The Nation March 1, 2015

Newspaper of the Year

Presidency out to cripple my campaign, says Buhari ...89 DAYS TO GO

APC dismisses PDP claim on Tinubu/Osinbajo

–Pages 5&6

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

Vol.09, No. 3141

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

SUNDAY

MARCH 1, 2015

N200.00

Senators, Reps, INEC chiefs join plot against Jega Page 4

Move to pitch commissioners against Chairman HOW FAR CAN JONATHAN AND HIS SOUTH WEST BACKERS GO?

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By Emmanuel Oladesu Group Political Editor

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan is trying to court the marginalised Southwest geo-political zone, ahead of March 28. The Commander-In-Chief spent four days in the South West recently. He was in Lagos, Ogbomoso, Ibadan, Oyo and Akure, where he held partisan meetings with monarchs,

•President Jonathan

•Continued on page 11

•Vice President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Isa Aremu (3rd left); Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana; Convener, Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms (CODER), Ayo Opadokun; Yemisi Ransome-Kuti, Lanre Suraju and others during the Nigerians United for Democracy (NUD) rally in Lagos... Yesterday (Story on page 5) Photo:MUYIWA HASSAN

YOU’VE FAILED MY PEOPLE, WARRI MONARCH TELLS PRESIDENT Page ?

Page 5

•Chief Olu Falae

•Dr. Femi Okurounmu

•Chief Ayo Adebanjo

Tompolo, Emami in war of words

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

PAGE 2

CAPTURED

Zimbabwean nanny jailed for murder after stuffing baby in drawer

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In touch with the grassroots

ZIMBABWEAN nanny has been jailed for 22 years for the murder of a 10-month-old baby she stuffed into a drawer "for crying too much" before she settled down to watch TV. Violet Moyo, 22, was sentenced on Thursday after being found guilty of murder over what the judge said was a "very cruel and brutal" death, the staterun Chronicle newspaper reported.

Moyo, from Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo, was left in charge of the baby boy while the parents went to work and had fed him and put him to bed.

But the child woke up after five hours and started crying, the prosecution said.

Moyo tried in vain to calm the boy and in frustration she wrapped him in a blanket, stuffed him in a linen drawer and shut it while she went to watch a film on television.

She went to check on the child after three hours and found he was dead, the newspaper said Friday.

High court judge Lawrence Kamocha described the baby's death as "very cruel and brutal".

"Despite the baby's distressed cry, you chose to ignore him and went to the lounge to watch a television movie which is quite clear you wanted to kill him," Kamocha said.

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R in both. The Director of Media and Information Technology of the Buhari Support Organisation, Dr Chidia Maduekwe, has described Governor Fayose of Ekiti State as suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder for stalking the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari. He may be right. However, most of us know that the Ekiti governor is definitely not acting normal in his obsession with Gen Buhari. He was elected to govern Ekiti, but he has forsaken that responsibility and taken on a more aggressive role in the President Goodluck Jonathan reelection campaign suitable to his conflicting personality and pugnacious background. While his paranoia is obvious to everyone, he however thinks he is engaged in a patriotic albeit quixotic duty to save Nigeria from the imminent election of someone he sees as old, unsuitable and infirm.

Last week, he took out costly newspaper front page advertisements in some newspapers to denounce the general and his handlers for misleading the public in respect of the setting of a supposedly foreign interview.

In addition, he travelled to Abuja where he believed the interview was done, took a suite in the offending hotel, Transcorp Hilton, and declaimed to reporters upon what he thought was the worst campaign forgery of the decade perpetrated by the Buhari Campaign Organisation. I have read the captions of the interview photographs, and it is clear the impression was created that the interview was held abroad. The Buhari team has yet to explain where the interview was conducted, or whether the caption was a mix-up, or perhaps, as

The All Progressives Congress' (APC) Vice Presidential candidate performing the ceremonial kick-off at a football game in the heart of Ajegunle. It was on the occasion of a football game between Christ Ambassadors Football Academy and members of the Football Order at Unity Pry. School Ajeromi, Ajegunle, Lagos.

Photo: MUYIWA HASSAN

Fayose'll end up in jail or sanatorium many think, it is unnecessary to offer any explanation.

But what is even more germane is Mr Fayose himself, who increasingly and frenziedly behaves quite like someone impelled by forces beyond his control. The Ekiti governor has taken liberty with everything, and will yet behave more irresponsibly in the weeks to come, but who paid for his trip to Abuja to debunk the Buhari interview location?

Who paid for the Hilton suite he took to engage his melodramatic refutations? And even more ominously, who is paying for his multi-million naira newspaper front page advertisements, all of which have

whooped crazily against Gen Buhari's candidature or against former president

Olusegun Obasanjo?

Mr Fayose is a frantic man, and he obviously has all the time in the world to engage his natural tomfooleries. But his obsession with Gen Buhari, particularly the APC candidate's health status, is now evidently madness. If his new crusading pastimes tell a lot about his disconnected personality, which has not changed for the better as he tried to portray during his own governorship campaign, what do his antics tell of the judgement of his compatriots who supposedly elected him into office, or of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, President Jonathan, on whose behalf he

has elaborated his sickening chicaneries?

Last week, Mr Fayose tried to impress a section of Nigeria's superstitious electorate with his self-proclaimed clairvoyant gifts by suggesting that he knew who would win the presidential poll. "Mark my words," he said in his usual bizarre and irreverent manner, "Buhari will not win the poll." Even if he was not spiritually inspired, it is not expected that he would predict President Jonathan's defeat. Having sacked his state legislature, concocted a new lawmaking apparatus, inoculated the state judiciary, and browbeaten political parties in the state, Mr Fayose doubtless

sees himself in the megalomaniacal mould of a Middle Age potentate.

As long as President Jonathan remains in office, there will be no one to moderate the temper of Mr Fayose, or fumigate his insane eruptions.

Indeed, we would get for the price of one, two monarchs with the fanatical instincts of destroyers. Like the president who has subordinated state institutions to his party's whims, Mr Fayose will be his own police, army, judiciary and legislature. He is young and irreverent, but he will do everything in his power to pollute the little positive uses youth and irreverence sometimes lead a person to put his personal endowments. And given his energy and boisterousness, the Ekiti governor will either end in jail or rot in a sanatorium.

His unique displays and endowments make any other outcome impossible.

Multinational Joint Task Force and Boko Haram war

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N two weeks of intense counterinsurgency measures, the Nigerian military has recorded some impressive advances into rebel-held territories. Even President Jonathan, imbued with new enthusiasm, has found the courage to visit a few of the more notable recaptured territories, and in the process seemed to steal the APC's and Gen Buhari's thunders. But both the president's visit and the successes recorded by the military mask three disturbing facts about the insurgency in the Northeast.

First, the manner Nige-

ria is celebrating its successes against Boko Haram leaves little room to acknowledge the significant contributions of neighbouring countries in the counterinsurgency exercise. Chad was first to push into rebel-held territories, dealing the insurgents massive and demoralising blows. Nigeria should have the grace to acknowledge Chadian and Cameroonian contributions in the war. Second, Boko Haram began a mild and almost amateurish form if insurgency in 2009, about a year before President Jonathan assumed office. Between

2010 and January 2015, a poorly-armed revolt that should have been destroyed with barely a sweat, was spectacularly mishandled by the president, thereby costing more than 13,000 lives, billions of naira in arms acquisition and property destroyed, and millions of people displaced or their lives shattered forever. The president must accept full responsibility rather than shift blame as he has done so far.

Third, and very significantly, the Boko Haram i n s u r g e n c y h a s demystified the regional

prestige Nigeria worked very hard to acquire. It is doubtful whether that respect can be restored in the foreseeable future, especially with the way Western countries now seem to dote on the Chadian military for their contributions in Mali and their chutzpah against Boko Haram. President Jonathan may not have inherited the best military in West Africa, but he was also not bequeathed the best armed insurgent group in the region. He bears sole responsibility for Nigeria's cal credit for his military's image decline, and he must recent successes or his not be accorded any politi- belated visit to the war zone.

By ADEKUNLE ADE-ADELEYE

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

COLUMN

The importance of visionary discipleship (For Professor Stephen Adebanji Akintoye)

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HIS past week, one of Nigeria's most notable historians, exceptional public intellectual and outstanding member of the magic circle that enabled Obafemi Awolowo to make a critical and crucial difference to his Yoruba people and Nigeria as a whole, turned eighty in faraway Delaware. In keeping with the great man's humility and self-effacement, the event was quietly celebrated.

Akintoye writes history with the entrancing and enthralling ease and facility of a Yoruba master story teller without sacrificing rigour of presentation and logic of articulation. There was always something of the magisterial traditional savant about him. As university orator in the old University of Ife between 1974 and 1978, the dapper and impeccably turned out historian was a pure class act with his sedulous, mesmerizing voice and inexhaustible repertoire of pithy wisecracks.

Together with other avatars such as David Olatunbosun Oke, the late Sam Aluko, the late Hezekiah Oluwasanmi, the late Professor Stephen Awokoya, the late Professor Victor Oyenuga and many others, they formed the Brains Trust of the most radical and innovative governance that the Yoruba people have seen in a momentous transition to political modernity. They confirm the thesis that a mental revolution is the prerequisite for any enduring political or economic revolution.

It was not surprising when in 1978, Akintoye emerged as a distinguished UPN senator of the Second Republic.

•Akintoye

To those who still remember, the UPN senators in the Second Republic were quite a revelation. Bar one or two laggards, they would not have been out of place in the Roman senate or at the American Capitol Hill at its most sublimely cerebral.

At eighty, Akintoye is still plying his trade as a public intellectual, writing one or two pseudonymous columns even as he contributes trenchant interventions about the state of the nation as the patron of the Oodua Foundation.

Only recently, he released his magnum opus, an epic history of the Yoruba, which completely revolutionized the way we view the origins of the Yoruba people, the Oduduwa revolution and the dynamics behind the warlike ethos and imperialist imperative of the Oyo Empire in the northernmost fringes of the Yoruba people.

The irony of it all was that like Sam Aluko and many others, Akintoye came from a Zikist background, his politically aware father being an ardent

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nooping around With

Tatalo Alamu fan and implacable admirer of Nnamdi Azikiwe. Any burning family political discussion was impatiently terminated by the old man's catch-all categorical query in Ekiti dialect: "Mi kini Namadi so?" ----"Namadi" being a corruption of Nnamdi, Zik's first name.

But the young Action Group Turk gradually began to wean the old man and the entire household away from Zikist ideology and to win them over to Awolowo's visionary reconstruction of the role of his race in a multi-ethnic nation. By then, the gains of Action Group's radically innovative programmes had begun to kick in. The old west, the hardy and unflinchingly principled Ekiti people, and the Yoruba race would never be the same again.

The public career of this exemplary Yoruba patriot and Nigerian nationalist speaks to two things which are of crucial and critical importance to contemporary Yoruba politics in this new round of perfidy, unseemly rancor and betrayal of trust. First, the importance of being steadfast in the face of provocation and irritation. Second, the primacy of apostolic followership and visionary discipleship as the original visioner recedes into remote history and legend.

Throughout his long career and particularly after the departure of his beloved leader, Akintoye, a proud and doughty Ekitiman, has never seen it fit to vary the doctrine of Awo to suit momentary exigency or twist them to support strange political alliances based on opportunism and the hatred of a par-

ticular individual.

Despite his private discomfiture with some of his turbulent but worthy political children, Awo never saw it fit after the Akintola episode to publicly disown his own. As the Yoruba would say, it is the calm and temperate old man whose brood multiply and increase. Akintoye , with sagely equanimity, once told a private gathering in his hotel bedroom in Newark, Delaware that it is the stick in hand however severely misshapen that we use in killing a snake and not an imaginary cudgel.

Second, and following the worthy example of his departed leader, Akintoye, despite his private misgivings about the lack of courtesy of some of the new Yoruba progressive kids on the block, has never seen it fit to vent his bile in public or resort to unworthy temper tantrums and Machiavellian machinations against his own. His noble example should commend itself to some of our surviving political grandees if only to avoid political humiliation in the twilight of otherwise illustrious careers. This is the only sane way forward in the current distemper and political dyspepsia.

In keeping with the intellectual tradition of this column, snooper now takes leave to engage with some of the cardinal tenets of Professor Akintoye's current animus with the dysfunctional nature of the Nigerian nation in its postcolonial stasis and irredeemable dystopia. Here is wishing the great historian many more years of active service to Yorubaland and the nation at large.

A collision of habitus, and a way out‌‌..

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O put things bluntly, boldly and with bald brevity, a habitus is the complex habit of viewing things, of reacting to events and of projecting this world view which is peculiar to groups, classes, corporations, guilds and certain associations. If this concept is extended to nations and nationalities particularly in Africa, it means that colonization or no colonization, ethnic nationalities continue to have their own habitus which they then project on the national plane inevitably and unavoidably.

In the end perhaps nothing can beat the description of habitus as "structured structures pretending to be structuring structures". Stripped of jargon, it simply means habits already determined and conditioned by history and sociology in a different historical milieu parading as habits that must determine contemporary history and political exertions in a new situation. It is not habituses themselves that are often the cause of national conflicts in a multi-national nation. It is their incompatibility or mutual unintelligibility.

This is what happens when people of widely divergent economic, political ,cultural and spiritual modes of production are summarily hauled into the same nation space and told to get on with it. This is the origin of the colonial Bedlam as nation. The colonialists themselves for reasons best known to them made sure that the divergent habituses of the colonized nationalities of Nigeria would solidify further into immutable epistemological categories by forbidding interaction among the political elites of the new country for almost five decades after amalgamation.

In the event, the subsequent interaction became a dialogue of the deaf eventuating in a collision of sacred altars. For example, how do you advise persons whose family and ancestors have owned serfs not to own serfs in a supposedly modern nation-state emblematized in proud citizenship?

How do you ask a group not to cut economic corners when it is part of their habitus and revolutionary self-

emancipation? Or what do you do to help a people or nationality stranded between a feudal past they abhor and a future they distrust?

Going by this logic, Nigeria's problems are tractable. All that needs to be done is just to imagine the British, French, Germans and Danes all boxed into the same nation-space, despite their distinct cultures and habitus. Despite national boundaries and barriers, they have been at each other's throat, chalking up several national wars and even provoking the greatest armed conflicts in the history of humanity. What if they were to be boxed into the same colonial cage of active contraries and contradictions?

During the negotiations that led up to the Treaty of Versailles, an American diplomat was so scandalized by the unremitting hostility and umbrage of the French Prime minister, Georges Clemenceau, a.k.a The Tiger, towards the defeated Germans that he was forced to ask him. "Sir, have you ever been to Germany?" An inconsolably irate Clemenceau shot back: "No sir, I have never been to Germany, but twice in my lifetime Germans have been to Paris."

Had the tiger lingered a bit longer, he would have witnessed a third German "visit" in 1940.

As far as habituses within the nation-space are concerned, an armed national struggle against external conquerors or a momentous and sustained national struggle against internal colonization such as Nigeria briefly witnessed during the June 12 crisis can throw up potent national ideologies which serve to override or even suppress widely divergent outlooks and incompatible habitus.

This is what has happened in South Africa, Namibia, Ghana, Tanzania and to a lesser extent in Senegal, Benin Republic, Botswana, Angola and Mozambique. In Ghana, you cannot hear of an Ashanti or Akan hegemony. In South Africa, the old Zulu-Sotho rivalry has been effectively sublated under the rubric of a pan-national destiny.

Nobody even remembers the names of the major ethnic nationalities in Tanzania. Julius Nyerere certainly did not

belong to any of them. Neither did Leopold Senghor, a minority Wolof and Christian in a predominantly Muslim country. Thrice in Nigeria's history, we have missed opportunities to come up with potent ideologies which could serve as rallying weapons of national unity and instruments of managed homogeneity.

In the run up to independence, there was no pan-Nigerian struggle as such.

What we had as independence approached were accelerating and accentuating regional habitus. Despite the presence of three regional titans, the structural impedimenta was such that it was impossible for the leader with the towering intellect and the force of character that could override the veto of habitus to emerge.

The same scenario repeated itself in the post-independence struggle against internal colonialism. Despite the presence of two of the three titans in the Second Republic, the fierce contention merely led the destruction of the two republics rather than facilitate the emergence of a pan-Nigerian leader. Since nature abhors a vacuum, the formal political liquidation of the three regional leaderships led to the consecration and institutionalization of military despotism in Nigeria.

It was perhaps the struggle against military despotism in Nigeria as seen in the battle to de-annul the presidential elections of June 12, 1993 that showcases the inherent structural weaknesses of the colonial bedlam as nation.

Despite the fact that the situation was ripe for the emergence of a pan-Nigerian leader and a potent ideology for the emancipation of the Nigerian people from the clutches of military and feudal despotism, progressive forces managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The putative leader of the rebellion was himself done to death in captivity.

Although the military itself lost command and was forced to withdraw to the barracks, it was not before it has imposed a neo-military civilian fascism on the nation. Once again, the strugglefatigued progressives were outflanked and outwitted in a battle of wits and

will with the retreating military. In sixteen years, beginning with General Olusegun Obasanjo, three of such hybrid governments have been imposed on the nation in a seeming Russian roulette.

But now again in 2015, the forces of discontent are surging forward once more in a massive battle of will occasioning a drastic realignment of forces such as we have not seen since the First Republic. In living memory, Nigeria has never been this agitated by an election.

All the old demons have once again erupted on the scene. In an irony of ironies, it is a retired ruler, a former military strongman, who is at the rallying head of opposition forces. It doesn't get more profoundly paradoxical than that.

