boat operators set for Borgu festival

HE Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) and the Association of Tourist Boat Operators have stepped up preparation for the Borgu International Cultural Festival slated for April. The festival, which is rooted in the rich culture and tradition of the famous Borgu Kingdom, is expected to attract the Borgu people from Ghana, Togo, Niger and Benin Republic will revive all aspects of the economic and cultural values of the people. Also to grace the occasion, which will have a special fishing segment, are members of the diplomatic corps, senior northern emirs and other traditional rulers in the country. A grand durbar, boat regatta and cultural troupe will add spice to the festival that may rival the Argungu fishing festival in Kebbi. Already, the Borgu kingdom is wearing a new look as the festival ground at Sabuke Square and the beachfront near the Kainji Lake Dam site is nearing completion. Significantly, the festival is endorsed by the NTDC as an international tourism forum, and, therefore, will be placed on the international tourism festival circuit within and outside Nigeria. As a plus to the richness of the festival, the vibrant Nigerian Tourist Boat Operators led by their president, Tarzan Balogun, has agreed to put up a signature showpiece event at Borgu beachfront.

•A lake inside the centre

Entrepreneur seeks govt participation in hospitality Musa ODOSHIMOKHE

HE Chairman/CEO of The Residence Holiday Inn, Prince Bola Soetan, has called for proactive efforts from government and private entrepreneurs to boost the hospitality industry in the country. Speaking to reporters recently during the official opening of the hotel located in Lekki, Lagos, he said if the hospitality industry in the country must grow, entrepreneurs must be willing to partner government to take the industry to greater heights. Soetan maintained that hospitality in other countries is a huge investment which has become their major source of national income earners. “If this attitude is adopted in Nigeria, the over-reliance on the oil and gas for major revenue will be reduced. This on it own will provide jobs for the legions of unemployed graduates roaming the streets.” The Residence Holiday Inn also has a club house which he said was capable of providing relaxation for those who normally take time off to refresh after the week’s hectic job. “When you take time to relax, you are rebuilding in order to face future challenges, but when you work and

hardly find time to refresh then you are preparing your self for danger.” He called on the government to tar the Alpha Beach Road where the hotel was located, this, according to him, would enable tourists and

holiday makers access the beach easily and earn income for the state. He stated that if government provided he enabling environment for those who are willing to invest in the hospitality, the industry

•Some guests at The Residence Holiday Inn

would attract other investors and this would be a big advantage to the Lagos State Government, especially now that it was aiming a mega city. “Let me say the investors would trickle in to build more hotels which will help the state in tourists’ attraction. Though at The Residence Holiday Inn, we ensure that the facilities are there, we equally want government to play its role which this will help the industry,”Soetan said. He further stated that countries where hospitality provides major revenue for their country, the government ensures that the enabling environment for easy operations is created. This, he remarked, encourages the private sector to sink money into it.

FAMIL Y HEAL TH AMILY HEALTH

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2012

Marriage: A divine origin (2) D

EAR Reader, I welcome you again to this exciting week, in the presence of God. Last week, I taught on, Marriage: A Divine Origin. This week, I shall be discussing the topic: Companionship. In Proverbs 27:17 the Bible says: Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. In the first unveiling of the marriage bond, God said: It is not good for the man to be alone… (Genesis 2:18). Eve was created as a companion for Adam and vice versa. The Hebrew word for “companion” expresses a close personal relationship. In marriage, a man and a woman are to become intimately united in body, purpose,

thoughts, and goals -”one flesh”. The idea of partnership, companionship, the combination of husband-wife mind-power, a shared dream or vision should not be ignored, lest the union is impoverished. For instance, there are some decisions I would have taken that would not have profited me; but because I’m privileged to be married to my husband, a man of integrity, who is sincere and godly, those errors were avoided If your marriage begins with the clear understanding that companionship is a vital pillar of your relationship, then this concept becomes a powerful force which encourages a permanent bond. The secret behind good companionship is the rule of leaving and cleaving, which is an essential part of a marital union. However, there’s no way two pieces of iron can sharpen each other, except they both come together in contact. Thus, this provision only works when you are united as a couple. Friend, you can tap into the honour God has reserved for those united in purpose. But the problem with many families, and the reason nothing seems to be working, is

For more insight, these books authored by Pastor Faith Oyedepo 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.

What is hypertension?

Killer diseases of our times (2) Heart disease

than from other killer disIn recent times, heart eases. attack, heart problems, Tuberculosis stroke and cerebrovascular disease were the maOne third of the world's jor killer diseases. The population carry MycobacWorld Health Orgaterium tuberculosis nization indiwhich causes tucates that berculosis (TB), a 3 1 . 5 % disease that women and kills about 2 26.8% of m i l l i o n men die of people annuh e a r t ally. You can disease.There catch it if you are various breathe from causes of the cough or Mouth cancer heart disease sneeze of somebut some risk one with active factors are well TB. It may take a recognized and these inlong time before the disclude, excessive fat or ease manifests. People with salt in one's diet, lack of immune deficiencies such physical activity, and as AIDS die more easily obesity. from TB. The BCG vaccine is used as a preventive measure against TB. Cancer Chronic obstructive pulCancer is one of those killer diseases that statis- monary disease (COPD) COPD causes difficulty in tics predict will keep increasing in the next two breathing. Smoking is a decades. It is predicted chief known culprit of that as many as 17 mil- COPD. Environmental pollion people will die of lutants are also causative cancer yearly. The chief factors, especially through causative factors are re- occupational exposure or lated to diet and other constant long-term exposure to hazards. Lung consumables. damage can be counteracted Infectious diseases or slowed by lung stimulatChildren and young ing exercises and immunity adults tend to die from in- strengthening diet. .Lower respiratory tract fectious diseases more infections

that many times, both parties have not caught the same picture of their desires. They are not united in purpose, so they slow down their blessings from coming. You need to apply this spiritual principle of agreement, to see your dreams come true. The right place to begin from is a personal relationship with God, through Jesus Christ. If you want to start this relationship right now, you can say this prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You today, I am a sinner. I believe You died and rose on the third day for my sins. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Congratulations! You are now born again! Till I come your way next time, please call or write, and share your testimonies with me through: E-mail: faithdavid@yahoo.com; Tel. No: 234-1-7747546-8; 07026385437; 07094254102

These lung diseases include tuberculosis, whooping cough, and pneumonia. Children under five years of age are especially vulnerable if they do not have good immunitystrengthening diets. Pneumonia ends the lives of about 4 million people yearly.

cholera and dysentery. Diarrhoea kills about 2 million people each year, mainly through dehydration in children.

Measles

H a l f amillion children die of measles yearly. VaccinaH I V / tion covAIDS e r s It apchilpears that dren 50% of against people livinfecing with Measles tion. HIV/AIDS Killer worldwide are disease can women. New inbe prevented fections are usuthrough edually in young cation, inforp e o p l e mation, and constant reunder25years of age. HIVpositive people can survive minders of the populace. Minus killer diseases, on antiretroviral drugs for life expectancy is actually decades. improving in modern times because of improved Malaria way of life in many parts M a o f laria, the causes world 1-5 miland l i o n addeaths vanced yearly.Many medipeople cine. in tropiI f cal areas w e where take Mosquito bite mosquigood t o e s care thrive of ourselves, if we avoid or have good immunity beat killer diseases, there is against malaria. Malaria a good likelihood that we can be fatal for visitors in live longer than our ancesendemic areas. tors.

Diarrhoea Poor hygiene leads to transfer of infectious viruses, bacteria, or parasitic worms through drinking water and food causing diarrheal diseases such as

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

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a common condition that will catch up with most people who live into older age. Blood pressure is the force of blood pressing against the walls of your arteries. When it’s too high, it raises the heart’s workload and can cause serious damage to the arteries. Over time, uncontrolled high blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease. Hypertension symptoms High blood pressure is sometimes called a silent killer because it may have no outward symptoms for years. In fact, one in five people with the condition don’t know they have it. Internally, it can quietly damage the heart, lungs, blood vessels, brain, and kidneys if left untreated. It’s a major risk factor for strokes and heart attacks in the U.S. Causes: Normal blood pressure readings will fall below 120/80, while higher results over time can indicate hypertension. In most cases, the underlying cause of hypertension is unknown. The top number (systolic) shows the pressure when your heart beats. The lower number (diastolic) measures pressure at rest between heartbeats, when the heart refills with blood. Occasionally, kidney or adrenal gland disease can lead to hypertension. You have high blood pressure if readings average140/90 or higher — for either number — though you may still have no symptoms. At 180/110 and higher, you may be having a hypertensive crisis. Rest for a few minutes and take your blood pressure again. If it is still very high, call 911. A hypertensive crisis can lead to a stroke, heart attack, kidney damage, or loss of consciousness. Symptoms of a hypertensive crisis can include a severe headache, anxiety, Who gets it? Up to the age of 45, more men have high blood pressure than women. It becomes more common for both men and women as they age, and more women have hypertension by the time they reach 65. You have a greater risk if a close family member has high blood pressure or if you are diabetic. About 60% of people with diabetes have high blood pressure. Hypertension and stress Stress can make your blood pressure spike, but there’s no evidence that it causes high blood pressure as an ongoing condition. However, stress may affect risk factors for heart disease, so it may have an indirect connection to hypertension. Stress may lead to other unhealthy habits, such as a poor diet, alcohol use, or smoking, which can contribute to high blood pressure and heart disease. Hypertension and Weight Being overweight places a strain on your heart and increases your risk of high blood pressure. That is why diets to lower blood pressure are often also designed to control calories. They typically call for cutting fatty foods and added sugars, while increasing fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and fiber. Even losing 10 pounds can make a difference. Treatment: Exercise: Regular exercise helps lower your blood pressure. Adults should get about 150 minutes of moderateintensity exercise every week. That could include gardening, walking briskly, bicycling, or other aerobic exercise. Musclestrengthening activities are recommended at least two days a week and should work all major muscle groups. ACE inhibitors ACE inhibitors reduce your body’s supply of angiotensin II — a substance that makes blood vessels contract and narrow. The result is more relaxed, open (dilated) arteries, as well as lower blood pressure and less effort for your heart. Side effects can include a dry cough, skin rash, or dizziness, and high levels of potassium. Women should not become pregnant while taking an ACE inhibitor. Other medications that relax the blood vessels include vasodilators, alpha blockers, and central agonists. Side effects can include dizziness, a fast heart beat or heart palpitations, headaches, or diarrhea. Your doctor may suggest them if other blood pressure medications are not working well enough or if you have another condition.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

FAMIL Y HEAL TH AMILY HEALTH

Health Matters Diabetes mellitus; symptom With DR MIKE OYAKHIRE

check list/complications ( 1)

08170268670 email: drmikeoyakhire@yahoo.com

IABETES mellitus and a related metabolic problem hypertension are two conditions currently taking heavy toll on young adults and older Africans. Many alternative medical practitioners claim to know enough of these two and to have more than enough herbal armamentarium that they can cure them with guarantee .Also there seem to be no shortage of diagnostic equipment for diabetes mellitus in particular; many of which are manufactured and calibrated using European and American measurement values . Another issue is that people think that life style related diseases such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus are of the affluent , and so simply avoiding white sugar and getting fat is sufficient to completely prevent diabetes mellitus. To some extent it is true that they are commoner with people dwelling in towns and cities or as someone mentioned once, diseases of car owners. In fact if you go to the village and find a fat man, he is likely to have gone on a visit and not resident there; the normal activities of village life keep such metabolic diseases as diabetes mellitus and hypertension at bay. Nigerian families who are lucky to have children overseas have had the privilege of having diagnostic sets sent to them so they can do home testing and monitor blood sugar. At the same time, there are people of different backgrounds and poorly understood motivation going from one office to the other carrying out what they call blood glucose tests. They make on- the- spot diagnosis, irrespective of time, age, sex or whether or not the subject took a bottle of seven upâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; or had been fasting in fulfillment of a religious obligation, and they proceed to write prescriptions. All these may be considered to have one main benefit, at least heighten the awareness that excessive blood sugar is bad for the body and something needs to be done and quickly. However, there is the danger of trivializing the condition or making it look as if it is an ordinary illness, providing opportunities for all players, including non medical persons to manage even advanced cases, and giving patients false optimism . More seriously Patients going from one Doctor to another , or receiving medical advice and treatment from several different sources are the ones likely to develop complications without knowing. Registered medical practitioners donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go about advertizing how fantastic they are at providing permanent solutions to specific diseases; practice regulations forbid them to engage in such practices, which place them at some disadvantage that can be exploited by others who see them selves competing. It is good for the patient to realize that there is so much to know and understand about diabetes mellitus , and since awareness does not necessarily translate to knowledge, it becomes dangerous when patients default and discharge them selves from the services of physicians and Hospitals to embrace the services of ill-defined, and untested health care providers. Beyond that more people are becoming too reliant on diagnostic machines, the more complex the machine, the more likely it is to be accepted as genuine and reliable even if in reality it has absolutely nothing to do with the disease it claims to diagnose, for instance, there

APAYA fruit is a long oval-shaped fruit, similar to a pear, but the papaya fruit is larger than a pear. The fruit is orange, or yellow color, and even mix two colors (the color of ripe papaya). Papaya fruit have sweet taste and gentle. Inside the cavities of the fruit, black, round seeds encased in a substance such as gelatin. Papaya seeds are edible, although somewhat bitter. Fruit, as well as other parts of the papaya tree, contain papain, an enzyme that helps digest proteins. This enzyme is especially concentrated in the fruit when raw. Papain is extracted to makes digestive enzyme supplements food, and also used as an ingredient in some chewing gum. Papaya is a rich source of antioxidant

are claims of computers that can cure diabetes Mellitus, without using blood, urine or for that matter any biological fluid. It is not bad at all to have equipment all over the place that can quickly diagnose diabetes mellitus and help monitor blood sugar at home; the fear though is how quickly abuse becomes a problem. The take away is that you must stay connected with your Doctor, to know what new issue are coming up , how they are being addressed and how you, not your neighbor fit into the new picture. No physician will talk about a cure for diabetes mellitus, because it does not exist and the sooner a patient accepts that, the less likely he is to default or let him self loose on excess alcohol and fast food. A Medical Doctor will emphasize working with the patient to achieve control of blood sugar to the level that will permit him live a reasonably normal life free of complications. Diagnosis of diabetes mellitus involves good clinical judgment and supported by appropriate laboratory tests. Patients who have the condition and are not aware of it ,or fail to seek medical help because they have blood sugar monitoring gadgets sent from overseas often present to Doctors when complications in the form of blindness or kidney damage have set in . We must not forget that every now and then experts, meet to discuss emerging trends in diagnostic technology and review diagnostic criteria for some particular diseases. When that happens, a measurement level previously accepted as normal may suddenly become abnormal and disease defining. New Information concerning such changes may not be readily available to patients who do not see their Doctors on regular basis and the risk for them of developing complications will jump It is a characteristic of living things to move ; even when you are sleeping, your heart beats , and the muscles of your body maintain what is called a basal tone so they can have adequate supply of blood which delivers nutrients to them so they remain alive for you to wake up from that sleep. Movements require energy which in the human body is provided in the form of Glucose. The brain as different from other major

pha cells help regulate blood glucose. Insulin acts like a key to open the door for glucose to enter the cell and give it the energy to work and remain alive The human body gets glucose from carbohydrate sources under normal feeding conditions. When abnormal conditions persist as in fasting, starvation or disease conditions, the body will take from glycogen stores or extract glucose from non carbohydrate sources such as the proteins from the flesh. This occurs at a price that will put the patient in danger.