The ways of history are truly immutable and mysterious to boot.

The more subtle irony is that whenever a pan-Nigerian struggle is ongoing the contention for the structural re-designing of the nation is most muted and at its lowest ebb. On the part of progressives, this is a desperate strategic gambit. Since democracy is a game of numbers, it is also important to appeal to segments of the operating status quo and those whose habituses have conditioned them to believe that there is nothing actually wrong with Nigeria the way it is structured. The problem however is whether a party, except in a condition of dire national emergency, can prosecute an agenda that is not on its manifesto.

This is why the stakes are so high.

The atmosphere is so poisoned and rancorous. Going forward, and unlike the situation in 1964, 1979 and 1999, there is no minimal elite consensus about even the conduct of the election. The military high command has been sucked into the vortex of political contention in a way that unfortunately suggests that this is also a national referendum on the military. The gains of demilitarization have been wiped out overnight. The situation cannot be more portentous.

Either way, there is bound to be a ferocious backlash. Anybody who wins this is going to inherit a bitterly divided nation, a badly polarized political elite and a burglarized treasury. It is not go-

ing to be a win, win situation. If it is this despicable status quo that prevails, it means Nigeria's fate as a viable nation is sealed and there is no point in mourning any further. But if it is the forces of change however flawed, it means we can begin to dream again about the manifest destiny of this potentially great nation.

Political impurities sometimes have their uses. As the martyred Abiola has brilliantly demonstrated, rightwing reactionary resources of opulent wealth and vital connections can sometimes be brought to bear on leftwing projects of national emancipation in a telling manner. For the first time in the history of the country, a major coalition and coalescing of oppositional forces which would have been beyond Awolowo's piously ascetic ken and puritan disdain for political horse trading has now been effected in a dramatic and stunning manner. Whatever happens at the election, Nigeria will never be the same again.

Let us now recap the imperative of this moment for our traumatized and disoriented compatriots. At the moment, Nigeria has descended into the very pit of hell despite the itemist inanities about pseudo-developments by this misruling cartel. Going by all indices, we have virtually a failed state on our hand. It is better to follow a brave and courageous pathfinder who will lead us out of the very depths of Hades than to stick to a famously incompetent dissembling despot who will confirm us in perdition. Nothing can be built on nothing and you cannot give what you don't have.

This is the pressing imperative of the moment. It is after we have been led away from hell that we can begin to ask questions about the finer particularities of habitus and how we can structure this colonial bedlam in a way that will release the genius, the vibrancy and the vitality of its diverse and diversely gifted nationalities. If there is no nation, there is nothing restructure. Hell has invaded everywhere in Nigeria and there is no point asking about the cuisine when the kitchen is on fire.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

NEWS

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ome Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members in the National Assembly have launched a bid to pit top officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against the commission’s chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega.

It is the latest of alleged moves by the party to destabilise INEC as the nation prepares for the March 28 and April 11 elections.

The plot, The Nation gathered, will see several officials, including commissioners, confront Jega on official matters with a view to creating a crisis of confidence in the agency, and distracting its attention ahead of the polls.

A meeting to perfect the plan took place recently at a posh hotel in the Asokoro District of Abuja.

Present at the dead of the night meeting discussion were several influential members of the National Assembly and some INEC officials.

They were said to have reviewed mainly Jega’s ‘uncompromising attitude’ on the use of card readers and the Permanent Voter Cards (PVC).

The PDP does not want both to be used during the elections.

It was gathered that some forces in the party got the National Assembly members to meet the INEC officials on how to frustrate Jega.

Some INEC commissioners were card-

Senators, Reps, INEC chiefs join plot against Jega

•Plot to pit commissioners against Jega •Commission chair summons RECs for evaluation meeting on Wednesday carrying members of the PDP before their appointment, according to sources.

A source familiar with the development said: “Some forces are working desperately to break the rank of the commission before the general election. I think some past officials of INEC are part of the plot.

“What they are planning now is to cause disaffection between Jega and his team in order to show that INEC is not ready for the general election.

“If they force Jega out before the poll, the nation will lose because the credibility of the general election would have been lost.”

An INEC director said the meeting was an open secret.

But he said Jega remains unmoved and is focused on conducting free and fair elections.

“We got a phone alert about the said meeting but since Jega has nothing to hide, we did not respond to the move,” the INEC director said.

“What is important is that we are focused on how to

From: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

conduct free and fair polls.”

The Abuja meeting may have been an alternative to the initial move to sack Jega.

Top members of the PDP including the president’s confidant, Chief Edwin Clark, and the president’s campaign organisation had openly demanded Jega’s sack for allegedly working against the interest of the party and its flag bearer.

The call was roundly condemned across the country.

Only last Thursday, APC senators alleged at a press conference in Abuja that there was a plan by the federal government to send Jega on terminal leave this week even when his tenure will end on June 30.

Asked about government’s position on Jega’s fate last Friday, the acting Minister of Information, Edem Duke, only said Jega’s exit will “take its natural course.”

However, an INEC national commissioner told The Nation that contrary to the permutations of the anti-Jega

forces, his tenure will end on June 30, 2015.

He said Jega is not contemplating going on terminal leave because he is not a career civil servant who is about retiring from public service.

“There is so much ignorance about the exit date of Jega. He is expected to leave office on June 30 and he will complete his tenure two months after the general election. “ Jega is also not contemplating going on any terminal leave because this is not an assignment you retire from. The position of INEC chairman is that it will be irresponsible of him to abandon his duties for a strange terminal leave which he is not supposed to enjoy any way.

“Jega is not even drawing his salary from INEC in order to remain impartial and avoid being compromised.”

He said there is need to explain these perspectives to enable Nigerians appreciate the fact that some people are just out to distract INEC from its electoral duties.

Meanwhile, INEC

chairman has summoned all the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in the 36 states and the FCT for a meeting to evaluate the preparation for the general election.

The meeting might review the distribution of the Permanent Voters Cards(PVCs), the status of the training of ad hoc staff for the use of Card Readers and logistics for the election.

It was learnt that Jega invited the RECs for a session on Wednesday in order to get an update on the preparation for the poll.

INEC has about 27 days to put everything in shape.

This is why Jega is meeting with his team to avoid any slip.

Any REC with unresolved challenges can now feel free to draw the attention of the commission to these problems before the D-Day. A document released by the Chief Press Secretary to INEC chairman, Mr. Kayode Robert Idowu, said the commission might conduct mock election to test-run the card readers at least two states in each of the six

geopolitical zones in the country.

The document said: “The Card Reader units have been broadly subjected to simulation Quality Assurance, Integrity and Functionality tests and INEC has full confidence in their performance for election purposes.

“The device has also been subjected to Performance and Conformance Test, both locally and in Texas, United States laboratories by the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Research Centre and found to be of the highest quality grade. Besides all these, and with additional time resulting from the rescheduling of the 2015 general elections, the Commission has directed that Stress Test be conducted on the Card Reader device in mock election scenarios – two states in each of the six geopolitical zones – ahead of the new election dates.”

The commission is poised to release the list of the 12 states for the mock election on or before Wednesday.

Troops foil Boko Haram’s attempt to blow up bridge

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he Defence Headquarters announced yesterday that troops foiled an attempt

by Boko Haram terrorists to blow up a link bridge in Gulak, Adamawa State,with many of the insurgents killed in the process.

Many others were similarly killed in a separate encounter with the soldiers on Djimitillo/ Damaturu road after their camp was gutted by fire.

However, a soldier lost his life while another was wounded in the Damaturu road axis battle. This report could not be independently confirmed.

But the Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade, said a statement that troops on cordon and search along Djimitillo Damaturu road axis on Friday night engaged a group of terrorists after their hideout was discovered by troops.

“The fierce fight to dislodge them from the location which is very close to a market, resulted in the capture of Machine Guns and rifles as well as the death of some number of them,” he said.

“Some of the terrorists are believed to have died in the fire that gutted the house where they had made their base. A soldier was killed while another was wounded and is undergoing treatment.

From: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

“In Gulak, Adamawa State, troops in pursuit of terrorists caught up with some of them who were in the process of blowing up a bridge to deter troops advance. The terrorists were not lucky as they died in their encounter with troops.

“The troops are continuing with the cordon and search of the town and environs after overpowering the terrorists. A lot of arms have been recovered in the process. Troops are also dismantling the terrorists group’s flags hoisted in the towns.”

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he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said yesterday that it was disturbed by what it called the “undue interest “ of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the alleged plot to sack the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, before the coming elections.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, wondered in a statement why the APC has been so loud in its opposition to the Jega-must, go-campaign.

Top members of the PDP including President Goodluck Jonathan’s

•Founder, Support Our Troops Foundation(SOTF), Mrs. Funmi Ogbue; Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke; Member Board of Trustees SOTF, Mr. Femi Adesila and others during a road walk by SOFT in Abuja... yesterday

PDP queries APC’s ‘undue interest in Jega’s case’ political godfather, Chief Edwin Clark, and the President’s campaign organisation, have openly called for Jega’s sack, blaming him for the postponement of the elections from February to this month and the next.

Metuh called APC’s insistence on Jega’s retention on the job until the expiration of his term as “curious” and “feverish fixation.”

He accused the APC of fabricating stories about plot to remove Jega.

He said:”Undoubtedly, the frenzy, hysteria and spate

From: Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

with which the APC has been inventing stories regarding Prof. Jega’s stay in office even when nothing suggests that such was on the table, raise a lot of issues.

“We ask, is there any underlining issue or arrangement between APC and Prof. Jega which the opposition is hell-bent to protect, informing its anxiety and apprehension towards his stay in office?

“While it is noted that the APC is a party of one

week, one lie, we in the PDP look beneath the surfaces to the deeper issues propelling the lies. We therefore challenge the APC to come out clean and tell Nigerians the real reason behind their false alarms and uncontrolled nervousness regarding Prof. Jega ahead of the 2015 general elections.

“Finally, we wish to remind the leadership of INEC that Nigerians are monitoring its activities and series of unfolding political events ahead of the elections, and will not accept anything less than the conduct of

credible, free and fair general elections come March 28 and April 11, 2015”.

The PDP is uncomfortable with Jega’s insistence on using the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and card readers during the elections, preferring instead the use of the Temporary Voter Cards (TVCs).

The PDP is also believed to have, through proxies, instituted no fewer than 14 court cases seeking the removal of the INEC chair and a ban on the use of the PVCs and card readers.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

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HE All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO) yesterday alleged plan by the Presidency to ground all aircraft being used by the party's presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, as part of a grand plot to cripple his campaign.

Also being targeted for freezing by the authorities, according to APCPCO are the bank accounts of stalwarts of the party.

The Director, Media and Publicity of the campaign team, Mallam Garba Shehu, said in a statement that the move to destabilise Buhari might not be unconnected with the massive global attention on the APC after Buhari's sterling performance at Chatham House, London last Thursday.

Shehu described the Presidency's alleged plot as desperate, anathema, criminal and inimical to the nation’s nascent democracy and civilised human behaviour.

But he vowed that any such move "will be foiled by the citizens who have taken over the movement of change as

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Presidency wants to ground my campaign, backers, says Buhari From Tony Akowe,Abuja

symbolised by General Muhammadu Buhari."

He added that the authorities plan to "use the Aviation Ministry and the secret arm of the Security Service to hound and clampdown on members of the APC, by prospecting obnoxious means that would ground private jets belonging to senior members of our party, in order to halt and slow down Buhari's world-acclaimed phenomenal popularity as President-in-waiting.

Shehu added, "There is also a plot to block or freeze the bank accounts of APC chieftains like Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Rotimi Amaechi (Director General of APC Presidential Campaign Organisation), and other prominent leaders believed to be fund-

ing the General's campaign; and availing him their aircraft for electioneering purposes."

Shehu recalled that private jets conveying APC Governors including Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, had in the past being either prevented from taking-off or landing during crucial political occasions, particularly during the run up to the last governorship election in Ekiti State.

The organisation regretted what it called PDP's descent into the abyss in its desperate bid to retain power, stressing that the party has become so delusional that it now fabricates outright lies to blackmail and denigrate the APC and its presidential candidate and his running mate Prof Yemi Osinbajo,all in an attempt to divert attention from

the mess it has created in every facet of lives in the country.

He cited how the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), an appointee of the President, used his office to do a counter-affidavit and supporting written address to give tacit approval to a nocturnal group's desire to truncate the use of card reader in the coming elections.

He said: "an online news blog, Sahara reporters, made copious public display of the two documents; the AGF, in doing a volte face, denied giving authorization to the staff members of his Office in that ignoble service to the Nigerian state.

"A patriotic Nigerian soldier, Captain Sagir Koli, had done a painstaking and elaborate audio recording of the meeting in which the Presidential or-

der for the rigging of the 22nd June, 2014 Ekiti governorship election in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was handed down.

"Among the people present at the meeting were: Mr. Ayo Fayose, the greatest beneficiary of the nefarious rigging plot, Mr. Musiliu Obanikoro as the Minister of state for Defence, Brigadier-General Aliyu Momoh, the commander of 32nd Artillery Brigade, Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan, Minister for Police Affairs, Otunba Iyiola Omisore, PDP governorship candidate for Osun State.

"Meanwhile, Ayo Fayose, Jelili Adesiyan and Musiliu Obanikoro had variously made statements in attesting to the veracity of the nocturnal meeting; President Goodluck Jonathan, pressured to probe the incident, peremptorily foreclosed such investigative check when he said 'If someone comes up with a spurious allegation that has no substance and the person disappears, of course, what do you want me to do?'

"Obviously, this President is not mindful of his oath of allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria! The evidence of audio recording with the available technology can be used to ascertain the truth about the plot, regardless the presence or

absence of the source of it. Apparently, the President, caught in the act of ordering an electoral heist, is unwilling to initiate a probe that will indict and incriminate him.

"The Director of Communication for the PDP Presidential Campaign, Chief Femi FaniKayode, said with uncanny impudence that the APC Vice Presidential candidate, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, was made to agree to an oath to resign six months after and allow Senator Bola Tinubu, in the event that APC wins the Presidential election.

"Quite evidently, this piece of bunkum was meant to vitiate the integrity of our respected Vice Presidential candidate by the band of dishonourable politicians in the PDP. We state, without any iota of equivocation, that this is untrue and unfounded.

"We have shown these examples of the PDP-led Presidency's conduct in desperately laying hold at straw despite the rejection of the Nigerian people, ahead of the general elections. The resort to deliberate falsehood and unfounded allegations represent the PDP-led Presidency's unmistakable beclouding of the campaign issues of the forthcoming election."

Jega shouldn’t resign or go on leave, Falana declares

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•Mourners at the site where the Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was killed at the weekend

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ACED by the grim prospect of losing the support of the Itsekiri of Delta State in this month's election, President Goodluck Jonathan has bowed to pressure to perform the groundbreaking of the $16bn Delta Gas City project at Ogidigben in the Warri South West Local Government Area of the State, before the poll.

The deal was struck at separate meetings he held with the paramount ruler of the Itsekiri,Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse II and other Itsekiri leaders, as well as with former militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo) and Ayirimi Emami (aka Akulagba), at the Government House, Asaba on Friday night.

Sources at the meetings said the President told Ayiri and Tompolo that "he was coming to Warri in two weeks to perform the groundbreaking ceremony and asked them to go and settle their differences in the interest of peace and development of the area.

"Consequently, everybody has agreed in principle to allow the groundbreaking ceremony to take place . We are expecting the ceremony to come up in two weeks time.

The president has asked the governor and NNPC to work

You've failed my people, Warri monarch tells Jonathan •Tompolo, Emami in verbal battle before meeting with President From Shola O'Neil, S'South Regional Editor, Port Harcourt

towards that date."

The Itsekiri and the Ijaw are laying claim to the project site.

Threats by Tompolo and his Ijaw kinsmen to unleash mayhem on the area forced the President to call off the first attempt to perform the ceremony last November.

Stunned by the President's action,the Itsekiri resolved to vote massively against him in the president election.

Meanwhile, a source at the meeting between the President and Itsekiri leaders said the Itsekiri monarch "bluntly told the President that he failed the Itsekiri during his tenure" and that he (Olu) could not guarantee his people's votes for him.

The traditional ruler was also said to have told the President that his people even got a better deal from former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

"He told the President that as the paramount monarch of the Itsekiri people, he could advise them on how to vote.

Nevertheless, he said it was not possible to go back to tell his people to vote for him considering the raw deal they have received from him.

"The Ogiame particularly lamented the manner the President aborted the groundbreaking ceremony of the gas project, which was the only benefit his people would have received during his entire six years."

Apparently worried by the tone of the monarch, President Jonathan was said to have requested for a private meeting with Tompolo and the Akulagba - two of the key players in the controversy over ownership of the lands in the area.

It was gathered that a premeeting between the duo was almost called off due to hot exchange of words between the Ijaw and Itsekiri leaders, who bickered over the ownership of the contentious site of the project.

"Although Tompolo was willing to concede that the 2,800 hectares site of the gas project is owned exclusively

by Itsekiri, he wanted an assurance from Akulagba that the site of the deep sea port would be conceded to the Ijaws of Gbaramatu.

"Ayiri insisted that all the land, including where some Gbaramatu communities are located is owned by the Itsekiri, insisting that he would not be cowed by threat of war or violence to concede his kinsmen's property for peace."

In spite of the latest development, it was gathered that Emami is planning to go to court if the deep sea port is conceded to the Ijaws as it is being proposed by the President and the Delta State Government.