Basic mechanism in diabetes mellitus/symptom check list

organs of the body relies principally on glucose to enable the over a billion nerve fibers that form its electrical circuitry function effectively. The importance of this substance is easily appreciated when diabetic patients go into coma from whatever source; Quickly chewing one or two cubes of sugar brings the patient into consciousness within minutes , or if that fails, careful administration of a glucose solution through a vein by a registered Nurse or Doctor brings the patient out in a very gratifying manner much like a miracle; Cells make up different tissues of the body which assemble to form organs , the different organs are organized to form the different systems that produce a living human being . Thus a cell as they say is about the smallest independent structural and functional component of an organism. Different cells of the human body carry out different activities , and require energy to work. They get this energy in the form of glucose and for the glucose to enter the cells , it requires something to open the door .For this to occur, the body employs the secretion from the beta cells of an abdominal organ, called the pancreas. Shaped like a short thick walking stick , this very important organ is located across the central portion of the abdomen with a portion of the first part of the small intestine tucked between its head and neck and with the stomach lying behind and forming its bed. The beta cells of the pancreas produce the hormone insulin which together with glucagon from the al-

Diabetes mellitus healthy diet food

About four different types of diabetes mellitus have been recognized, In type 1, the pancreas does not produce insulin, this may occur when the human body develops abnormal production of self destructive immune cells . It can also occur when diseases such as chicken pox, or other viral diseases cause severe damage to the insulin producing cells of the pancreas. Cancer and injuries can also be involved, and these could occur singly or in combination. type 1 dm occurs in younger patients and it is not easy to handle compared to the other types. It is not common in Africa and used to be called insulin dependent type of diabetes, because treatment and the continued existence of the patient depend essentially on replacing the insulin that is lacking. It can very quickly result in death if insulin replacement is not done as soon as detected .The emergence of new therapeutic modalities has however informed the emphasis on simply using the former term TYPE 11 Diabetes mellitus occurs in older patients above 35years, some say 45; here patients need to know that the cells that produce insulin can be exhausted . There is therefore not enough insulin or the cells of the body no longer respond as appropriately to the insulin that is produced. Obese patients may not necessarily develop Diabetes Mellitus(DM), but are prone to it because of the number of extra cells and tissues they have to feed. Asthenia or being slim reduces the risk of developing DM, but can occur in people with a positive family history Others types of Diabetes mellitus include, Brittle diabetes m., Pregnancy induced Dm., Drug induced DM etc In Diabetes mellitus, there is excess sugar in the blood. The body tries to correct the situation by changing the biochemistry of the body ,and it does so by drawing water from the cells to dilute the sugar in the blood, and to get rid of the solution through urine formed by the kidneys. The kidney also tries to get rid of the excess water and the sugar ,and so the patient passes large amounts of sugary urine. As this goes on, the mass movement of water from the cells creates water starvation which is sensed by the thirst center in the hypothalamus, and so patient drinks water repeatedly, but in spite of that will not have the sense of satisfaction The movement of water across concentration gradients involve other important electrolytes such as potassium and consume energy and so the patient tires easily with minor activities of daily living. Unlike type 1 where the patient is likely to loose weight and appear thin, patients with the other types of diabetes in particular type 2 are most likely to be large or obese.

Benefits of papaya fruit and its usefulness nutrients such as carotene, vitamin C and flavonoids vitamin B, folate and pantothenic acid, and minerals, potassium and magnesium, and fiber. In addition, papaya contains the digestive enzyme, papain, which is used like bromelain, a similar enzyme found in pineapple, to treat sports injuries, other causes of trauma, and allergies. Heart disease Nutrients in papaya helps prevent oxidation of cholesterol in your body. This is important because when cholesterol becomes oxidized to stick to your blood vessel wall, causing plaque that can cause

heart attacks and strokes. Breast tightening Enzymes in papaya can help breast growth, so the more firm and supple. Papaya is also fortified with vitamin D hormone fasteners and female hormones that stimulate spending, and stimulate the ovaries release the female hormone. Mammary glands of these hormones will be smooth and shape of the ideal breast. Youth Levels of vitamin C in papaya is 48 times that of apples. Papaya is also active as a detox, so it can refresh the skin from within. Papaya

is also a good melt the layers of skin and horns aging substances arising in the pores, making skin firmer and brighter. Supports your immune system Because papaya is rich in vitamins A and C, then from the papaya fruit is very good to eat to keep your immune system function properly. Slimming Body Papaya fruits arrange to have property of the body. Diligently eating papaya, can result in a doubling of enzyme in ripe papaya. Wholesomebabyfood.Us

58 NEWS

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

•Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN (right) with the former Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora (middle) and Senator Ganiyu Solomon (left), during the 9th Executive / Legislative Parley with the theme, ”Law, Order and the Enhancement of Living Standards in Lagos State,” at Orchid Hotels Limited, Lekki Epe Expressway, Lagos...yesterday.

•Governor Fashola (left) with the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji (2nd left); Senator representing Lagos Central, Senator Oluremi Tinubu (2nd right); and Senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Senator Gbenga Ashafa (right) at the ocassion.

Ondo election tribunal: INEC fails to present witnesses

HE Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] yesterday failed to present any witness when it opened its defence at the Ondo State Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Akure, the state capital. INEC, the third respondent, is expected to spend ﬁve days to present witnesses to defend the October 20, 2012 governorship election result which it declared in favour of incumbent Governor, Olusegun Mimiko . Already, the ﬁrst respondent [Mimiko] who only presented 13 out of 850, had earlier closed his defence before the deadline, while the ruling Labour Party [LP] could not present a single witness out of the 600 it listed. Counsel to INEC, Wale Balogun sought for the adjournment of the sitting so that the Commission would

n Damisi OJO, Akure n be able to prepare properly. According to Balogun, “sequel to the sudden closure of the cases of LP and its candidate in the October 20, 2012 election, they never got the inkling that it will happen so soon.” He added that they are not expected to open their case until March 25, after the ﬁrst

respondent [Mimiko] and second respondent s[LP] must have defended their case at the tribunal. However, Kazeem Gbadamosi, counsel to Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu [SAN, candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria [ACN], did not object to the adjournment, but moved a motion that the tribunal should count yesterday and

Law and order main condition for development AGOS State governor, executive and the legislators. –Fashola Mr. Babatunde Fashola ``If we look at some of the

has described the maintenance of law and order as a pre-eminent condition for a free and safe society. Fashola said this yesterday while brieﬁng journalists at the 9th Lagos State Executive/Legislative Parley entitled: "Law and Order and the Enhancement Living Standards in Lagos State.

n Miriam EKENE-OKORO n

Fashola said the strict enforcement of law and order by the state government had ensured security of lives and properties, adding that the three-day parley would further enhance the working relationship between the

Tinubu a special gift to Nigeria –Lagos Speaker HE Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji has described former governor of the state and National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as a special gift to the nation. Ikuforiji stated this yesterday when the Exco of a youth group, 'Asiwaju Grassroots Foundation' paid him a courtesy visit in his ofﬁce at the Assembly complex. He said it gives him joy that a group of youths can

today as part of the ﬁve days to be spent by INEC to defend its case. The chairman of the threeman panel, Justice Andovar Kaka’n adjourned the sitting till Monday for INEC to present its witnesses. Justice Kaka’n also counted yesterday sitting and today [Saturday] as part of days INEC is expected to use to present its witnesses.

n Oziegbe OKOEKI n see the quality of "a man I know as a gift to this nation and a man that there is no equal to him today, is a thing of joy to me. "For you to be able to recognise the special gift of God in this man and to begin to propagate and celebrate him is a special joy and reassurance that the future of Nigeria is very assured", he said. Meanwhile, Ikuforiji has rejoiced with Catholics on the election of a new pope.

In a press release signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Adebayo, Ikuforiji said: “As Catholics faithful the world over celebrate the successful election of a new Pope to lead the Catholic church, it is with great joy that I, on behalf of myself, family, all my fellow legislators , staff and the entire management of the Lagos State House of Assembly, rejoice with all practicing Catholics both within and outside Nigeria on this historic and joyous occasion.”

events in our state in the last few weeks, we would see what could have happened differently or conversely, where we have seen the enthronement of law and other, or where we have seen some optimal implementation. "We had a fire in Jankara in December and all of the makings of law compliance were forsaken in that part. And ,without intending to pre-empt the findings of the tribunal of enquiry that we have set up to investigate that incident, it must be clear to anybody that things like firecrackers are not supposed to find a place in residential areas. So something went wrong. "Also, If we look at some of the indices before the Lagos Assembly passed the Traffic Law, where our hospitals were recording an aggregate of over 600 cases of motorcycle accidents in a month.

Oyo distributes relief materials to victims n Tayo JOHNSON, Ibadan n

YO State government yesterday distributed relief materials to over 1000 victims of the flood disaster in Oluyole Local Government area of the state. The gesture, which was at the instance of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, was presided over by the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Peter Odetumi and the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Council, Prince Ayodeji Abass Aleshinloye. In his remarks, Odetomi hailed the present administration in the state for remembering the flood victims, while calling for the cooperation and support of the people of the local government for both the state and the present administration in the council area. Part of the relief materials distributed include, 600 bags of maize, 300 bags of Sorghum, 300 bags of millets, and 80 bags of Garri. Earlier in his welcome address, the council boss, Prince Aleshinloye promised to ensure that the edible materials are distributed to the right people, adding that his council is the most hit during the last flood disaster in the state,. He maintained that efforts are on ground to ensure that such disaster does not happen in the council again, adding that the council has constructed three new bridges out of the six that were destroyed by the flood.

Bowen University shops for N6.75b IRST Baptist university in Africa, Bowen University, is planning to raise N6.75b as part of its developmental plan. Tagged the Bowen Challenge: Excellence and Godliness, is going to be a five- year plan. The project will be launched at a dinner on Friday at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. Speaking in Lagos on yesterday, Pro Chancellor and the Chairman of the Governing Council of Bowen University, Deacon Gamliel Onosode, said the Bowen Challenge became necessary to sustain the successful strides that the university had recorded in its first 10 years, adding, “it is also in consonance with the philosophy of the university, ‘Excellence and Godlliness’. Thus Bowen University is committed to the challenge to remain one of the few universities in the world that equips her product to be great leaders wherever they find themselves.” While disclosing that the institution had formulated strategies with special emphasis in the areas of medicine and Sciences, Onosode said the institution needs substantial amounts of funds to attain its vision of being one of the best universities in the world in the next 10 years, the institution requires about N6.75b in the next 5 years. He therefore solicited the support of Nigerians, home and abroad to collaborate with Bowen University in her quest to build a new generation of Nigerians and Nigerian leaders.

College Governing Council chair faults Kwara Assembly over sack call member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Kwara State, Engineer Musa Yeketi, has challenged the recent action of the Kwara State House of Assembly calling for his sack as Chairman of Governing Council of state College of Education. Yeketi stated that the order by the Assembly, asking for his sack as Chairman, Governing Council of the college, and compelling him to refund N5.9m was an attempt aimed at destroying his personality as a grassroots

mobiliser in the state. According to him, the order followed a petition sent to the lawmakers by the acting Provost of the college, Dr A.I. Ibrahim on February 7, 2013. Yekiti, however, expressed his dismay at the House’s order, which he noted, indicated its sympathy for the petitioner. Engineer Yekiti clariﬁed that the policy of both Kwara State Polytechnic and College of Education favours monetisation of ofﬁcial vehicles of the chairmen,

adding that the acting Provost was at a meeting of the Governing Council where it was agreed that N3.9m be settled by the college because it was a loan for the purchase of the chairman's ofﬁcial car for his ofﬁcial assignments. “Interestingly, the acting Provost was at the meeting held between September 5 and 6, 2012 and he did not raise any objection to the decision. Why he has turned this to a crime before the House remains a matter to be given serious attention,” he said.

•The stranded whale harked to death in Lagos...on Thursday

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

Ex-militants leaders chide Kuku over non-payment of allowances

LG poll: Bayelsa governor counsels candidates

Polycarp OROSEVWOTU, Warri

HE ex-militants leaders in the Niger Delta amnesty programme have lambasted the Special Adviser to the President on amnesty, Mr. Kingsley Kuku for the non-payment of their travelling allowances and special salaries. One of the leaders of the group, Mr. Francis Muturu, yesterday explained in Ughelli that they returned from the training programme in South Africa in December last year, alleging that Kuku had up till date failed to make available to them the allowances which he promised to release in the first week of January 2013. The group alleged that Kuku, during the last flood that ravaged most communities in the country, had deducted the sum of N4,000 from the salaries of the 26,000 exmilitants for the purpose of purchasing relief materials for the flood victims. Muturu said there was no evidence that such items were bought and given to the affected persons. Also speaking, Comrade Justice Nwogu said: “At the inception of the amnesty in 2009, Kuku promised the leaders that he would give them special salaries. In January, he fixed an amount that he would give to us, but up till now, he has not done anything about it. The situation where the leaders and their followers are being paid the same amount is unacceptable.” The group called on President Goodluck Jonathan to prevail on Kuku to make their entitlements available to them and lamented that the amnesty program was being politicised by those whose duty it is to take charge of its proceedings. “We don’t want to take laws into our hands because we have dropped our arms so that there could be peace in the country. So, Kuku should release to us all that the Federal Government has earmarked for us,” he added.

Agnes Mgbo Imo, 80, for burial

•Late Imo

HE burial rites of Mrs Agnes Mgbo Imo, ( nee Kalu Ukariewe) who died on November 6, 2012 at the age kof 80, begin on Friday,March 22, 2013 with a lying-in-state and Christian wake-keep at Mazi Imo Dickson Nkwoma’s Compound, Achara Ihechiowa, Arochukwu Local Government Area, Abia State. Funeral service holds on Saturday at All Saints Presbysterian Church Headquarter, Eloha Parish, Achara Ihechiowa from 8:00am followed by interment. Reception takes place at Ndi Nwochiri Compound Achara Ihechiowa. She is survived by Pastor Imo Okereke and other children.