"From what we have gathered, he has concluded plans to challenge the Ijaw's claim to the land, particularly Ikpokpo and other communities alleged annexed by the Ijaws during the Ijaw/Itsekiri crisis."

HE chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Atahiru Jega cannot go on leave or resign, Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana, has said.

He told journalists during the Nigerians United for Democracy (NUD) rally held at Ojota, Lagos on yesterday. According to him, the INEC chairman is not a civil servant and thus cannot go on terminal leave.

"There is no provision…Jega has a five year tenure which is renewable under section 155 of the constitution. There is no provision for sabbatical or terminal leave. Jega is not a civil servant to be ordered by the head of service to proceed on leave and in any case, you can't go on leave when the basic duty for which the constitution has appointed you is been performed so there is no room for resignation or sabbatical leave," Mr. Falana said.

He maintained that the general elections cannot be further postponed stating that the constitution states that elections must hold 30 days before handing over date.

Falana (SAN) at the road rally in Lagos said the civil society was ready a showdown with anyone who may want to abort the polls.

The rally took the activists from Maryland Roundabout to Ojota.

They carried placards and banners with such inscriptions as : 'Remember June 12' ;'Don't politicise INEC'; 'On March 28, 2015 we stand'; 'No more excuses'; 'No interim government'; 'Bring back our girls'; 'Jega is not your employee;' and 'No to military rule again in Nigeria'.

Falana told The Nation on Sunday at the rally that the group would mobilise Nige-

By Medinat Kanabe rians to oppose and resist any fresh attempt to postpone the elections.

Of the rally, he said: "We are here on the platform of an organisation called, Nigerians United for Democracy (NUD) to demand for the elections because there are indications that the elections may be cancelled.

"We want to pressurise the Jonathan administration not to frustrate the INEC from conducting the general elections. We do not want any further postponement. We want the government to respect and recognise the democratic right of the Nigerian people to vote for candidates of their choice.

"We are here to sound a note of warning that we are going to mobilise the whole country if they insist on any further postponement of the elections."

He stated that the decision of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to shift the elections from February to March without consulting with the people was undemocratic.

He said the unfolding political situation in the country requires the involvement of all Nigerians.

"The challenge of today is your challenge, it is ours; it is our collective responsibility to respond," he said.

"No government since 1960 has ever defeated the Nigerian people; all the governments that attempted to truncate the democratic process were chased out of power.

Even military dictators could not frustrate the democratic process. So once we mobilise Nigerians to demand for democracy, no force can defeat them."

Continued on Page 6

NEWS Jonathan can’t be trusted, says Senator

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

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ENATOR Babajide O m o w o r a r e representing Osun East says President Goodluck Jonathan cannot be trusted to keep his word that he will not sack the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the coming elections.

Speaking in a television interview in Osogbo yesterday, he said the president and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were uncomfortable with the uncompromised attitude of the INEC chairman, hence the plot to remove him from office.

Nigerians, he stressed, should not relent in campaigning against the Jega-must-go plot.

Omoworare said, “Though President Jonathan has said there is no plan to sack the INEC chairman, we are dealing with an administration that has no regard for the rule of law.

“The president cannot be taken for his word. We could recollect how he flouted the laws and sacked (suspended) the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido, for exposing the missing NNPC 20 billion dollars.

“We are dealing with a president that denied and described as fabricated the audio tape recorded at a meeting between an army general, Governor Ayo Fayose, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, Senator Iyiola Omisore, among others, even after Fayose, Obanikoro and Omisore confirmed they attended the meeting and that the audio tape is authentic.”

On the chances of the APC presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, and President Jonathan in this month’s election, he said: “Nigerians have seen that it does not take good luck to rule a country; it takes competence, focus, capacity and seriousness to rule the country. That is why they have resolved to vote for Buhari, a man that is competent, disciplined and has zero tolerance for corruption.

“President Jonathan realised that he would lose the election if it was conducted on February 14.That was why he used the military to force INEC to postpone the election.

All the same, Nigerians are resolute and they are ready to vote out bad governance and bring in the hope and change that Buhari represents.”

APC dismisses claim on Tinubu/Osinbajo •Says it’s outlandish T HE All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday dismissed as sickening and outlandish the claim by the Jonathan Campaign Organisation that the APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, plans to become Vice President through the back door in the event of the party winning this month’s election.

The APC said the claim was merely designed by the PDP to divert attention from “the runaway success of the APC presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, at the Chatham House in London last Thursday.”

The APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said in a statement in London that the PDP and the Jonathan Administration “still do not have any answer to what has now become an epochal moment that has separated the wheat from the chaff.”

Buhari’s globallyacclaimed outing, Mohammed said, “has presented Nigerians, and indeed the global community, with a choice between a bumbling, ineffective, incoherent, clueless, visionless and incompetent President and an assertive, knowledgeable, dignified, purposeful and principled President-in-waiting. ‘’Having failed to discredit that outing with a rented crowd, some of whom confessed to have been paid to carry placards they do not even understand, the PDP and the Jonathan Administration have now

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resorted to making nauseating claims that are totally untrue, absolutely incomprehensible and nothing but sheer bunkum.’’

APC said the claim is “the latest in a series of desperate moves by the PDP and the Jonathan Administration since the emergence of Gen. Buhari as the APC presidential candidate, and the clearest indication yet that they have no answer to the unstoppable momentum of a man of history. ‘’They have thrown everything imaginable at Gen. Buhari, but he has continued to wax stronger and stronger: They said he was not qualified, that he was too old, then they fabricated a medical report of an illness of their own choice, sponsored death wish adverts against him and instituted a myriad of court cases to stop him.

“After they failed to stop him, they went after the election itself, using the PVCs as a tool to launch a campaign for postponement and, when they realised that would not work, came up with the bogey of insecurity in the North-east to force a postponement of the election, hoping they can buy enough time to revive their electoral misfortune. ‘’With everything working against them, they engaged in a show of shame at The Chatham House that backfired badly, on the heels of their bare-faced lies that Gen. Buhari was hospitalised in London. The preposterous

claim of a secret oath reminiscent of what they do in their own party - by the apparently ailing spokesman of the Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Femi FaniKayode, is their latest desperate act.’’

APC said in as much as it has so far refrained from engaging Fani-Kayode in his game of character assassination, abuses and irresponsible name calling, it is “becoming seriously concerned that he may be caving in under pressure and reverting

to his undignified past.”

The PDP had said Tinubu had made the APC presidential running mate, Professor Yemi Osinbajo swear to an oath to step down for him on assumption of office.

In a separate statement on the allegation, the Coordinator of the Buhari/ Osinbajo Presidential campaign organisation in Osun State, Senator Oyetunde Husain, said it was an indication of PDP’s envy and fear of the political capacity of Tinubu.

Husain said the allegation

also “reflects the level of desperation and the effect of it on the thinking faculty of the managers of President Jonathan and the PDP.” He added: “the PDP is a party that has long abandoned its primary assignment of governance; they were busy inflicting hardship on the people and neglecting their welfare, while Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other, were busy strategising daily on how to rescue Nigeria from the fangs of corruption, ineptitude and cluelessness.”

•L-R: Recipient of Rotary Club Apapa Police traffic warden, Inspector Chihetu Alute; Club President, Sir Innocent Umeh; Recipient, Police Corporal Helen Idikogu and the District 9110 Governor, Dr. Dele Balogun during the District 9110 Governor's working visit to Apapa Rotary Club in Lagos… recently.

No plan to jettison my mandate - Osinbajo

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) vice presidential candidate, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday debunked speculations that he is contesting the coming election as a proxy for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as “nonsense and incredible.”

Fielding questions at an interactive session tagged “Conversation for Change” with youths in Lagos,,Prof Osinbajo said that there was no way in the world that he would enter into any deal with any one, especially when it comes to turning the nation around. He described the opportunity given to him “as a God-given opportunity to serve the people and turn things around.”

He said it is incredible that some Nigerians could be bandying such baseless speculations, despite the serious issues confronting the country, such as high exchange rate, unemployment and insecurity.

On whether an APC

government would compensate families affected by the Boko Haram onslaught, Prof. Osinbajo reiterated Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration two days earlier at the Chatham House, London, that the security of lives and property is a priority for any government and that when a government fails in that regard, it must make itself responsible by compensating those families who die on account of its negligence to carry out its duties.

On APC’s plan for education, the former Lagos State Attorney General said the party has great plans to revive the education sector and put it back on track. He said this will commence with a first phase that will focus on free tertiary education, with attention on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

He said even the school curriculum will have to be reviewed right through to reading technologies and

Continued from Page 5 Falana also asked the military to steer clear of politics as it is not their business to determine when elections should be conducted .

“Just like other Nigerians, they have the fundamental right to vote for the candidates of their choice but they have no right to tell INEC when to hold elections and when not to hold elections,” he stated.

“Elections were held in Syria, Afghanistan, and Libya.

What will be the excuse for not holding elections in Nigeria. In Yobe State local government elections were held in 2013 and there was no incident. The president was in Maiduguri to campaign, Buhari too, and there were no incidents. So why

should they stop elections because of insurgency?”

“Constitutionally, elections cannot be further postponed; if the government does it, it will be asking for anarchy and there is no provision for it in the constitution. The president has repeatedly assured Nigerians that there is no room for interim national government.

“We have also been told that there will be no coup, therefore, we have to operate within the ambit of the law and that is why you cannot go beyond April 11 to conduct election because under the constitution, election must be held not later than 30 days to

By Gboyega Alaka

approach, as the current methods are already outdated.

He also said emphasis would be paid to free education and training of teachers to move the sector to this desired level.

As a corollary, he said technology is advancing at a pace that no sane nation can afford to ignore and said “we’ve got to start very early with technology and start very early with the schools, so that young people will learn a lot about technology.”

To this end, he said the APC government will set up technology villages to facilitate technology development. He cited the case of Estonia, a tiny European country that has today become a technological super power on account of its commitment to technology.

On whether the APC government would provide a soft-landing option for the present corrupt officials in power, who seem hell-bent on denying the party an obvious

victory at the polls, Prof.

Osinbajo again quoted Gen. Buhari, saying that the APC will not use the law enforcement agencies to witch-hunt. He said due processes will be respected in all government dealings and activities.

He also said the important condition is that the high standard of the law will be maintained and that “You cannot be chasing after everyone. But people must be accountable for public positions. “ On the party’s plan for the Nigerian child, Osinbajo said the country has passed the Child Rights Act law, which covers all the interests and problems associated with the Nigerian child and said that some states, including Lagos and Cross Rivers have also passed the law.

He, however said the problem lies more with the enforcement of the law, especially with 110 million people living in extreme poverty of N150 per day.

To this end, he said the first phase of an APC government’s

solution will be the Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme, where the government hopes to take 25 million Nigerians out of extreme poverty by giving them between N5,000 and N7,000 and taking care of their primary education and health issues.

He cited Brazil as one of the countries of the world, where such programmes have worked.

He also said that the government will as much as possible uphold the laws on violence against women, even as he remarked that the problem in this case again is enforcement, as most cases here are often domestic, which often go unreported.

Regarding the APC government’s plan on consumer protection rights, Osinbajo said the government will have to activate the regulatory bodies to perform their duties, while enjoining the citizens to always bring to the notice of government any case of wrongdoing or injustice to Nigerians.

Jega shouldn’t resign or go on leave, Falana declares the handing over date. That means all the elections must be completed before April 29,” he said.

Falana said the rally was not in support of any political party but to warn the government not to tamper with the new election dates.

“The government has said those dates are sacrosanct, but we are only here to warn them that if there is any attempt to thinker with those dates, we would mobilise Nigerians to throw out all the antics of antidemocratic system”.

He urged the armed forces not to interfere with electoral process stressing that it is not

their duty to determine when elections will be held.

“We expect that the government will appreciate that Nigerian people will not allow any further postponement of the election dates. We also want the armed forces to stay clear of democratic process. It’s not their business to determine when to hold election. Just like other Nigerians, they have the fundamental right to vote for a candidate of their choice, but they have no right to tell INEC when to hold election and when not to hold to hold election,” he said.

He reminded the current

administration of how past governments who attempted to truncate democratic process were chased out of power.

“Even military dictators could not frustrate democratic process, for that reason, once we mobilise Nigerians, no force can stop us,” he said.

The NUD rally which kicked off from Maryland to the Gani Fawehimi Park in Ojota saw attendance by other democracy activists including the Nigerian Labour Congress Vice president, Isa Aremu; former NADECO and Afenifere member, Ayo Opadokun; lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, amongst others.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

FAAN dispels report of bomb scare at MMIA

By Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

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HE rumoured bomb scare at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos, yesterday, was a ruse after all, the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has said.

A feeling of panic pervaded the airport and its environs in the early hours of yesterday as passengers and other visitors within the vicinity of the airport expressed fears that an explosive may have been discovered.

The General Manager, Corporate Affairs FAAN, Yakubu Dati, in a statement said there was no cause for alarm.

He explained what happened was a drill intended to test the airport’s response procedures in the event of real bomb explosion.

“The authority has successfully conducted a Bomb Simulated Exercise slated for Saturday morning, 28th February, 2015.

“The exercise, which was conducted at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos measured the airport’s response procedures in the event of real bomb explosion at the Terminal Building,” he stated.

Dati, who observed that flight operations were not disrupted as a result of the exercise, however pleaded with passengers and members of the public caught unawares despite the early report of the exercise.

UN nominates Nigerian, six others for peace building

By Sunday Oguntola

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ECRETARY General of the United Nations (UN), Ban Ki-moon, has nominated a Nigerian, Ms Funmi Olonisakin and six others to serve as its advisory experts on review of peace building architecture.

In a release from the UN, the nomination followed a resolution by Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council to form an advisory group for review of peace building.

Aside from Olonisakin, other nominees from Africa include Edith Ssempala (Uganda) and Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah(Mauritania).

Others are: Anis Bajwa(Pakistan); Saraswathi Menon(India); Charles Petrie(France) and Gert Rosenthal(Guatemala).

Olonisakin, who is Director, Security Leadership and Society Programme in King’s College London, read political science at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ife. She has a PhD in War Studies from the King’s College, London.

The statement said: “She has positioned her work to serve as a bridge between academia and the world of police and practice.

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No more polio from July, says minister

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IGERIA will stop polio virus by July, the Supervising Minister of Health, Dr Khaliru Alhassan, has assured.

Alhassan pointed out Nigeria has done greatly in the last few years towards ending polio virus disease.

The minister also denied reports that Nigeria has recorded any case of polio in the last seven months.

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

In a statement by Director Press & Public Relations, Ministry of Health, Ayo Adesugba, the minister was quoted to have said: “Nigeria has recorded giant strides in its polio efforts and there is no gainsaying the fact that Nigeria has the capacity to eradicate polio, as no case of the disease has been reported in the south-

ern part of the country for five years.

“With the exception of some cases in Kano and Yobe States, no polio virus infection has been reported in the past two years in the northern states.

He added: “It is also pertinent to note that for seven months now, Nigeria has not recorded any case of polio in any part of the federation.

“This implies that the country has been polio transmission free in the last seven months.

“This great feat is being recorded for the first time in the history of our nation. If this is sustained for the next five months, the country will be removed from the list of polio endemic countries by July 2015 in accordance with WHO guidelines.”

• Cameroonian youth expressing support for the military’s battle against Nigeria’s Islamic extremists in the country’s north in Yaounde... yesterday AP Photo/Edwin Kindzeka Moki)

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HE House of Representatives has said slashing the 2015 budget of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Nigeria would not serve the purpose the agency was created for.

The lawmakers berated the Budget Office for failing to revolutionise its envelope system of budgeting.

According to them, the envelope system whereby bulk funds were allocated to all sub heads in budget proposals without due diligence on the needs of each, was inimical to economic growth.

They said the envelope system do not take into consideration peculiarities of each Ministries, Depart-

2015 budget: Reps warn against travel ban for NEPAD From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

ments and Agencies (MDA) of government.

Chairman, House Committee on Cooperation and Integration in Africa, Abubakar Momoh, cited a federal government policy that directed MDAs to expunge international travels from their 2015 budget.

He said the Budget office failed to realise that the core duties of agencies like the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Nigeria were about global

engagements.

These engagements cannot be accomplished without international travels, he said.

Speaking during NEPAD’s budget defense and presentation, Momoh said even if the Budget Office failed to realise it, affected agencies should draw the attention to the directive as it affects their operations.

According to him, since NEPAD is not a contactawarding agencies to remove or cut international travels from its budget amounts to crippling its op-

erations.

Special Adviser to the President on NEPAD, Ambassador Fidelia Akuabata, said the agency proposes N247m for its capital expenditure and N500m for recurrent expenditure.

She said the agency needed to reactivate its seven clusters with which it interacts with MDAs. Nigeria, being a founding member of NEPAD, Akuabata stated would assume the Chairmanship of NEPAD’s Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee in 2017.

Abuja City Centre project to gulp N700 billion

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HE Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will spend N700billion ($3.5billion) on the Abuja City Centre Project.

FCT’s Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, stated this when investors handling the project made an indepth presentation to the FCT Administration’s team.

The minister emphasised that the project is one of the milestone achievements of the Transformation Agenda of President Jonathan in the FCT. Chicason Group will execute the multi-billion-naira

From: Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

project in partnership with a reputable and renowned international developer, Eagle Hills.

The minister revealed that the Abuja City Centre would be a mixed-use development that has the capacity to generate about 10,000 jobs with its multiplier effect on the economy.