•Representative of the Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime, Mr. Jude Akubuilo, flanked by the representative of the President of NACCIMA, Ide J.C. Udeagbala (right), Economic Adviser to the governor, Prince Ogbogu Asogwa and President, Enugu State Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Theo Okonkwo, 2nd Deputy President of ECCIMA, Elder Ugo Chime, while cutting the tape to declare open the 24th Enugu State International Trade Fair...yesterday

Three kidnap, robbery suspects arrested in Anambra

NE of the alleged kidnap kingpins who ran away in Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State during the raid at an acclaimed church, has been arrested by the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) in the state. Two other robbery suspects were arrested by a combined team of soldiers and the police along Enugu-Onitsha old road in Awka and handed over to SARS.

Nwanosike ONU, Awka The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Emeka Chukwuemeka, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), confirmed the incidents yesterday to The Nation The alleged kidnap kingpin simply called (Nnamdi) was arrested a few days ago in Onitsha, while his elder brother Ifeanyi Nwaezeagu

who owns unchangeable God Miracle Church in Awkuzu is still on the run. The arrested suspect w as said to be the second in command of the kidnap gang and equally claims to be a vigilante officer in Awkuzu. According the PPRO, all the suspects were being interrogated by the police command, adding that the resolve of the command to rid the state of criminals was total. However, The Nation gath-

ered that the other robbery suspects robbed a young man of his motorcycle otherwise known as ‘Okada’ and mobile phone on Sunday, including some undisclosed sum of cash at gun point. It was gathered that the suspects were arrested by a soldier and a police personnel from Mopol base 29 in Awka and taken to B Division in Awka, where they were transferred to SARS office for interrogation also.

Cross River disburses N85.4 million for 56 community-based projects

HE Cross River State Government, through its Community and Social Development Agency (CRS CSDA), has disbursed N85,472,470 to 56 communities under its World Bankassisted programme. While presenting cheques to the various communities at the Transcorp Hotel, Calabar, Governor Liyel Imoke commended the benefiting communities in complementing government in its efforts at transforming rural communities. Imoke averred that government initiated programmes were not only meant for urban areas because every citizen of the state has equal right and opportunity to government projects. The governor noted that he was fascinated by the work done by the agency and the way communities decide as well as take over the ownership of their projects, adding

velopment. According to Ekpenyong, it has so far approved a total of 192 Community Development Plans (CDPs) comprising 531 multi-sectoral micro projects with a cumulative cost of N1,666, billion out of which the agency’s contribution is N1.499 billion. Meanwhile, Ekpenyong said the sum of N952 million has been disbursed to communities to cover education, environments, transport, socio-economic, water and health sector in 16 local government areas. He commended governor Imoke and acknowledged his support by consistently providing N100 million annually since its inception as well as additional one percent monthly contribution by the state and local governments, adding that with a total contribution of N754 million, no other participat-

ing state has demonstrated such massive support to the project. CSDP National Coordinator, Federal Project Support Unit (FPSU), Abuja, Mr. Chudi Onuoha, disclosed that no state in the country has reached the level which Cross River State attained in the execution of the project, as it remains the best performing World Bank project in Nigeria with its projects as second to none. He, therefore, advised beneficiaries to be prudent in the use of the funds given by government. General Manager CRS CSDA, Pastor Victor Ovat, in a multi-media presentation, “The Journey so Far,” said within the last four years of implementation, the agency has made achievements using the cost-effective and efficient Community Driven Development (CDD) approach.

Edo govt to relocate school

UCCOR may soon come the way of pupils and staff of Etete Primary School in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State, following the decision by the state government to relocate the school. Etete Primary School which is built under a Power Holding Corporation of Nigeria (PHCN) high tension line along

that it does not stop at completion but in utilisation. He, therefore, urged them to continue to take ownership and utilise the projects as government will ensure its annual contribution of N100 million will be increased if demands from communities grow. Imoke said by meeting the conditions for the execution of projects, it means they have passion and commitment as they have gone through serious rudiment. He advised that they should use the cheques judiciously and warned those who think they can mismanage the money on behalf of the people to have a rethink. Board Chairman, Cross River State Community and Social Development Agency (CRSCSDA), Chief Asuquo Ekpenyong, said the agency had proven to be a very reliable, fast and cheap mechanism to fast track rural de-

Osemwengie Ben OGBEMUDIA, Benin Sapele road transmission station has 1110 students on admission. Disclosing the plans to relocate the pupils, the Commissioner for Basic Education, Patrick Agwinede, during an inspection tour of some schools in his ministry in

Oredo Local Government Area, said this was to reduce the risk and danger posed to the pupils. Agwinede who just assumed duty as commissioner, said the ministry will no longer tolerate laxity and indiscipline on the part of staff and teachers, adding that attempt must be made to protect the various facilities that have been put in place by the state govern-

ment aimed at creating conducive environment for learning and teaching. He said: “I am of the view that some of the risks we can avoid should be avoided. We have seen that since it is a very bad situation, I am strongly of the view that we make recommendation to the state government to relocate these pupils.”

AYELSA State Governor Seriake Dickson has called on the local government chairmen aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to embark on an issue-based and peaceful campaigns in the state. Governor Dickson gave the charge during the PDP local government election campaign flag-off at the Peace Park in Yenagoa., for the election which is scheduled for next week end. The governor also urged the candidates to carry along stakeholders and the various caucus chairmen of the party to convene a meeting and take charge not only of the campaigns but also guide and direct the chairmen of the various local governments. According to Dickson, “the old era of politics of acrimony and divisions which begins at the local government level must stop. The era of disrespect for your stakeholders and leaders because you think you are a chairman and you have access to government must stop. Your government will be directed by the stakeholders of our party at all levels.” Describing Bayelsa as a PDP stronghold, Governor Dickson urged the various candidates to go all out to win the election, while charging the PDP stakeholders to demonstrate their commitment by delivering their wards to the party. He also noted that after the elections, successful aspirants should carry everybody along for the collective interest of the state, just as he is doing at the state level. Representative of the PDP National Chairman, who is also the Political Adviser to the National Chairman, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Gusau, described Governor Dickson as a transformer and urged the candidates to fly the party’s flag high in the forthcoming local government polls. In his remarks, the state Deputy Governor, Retired Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah enjoined the aspirants to replicate the developmental efforts of the state government in their respective local government areas when elected. Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Konbowei Benson, said the state was experiencing tremendous transformation owing to the purposeful leadership style of the governor. He urged the aspirants to take a cue from him.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

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THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