He disclosed that the FCT administration would enjoy five percent equity share holding in the Abuja City Centre Development

Company Limited, being a special purpose company incorporated to own and operate the Centre while the Abuja Investment Company Limited would hold such share in trust for the Administration.

His words: “The land premium as well as the development control charges accruable to the FCT Administration would be used as its equity contribution to the project.

“In addition, the investors would construct a National Mall at the cost of $40million at no cost to the

FCT Administration.”

The Executive Director Africa, Eagle Hills Abu Dhabi, Jaimal Shergill, explained the project comprises four international hotels, residential houses, offices, shops as well as condominium which, would further stimulate economic activities not only in Abuja but in the entire West Africa sub region.

He assured that the ground breaking of the centre would be undertaken before May 29, 2015, adding that the entire project would be executed in two phases.

Onaiyekan urges FG to partner private varsities

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ATHOLIC Archbishop of Abuja and Chancellor of Veritas University Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, has urged the federal government to stretch out hands of partner-

From: Grace Obike, Abuja

ship to private universities to enable them succeed.

The Cardinal said that access to some of the facilities by private universities is a

matter of justice for the students, who have as much right to government support as their counterparts in state universities.

He spoke last week during in Abuja at the second and

third convocation ceremony of the institution.

Onaiyekan said: “”We raise our eyes up to our government to stretch out to us much needed hand of fellowship and partnership.”

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Centre calls for vigilance during polls HE Centre for Public Policy (CPPA) has called on the media and non-government organisations (NGOs) to discharge their duties during the forthcoming elections to ensure a smooth election and the survival of the nation.

Its Executive Director, Clement Ige, in a statement, observed that there has been a total disregard by politicians for issues in the ongoing campaign for elective offices in the country.

It advised citizens “not to be carried away by the brickbats the parties and politicians are currently throwing at themselves but should try for the sake of the country to go beyond their pedestrian campaign to analyse the parties and their candidates.

“Nigerians including those who are not registered voters have a task to save the country and the only way to do this is to ignore the current style of campaigns and devise means to scrutinize the parties and their candidates.”

The group called on the media and the civil society to put nationalism above partisanship in the discharge of their sensitive duties.

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Pass National Tobacco bill, group tells NASS

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GROUP, Environmental Rights Action/ Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has called on the National Assembly to expedite work and pass the National Tobacco Control Bill.

Its Head of Media, Philip Jakpor, stated that it is using the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) to make the call.

It explained Nigeria signed the FCTC in 2004 and ratified it in 2005.

“Efforts to domesticate the treaty in form of the National Tobacco Control Bill (NTCB) suffered a setback in 2011 when it went through the readings, scaled Public Hearings and was passed by the Senate and House of Representatives but was not signed by President Goodluck Jonathan.

“A renewed attempt to pass the bill is currently on but is still suffering from tobacco industry attempts to ensure only a weak legislation is passed,” it stated.

It called on the National Assembly to pass the bill and safe the country’s health sector from indiscriminate sale of tobacco products.

Jakpor urged the 180 parties to the treaty, including Nigeria to be committed to fighting the devastating health, social, economic and environmental consequences of tobacco and tobacco use.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

NEWS

8

‘Nigerians want Chibok girls back alive not Shekau’ From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

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ATHER than the capture of Ibrahim Shekau, the leader of the Boko Haram terrorist groups as allegedly ordered

by President Goodluck Jonathan, Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State, Prince Gboyega Famodun, has said Nigerians want the military to rescue the Chibok girls who were abducted on April 14, 2014 by the dreaded Islamist sect.

The APC chieftain, who spoke at a programme tagged News Point, a personality interview organised by the Osun State Correspondent Chapel of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, said the military authorities must redouble its efforts to bring back alive the Chibok girls, wondering, "Why looking to capture Shekau alive, why not the Chibok girls.? We don't need any notorious terrorist alive. They have told Nigerians many times that Shekau has been killed. So, why asking that he should be found alive.?"

While commending the military for their recent exploits in the war against insurgency in the North East region, Famodun, however, berated President Goodluck Jonathan for not rising up to the challenge on time, noting, "The president could not tackle insurgency for the past six years, now you want Shekau captured alive. Of what use is that to Nigerians?”

Amoji women back Buhari

By Sunday Oguntola

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HE Lagos State chapter of Amoji Women Association of Umoji community in Anambra State has vowed to mobilise women for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari.

This decision was reached at the end of the association's meeting in Festac town last weekend.

Hostess of the meeting, Benedine Eloka, tasked Nigerians to assess candidates contesting for elective offices based on their pedigree and performances without religious or tribal sentiments.

She lamented that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has not been able to deliver dividends of democracy to Nigerians in the last 16 years, saying, "We firmly believe that the election of General Buhari and Professor Yemi Osinbajo is not only critical for the restoration of dignity and honour, but will also create equal opportunities for all, address the problem of youth unemployment and restore peace and tranquility to Nigeria."

Buhari, she stated, is not perfect but his election will reduce "the level of corruption, impunity and mediocrity, which she noted, has made him the most preferred candidate among all the presidential candidates."

In her address, Chairperson of the state chapter of the association, Mrs. Nneka Akana, argued that those asking Buhari to step aside on account of his age do not mean well for the country.

Chatham House: Buhari's performance proves APC readiness to rescue Nigeria O

SUN State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, has hailed the performance of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari at the lecture delivered at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), which, he noted, has further reinforced the readiness of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to rescue Nigeria from its current state.

He said Buhari's articulate

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

presentation of the development agenda of the APC has shown that the party is prepared for the rescue mission to salvage Nigeria from underdevelopment.

In a statement by his Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, the governor said Buhari's presentations on the scourge

of corruption and terrorism aptly captures the slogan of change being propagated by the APC. He said, "Nigeria has on her laps at the moment the tragedy of a party that has no idea of how to take the country out of the woods; a party and its government at a loss on how to confront the horror of terrorism, which is unfortunately fuelled by the poverty its anti-people policies have also bred and the

endemic corruption which has been elevated to the level of state policy.

"There is no doubt that the Jonathan administration is too fickle-minded to surmount the many areas of urgent needs which our people are craving for. This is why the clamour for change has attained this all-time high in the history of our country."

Congratulating Buhari and the party for a robust presentation, Aregbesola said

after the Chatham House talk, even Buhari's worst critics must have come to terms and embraced the positive change ideas that he and the APC represent.

"Nigerians and the international community by now understand the determination of Buhari, the fecundity of his ideas and the clarity of his vision to take Nigeria out of the present morass," he added.

Ondo APC tackles Mimiko over unfulfilled promises From Damisi Ojo, Akure HE Ondo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the state governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, for failing to deliver on his campaign promises prior to his re-election five years ago.

Addressing reporters in Akure, the state capital at the weekend, Publicity Secretary, Mr. Abayomi Adesanya, lamented that development of the state has stagnated since the advent of the present administration in the state six years ago.

According to him, while the Mimiko-led government succeeded in deceiving the people with some "cosmetic projects" in its first term in office, its second term has been characterised by massive failure with no verifiable achievements to point to.

Abayomi said, "Governor Mimiko and PDP members have no reason to celebrate six years of no visible achievement.

The last six years has been characterised with pains and suffering boldly written on the faces of the people. The last six years is that of unemployment, unwarranted retrenchment, infrastructural decay, economic depression and backwardness."

Recalling some of the unfulfilled promises of the governor, Abayomi asked, "Where is the six-lane road Mimiko promised the Akure people? Why did he abandon all the projects, which the late Dr. Olusegun Agagu-led administration could not complete?

Famodun listed other projects promised by Mimiko to include Owena Water Dam, the Olokola Free-Trade Zone, the OK-LNG Plant, the uncompleted Akure Township Stadium at Araromi and the refinery, all of which have not come to fruition."

Further lamenting the present poor condition of many roads in the state, Famodun added, "Almost all roads in Akoko land are in a state of disrepair; our local government areas headquarters have become mushrooms and reduced to mere looting centres.

Workers' salaries are not paid as at when due, while the Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (OSOPADEC) set up to develop the oil producing areas communities of the state has nothing to show for the several billions of naira accruing to it for six years.”

T

•All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Candidate in Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (holding broom), acknowledging cheers from supporters at a road show rally in Apapa Local Government Area at the weekend.

20-year-old boy rapes pregnant Corps member in Ondo

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EN of the Ondo State Police Command have apprehended a 20-year-old suspected rapist, Tumi Ayileka, who allegedly raped a two-month old pregnant National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member at Imoru in Ose local government area of the state.

Ayileka, who claimed to be an Okada rider in the community, was among the 27 suspected criminals paraded by the State Commissioner of

From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

Police, Isaac Eke, during his monthly press conference held in Akure, the state capital.

Eke informed that the rape victim (name withheld) boarded a motorcycle from Ifon to Imoru where she was posted for her national service.

The police boss revealed that the suspected rapist allegedly dragged her into the bush and forcefully had carnal

knowledge of her.

Confessing to the crime, Ayileka admitted that he raped the youth corp member, but added that it was his first time of committing such crime. He also disclosed that he drove the victim home after the act had been done.

According to him, "She approached me around 7.p.m at Ifon that I should take her to Imoru community where she serves and I obliged we agreed on a N500 fee. On our way, I

don't know the spirit that descended on me forcing me to drive her into the bush where I had carnal knowledge of her.

"After the deed had been done, I became ashamed of myself. I didn't know she was pregnant and I even took her home. Later on, she reported to the Police and I was arrested."

Eke however assured that the suspect would soon be charged to court as soon as the judiciary workers end their industrial strike.

Disquiet in Lagos PDP over Agbaje's comment on George

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HERE is an uneasy calm in the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over a recent comment by its candidate in next month's governorship elections, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, claiming that a chieftain of the party, Chief Olabode George, is not his godfather.

Agbaje allegedly made the comment during a question and answer session on the social media organised by a group of friends.

The PDP governorship candidate was quoted as saying, "Bode George is not my godfather; he is just one of the leaders in PDP. He was not even aware when I joined the party."

Many of George's associates in the party, it was learnt, allegedly took exception to this comment, with not a few of them describing Agbaje as an ingrate for publicly disowning a man who ensured his emergence as the PDP candidate despite being a new member of the party.

At the PDP governorship primary held in December last

By Remi Adelowo

year, Agbaje defeated about 10 aspirants, including Senator Musiliu Obanikoro in controversial circumstances, resulting in the declared results exceeding the number of accredited delegates. Agbaje's victory was believed to have been made possible by George

and another chieftain of the party, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe.

A source in the party said, "I think Agbaje is trying to be smart, but he won't go far even if he wins the election. He is trying to distance himself from George and project the image of an independent-minded person, but he is going about it

in a wrong way."

Perhaps in reaction to Agbaje's comment, George at the weekend claimed he remains his guardian, noting that though Agbaje is an intelligent man, he must be guided on the right path, a role he said, he is currently playing for the PDP candidate.

Kasumu berates Mimiko over Afenifere endorsement added, "It is unfortunate that the RESIDENT, Afonja of Jonathan so-called leaders of these two Descendants' Union,

P

Ilorin, Kwara State, Alhaji Olola Kasumu, has berated the Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, for facilitating the endorsement of the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan by pan-Yoruba organisation, Afenifere and Oodua Peoples' Congress (OPC).

Kasumu also called on the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to call to order the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, over his incessant "death wish" for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress

From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo

(APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd).

Speaking exclusively with The Nation in Ogbomoso, Kasunmu described as "laughable, idiotic and a mission in futility" the endorsement of Jonathan by Afenifere and OPC, since in his view, leaders of the two organisations lack the clout to convince people of the South West to vote for Jonathan.

Describing leaders of the organisations as "unpopular kings without subjects," Kasumu

groups have lost touch with the realities of the moment and have descended so low for a mess of porridge.

"I am a one of the principal co-founders of the OPC and it is regrettable that the motives behind its formation had been ashamedly betrayed and derailed. Both Fasheun and Gani Adams are now running after pipeline contracts running into billions of naira. Is that how to fight the cause of Yoruba progress and development? What led to the split of Afenifere into two groups?”

9

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

•Troops at Ekiti State election

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HE politics and legal implications of troops' deployment for polls The startling revelations on the Ekiti State governorship election in June last year are creating ripples and provoking serious debate on the legality of deployment of troops for the forthcoming general elections. Some weeks ago, Nigerians woke up to hear the testimony of an Army Captain, Sagir Koli, who released the audio and video tape on how the military allegedly played a background role in tampering with the process in favour of the 'winner', Governor Ayo Fayose. While the Ekiti drama of the absurd is being investigated, the debate has shifted to the constitutionality or otherwise of deploying troops for polls.

How troops deployment started In spite of the controversy trailing its adoption, troops' deployment has been with the nation in the last 16 years but it assumed an embarrassing proportion in the last 12 years. In its report on the 2003 general election, as collated by its 30,000 observers, the Justice, Development and Peace Committee(JDPC) said: "Their(troops) presence helped to maintain law and order in some parts of the country where there had been high rate of violence resulting in deaths. Their presence however dampened the spirit and confidence of voters in many other parts of the country. The ruling party in each of the two geopolitical zones(South-South and South-East), with the connivance of some INEC officials and the security officers unleashed fearsome intimidation against opponents and succeeded in carrying out massive rigging of elections in a manner that was reminiscent of the dark ages." The same scenarios were replicated in 2007 and 2011.

But the case in 2007 was peculiar as a PDP National Chairman described one of its then chieftains in Oyo State, the late Lamidi Ariyibi Adedibu as a "Garrison Commander." Some strange Direct Data Capturing Machines allegedly strayed into Adedibu's vast compound during the registration of voters. Some General Officers Commanding were subsequently at the beck and call of the late strong man of Ibadan politics, and they carried out his instructions during the election.

This was why ex-President Umaru Yar'Adua described the 2007 poll as "largely flawed" despite being the ultimate beneficiary.

As for the Jonathan era, the 2011 poll also witnessed troops deployment but not on a massive

The politics and legal implications of troops' deployment for polls The shocking revelations from Ekiti pollgate have provoked debate on the legality, desirability or otherwise of deploying troops for the general elections. YUSUF ALLI, MANAGING EDITOR, NORTHERN OPERATION takes a second look at the issues at stake scale . Troops were restricted largely to highways leading to areas considered volatile. But this may change now , if the People's Democratic Party had its way. Like it was during the Ekiti polls, the military may be physically present at polling stations as well as collation centres . They may also be used to intimidate the opposition, arrest leading politicians opposed to the ruling party, the PDP . The snag thus far is the inability of the PDP to penetrate INEC headed by an "uncompromising chairman". Unknown to many, those behind full scale involvement of troops in the polls have perfected their plans like long distance runners. They are taking advantage of the increasing insecurity in the country to set the stage for the full involvement of the military in elections. Prior to the Ekiti governorship poll, the Federal Government had deployed troops in 32 of the 36 states of the federation to check 'security challenges' or in 'aid of civil authority.' As the deployment of troops was spreading, the Nigeria Police Force, which is constitutionally empowered for internal security, lost out.

How Jega's initiative is being abused When the INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega came on board, the electoral agency opted for a working relationship with all security agencies including the military. Worried by security

challenges in some parts of the country, Jega came up with an initiative tagged Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES). A source in INEC said: "The ICCES is chaired by the National Security Adviser with Jega as co-chair. Others are representatives of the DHQ, the Nigerian Army, Air Force, Navy, Department of State Security Service(DSS), National Intelligence Agency(NIA), FRSC, NSCDC, Customs Service, Immigration Service, Fire Service and NDLEA. "The implication is that INEC, a supposedly independent agency, now subjugates itself to the whims and caprices of security chiefs. Beyond the issue of protection for the election, INEC chairman now briefs the security chiefs on the distribution of Permanent Voters Cards, Card Readers and other electoral matters."

Armed with a cosy relationship with the electoral body, the military high command acting on the directive of the President deployed troops for the 2011 general election won by President Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

As a political scientist, desirous of improving the electoral process, Jega might have meant well but his gesture is now being abused by a party and its candidate desperate to win the March 26 and April 11 elections.

What does the law say?

According to findings, the deployment of troops in "aid" of civil authority is legal and constitutional but such a deployment must be approved or regulated by the National Assembly.

Save for interpretive factor to suit the imperial ego of the executive arm, there is nowhere in the constitution where deployment of troops for election purpose is guaranteed. With this in mind, some judges have made pronouncements declaring troops-for-poll illegal. The bone of contention lies in the interpretation of sections 217 and 218 of our Constitution. Section217(1) says: " There shall be an armed forces for the Federation which shall consist of an army, a navy, an air force and such other branches of the armed forces of the Federation as may be established by an Act of the National Assembly. (2) The Federation shall, subject to an Act of the National Assembly made in that behalf, equip and maintain the armed forces as may be considered adequate and effective for the purpose of ( a) defending Nigeria from external aggression; (b) maintaining its territorial integrity and securing its borders from violation on land, sea, or air; (c) suppressing insurrection and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore order when called upon to do so by the President, but subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly; and (d) performance of such other functions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly."

Section 218(1) reads: "The powers of the President as the Commissioner-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation shall include power to determine the operational use of the armed Forces of the Federation. (2) (3) (4) The National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the regulation of - (a) the powers exercisable by the President as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation; and (b) the appointment, promotion and disciplinary control of members of the armed forces of the Federation."

Besides approaching the National Assembly for Emergency Rule in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, there is no record to show that the President has approached the legislature for legal instrument to deploy troops-for-poll in any part of the country.

While the illegality persists nationwide, some judges have come out openly to deride the recourse to the abuse of the military for election duties.

A former President of the Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Umar Abdullahi, JCA (as he then was)

•Contd. on page 10

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

NEWS REVIEW

The politics and legal implications of troops' deployment for polls •Contd. from page 9

in Buhari vs. Obasanjo (2005) I WRN 2000), said: "In spite of non-tolerant nature of our political class in this country, we should by all means try to keep armed personnel of whatever status or nature from being part and parcel of the election process. The civilian authorities should be left to conduct and carry out fully the electoral processes at all levels.

On his part, another President of the Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Ayo Salami, JCA (as he then was) in Yusuf vs. Obasanjo (2005) 18 NWLR Part 956 p.96 said: "It is up to the Police to protect our nascent democracy and not the military, otherwise the democracy might be wittingly or unwittingly militarized."

In a courageous pronouncement on Monday, 16th Feb 2015, Hon. Justice Aboki, JCA, (Chairman, Ekiti State Governorship Election Appeal Tribunal), who was a bit worried d by the roles of Armed Forces personnel during the Ekiti State Governorship Election, said: "Even the President of Nigeria has no powers to call on the Nigerian Armed Forces to unleash them on peaceful citizenry who are exercising their franchise to elect their leaders."

"In the event of insurrection or insurgency, the call on the Armed Forces to restore order must be with approval of the National Assembly -----as provided in sections 217(2) and 218(4 of the Constitution as amended."

In Suit No. FHC/S/CS/29/2014 (Hon. B. M. Goronyo & Anor vs. the Attorney-General of the Federation & Independent National Electoral Commission), Hon. Justice R. M. Aikawa, of the Federal High Court, Sokoto put the question of deployment of troops in a clearer legal perspective with a historic judgment which will serve as template for the March 28 general election.

He made the following orders: 1. I hereby declare that in view of the combined provisions of sections 217 (2) and 218(1) and (4) of the Constitution … any person holding the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria cannot, in the absence of an Act of the National Assembly …, unilaterally order the engagement of the armed forces in the security supervision of elections in Nigeria.

2. I hereby declare that any purported engagement of the Nigerian Armed Forces in the security supervision of elections in the Federal Republic of Nigeria by any person holding the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria without an Act of the National Assembly shall be unconstitutional and therefore null and void.

3. I hereby declare that the use of the word "officers" in section 29(1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) does not entail the use of officers of the Armed Forces by the 2nd Defendant.

4. I hereby make an order restraining any person holding the office of the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces … and the 2nd Defendant from engaging or permitting the service of the Nigerian Armed Forces in the security supervision of elections in any manner whatsoever in any part of Nigeria, without an Act of the National Assembly.

The order has not been reversed by any superior court. Many were therefore taken aback last Wednesday when some PDP members of the House of Representatives argued that troops deployment for elections by the President without the express approval of the National Assembly was constitutional.

Any merit in deployment of troops for election?

The advocates of troops-for -poll have cited the do-or-die attitude of Nigerian politicians in the past few weeks and the refusal to play by the rules as reasons for backing such a proposal.

They believe the police are just incapable of managing the nation's tense electoral situation.

Their worry is compounded by the prediction that Nigeria might be a failed state in 2015. So, a major benefit of deploying troops is anticipated tight security and assumed safety for all the citizenry. But some Nigerians are looking beyond the humongous benefit of security because politicians are usually on fast lane and a step ahead of every opportunity. For about a week now, there had been argument for and against troops-for-poll and it almost snowballed into fisticuffs in the House of Representatives during the week. While the PDP and APC are reaching out to each other's jugular on the issue, the support for deployment of troops has come from both the former National President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. J.B. Daudu (SAN) and the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Chidi

•Jega Odinkalu. To Odinkalu, since Nigeria is presently in a "state of war, such action is justified in line with the Geneva Convention Act." INEC is also a die-hard supporter of troopsfor-poll but with a caveat. A National Commissioner for INEC said: "The military men have no role in the conduct of the elections; they are only expected to stay at designated checkpoints to make sure people do not traffic arms, ammunition or engage in any conduct that could tamper with the electoral process.

"They also to stay at these checkpoints in readiness for rapid deployment if there is any security challenge during the elections. No soldiers will be at the Polling Units, Collation Centres or have any direct contact with the conduct of the elections. Even the Mobile Police will only engage in fringe patrols without coming to the Polling Units."

Why Nigerians are suspicious of deployment of troops Apart from Ekiti pollgate, Nigerians have become skeptical of deployment of troops because of past history, the subtle involvement of the military in politics, the alleged role of service chiefs in poll postponement, and the utterances of some officials of the government and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Past history. The military has always been claiming to be in the vanguard of protecting the nation's democracy but it has always emerged a vested party too. In the heat of the second term election in the Second Republic in 1983, the late National Chairman of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Chief Adisa Akinloye said there can only be two parties in Nigeria---the NPN and the military. Akinloye's statement, which was made on the spur of the moment, has turned out to be a prophetic insight into the alleged politicization of the military.

During the post- June 12, 1993 presidential election crisis, which consumed the acclaimed winner, Chief M.K.O. Abiola, the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha led the military to intervene under the pretence of trying to salvage the situation. He rolled out the tanks, emerged a temporary hero of democracy, played on the intelligence of politicians in the extinct Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Republican Convention (NRC) and seized power for a draconian rule for about five years. Most of the politicians and democracy-human rights activists ended up either in jail , exile or in grave.

Even, the great Abiola had faith in Abacha's intent until the maximum dictator bared his fangs.

The subtle involvement of the military in

politics has fueled opposition to the deployment of troops for poll. Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo had faulted the advisory of Service Chiefs to INEC. He said: "It turned out to be a forced decision on INEC. It was alleged that the security chiefs were unable to provide security and as result, Jega had to postpone in accordance with the dictate of the so called security chiefs. It was a bad precedent for democracy in Nigeria. It means no matter any preparation the nation may make in future for any elections, the final decision lies with the security. This is a sad day for democracy in Nigeria...President Jonathan is up to something and his plan is to scuttle the electoral process and cause chaos in the country as was done by the former President of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo....it will take only God's miracle to achieve what the security chiefs said they will do in just six weeks, eradication of the Boko Haram insurgency in the country."

But the position of the Defence Headquarters was more damning and unrepentant. The military took on Obasanjo saying: "The Defence Headquarters has noted the remarks of a former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as reported in the media stating his views on perceived state of the armed forces and the roles being allegedly played by the military in the nation's political process in recent times.

"The leadership and cross section of the military believes that the former President and retired General has every right to be interested in the actions and fate of the military. Hence, his views like many others will continue to be accorded the well-deserved attention.

"It is, however, noteworthy that most of his utterances lately indicate an attitude of playing to the gallery or indulging in politicization of serious national security or military affairs.

"For instance, the comments credited to Chief Obasanjo alleging that the postponement of the General Elections was to enable President Jonathan to use the Service Chiefs to plot a tenure extension is to say the least, very surprising.

"It is surprising indeed, considering the fact that the retired General chose to ignore the clarification and emphatic assurances of nonpartisanship of the military as declared in a DHQ statement on the position of the Armed Forces in the ongoing political activities."

The military and Buhari Earlier, the same military publicly joined issues with Buhari in an unsparing manner and without regard for the fact that he is an opposing candidate to the C-In-C, President Goodluck Jonathan. With these altercations, it is extremely difficult for

Nigerians to have faith in deployment of troops, no matter how well-intended the objective is.

More importantly, the position of the Nigerian Army in the certificate controversy of the APC Presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari was hasty because it is purely a constitutional matter for the court to resolve. Many were of the opinion that the powers- that- be probably pulled the strings and to demonstrate its loyalty, the Army left one of its credible officers in the lurch. When history beckons on the present key players in the military in the next 10 to 20 years after they have retired, Nigerians will then have the privilege to know what actually transpired. But such a role casts doubt on the rationale behind troops deployment for poll.

But some analysts pointed to the hitch-free campaign for Buhari in the North-East, especially Maiduguri, as a concrete evidence of the nonpartisanship of the military. They claimed that all military and security apparatchik were effectively mobilized for safe passage for APC candidate and chieftains in spite of insurgency.

Polls postponement INEC's sole shift of the blame for the postponement of the general election from February 14 to March 28 and April 11, 2015 rubbed off on the image of the Service Chiefs and it has diminished the little faith Nigerians have in the deployment of troops. Although INEC had its own inadequacies which could substantially affect the outcome of the general election, its chairman insisted that except for advisory from the Service Chiefs, the commission was ready for the poll.

Jega said: "A day before the Council of State meeting, the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) wrote a letter to the Commission, drawing attention to recent developments in four Northeast states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and Gombe currently experiencing the challenge of insurgency. The letter stated that security could not be guaranteed during the proposed period in February for the general elections.

"This advisory was reinforced at the Council of State meeting on Thursday where the NSA and all the Armed Services and Intelligence Chiefs unanimously reiterated that the safety and security of our operations cannot be guaranteed and that the Security Services needed at least six weeks within which to conclude a major military operation against the insurgency in the NorthEast…" Today, the Service Chiefs bear the brunt of the poll shift with one eye closed because it appears Jega has not had the last laugh. Yet the idea of troops-for-poll remains unpopular in the light of the advisory from the Service Chiefs.

The lessons from Ekiti State Governorship election In a petition to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), the Chairman of the APC in Ekiti State, Chief Jide Awe released some snippets on the Ekiti 'pollgate'. He said: : "We write to report to you and formally bring to your attention the recent leak of an audio recording by Capt. Sagir Koli of the 32nd Artillery Brigade in Ekiti State.

"On February 8, 2015, an audio recording was released to the general public. This recording captured the voices of Ayo Fayose (the Governor of Ekiti State), Brig. Gen. Aliyu Momoh, who was the commanding officer in charge of soldiers deployed to give security cover for the June 21st, 2014 Ekiti State Gubernatorial election, Senator Iyiola Omisore, Jelili Adesiyan who is the Minister of Police Affairs and Musiliu Obanikoro (the Minister of Defence at that time), Caleb Olukolade and others in a meeting wherein these persons conspired and strategized to rig the June 21, 2014 Ekiti State Gubernatorial Election in which Ayo Fayose finally emerged the winner.

"The import of this audio recording is the revelation of the criminal acts which were planned and perpetrated by these men.

"The above listed persons conspired to tamper with the constitutionally and statutorily laid down procedures for the conduct of election. Section 1(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) provides that; "The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed nor shall any person or group of persons take control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

"During the meeting, strategies and plans to intimidate voters and perform electoral fraud, and other criminal acts, in a bid to take over the government of Ekiti State in a manner contrary to the provisions of the Constitution and other relevant statues, were discussed."

Although investigation is ongoing, the confirmation of attending the said meeting by some PDP chieftains and ministers has given room for some insinuations because most of the key

•Contd. on page 11

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015 Contd from page 1 In the renewed battle for the region, the president has visited the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Samuel Odulana, the Soun of Ogbomoso, Alhaji Jimoh Oyewumi Ajagungbade, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, the Olowo-Eko of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, and other traditional rulers. The Jonathan Campaign Organisation has also regressed into ethno-religious politics. His challenger, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has not visited mosques. But, the president has been frequent at church services, especially at The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) led by Pastor Enoch A. Adeboye and Winners' Chapel shepherd, Bishop David Oyedepo. Besides, he has met with other ethnic groups in Lagos, playing the ethnic card. Unlike in 2011, when voters gravitated towards the president with little prompting, a combative Dr. Jonathan appears to be on the prowl.

Four years ago, he almost got the Southwest bloc votes. The president polled 2,786, 5410 votes. But, ahead of next month's poll, he is scrambling for a fraction to reduce the likely gap.

The Southwest region, comprising Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Ekiti, is the second most populous zone, trailing the Northwest, which has seven states. It is generally perceived as the stronghold of the All Progressives Congress (APC), although the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) controls two states - Ekiti and Ondo. The last governorship election in Ekiti is still being contested in court. With the release of the audio tape on the pre-election rigging strategy, the exercise, which was uncritically adjudged free and fair, paled into the most grievous assault on the ballot box. Ondo became a PDP state recently, following the self-liquidation of the Labour Party (LP) and defection of Governor Olusegun Mimiko.

The campaign trains of the president and Buhari have rolled into the six states. The former military leader pulled more crowd in Lagos, Osogbo, Abeokuta, Akure and Ado-Ekiti, where the people perceive him as the symbol of the envisaged change. He came with a bundle of promises, urging prospective voters to support his push for power shift, based on his pedigree, integrity, honour and valour. At 72, his goal is not primitive accumulation, the vice he had shunned as a soldier on the war front, military governor, Federal Commissioner for Petroleum and Chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Head of State and Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF). His style as a big commoner seeking power for the good of society was fascinating to the crowd under the scourging sun, who believed and internalised his message.

But the people expected more from President Jonathan. They expected him to woo voters by showcasing his achievements. Southwest is an

NEWS REVIEW

Can Jonathan spring surprise in Southwest?

By Emmanuel Oladesu

•Jonathan enlightened and politically sophisticated zone.

When the President could not list any feat, except the snail-like rehabilitation of the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, they went home disappointed.

Consequently, his shortcoming became Buhari's gain.

Opinion is, therefore, divided on the last minute consultation by the president. To many people, it is too late to convince prospective voters, who are unhappy with the federal government over the neglect of the region and marginalisation in the distribution of federal appointments. But, to

others, particularly PDP leaders, who may have concealed the true picture from the national PDP leader, twenty four hours is a long time in politics.

Thus, Dr. Jonathan's advisers believe that, since the Southwest vote is critical to the determination of his fate at the presidential election, no effort should be spared to either divide the bloc vote or alter the existing voting pattern.

According to sources, it has become increasingly difficult for the president to make an in-road in the north, which is solidly behind the

11

APC standard bearer. In this political season, the north and Southwest appear to have sealed a pact. But, the calculation is that, if a significant part of the Southsouth, Southeast and some parts of Southwest endorse him on poll day, hope is not lost on his second term ambition.

However, the president's efforts may be futile in the Southwest, particularly in Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti and many parts of Ondo.

It appears people have made up their minds. In addition, the traditional rulers, who are now being tacitly drawn into partisan politics, know what is good for their communities. According to an analyst, the blood of some of the rulers flow in the APC administrations in the Southwest. For example, the children of Alaafin, Olubadan and Soun are commissioners in Ajimobi's Administration. Also, in Ogbomoso and Oyo, Prince Hakeem Adeyemi, former Atiba Council boss, and Prince Oye Oyewumi are House of Representatives candidates of the APC. Southwest APC governors are also performing. Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has remained a model chief executive. Even PDP governors have hailed him, saying that he has built successfully on the foundation laid by his predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the APC National Leader. Under his administration, the state has become a huge construction site. As he mobilises for Buhari in Lagos, he tenders his stewardship. For Lagos, the presidential election is a special project. This is the base of Tinubu. For the Centre of Excellence, it is a pride to produce a vice presidential candidate. Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), who is Buhari's running mate, is the former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State.

In Oyo, Ajimobi's popularity is soaring.

His party is not divided, unlike the PDP, which has four candidates - Senator Teslim Balogun, Senator Rasheed Ladoja of the Accord Party (AP), Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala of the LP and Seyi Makinde of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

In Ogun, Senator Ibikunke Amosun has delivered on his promises. Across the three senatorial districts, his impact is felt. Although there are some notable indigenes firing salvos at him from the PDP and the SDP, the people have become his shield. Ogun also has a stake in the Buhari/Osinbajo ticket. The professor of Law is an indigene of the Gateway State.

The victory of the Osun State governor, Chief Rauf Aregbesola, has attested to his popularity and the declining fortune of the PDP. In 2011, Osun was the only Southwest state that denied President Jonathan of votes. There is no sign that the trend will change.

What may also likely work against the

•Contd. on page 67

The politics and legal implications of troops' deployment for polls •Continued from Page 10 actors implicated are not even from the state. This will affect the overall objective of further deployment of troops during the forthcoming general election except Jonathan wants to become blind to the allegations.

What a researcher discovered on how troops/ security agents are used during poll Writing on "Security forces, electoral conduct and the 2003 General Election", Kunle Ajayi of the Department of Political Science of the then University of Ado-Ekiti (now Ekiti State University) highlighted what troops and security agents are always used for during election. The highlights are: collusion with politicians to scare opponents from polling centres; receiving bribes from politicians to stuff ballot boxes; collusion with political party agents and thugs to stuff ballot boxes; failing to act in the face of violence and rigging; personally thumb-printing ballot papers; abandonment of /absence from attached polling centres; sporadic shooting in the air to scare away genuine voters and in the process ballot boxes already stuffed are substituted for the empty ones; illegal arrest and detention of political opponents on the eve of election and election days; sporadic shooting into the air at the house of opponents before and during the election days to prevent them from any effective mobilization of supporters and the electorate; and harassing of voters at polling booths including beating and jack-booting thereby infringing on their human rights.

Can the 2015 poll be conducted without troops?

Until the return to military rule in 1999, the police had always been in charge of providing security during elections. Notwithstanding a few challenges associated with the police during the 1962 crisis in the defunct Western Region and the ex-IGP Sunday Adewusi's shoot-on-sight order in 1983 general election war between the

NPN and the Unity Party of Nigeria, the police had performed fairly well. Most experts are of the opinion that if the police force is wellequipped, it should be able to provide security nationwide. The NPF has 332,756 policemen, 6,693 Traffic Wardens and 11,999 civilian workers in 3,756 police stations nationwide. The only challenge with the force is lack of funds. The Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, who was represented by his deputy in-charge of Logistics and Supplies, Mamman Tsafe told the Senate Committee on Police Affairs in Abuja during the week that out of the N56 billion overhead proposed by the police in 2014, only N8 billion was approved out of which N5 billion was released. He said the force required N24 billion for fuelling and maintaining its vehicles instead of N5 billion proposed. For capital budget, he said that of a proposed N218 billion, N7 billion was approved and only N3 billion was released What options for Jonathan?