UNICAL dismisses five, demotes 10 academic staff

Siasia shine your eyes

Nicholas KALU, Calabar

HE Governing Council of the University of Calabar has formally announced the dismissal of five of its academic staff and the demotion of 10 others. A release issued by the Secretary to Council and Registrar of the Institution, Dr. (Mrs.) Julia Omang and made available to The Nation in Calabar yesterday, disclosed that four of the dismissed academic staff were involved in plagiarism, while one was a case of financial fraud. The release also added that the 10 academic staffers that were demoted chose to publish their works in fake or cloned journals and proceeded to submit same and obtained promotion in the process. The academic staff that have been dismissed for outright plagiarism included Dr. Azubuike Iloeje and Dr. Maurice Bisong of the Department of English and Literary Studies, Mr. Oden Ubi of the Department of Marketing and Dr. Paulinus Noah of the Department of Linguistics and Communication Studies. According to the release, Dr. Damian Agom was dismissed for salary overpayment and enriching himself to the tone of N7, 268,044. 95 over 11 a monthperiod. The ten academic staff demoted for publishing in fake or cloned journals included Professor Udoayang, Dr. Asuquo Akabom, Dr. Sunday Effiong and Dr. C. O. Udoka, all of Accounting Department. Professor Molinta Enendu of the Department of Theatre and Media Studies and Dr. E.S.Akpan of Banking and Finance. Others included Dr. A.I. Afangideh and Dr. Francis Okpiliya of the Department of Geography and Environment Science and Dr. K.B.C Ashipu of the Department of English and Literary Studies. Professors Udoayang and Enendu, Dr. Okpiliya, Dr. Afangideh and Dr. Ashipu were demoted to the rank of Senior Lecturer, others were stepped down to Lecturer 1. Besides their demotion, they are to refund all monies earned from their unmerited promotion and barred from promotion for the next 6 years, the release stated. When contacted, chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), UNICAL branch, Dr James Okpiliya, said though he had not seen the statement, they had been issues like that. His words: “But they have to determine what is fake. Our own position has always been that if there is such a thing, the lecturers should be given a right to fair hearing. Let them explain themselves and the university of course, must determine what it means.” One of the affected staff who spoke on the condition of anonymity said they were not given any opportunity to defend themselves in the matter.

•From left: Chairman Fund Raising Committee, Bowen University N6.7b Endowment Fund, tagged: ‘Bowen Challenge: Excellence and Godliness’, Prof. Ayo Ogunkunle; Vice-Chancellor, Bowen University, Prof. T.O. Olagbemiro; and Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council, Dr. Gamaliel Onosode, during a press conference in Lagos, ahead of dinner to raise N6.7b for the university.

Amaechi relives days of violence

OVERNOR Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, has described the prevailing peace in the state as what sustains the Rivers economy. Governor Amaechi recalled that when he became governor, the state economy was at its lowest ebb, as companies and expatriates relocated to other parts of the country on account of insecurity in the state. He said with steady efforts to tackle insecurity, his administration was able to restore peace to the state as the economy also bounced back. He assured that he will continue to maintain the peace in the state. Governor Amaechi spoke during a town hall meeting with the people of Okrika at the Okrika Local Government Council headquarters on Thursday. The governor said: “I will discuss security in line with what I consider my contribution to the growth of the state. When I became governor of Rivers State, you all know how Rivers State was. You know that it was bad. I hardly had time to sleep because if one group was not attacking here, another group was attacking there. They were all everywhere and it was like a war zone. And it occurred to me that as a young man, if I didn’t confront these young boys or young men, we would not have a state called Rivers State. Our economy was crashing, people had left the city, companies had folded up, whitemen had gone, we had no business again. When I took over, they used to pay them to come and bury somebody in either Okrika or Buguma or Abonnema. You must pay money. They will give you one or two hours to come and bury and go. So, the micro-economy was going, that economy had crashed in the riverine areas. We sat back, we discussed with the military, we discussed with the police, we argued and

•Says ‘we’ll never allow peace to escape from us again’

argued and at the end of the day, we took one decision – we would not pay anybody anymore. From today henceforth no more payment. “I am a Christian, so I sat back and I prayed to God that this war is not mine, it is yours and you must fight to redeem your people and the people are Rivers people and that includes Okrika people and the first place we attacked was Okochiri(in Okrika). We needed to do that to be able to let everybody know that there was a government. So I felt that there was the need to come out and address the issue if the economy of Rivers State must kick-start again. So we started the battle to make everybody accountable for their actions. People were being killed every day. Young boys at 15, 18 were parading the streets with guns, people were scared. We were told that some people were buried alive here in Okochiri. We moved in. Today, what do we have? We have peace. We must thank God that we have peace. Now our parents can go about their business. Our mothers can go about their business. Our young girls who had run away before, they are now coming back home, nobody is being molested anymore. We will not allow this peace we are enjoying now to escape from us again, never again. We must hold it tenaciously,” he said. Amaechi said his administration has constructed ten model primary schools in Okrika Local Government Area with six others to be completed soon. He named the completed ones to include State School, Ibuluya, Government State School, Okrika, Town School, Ogoloma, Town School, Isiaka, Government State School, Abam-Ama, State School, Kalio-Ama. Others include State School,

Ndubuisi-Ama, B.S.S. Okrika, State School, ObaAma, State Primary School, Azubie and Ibaka Town School, Ibaka. For the model primary healthcare centres, Amaechi named the completed ones already in use to include ATC Ibaka, Anyungu Biri, Okochiri, Ogoloma and Ogan-Ama, disclosing that his administration has also constructed the Okrika ring road named after a former governor in the state, Rufus Ada-George. The governor disclosed that there is also an ongoing land reclamation project at ObaAma community. Amaechi promised to establish a fish farm in Okuma-Ama, Okrika which will also create employment for the people. The State government, according to him, will put in place a temporary water scheme in Okrika to provide potable water for the people, while still awaiting the Federal Government which has promised to do a comprehensive scheme in Okrika. He also said his administration has offered scholarships to students from Okrika to study in the universities abroad. The governor equally said the state has disbursed N2 billion to the Rivers State Micro-finance Agency (RIMA) to boost microeconomic activities in the state by giving Rivers people business loans. Earlier, the Chairman of Okrika Local Government Area, Barr Tamuno Williams, in his address, commended Governor Amaechi for keeping his promises to Rivers people. “Your visit is auspicious. Your visit is an impeccable demonstration of a government that is alive to its duties and responsibilities. You are a faithful leader, a leader who keeps his promises, who is steadfast, who tenaciously holds unto ideals,” the Okrika chairman said.

•Continued from BackPage many people know how such a talented young man found himself playing for an obscure club in Ukraine. Ekigho is lost. Keshi may not even know that such a talent showed much promise 13 months ago. He used his left foot superbly. Ekigho reminded me of Prince Afejukwu (aka Shuwa) of the defunct Bendel Insurance. I ask; where is Prince Afejukwu? I last saw him in Benin City. Take a bow sir. This script is about playing itself out again with Sunday Mba. If proper steps are not taken to fix Mba’s future according to the rule book, he would toe Ekigho’s path and it would be rather sad. Perhaps, the Mba saga should agitate the minds of NFF and NPFL eggheads to set the template where players’ inter and intra transfers are regimentally documented. An independent body should be charged with processing, confirming and releasing players for inter or intra club transfers. That way, it would be easier to locate our budding talents and also monitor their progress anywhere they are. It is instructive to state here too that clubs in other climes use cash from inter and intra club transfers to generate revenues for themselves. The supervisory bodies also get percentage of the cash involved as another means of generating revenue. Clubs globally are judged by what they earn from transfers, among other sources of revenue. NFF and NPFL must ensure that all sharp practices by players are detected and perpetrators punished. This idea of players relocating to new clubs without proper documentation must stop. What Mba did by parking his car in Enugu Rangers’ camp before going for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations is worse than what Osaze Odemwingie did, when he drove his car to London and remained at the gate of Queens Park Rangers’ camp on deadline day of the January 2012/2013 transfer window. Of course, QPR’s management and indeed the club’s security operatives knew the implication of allowing Odemwingie into the premises. It is, therefore, sickening to hear Mba trying to justify why he parked his car in Rangers’ premises. In Nigeria, anything goes. This must stop.

NSC Bill I THOUGHT I was dreaming when I saw the report in my mail box on Monday evening. Reading through the report, especially the calibre of people who contributed to the debate, I was excited. For once, something good is in the offing for Nigeria’s sports. As we await the National Sports Commission (NSC) Bill, kudos for the Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi for having the guts to present this bill to the National Assembly without playing politics like those before him. The NSC Bill, from what I gathered, will professionalise the commission and ensure that only technocrats are in charge. Good. I do not know if the NSC Bill will still have NFF under its control, like Decree 101. I would wish that NFF is removed from the NSC’s apron string so that technocrats can concentrate on making sports what it is elsewhere- a business venture. There is hardly any sport that is not a money spinnercricket, tennis, boxing, gymnastics, cycling etc. Why not in Nigeria? That giant leap would be made the day the NSC Bill is passed into law and the right people employed to promote the industry from its rustic past. Well done, Bolaji Abdullahi and indeed the lawmakers.

I dey laugh o! THOSE celebrating the emergence of new stars in the Eagles should read this. A certain player, said to be in one of the Francophone countries is 21 years, according to his international passport. He is married with two children between ages 10 and seven. I didn’t say kids. What will our players not do to gain relevance? Please, don’t ask me if the player is still in the Eagles.

Who invited Efe Ambrose? THOSE rooting for 100 per cent autonomy for our national team coaches must ask the Super Eagles chief coach, who invited Efe Ambrose for the Kenya tie in Calabar? Ambrose is banned from the game because of accumulation of yellow cards? So, why didn’t the coaches detect this flaw? We are just lucky that an alert NFF staff spotted the mistake. Otherwise, we would have lost the game, if the Kenyans protested and other stiffer penalties would have followed. The point being here is that no one is an island. Our coaches must be magnanimous to subject their lists to the technical committee for scrutiny. The mistake would have been spotted during the vetting session. Again, it shows the quality of our coaching crew. Maybe, the choice of players is a one-man show. How was it possible that no coach remembered that Ambrose was ineligible?

ODUNOLU RULLING HOUSE 48, OLUFON'S COMPOUND, IFON, OSUN -STATE.

NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETING This is to notify all princes and princesses of Odunolu Rulling house -Paimo,. Oyerepo, Oyeku, Folarin and Akinboye Sections, that our general meeting and 100 Yrs memorial Ceremony of late Oba Oyeku Odunolu Arowogbadamu is slated as follows:DATE: Sunday 31st March, 2013 VENUE:- ARURU ODUNOLU, OLUFON'S COMPOUND, IFON OSUN -STATE All princes and princesses of odunolu Rulling house, Home and abroad must attend as a matter of duty. PRINCE ADEKUNLE ADESINA BENSON For, Odunolu Rulling House

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

THE NATION SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 15-03-13

Equities stumble to negative

T the close of business yesterday, transactions at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), faltered with the AllShare-Index (ASI) dropping by 77 basis points. The market had shed 45 basis points last Thursday. The dip yesterday was exacerbated by the absence of expected earnings from audited reports, especially from the banks this week. According to market operators, by this time last year, the likes of Zenith Bank, GT Bank, Okomu, GSK, Access Bank and Courtville had reported their results, which were accompanied by corporate actions. A total of 115 stocks were transacted compared with 107 posted at midweek. Thirty-eight stocks depreciated in value compared with 28 recorded previously, 15 closed higher than their opening figures while 62 closed flat. Bearish sentiments dominated Friday's activities with the degree of declined stocks on total transacted deals,

ByTonia Osundolire

volume and value standing at 53.17 per cent, 49.92 per cent and 38.77 per cent respectively. The profit bookings were prominent in stocks such as DangCem (1.05 per cent), Lafarge WAPCO (0.17 per cent), Zenith Bank (0.55 per cent), Skye Bank (4.32 per cent), Julius Berger (1.83 per cent), Access Bank (8.85 per cent) and Cadbury (3.23 per cent). In summary, NSE-ASI shed 256.19 absolute points, representing 0.77 per cent depreciation to close at 32,950.08 points. Similarly, market capitalisation shed N32.3 billion, representing 0.77 per cent decline to close at N10.54 trillion. In all, the market recorded 429.651 million shares volume of transactions worth N4.622 billion across 5,456 deals. The financial services again led the activities table with 343.624 million shares worth N3.132 billion in 3,326 deals. This was followed at a distance with the consumer

goods with 23.263 million shares worth N919.650 million in 738 deals. Others were Conglomerates, Oil & Gas, Health, Industrial Goods and Services with 20.720 million shares, 20.720 million shares, 12.335 million shares, 7.290 million shares, 6.837 million shares and 6.417 million shares respectively. On the price movement tables, a total of 115 equities were traded on, 15 of them appreciated in value, 38 reduced in their worth while the remaining 62 closed flat not recording any change in opening and closing value. Fidson led the gainersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; table with an increase of N0.15 to close at N1.68 followed by Cement Company of Northern Nigeria with price gainof N12.99. Others on the table were Prestige Assurance Company, UAC-Property, NNFM, Neimeth, UTC,Cutix, Transcorp and PZ with gains of N0.06, N1.10, N1.17, N0.04, N0.03, N0.05, N0.03 and N0.75. On the losersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; table, Access Bank led with the highest drop of N0.99 to close at N10.20. Also on the table were UBA, Sterling Bank, LearnAfrica, C & I Leasing, Unity Bank, Livestock, AG Leventist, UBCAP and Eterna oil and gas.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 13-3-13

TOMORROWPUNCHLINE IN THE NATION

SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2013 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL.7, NO. 2432

It is unfortunate that Doyin Okupe, the President’s special assistant on public affairs, confused us the more, rather than convince us, when on Wednesday the government found its voice, through him, to defend the indefensible —Tunji Adegboyega

HE highlight of the just concluded presi dential visit to Yobe and Borno states was the open altercation between the august visitor and elder statesmen of Borno State at a town hall meeting in Maiduguri. Of course, it was obvious from his grave mien and unsmiling visage that, if he had his way, President Goodluck Jonathan would keep a good distance from the two embattled states in the North-East zone of the country. Only the naïve would believe the assertion by the Special Adviser to the President on public affairs, Dr.Doyin Okupe, that Jonathan had long planned to visit the heartland of Boko Haram’s activities and was only pre-empted by the governors of the emergent All Progressives Congress (APC). With characteristic bellicosity, Okupe described the governors as ‘power mongers’ and their visit a mere circus show. Well, rave as much as he likes, Okupe’s vituperations could not obliterate the fact that his principal, Jonathan, was spurred into action to visit Borno and Yobe by the initiative of the governors. The presidency was no doubt riled by Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s affirmation that for a patriotic and courageous leadership, no part of the country should be a no-go area. Before the initiative of the ten opposition governors, President Gooodluck Jonathan had exhibited an inexplicable paralysis of the will as far as the Boko Haram insurgency was concerned. For two consecutive years, he had presided over the national day parade within the safe confines of Aso Villa rather than the Eagle Square in Abuja as had always been the practice. For President Jonathan, the fear of Boko Haram appeared to be the beginning of wisdom. It was this image of cowardice and timidity that he tried to shake off through his visit to Yobe and Borno states. Of course, there was a qualitative difference between the visit of the governors and that of the President to the troubled NorthEast. The visit of the governors was spontaneous and hence more natural. They not only held their private meeting behind closed doors but went ahead to walk through the biggest and busiest market in Maiduguri as well as visiting a secondary school. Their action sent a positive signal to the world that the situation in Maiduguri is not as grim as being depicted and that life is indeed going on normally in most parts of the state capital. President Jonathan’s visit was another kettle of fish altogether. The two states were practically shut down during the duration of his visit. Public holidays were declared so that people could remain indoors. An armada of security personnel including 3000 policemen led by the Inspector General of Police himself was deployed to ensure the President’s safety. After the symbolic gesture of commissioning a few projects, the