Will the President comply with the judgment of the Federal High Court, Sokoto on withdrawal of troops or file an appeal against it? There are fears that the government might go to the appellate court. A presidency source said: "You cannot read the constitution in isolation. Go to Section 25, part 1 of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution where it states that the National Security Council shall have power to advise the President on matters relating to public security including matters relating to any organization or agency established by law for ensuring the security of the Federation."

He also said the alternative is for the President to "approach the National Assembly for an enabling Act to make deployment of troops for election legal." The APC through its Director, Legal of the Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume, (SAN) has however written a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan on why the judgment of the Federal

High Court should be respected to leave troops out of the March 28 and April 11 general election.

The letter said in part: "Your Excellency, may I add this: the restraining phrase "… security supervision of elections in any manner whatsoever in any part of Nigeria" is all encompassing including absence of armed forces on the roads and streets on the election days and not discriminatory as to be limited to polling booths, as some may expediently want the public to believe.

"I, therefore, request Your Excellency, to instruct the Service Chiefs and all relevant State officers to diligently comply with the orders of the Court by ensuring that the Armed Forces are never engaged in the security supervision of the forthcoming elections in any manner and in any part of Nigeria whatsoever. It is the statutory duty of the Nigerian Police Force to carry out this function without having the armed forces instil fear in the citizenry during the elections.

"Now, disobedience to court orders is unguided invitation to anarchy. Those that officiate on basis of offices created by the Constitution, have enormous duty to ensure that their actions do not in any way negate the constitutional provisions as well as Court orders.

All Nigerians have unalloyed duty to subsume our different expedient dispositions to the intendments of the Constitution as interpreted by the Courts.

"Nigeria cannot be defined by NOW only.

We all, particularly our leaders have the constitutional duty to bequeath to our children a functional and sane future secured through rule of law and absolute deference to court orders.

"Lamenting on the tendency to ridicule Court order, His lordship, Hon Justice Acholonu, JCA (as he then was) in NDLEA v Okorodudu (1997) 3 NWLR (Pt.492) 221 at 247, held: "I am scandalized at the veiled threat to gag the judiciary. … as long

as that order is there, it ought to be obeyed otherwise we would let loose anarchy. ..."

"In the words of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Uwais JSC (as he then was) in Mobil Oil (Nig Ltd v Assan (1991) 8 NWLR (Pt. 412) 129 at 143 declared: "… the plain and unqualified obligation of every person against whom or in respect of whom an order of court, is made to obey it …. ... the uncompromising nature of this obligation is shown by the facts that it extends to even cases where the person affected by the order believes it to be irregular or even void."

The ball is certainly in Jonathan's court as the custodian of the 1999 Constitution.

Will the President disregard the pronouncements of the courts and deploy troops for the forthcoming elections? If he does, what message would he be sending to Nigerians and the international community?

That the courts are irrelevant in the scheme of things in the country? Will he for once rise beyond politics and do what the constitution demands of him? The leading opposition party, The All Progressives Congress (APC), has alleged that some of its leading members have been earmarked for arrest by soldiers before and during the elections. It has accused the PDP of plotting a repeat of the Ekiti episode in some states of the federation, considered " crucial" on March 28.

In such states, the APC says the PDP plans to use soldiers to arrest its influential members, intimidate voters but on the other hand provide security for PDP chieftains , all in a bid to influence the outcome of the election in favour of President Jonathan. Will the PDP and the Commander-in- Chief , who is a candidate in the election, prove the APC right ? Nigerians are waiting, the international community is watching.

•Contd. on page 12

12

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

Ropo Sekoni

13

Page 14

Femi Orebe Page 16

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

Where is the fire?

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

A

LTHOUGH some things are done or accepted differently in different parts of the world, others are universally permissible, irrespective of people's religious persuasion or colour. I learnt that among some tribes, for instance, the best way they appreciate their male guest is for the host to occasionally dedicate his wife to the male guest for the number of nights he would be with them. But if a guest messes up with his host's wife in Yoruba land, southwest Nigeria, that guest may crow like cock thrice, after which he falls down and dies, like someone under the spell of the 'fall down and die' people. Well, some people have argued that there is nothing like that, and that people who die in many such circumstances die of exhaustion or overexcitement.

I don't know about you, but I am not interested in finding out whether this is true or not because, apart from the fact that society frowns at such in this part of the world, it is too risky to do a thing one may never live to regret. Yet, in Igboland, machetes may have to come to the rescue of the host whose guest decides to sleep with his (host's) wife.

So, one man's meat is another man's poison.

But then, there are some things that are universally adjudged bad and they cannot be given any other name, irrespective of creed, colour or time. Stealing or corruption, for instance, is frowned at by any religion that I know or has heard of.

It is in this context of universal badness that I see the allegation, first by Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, to the effect that some Christian leaders in the country were given N6billion by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to campaign against the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari. Amaechi, who spoke at the party's governorship rally in Emohua Local Government Area of the state early last month, said: "Some pastors collected N6bn and they are circulating document and telling you not to vote for an Hausa man; not to vote for a Muslim; that they want to Islamise Nigeria. Tell them to return our N6bn".

When Governor Amaechi initially made the allegation, I deliberately refused to be dragged into the matter. It is not that I believed or disbelieved him, or that it was not weighty enough; it is just that I wanted to avoid it, if possible. In the first place, some of the pastors linked with the alleged bribe are too rich to fall for such temptation; at least so I thought. I was somehow tempted to join the fray when Borno Statebased pastor, Kallamu Musa-Dikwa, more or less confirmed that the allegation was true. Again, somehow, the allegation was overtaken by events. This is a season when things are happening in the country at an alarming rapidity. Before you make up your mind on what to comment on, many other things have reared their heads, (usually ugly heads) begging for attention. Of course, both the PDP and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) through which the bribe was allegedly disbursed have denied the allegation, no one expected them to do otherwise.

However, with the insistence by Pastor Musa-Dikwa last week that what the PDP gave was N7billion and not N6billion

If it is true that pastors got bribe from govt, then we don't have to look far for why the altars are cold

• Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, CAN President

as alleged by Gov. Amaechi, it dawned on me that I could not run away from the matter perpetually. Moreover, from the pastor's account, he said he fell out with the national body of the CAN when in 2013, some clerics from the United States (Christian Association of Nigeria-Americans) visited Nigeria and donated $50,000 to the victims of the Boko Haram in Borno State. He said rather than the CAN to disburse the money to serve the purpose it was meant for, the victims were only given a paltry N100,000. If he is correct, what happened to the balance? Indeed, one other thing that made it compelling for me to intervene now is the one billion Naira difference in the two claims.

First, this probably shows that there cannot be smoke without fire. In other words, money probably changed hands. Second, the possibility of the common thing in government whereby people given money to share to others suddenly become 'editors' who also ensure that what is delivered is less than what was allocated, is high in this instance, too. So, it is possible that while editors are at their various desks editing stories, some government officials are 'editing' millions, perhaps billions, into their pockets. Recall the different claims over what was given to the Chibok mothers when they visited Aso Rock last year.

But, to be fair to the Jonathan presidency, this 'editing' did not begin with it. Indeed, the matter reminds me of a story of something that allegedly happened in the military era when the then head of state was said to have sent a senior public official to give some money to some traditional rulers in one part of the country. The man left and returned to tell the head of state that he had delivered as instructed. Somehow, the head of state got to know that he 'edited' the money so drastically for the owners to notice. I think one of the beneficiaries called or wrote the head of state to thank him, stating the amount given to him. That was how the head of state got to know that what was delivered was far less than what he asked the executive messenger to deliver. So, he called another senior government official and gave him some amount to give to the same people. That one went and delivered only half the amount and pocketed the remaining. But when he returned, he reported himself to the head of state who only smiled broadly

Now, if such a huge amount was said to have been given to the Christian leaders and only about N3million was given to each state chairman of CAN, as claimed by Pastor Musa-Dikwa, isn't it obvious that another serious 'editing' has occurred? I doubt if all the angels can exonerate CAN from this peculiar mess

and remarked that at least he was honest enough to deliver 'a whole' 50 percent of what was given to him to deliver, and to also report himself!

It is true that the Bible says we should touch not God's anointed and harm not His prophets. I do not intend to do either.

But I do not think pastors can hide under this canopy to escape criticism when they deserve to be criticised. After all, they are human beings, too. As a matter of fact, that is the point I always stress whenever some people want us to see the men of God as some super humans. The point is, the way and manner some of them have exalted prosperity over and above salvation makes them susceptible to corrupt tendencies and practices. It is not beyond people who do this to take the kind of bribe that Governor Amaechi and Pastor Musa-Dikwa have alleged because such people are not likely to see any money as 'haram'. To them, such money, even if it comes from Satan, is manna from heaven and whatever is impure or unholy about it disappears the moment it is sanctified! Perhaps the cleansing process is complete as soon as they take tithe out of it and pay it to the tithe account.

The truth of the matter is that there is hardly any difference between the secular and the spiritual in many churches today. Indeed, most of these churches are spiritually "poorly lit", as a friend of mine said in a book that I reviewed for him about a decade ago. Virtually everything has been 'funkified' in many churches today, from gospel music to the mode of praying and even mode of dressing. A message posted on Facebook by one of my readers says it all: "Those who subverted the wish, aspirations, and desires of millions of people by rigging elections later went to the church for thanksgiving, stood in front of the congregation, raised their hands and shouted "Halleluyah".

HA!!! The Church in Nigeria has become too cold; the fire has gone out! Thieves, rogues, fraudsters, election riggers, treasury looters, murderers, and all manner of criminals are comfortable in the church. In fact, they are given special reception, recognition, and special seats, what a pity...what a shame."

It is because the pulpits and altars are too cold that many of these politicians go there for thanksgiving. I doubt if they would ever go before the gods of Iron and Thunder (Ogun and Sango, respectively) and feel comfortable the way they do in the churches. Yet many of our pastors cannot see that something is wrong. As a matter of fact, when I see such politicians sitting comfortably in the church or dancing towards the altar, I feel sorry for the church because the men of God in some of the cases know the truth but the truth has always failed to set them free because of the fat envelopes that such politicians drop at the end of the service.

Now, if such a huge amount was said to have been given to the Christian leaders and only about N3million was given to each state CAN chapter, as claimed

by Pastor Musa-Dikwa, isn't it obvious that another serious 'editing' has occurred? I doubt if all the angels can exonerate CAN from this peculiar mess. But that is what happens when neither the taker nor the giver is anxious about receipt for ‘transactions’! There is God o!

CHIBOK GIRLS. STILL IN LIMBO. SINCE APRIL 15, 2014.

Let Jega be

I

F the general election earlier fixed for February 14 had held as scheduled, many eligible Nigerians would have been denied the opportunity of voting for their preferred candidates.

Despite the claim by the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, that his Commission was ready to conduct the election, it was apparent that the logistics for the nationwide exercise had not been perfected.

The Permanent Voters Card (PVC) to replace the Temporary Voters Card (TVC) were not available in many centres. Despite public holidays declared by states governments to enable citizens collect their voting cards, INEC admitted that 48,098,000 out of 68.83m, representing 65 percent, had been collected as at the eve of the rescheduled election.

As if to confirm the lapse in the production and distribution of the cards, many people, including some prominent persons, searched endlessly for their cards and had to re register when INEC owned up in some instances that the data earlier collected were lost.

The training of ad-hoc staff had not been completed, while the use of the card reader was still a bit confusing.

In a way, the postponement of the election based on lack of guarantee of security by the military was an opportunity for the INEC to perfect its arrangements for the election.

Notwithstanding INEC's shortcomings, there is no justification for the recent call on Jega to resign by the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly, led by Chief Edwin Clark and some other groups who are mainly supporters of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The accusation against Jega that he has connived with northern leaders to rig Jonathan out of office is a wild claim which the group cannot substantiate.

It is unfortunate that the Clark's group which include senior citizens of the country who should be regarded as elder statesmen are leading a campaign of calumny against the chief electoral officer who has a track record of conducting free and fair elections that have been hailed across political divide in the past.

While INEC's preparations can be faulted this time around, his resignation at this crucial stage of the general election will rather complicate issues than solve the problem of having a smooth election in accordance with the constitutional provisions.

Even if Jega offers to resign at this stage of election preparations, he would be guilty of sabotaging the electoral process. It is too late in the day for him to back out of the crucial exercise or be asked to leave over partisan allegations by those opposed to his conducting the election for ulterior motives.

From all indications, the Jega-must-go proponents are acting a script to discredit the INEC boss to have reasons to fault the outcome of the election if their party loses at any level.

Jega and his team have done fairly well in past elections that they should be given the benefit of the doubt to perfect whatever needs to be done ahead of the rescheduled March 28 election.

Though President Jonathan has denied any plan to remove Jega, speculations have been on about the federal government's plot to sack the INEC Chairman.

The president will do well not to succumb to any pressure to move against Jega by his party members.

Any attempt to send Jega on compulsory pre-retirement leave that will prevent him from conducting this election, will be counterproductive for the electoral future of the country.

14

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

COMMENT

2015 elections and Southwest's silent majority Yoruba masses are not worrying about ministerial appointments but about jobs and infrastructure that can make their life meaningful

M

OST Nigerians will find it hard to believe that the Yoruba have a silent majority or minority, given the folk belief in the country that the Yoruba are the noisiest political animals on Earth. But having observed the political behaviour of the Yoruba as an adult for over half a century, I make bold to say that most Yoruba are silent voters while many of their political leaders are noisy campaigners. The presidential campaign events in the Yoruba region by aides and supporters of President Jonathan are reminiscent of the campaign culture of 1965 in Western Nigeria, especially in the frantic character and tone of campaigns by individuals and groups that choose, in the character of asunrara (professional mourners) to cry more than the bereaved.

Although the level of desperation today in pushing the case of preferred candidates by supporters is as palpable as what obtained during the electoral contest between Alhaji Dauda Adegbenro and Chief Ladoke Akintola, campaign on behalf of PDP and its presidential candidate in the Yoruba region in 2015 evinces significant traits of cultural decline that makes the bizarre electoral campaign of 1965: "Whether you vote for us or not, we have already won the forthcoming election" a child's play. One thing that was in vogue in the 1965 NNDP campaign and that is more pronounced in 2015 is targeting campaign messages at the elite and with little consideration for the masses, which was the sole focus of Action Group campaign in 1965. For example, President Jonathan and his aides in the Yoruba region have given more attention to elite groups such as the Yoruba Council of Elders, Old Afenifere, and assemblage of Yoruba Obas.

On the part of Yoruba Council of Elders, the decision to support Jonathan's candidacy is hinged on his readiness to sign a memorandum of understanding with the council on how he would include Yoruba people in his distribution of the largesse of office in his second term. No date and time have been set for the signing. As it was in the days of Obasanjo, so is it now with YCE. The Council of Yoruba Elders is more interested in extracting concessions from

Jonathan in terms of how many ministers or board chairpersons he would allocate to the Yoruba region if he gets elected. Nobody in the council seems to be interested in asking why an Ijaw man from a region of the country that used to be a part of old Western region would marginalise Yoruba people in the last five years, despite the contributions made by Yoruba activists to his emergence as president after the death of UmaruYar'Adua and votes from Yoruba states for his bid for the presidency in 2011. It is not clear if YCE is aware of the worries of silent Yoruba voters who have been trooping out to welcome Buhari from Akure to Lagos. Yoruba masses are not worrying about ministerial appointments but about jobs and infrastructure that can make their life meaningful.

Still on elite politics, whatever is left of Afenifere has chosen to hoodwink Yoruba voters by trying 'to call a dog a monkey.'

Harping on the Jonathan national conference of appointees, Afenifere has chosen to focus on its belief that it is only President Jonathan that can implement the recommendations of his conference. Assuming that there are significant recommendations from the conference, it is wrong to claim that it is President Jonathan or any other person as president that can implement such recommendations. Restoring federal provisions to the constitution is not an executive matter. It is the legislature at the federal and states that can do this. It is thus dishonest to keep harping on the issue of allowing President Jonathan to come for a second term for the purpose of implementing refederalisation of the country.

Ironically, it was only during Jonathan's visit to Yoruba region that he himself spoke of the national conference. He did not mention anything like this during his visit to the North nor before his own people in the South-south.

Given the President's selective mention of the national conference and Afenifere's obsession with the recommendations of the conference, silent Yoruba voters are now put in a position to accept the charge at the beginning of the 2014 conference that the national dialogue was convened principally to divert attention from

Jonathan's accomplishment or lack of it during his first term and to focus on a mirage or a ploy to cultivate Yoruba voters.

It is true that as a leading member of EgbeOmo Yoruba, Action Group, and Unity Party of Nigeria, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his political associates struggled for enhancement and sustenance of federalism in the country. It is also true that Yoruba people since the 1980s have called stridently for return to federalism. But Awolowo and others have not asked for a federal system that denies federating units the power to raise revenue with which to fund their development. Chief Awolowo called for a federal constitution that would allow each federating unit to have an education system that is linked to its culture. The 2014 conference did not consider this aspect of federalism as well, despite several papers sent to Yoruba presidential appointees to the conference. The conference was pleased with the status quo of federal government interfering in education at all levels. Chief Awolowo and other Yoruba federalists did not at any time call for continuation of a judicial system that had grown out of decades of military dictatorship and distortion of the judicial culture of the country, but the 2014 national conference, now being referenced as indispensable to federalism by Afenifere elders, did not see anything wrong with a judicial system in which the federal government is the be-all-and-end-all of judicature in the country, in contradistinction to what obtained in the years before the first coup d'etat in 1966.

Is it not curious that the PDP as a party did not openly support the Jonathan conference in 2014? Even now, the PDP as a party has not joined the Afenifere group in using the national conference as a talking point in the campaign for a second term for the incumbent. Given the fixation of Afenifere on recommendations of the national conference, it is not out of place to ask if there are other things about the national conference report known only to Afenifere elders and that are unknown to President Jonathan and the party for which he is the flag bearer.

The immediate task before Yoruba voters is not implementation of recommendations for a new federal system that invokes the principle

of federal legislative supremacy for every item on the Concurrent list. The failure of the conference to touch the principles of fiscal, cultural, and judicial federalism, all hallmarks of shared governance and sovereignty that set federal systems apart from other governance models is obvious to Yoruba voters most of whom may not have the means to call press conferences.

This is the time to push each candidate to tell voters how he would provide leadership for the project of re-structuring the polity in a way that citizens can own the process, rather than just 400 appointees of the president. Yoruba voters also know that not all the 400 appointees share the optimism of Afenifere elders about the outcome of the conference, and this includes people from President Jonathan's region of Nigeria. As it is, it appears that it is only Afenifere and its cheer leaders that are pleased with the conference. But Yoruba federalists have reasons to suspect any conference recommendation that responds, in the words of Afenifere to just Yoruba demands. This may be why President Jonathan himself shies away from raising the issue of the conference in his campaign outside Yoruba land.

Afenifere elders, like any other Nigerian citizen, have a right to associate with any candidate and party of their choice. What they do not have is the moral right to hoodwink silent Yoruba voters by claiming to think and act on their behalf on the issue of bringing federalism back to the country, an exercise once described by Sir Olaniwun Ajayi (a conference participant and a federalist in thinking and scholarship) as game playing. Afenifere elders must remember the character of the political dynamic during the campaign of 1965.

Yorubaland was split between elite politicians as forces for the status quo and mass political movements represented by the silent voters who often sang Bo o r'owo mi o orinu mi (what you see is not what you get). Silent Yoruba voters today know the difference between functional and cosmetic federalism, just as their counterparts in 1965 knew the difference between power politics and welfare politics.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

COMMENT

15

Presidential obscenity Ebele Integrated Farms Limited's over 90 hectares of land is corruption writ large

T

HE sullying content of an advertorial published in the media by Purpose Driven Initiative (PDI), a non-governmental organisation accusing President Goodluck Jonathan of vilely acquiring 94.04 hectares of land in Aviation Village, Abuja, through Ebele Integrated Farms Limited that he purportedly owns majority shares in, is deplorable.

The advertorial titled: "Let us talk about corruption.

This is how the Nigerian government conducts business and fights corruption,' declared: "A sitting President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, incorporated a company, Ebele Integrated Farms Limited in which he is a major shareholder on December 30, 2011…Ebele Integrated Farms Limited applied for and was granted 94.04 hectare plot of land, Plot 1689 in Cadastral Zone EOS Aviation Village, Abuja on January 13, 2014.''

What the law says: The 1999 Constitution (as amended) under the Fifth Schedule Part 1(Code of Conduct for Public Officers), Section 1 provides: 'a public officer shall not put himself in a position where his personal interest conflicts with his duties and responsibilities.' Despite the fact that the same Fifth Schedule, section 2 provides that "without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing paragraph, nothing in this sub-paragraph shall prevent a public officer from engaging in farming,'' it is clear to the discerning that the sub-section does not condone public officers' acts of putting themselves in a situation where their position conflicts or gives them undue advantage over others. This is what happened in the president's land grabbing expose. It defiles and defies the law. It disrespects the high innocence and majesty of public his office.

The law forbids the president or any public officer from simultaneously holding any position with the one being currently occupied. And quite contemptuous of the law is the fact that Mr. President registered a company with his native name as a sitting president, hiding

I

N saner political climes, the electorate would be out there looking for the brightest and the best of candidates; those with the requisite experience, character, clout and courage as well as the vision to right the wrongs of the past.

But here, sad to say, some of us take obscene pleasures at running our heroes down. Must we stand logic on its head all on the altar of political expediency? Should we castrate our conscience on the lure of the lusty lucre?

These were the pertinent questions that came to mind, soon after reading through the tissue of lies and the unsubstantiated allegations of forcible retirement from the Lagos State civil service on the part of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, by one Tunde Adeoye. It was published in The Guardian of Thursday, February 26, 2015.

But nothing could be further from the truth. It must be stated, however, that in this seedy season of campaigns of calumny, loaded lies are freely hawked in the political market place, to score undeserving points, it has become impera-

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

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

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

fore subsequently going ahead to secure for self through his company, a 40.4 hectares, plot 1683 in Cadastral Zone E05 of same Aviation Village in Abuja on April 11, 2014.

We wonder about the number of several unknown top government functionaries of the ruling party that have been emulating the president's illicit and unfathomable primitive acquisition of public land in the FCT. At the rate at which the land is being grabbed by those in power, we wonder what is left of the remaining land originally designated for aviation purposes at the Aviation Village in the Abuja Master Plan.

This singular act puts a serious question mark on the moral and ethical right of President Jonathan to continue to rule the country. In better-managed climes, his indiscretion on the Abuja land grab is sufficient to make him resign from his position, not to talk of him still hopeful of contesting the March 28, 2015 presidential election.

We state without equivocation that the grabbing appetite of the president is obscene and shameful, and condemn his involvement in such public immorality.

The president and the governors across the states, according to the law, are trustees of the land kept in their custody since all land belongs to the people. So, it is abominable for the president to acquire land meant for public purposes for personal end under the guise of embarking on farming. Public officers can acquire land for farming but we doubt whether it should be by grabbing the ones hitherto allocated for a justifiable public cause even before the president got into office. Mr. President and others involved in this ignominious land grabbing should forthwith return them to the original owner.

This is much more so that what was reported was not all about farming but more of other commercial activities.

This is the least expected of the president since no one would want to initiate impeachment proceedings against him over the matter.

LETTER

W

HETHER Governor Ayo Fayose travelled to London to see if the peoples General and presidential hopeful of the rescheduled election, General Muhmmadu Buhari, is hospitalised or not, there is absolutely nothing that can stop the ship of the General from berthing at its destination in the coming election. In fact, it is a mere waste of the scarce resources of Ekiti State by the governor, who came to power through the machination of high level rigging that involved the use of the army as

under farming and thereby deploying his clout in a corrupt manner to secure such strategic land for himself and the company. Questions: Who pays for the land and at whose expense? How many of the executive heads of agencies and states, especially those ones under the control of the ruling party, can ignore requests for land from the president's company with his name prominently stated as its leading director on its letter-head? Is this not arbitrary and cynical? Is this not a clash of interest in the discharge of public duties that section 1 of the Fifth Schedule frowns at? How can Mr. President's anti-corruption crusade be taken seriously by anybody, not even his aides that are privy to his proclivity for grabbing not only just land but also anything in sight?

No wonder he set a bad precedent, which his supporters claimed was inherited from former President Olusegun Obasanjo who, as they asserted, secured 100.12 hectares of land, Plot No.1 Cadastral Zone E09 Kuje, Abuja on June 27, 2005, to self for same farming purposes through Obasanjo Farms Nigeria. Also, Bala Mohammed, Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), appointed by the incumbent president and who also approved the land for his benefactor, took to this reprehensible ruling party's pattern when he also incorporated Bird Trust Agro-Allied Limited on May 31, 2012; and reportedly put himself as its major shareholder be-

Fayose's trail of Buhari: An exercise in futility attested by an intelligence officer, Captain Sagir Koli.

The giver of power has already destined that General Buhari would no doubt be the next president of this great country. The incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan has allowed so many things to go wrong and, recently, in an in-

terview he confessed that one of the things that brought down his government was the issue of Boko Haram.

Honestly, the issue of Boko Haram has completely altered the acceptability of the ruling party and its candidate for the presidential election, especially in the northern axis

of the country. Of course, there is nothing the likes of Governor Fayose can do to instigate the mindset of the people to change on how they intend to vote even in his own state not to talk of the other states of the federation.

The way Fayose is going about the aspiration of Gen.

Buhari is unbecoming of a leader that is leading a state and has to behave as a true leader that fully knows his onions and knows that leadership comes from God. If God wants Gen Buhari to become the president this time around, no amount of mudslinging by thousands of

Re: Ambode's unfinished retirement matter tive to put the records straight.

For the avoidance of doubt, Ambode, who incidentally is the governorship candidate running on the platform of the wave-making All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, distinguished himself in all the sectors he served before voluntarily retiring after 27 years of meritorious service in 2012. He is a former Accountant General of Lagos State serving in that capacity between 2006 and 2012.

Before then, he served in several other capacities including Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Auditor General for Local Government and across all cadres of Lagos State civil service before his voluntary retirement in 2012.

Perhaps, to many Nigerians who hardly declare their real age on entering service, Ambode did the unthinkable.

He must also, indeed, be the exception to the 'rule' of not a few career civil servants who would tenaciously cling to juicy appointments like tick

on the cow hide. Simply put, he retired to take on more challenging roles; as a Public Finance Management Expert and the Chief Executive Officer of Brandsmiths Consulting Limited - a public finance and management-consulting firm with deep knowledge of the Nigerian public sector.

For the benefit of the doubting Thomases, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola was reluctant to let Ambode leave when he first indicated his interest to take a bow from the service in 2008 based on his wealth of experience. And the critical role he was performing all the while as the Accountant General of the Centre of Excellence. For upward of three months that the letter of notice of retirement was on his table, he was unwilling to sign it. Had Ambode committed any infraction, Fashola, the thoroughbred professional lawyer he is, would have investigated such and even appointed Ambode's successor. But he

never did until some three days after his exit.

In fact, the governor was so moved by Ambode's stewardship that he had this to say about Ambode on his retirement: "I write on behalf of the people of Lagos to commend your high sense of dedication, selflessness and integrity which you brought to bear on the civil service. I wish to specifically remark that working closely with you has been of tremendous mutual benefit, particularly in the present administration."

Furthermore, he stated: "You have displayed high sense of professionalism and have been a good team player guided by the philosophy of a true public officer, who must place himself last while rendering service to the public. We are convinced that your brilliance and zeal will make you excel in your future endeavours." That says it all, doesn't it?

What more does Ambode need to convince the good people of Lagos that he pos-

sesses the sterling leadership qualities to build on the great works both Asiwaju Tinubu and Fashola have laid and strengthened? Little wonder that during the historic book launch, Ambode: The Selfless Servant back in May 2014, he (Ambode) described such glowing tribute by Fashola as his 'gold medal'.

It would therefore, do the publishers of National Pulse and Adeoye a world of good if they could do more of investigative rather than speculative and yellow journalism - if only to substantiate their claims. Governor Fashola would gladly respond to their questions if they want a word with him on the matter. And were such claims true, the opposition party in the state would have published breaches on the part of Ambode (if any) for their selfish political gains and for the world to see.

For us therefore, we are confident that the APC has done the right thing. That is,

Fayoses could stop it.

It is also the same, that if it is the wish of God, that President Jonathan should make a second term, no Jupiter can stop it. The likes of Governor Fayose are making more enemies for the ruling party and its candidate.

Therefore, it is important for Governor Fayose to tread softly on the candidate as he would be doing a great disservice to the people of Ekiti if the General is elected as the president.

•Usman Santuraki, Jambutu, Jimeta-Yola by carefully identifying Ambode as the most qualified candidate in terms of wealth of experience and professional pedigree to take over the baton of governorship from Gov. Babatunde Raji Fashola.

Interestingly, Ambode still holds the record as the youngest Auditor General of Local Governments, the youngest Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, as well as the youngest Accountant General in Lagos state before his resignation in 2012.

On our part, we hold tenaciously to the belief in Ambode's candidature because of the sterling values of hardwork, honesty of purpose, integrity and his peoplefriendly dispositions which have rubbed off positively on all those who have had the rare and great opportunity to work with him.

His traducers have come up with various vacuous allegations against his person, none of which they have been able to prove. The millionnaira question therefore, is: Who is Afraid of Ambode?

• Ola Johnson, Lagos

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16

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

COMMENT

Whose reputation will this PDP not shred?

If Odikanlu knows this much, and still proceeded to advise as he did, it should be quite reasonable to conclude that he deliberately wants the forthcoming elections rigged in favour of both the PDP and President Jonathan who gave him his present job

T

HE minute 'Goebbels' started the campaign for troops deployment I knew that desperation had set in. PDP, at the best of times, is like an asylum of desperadoes even when not facing a make or mar election capable of finally terminating its corruptive tendencies. Recently, two court judges, one at the High Court and the other of the Appellate, both well aware of the prevailing security situation in the country, have done justice to their oath of office and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by declaring that '"even the President of Nigeria has no powers to call on the Nigerian armed forces and to unleash them on peaceful citizens, who are exercising their franchise to elect their leaders, further stressing that "whoever unleashed soldiers on Ekiti State disturbed the peace of the election on June 21, 2014; acted in flagrant breach of the Constitution and flouted the provisions of the Electoral Act, which required an enabling environment by civil authorities in the conduct of elections." A more courageous Appeal Court should, however, have made the logical consequential order of invalidating the election. But no matter, the judges upheld the dignity of the courts.

And I salute them.

Therefore, for anybody, however seemingly well placed, to advise the president to continue in that flagrant illegality is to demonstrate the greatest level of irresponsibility which is why the Nigerian Bar Association must move rapidly to discipline Chidi Odikanlu, Chairman, National Human Rights Commission, and a professor of Law to boot. Or how ludicrous can a professor of Law get advising, not that

a decision of court be appealed but that the transgressor should continue in that damnable illegality? I verily believe he had been compromised or hugely compromised himself to vomit that baloney unashamedly on national television. And some questions naturally arise: Is it possible that Professor Odikanlu has not heard of Ekitigate? Does he, like President Jonathan, consider a tape secretly recorded by a Military Intelligence Officer, a captain - present at the scene who felt thoroughly humiliated seeing the manner in which bloody civilians were humiliating his Commanding Officer - a Brigadier-General- a fabrication too? Could it be that those who recruited distinguished international diplomats to underwrite a suspected Memorandum of Understanding have also got him? Can Odikanlu tell the world what proportion of Nigeria is in a civil war?

Where exactly does intellectualism stop and banal ethnic preferences take over?

And just in case he honestly has not heard about Ekitigate, it is that deployment of soldiers, allegedly on presidential orders, in cahoots with a notorious Igbo election rigger, who came to Ekiti with a huge stash of money withdrawn from the Umuahia branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria, thereby indicating government as the financiers of the electoral heist, as well as photocromic ballot papers. It did not end there, as also present was a group of Yoruba politicians; some currently serving on President Jonathan's cabinet, and a Brigadier General all for the sole aim of rigging the Ekiti State governorship election for the president's party.

If Odikanlu knows this much, and

still proceeded to advise as he did, it should be quite reasonable to conclude that he deliberately wants the forthcoming elections rigged in favour of both the PDP and President Jonathan who gave him his present job. I am still at a loss as to why he had to tell Nigerians on national television that he is not a politician, even without being asked.

ON THESE MERRY-GOROUND OVER THE LAST NATIONAL TALKSHOP First it was Akure but this past week, the Jonathan Southwest Campaign train, aka PDP's Afenifere, which it became when the likes of Senator Omisore started attending its meetings, crawled to Ibadan. The way they are going about it, you would think only Yorubas attended the National Conference. In what has become a rare moment of candour, a respected member recently declared the Akure meeting a PDP affair which, of course, Nigerians know too well.

Otherwise, can they tell us who is picking the bills? Or can these people, in the name of Oduduwa, swear by the god of iron that they have not been compromised? Already, the Anambra APC has asked Ohaneze to return its own N6.2B bribe delivered in two tranches of N1.2B and N5B. The Yoruba nation is waiting for their response.

But by the way, isn't the promised oil pipeline security contract getting too late in coming? Is this tardiness not a confirmation of how President Jonathan actually holds us in these parts? And by the way, why are these respected elders being herded all over Yoruba land on an issue that is panNigerian, acting like only they attended the conference? Is the Yoruba nation in any way ennobled by this obsequiousness?

No, I am well aware it took them a whole lot of effort to persuade the number one hater of a National Conference to become its ultimate convener. Of course, only the

uninitiated would not have heard that they allegedly wrote the conference's original memo, got one of its members appointed to jump start it and had the highest number of any group delegation. Didn't they even attempt to also donate the chairman?

At their urging, weren't honest Yoruba leaders like Chief Deji Fasuan and Senator Biyi Durojaiye substituted with pliable characters? All these, and more, we know and you would almost think they are a re-incarnate of the immortal Alao Aka Bashorun whose seminal idea a national conference in Nigeria is. But no matter, a people in need of political shelter will sure lap on to something! But, again, why has implementing the recommendations of a Pan-Nigerian conference suddenly become their business alone? The answer is simple: it is the only seemingly passable justification for their in-explainable support for an irredeemably corrupt government Awo would never have touched with the longest pole.

But how come their traditional collaborators are not in on this?