Between Jonathan and Borno elders

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•Goodluck Jonathan President then held town hall meetings with elder statesmen of the two states at the respective government houses. The Maiduguri Town Hall meeting turned out to be quite dramatic with the open disagreement between the President and the elders. This in itself is an indication that the visit was not thoroughly and meticulously planned as Okupe would want us to believe. In a carefully choreographed visit, grievances would have been ventilated and addressed privately while the main event would simply have been a public relations show for the benefit of the public. The major point of disagreement between President Jonathan and Borno State elders centres around the activities of the military Joint Task Force (JTF) sent to combat the Boko Haram menace in the state. The elders complained about the human rights atrocities being committed by members of the JTF

It seems to me that in both Yobe and Borno states, President Jonathan wanted to sound tough and uncompromising to make up for his belated visit to the two states and also disprove the contention that he is a weak leader. It is my view that he could have spoken with greater wisdom and compassion without compromising the need to be bold and firm

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stressing the arbitrary mass retaliatory killings that always accompanied the killing of even one soldier by the Boko Haram insurgents. They complained about the virtual militarization of Borno State with sand bags mounted on practically every street of the state capital as in a theatre of war. Did President Jonathan have any words of comfort for them? No, his reaction was rash and brash. According to the President “We are not happy to be spending so much money keeping the JTF in Borno State and other places. Definitely, we are not. In fact, if the elders agree now to come and sign agreement with me that I should move out all the JTF, but if anybody dies in Borno State, I will hold them responsible…If somebody dies, yes, I will take you. I am going to remove the JTF, but come and sign and I will remove

the JTF and you guarantee the safety of life and property of individuals.” In the first place, it is strange in African tradition for elders to be addressed the way the President spoke in Maiduguri. Again, the President seemed to be abdicating his constitutional responsibility of protecting lives and property and seeking to place such responsibility on the shoulders of the elders. Do the elders control the police, army, navy, air force, secret service and other coercive instruments available to the President? Is the President suggesting that the JTF cannot do its job effectively without violating the rights and dignity of ordinary citizens? Would it have been out of place for the President to summon the leadership of the JTF and in the presence of the elders warn that he would not tolerate any continued violation of the rights of innocent citizens; that he is as concerned about the lives of ordinary citizens as he is about members of the JTF? It seems to me that in both Yobe and Borno states, President Jonathan wanted to sound tough and uncompromising to make up for his belated visit to the two states and also disprove the contention that he is a weak leader. It is my view that he could have spoken with greater wisdom and compassion without compromising the need to be bold and firm. However, despite their public altercation, the Borno elders and Jonathan share essentially the same philosophy and world view about the structure of the Nigerian federation. They both believe in the current excessively centralized structure that has become so obviously dysfunctional in meeting contemporary challenges. For instance, Jonathan and the broader Northern political elite do not see anything wrong in the prevalent centralized policing system that has failed so abysmally. They continue to live in denial of the need to completely overhaul the country’s security apparatus, particularly the need for some form of state police. Yet, it as a result of the failings of the police as currently constituted that military Joint Task Forces are operating in several parts of the country today. Not only are soldiers being drafted to undertake tasks they are not professionally trained for, their participation in peace keeping operations outside the barracks, makes them susceptible to unhealthy partisan political influences. If Borno and Yobe had state police formations of their own made up of personnel drawn from the local environment, the Boko Haram menace would most probably have been better contained. It is time to begin thinking outside the box and seek radical solutions to our deep-seated problems in a rapidly changing world.

Ade Ojeikere on Saturday talk2adeojeikere@yahoo.com

Siasia shine your eyes

AMSON Siasia is in the news again. This time he is not talking about dragging his employers to court or joining issues with his bosses over unpaid entitlements. Rather, Siaone is being tempted with another coaching job by people who threw him into the unemployment market for failing to take Nigeria to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. The posers, for Siasia, following this unenviable task of drinking from a seeming poisoned chalice should be: Can I trust these people again, given my previous experience? Should I swallow my vomit and accept the job on the altar of being patriotic? Shouldn’t I politely reject the offer and concentrate on my soccer academy? Would anyone listen to me, if I complain about my employer’s shortcomings again? Are these people not discreetly setting me up for a showdown with Stephen Keshi, in the event that the Dream Team VI wins the gold medal at the Brazil 2016 Olympic Games? Are there still talents at the grassroots to assemble a winning side? What did I forget in Nigeria’s soccer teams that I want to pick up? Can’t I look elsewhere

for my coaching future? Have I complained to anyone that I desperately need a job? Siasia’s mind, no doubt, is full of these mind-boggling posers. Yet he must understand that most of his problems with his employers arose from youthful exuberance. He also didn’t have the capacity to manage the success associated with coaching the country’s U-20 and U-23 sides. He needs to improve on his temperament. He needs to see the essence of being a coach, like a teacher, who must learn to tolerate his students’ (players’) egos and idiosyncrasies. He should also imbibe the culture of respecting constituted authorities in matters of disputes. Siasia needs to look at his previous contract papers and get a knowledgeable lawyer to draft a fresh document that will adequately protect his rights against some of the pitfalls in the previous document. The new contract must spell out in clear terms the dos and don’ts. This fresh deal should have clauses which should checkmate breaches by either party. And such breaches must be binding on the offending party. This thuggish style of holding employers hostage whenever there is a breach of any contract puts a lie to actual contents of such documents.

Our coaches resort to this arm-twisting method because they lobby to get such deals and do not pay attention to the details meant to protect their rights. Most times, our coaches pick up jobs to shake off years of joblessness. They get desperate and sign any document for as long as it ensures that they are not idle- no matter the dubious circumstances surrounding the offer. Luckily, Siasia cannot be said to be unemployed. He has been busy with his soccer academy, fishing out talents from the grassroots. So, he comes into this new association with the NFF armed with a “plan B.” He should insist on making the contents of his contract public, should there be a breach. The oath of confidentiality that Nigerian coaches seal with their employers is laughable because the public gets to know what they earn, when entitlements are not paid. Who doesn’t know that the Eagles chief coach earns N5m monthly? Who doesn’t know the story of how the NFF president raised the coach’s wages from N3 million monthly to N5 million and all the brouhaha that went with the decision by his board members? If this new move is being initiated by the NFF, which I doubt, then Siasia must insist

on being paid upfront like we have seen with our former European coaches. Since 2016 is still quite a distance, Siasia can demand that all his entitlements are handed to him before he resumes work or no deal. Any business deal not witnessed by a legal expert with the seal of the court is a really big joke - I challenge any Nigerian coach, past or present, - to come forward with his contract. What they call contracts are loose sheets, which are at variance with what their employers have. This is why they resort to clandestine tactics meant to whip up sentiments from the public. As Siasia ponders over this new romanceif it is true- he must avoid the pitfalls of the past. It won’t be a bad idea if he accepts the job. It would underscore the need for him to be a specialist in grooming age-grade players for Nigeria.

Like Ekigho, like Mba Not many people will remember Ehiosun Ekigho. He emerged from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme to hit the limelight as a Warri Wolves player. He scored goals with aplomb and Siasia used him effectively in our matches. Having gained national prominence, he was pounced on by our shylock scouts. He was locked in controversies such that not

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