Are they telling Nigerians that six months is too short for President Jonathan to do anything on the recommendations beyond setting up the Adoke committee to review it but which, in truth, was a deliberate delay tactics? What Nigerians now know is that once the conference failed to produce the expected two extra years for the president, the convener most probably lost all interest. It is the failure of that promise that made the president distrustful of their promise on Yoruba votes. This also led to last week's campaign shuttle during which the president re-commissioned a project Obasanjo had commissioned way back 2007 at which Gbenga Daniel was present and smiling broadly. The president, whatever PDP Afenifere may be telling him, knows that he has done nothing to deserve Yoruba votes.

He knew he treated the Southwest with

utter disdain while simultaneously enabling another geo-political zone to take complete control of Nigeria's regulatory agencies thereby further pauperising the Yoruba and turning erstwhile controllers of the commanding heights of the economy into hapless, marginal players whose banks were indiscriminately confiscated and their PPP projects illegally and summarily terminated.

Shouldn't President Jonathan have remembered that besides our massive votes for him in 2011, it was the Soyinka's, the Falana's and co, who rescued him from the mafia then out to eclipse his political life? Yorubafriendly, indeed!

Let me conclude this piece with the wise and timely words of an OduaPathfinder Editorial: 'When PDP's Afenifere says it wants the Yoruba to support Jonathan because he will implement the conference recommendations, it is obvious, from the recommendations of the Conference, that Goodluck Jonathan is not in pursuit of "True Federalism" but the strengthening of his presidency contrary to established concepts of Federalism. Hence he must be rejected at the polls. This is the historical imperative for the Yoruba Nation."

CONFIRMING PRESIDENT JONATHAN'S 'IMPRESSIVE' ANTICORRUPTION WAR The heavy security attached to Femi Fani-Kayode as he continued defence in his money laundering case at the Federal High court, Lagos, this past week, made up of "five fully armed RIOT policemen and more than four plain clothes security policemen" - all protecting a man on trial for allegedly laundering N100M, must reckon as the most brazen demonstration of President Jonathan's selective and effete anti-corruption war.

It is, of course, one more reason CHANGE has become a must, if Nigeria is to survive.

It's the Lord of the flies again, but now with the adults present For money and power, we are showing our young ones that life in all its sacredness must bow its lovely head; sacred blood can flow irreverently

I

N the Lord of the flies, for those of us who have not read that classic by William Golding, a group of British school boys are marooned on an island during a raging war because their plane is shot down. At first they are afraid.

Soon however, they begin to organise themselves as they think the adults would have done under the leadership of the reasonable boys among them.

Very quickly though, all the boys fall under the influence of the not so reasonable ones who lead them all down the path of certain destruction but for the timely arrival of a naval ship to rescue them. The novel symbolises resident evil in man's heart.

That evil seems to have gone abroad in our midst here where stupid games are playing out with people's lives as stakes. Sometime during the last couple of weeks, someone reported something that happened in his quiet neighbourhood in one of Nigeria's quiet cities. It certainly was very far from your boko haram territory. In the early afternoon of that day, a young man ran into the neighbourhood, apparently running away from someone or ones running after him. Soon, those ones caught up with him right about where our reporter was and, there on the street before everyone's eyes, descended on him with machete blows, cutting and cutting until he was dead. To make sure he really died, one of the young men was said to have stood over him, superintending the taking of the last

breath.

Reader, I would like to report that someone made an attempt to stop them in the act but I cannot because nobody did. Everybody was afraid of the devil that was afoot during the noon day that made some able-bodied young men not to be afraid of spilling another young man's blood. Rather, the neighbourhood did the most natural thing: people ran inside their houses or shops and motorists sped by.

Reader, we the people of Nigeria have become very casual about lopping off our neighbours now. No one's life appears to have any sacred value anymore; so no one's blood is too precious to shed. For me, the height of the insult to our collective sense of humanity was the audacity, intrepidity, boldness and insouciance of the one who stood over the slain man to make sure he was really dead. That insult just stings for two reasons.

The young men represent the crop of young ones we are breeding and teaching now to have no respect whatsoever for living humanoids. The sense of value we are upholding now respects only two things: money and power. For these things, we are showing our young ones that life in all its sacredness must bow its lovely head; sacred blood can flow irreverently. We the adult ones are showing these young ones that a life that is not holding either money or power is not worthy to draw any air. That is the cave man for you all

over again, whose cudgel was his bargaining chip.

Worse, the young men did what they did because they had no fear of the nation's police or law. Clearly, between the law and order, they have found their niche: disorder. As a matter of fact, it is becoming increasingly clear that you can walk the entire Nigerianery without fearing the law. For one, there are so many unsolved murders, so many headless corpses, bodiless heads, ritual killings, etc. No explanation has come to us little ones to clear the muddled air on many of them. This was why the young men had all the intrepidity to wait and ensure that their comrade dutifully drew the last breath in their presence. As always, the police came to remove the body with a great deal of silence.

Sometime in the week, the story broke somewhere in Lagos that a couple's quarrel over valentine allegedly ended violently with the man falling down from a one-story building to his death. Then the story ended with the fact that the wife, a party in the quarrel, had travelled to her hometown.

Wonderful, I thought; where was the police to give this woman the third degree inquisition on the matter? Even if she would be declared innocent at the end of the investigation, we should at least see that efforts had been made to account reasonably for the man's death.

Seriously, there are just too many cases of death going unaccounted for.

Take the riot that broke also during the week in a Lagos park between rival gangs. Throughout the recounting of

that story, there was no indication that anyone was investigating anything. Yet, weapons were used, people were involved, the scene of action falls under the jurisdiction of Nigeria, and four people died.

It seems now that everywhere you turn, people are playing games with other people's lives. None of the incidences recounted so far warrants the loss of a single soul. Take the first story.

It turned out that the participants were all cult members who decided to visit every infringement with machete. I don't know, but I think that whatever might have caused the disagreement could have been taken care of by the limping laws of the land.

I used to think that life should be casual (because you have little control over much of it) and death should be scarce (because only the Almighty has control over it). Now, many Nigerians are playing god over the lives of others for unearthly reasons forgetting, quite forgetting that NOBODY, BUT NOBODY, GETS AWAY WITH MURDER. Even for partaking in the decision to commit the blasted thing, nature will recompense through that which we love most when we least expect it, if the police will not.

I am positive I have told this story before but I will repeat it anyway for those of us who missed it the first time.

A radio station aired the story somewhere in Lagos some years ago.

A retired police officer had gathered his relatives together to celebrate his child's graduation from a Nigerian university.

The plan was that the young fellow

would come with his friends to join the family who left earlier for the graduation grounds. After waiting in vain for the young one to join them, the restless relatives demanded that the father find out what was delaying the celebrator from coming to enjoy his day of glory.

After calling all around, the father eventually found out that his son had been felled by a police bullet at a checkpoint. Stunned, the crowd broke into different crescendos of wailing but the father held up his hand and asked that no one should wail on his behalf for he believed that what happened had come from the throne of justice. Some twenty something years before when he was a young policeman, he said, it was his bullet which felled a student during a students' riot. Only the family of that student grieved the act at that time. The act, he said, had come home full cycle as his own son was felled by the bullet of another policeman.

Space and time will not permit us to tell the stories of other young men felled by bullets from their fellow cult members' guns on their wedding days, or graduation days or one day of glory or another. There is certain truth in the saying that he who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind, but the point is that the absence of deterrents in the land is not helping these young men curb their exuberance, enthusiasm and wild, tempestuous natures in their Island games. Let us all begin to do our work to help these young ones grow up properly.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

COMMENT

17

(105) In the streets, the clarity of long PVC lines; in the Senate, a mix of technocratic and voodoo logic

I

admit it. When I first read news reports that in his appearance before the Nigerian Senate on February 18, 2015, the INEC Chairman, Professor Jega, stoutly refused to give any assurance whatsoever that the elections would hold on the postponed dates of March 28 and April 11, I was greatly disturbed. I was as much disturbed by Jega's refusal as by the reason that he gave for it, to wit that there were some things that were simply out of his control that made it impossible for him to give the nation his assurance that the elections would hold on the postponed dates. As a matter of fact, it turned out that I was not the only one greatly perturbed by this news. Within a day or two of this news report, I received dozens of emails expressing the same worry that I had. Indeed, some of these emails went as far as to assert bitterly that Jega, my old "comrade", had sold out, had succumbed to the forces willing to scuttle Elections 2015 and plunge the country into uncertain but perilous months and years ahead. It was on the basis of what these emails said that I decided to check for myself what actually transpired during the INEC Chairman's appearance before the Senate. For this, I had to listen to several audio and video recordings of the event. In one case - the longest of these internet clips - the audiovisual recording of the event lasts for more than three and half hours. I listened patiently to all of it. This piece is a digest of what I was able to garner from the recordings of Jega's appearance before the Senate. My worry, my concern remains, but not in the same form before I very carefully went over many short and long recordings of the event.

In the interest of briskness, let me go directly to what my concerns, my worries are now. In the course of a hearing, a briefing that lasted more than three hours, the INEC Chairman gave an account of preparations for the elections that was truly amazing in its comprehensiveness, attention to details and frankness only to then say that regardless of these preparations, the one and only collective entity that could determine whether or not the elections would hold on the postponed dates are the Service Chiefs. Well, he did not actually put it this bluntly. What he literally said is that there are things beyond his control and when he was pressed on this he said "security". In other words, what the INEC Chairman was in essence saying was this: concerning everything else minus

•People queue to collect PVC

"security" we are in full control and in spite of a few remaining difficulties and challenges, everything is going well and we are on course to conduct free, fair and credible elections on March 28 and April 11; if we can't or don't conduct elections on these postponed dates, not us but "security" will be the cause.

I don't think I have ever encountered anything more tainted by voodoo logic and politics than this! In plain language, what this means is that concerning the current election cycle of 2015, "security" is the ultimate deity and the Service Chiefs are his high priests.

Indeed, Jega at one point during this extraordinary briefing of the Senators more or less suggested that we should all get on our knees and pray that "security" take pity on us when he said about himself and INEC - "we are hoping and praying that the Service Chiefs will accomplish their aim in the six weeks that they asked for".

At this point, it may perhaps be useful for me to direct the reader to Jega's briefing of the Senators on the technological aspects of INEC's preparations for the coming elections. In a commanding, masterful presentation on the technological processes involved in the use of Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) and card readers, the INEC Chairman more or less demolished the opposition of the doubters and disbelievers among the Senators, incidentally most of them from the ruling party, the PDP. He demonstrated how the new technological tools and processes that would be deployed in the current electoral cycle would anticipate and frustrate those who will try to rig the elections, people like

fraudsters who are already either stealing or purchasing PVC's.

Moreover, the INEC Chairman gave ample demonstration of his and INEC's preparedness for both human errors and frailties.

About the only item in which Jega at this briefing seems to have been less than convincing and impressive was his testimony on the collection of PVC's. More on this later in this piece. In all other respects, the INEC Chairman gave a good, perhaps even excellent account of himself.

Except of course on his occultation, his mystification of "security" and the Service Chiefs as the ultimate guarantors of whether or not elections will be held on the postponed dates, March 28 and April 11. For the last time in this piece, let me speak briefly in expatiation of this particular issue.

Neither "security" nor the "Service Chiefs" is an abstraction, an objectified and impersonal avatar like God, like symbolic representations of natural phenomena or like inevitable fate or destiny. Moreover, the will, the volition of the Service Chiefs is not unknowable and inscrutable like that of God and other divinities. They are not only human beings like you and me, they are in fact human agents who have shown how deeply they are tainted by an abject, unprofessional and self-serving deference to the powers that be, in effect to the ruling party.

Revelations of their partiality, their spinelessness have left them unmoved and unrepentant. For these reasons, it is nothing short of the height of voodoo logic, of mumbo jumbo thinking to ask us to hope and pray that these same Service Chiefs will have accomplished their security objectives within the six weeks

they demanded. Moreover, there is absolutely no legal and constitutional basis for giving these Service Chiefs the last word on whether or not the elections should take place on either the postponed dates or any other dates for that matter. Several times in his briefing of the Senators, Jega asserted that on every disputed item of his preparations for the elections, he had consulted legal and constitutional authorities. But significantly, not once did he say that he had consulted anyone on the legal and constitutional legitimacy of making the Service Chiefs the ultimate arbiter on if and when the elections will take place.

Concerning the distribution of PVC's, some Senators disputed Jega's interesting and confident assertion that the problem was not with "production: but with "collection". By this, the INEC Chairman meant that although there is a shortfall in the production of PVC's, there is a much greater problem with "collection". To prove this, he asserted that to date, more than 66 million out of a total of 68 million PVC's had been produced and that people are simply not collecting them. Moreover, Jega asserted that in both the Ekiti and Osun gubernatorial elections, less than one third of PVC's produced were collected. Finally, the Chairman asserted that the 75.9% collected out of the 66 million PVC's so far produced is an impressive figure, one on which valid elections can be held.

So far, so good, it would seem.

Except that some senators countered that distribution of PVC's by INEC officials had in many cases been shoddy and incompetent and that in many places throughout the country

people show up without being given PVC's only for them to return again and again and leave each time empty-handed. On this count, it seems that those long PVC lines that have become ubiquitous this election cycle is an apt metaphor both for the determination of many of our peoples to vote and for their votes to make a difference in their present dire circumstances and gloomy future prospects. I admit that there is a tension between what Jega is saying about the rate of collection of the PVC's and what the Senators are saying about the epic struggles and the determination of many on those long, long PVC lines. However, a tension is not a contradiction in which one term negates the other; rather, it is an invitation to think creatively, to accord such determination respect and legitimacy.

I wish to end these observations and reflections on an admittedly somber note. Like all other election cycles, violence has already begun to rear its head in many parts of the country in the run-up to the postponed elections. Only a few days ago, several dozens of people were slaughtered in Port Harcourt.

This is both highly regrettable and condemnable. Thankfully, none of the reported cases of these election-related acts of violence remotely requires the deployment of the army. Indeed, in all true and functioning democracies of the world, the place of the army during elections is - the barracks!

Even in countries where the regular armed forces are conducting full scale and nationwide counterinsurgency campaigns, the army is never brought in as the ultimate arbiter of when and if elections can and will be held.

Let us be perfectly clear on this point: if INEC yields ground to "security" and the Service Chiefs as the ultimate arbiters on when and if the elections will take place, this will be nothing other than a coup, a coup that may in the first instance be bloodless but in the long run - heavens help us!

- may drown our country in oceans of blood. The epic struggle, the determination expressed in those long PVC lines will not simply fade away, Professor Jega. I say this not as an apostle of doom or a lover of violence but as a student of history and human affairs. In those long PVC queues is a deep, almost bottomless reservoir of controlled violence, this being the bottled up violence caused by suffering, deprivation and injustice.

Biodun Jeyifo bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

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Y article 2015 Presidential Election: Reality or Myth?, has general fast and furious reactions. Quite interestingly, most of the fan mail from the southeast geopolitical zone admonished me to "think and write like an Igbo man"! I'm not unaware that a lot of falsehoods and outrageous things are being peddled about Buhari. But it is this same Buhari who is the only presidential candidate of a major political party in the nation's history that has nominated two eminent Igbo sons as his running mate - Dr. Chuba Okadigbo in 2003 and Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke in 2007.

It is this same Buhari, then a lieutenant colonel, that Pastor Angus Okoli, a war correspondent of the defunct Spear magazine, testified went beyond the call of duty to not only provide for the welfare of young Biafran soldiers captured from the Umuleri/ Aguleri sector during the civil war but also ordered their release back to their base in "Biafra II" (that part of Biafra that was cut off from the main enclave when the Nigerian Army occupied a long stretch of the Enugu/Nkpor Highway. Shouldn't a loathing for Ndigbo be made of sterner stuff?

I was completely taken aback when I read news report of the Harvard University-trained former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, declaring magisterially that there would be no elections as long as Professor Attahiru Jega remains INEC chairman - even after Jonathan and PDP national chairman Adamu Mu'azu recanted and passed a vote of confidence on Jega and vowed that the dates for the rescheduled polls and official handover are sacrosanct! Makes one wonder why members of our first eleven continue to have a man-Friday mentality and tend to weep louder than the bereaved at the drop of a hat.

Ohaneze secretary-general, Dr. Joe Nwaorgu, also recently disclosed that the most important reason why the body has endorsed

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

COMMENT

HE Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), has raised the stakes in the fight against corruption in Nigeria with the establishment of an anticorruption academy. The institution known as the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN) is the training and capacity building arm of the Commission.

The establishment of ACAN is one of the bold steps taken by the ICPC in recent years to step up the fight against corruption in a more structured, determined and concerted onslaught. It is also partly a fulfilment of Nigeria's commitment to the global initiative to rid the world of the menace, as the Academy is a key enabling instrument required for the successful implementation of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) in the country.

With this singular move, Nigeria has taken its pride of place among the nations that have shown seriousness to tackle corruption under the UNCAC initiative. When the Convention came into force in 2005, it was the first legally binding international anti-corruption instrument, clearly defining corruption in its various forms and setting templates to deal with them through constitutional and legal methods.

The Convention required signatory nations to implement a wide range of measures in areas including law enforcement, asset recovery, mobilisation of stakeholders and international cooperation, for the overall success of the national and global anti-corruption cam-

An open letter to Ndigbo

By Tiko Okoye Jonathan "and can do so 100 times again" is because between him and Buhari, Jonathan is the one likely to implement the national confab report. Really? How? It is this kind of pedestrian effusion from Ndigbo political elite that makes one wonder if there's more to the endorsement than meets the eye!

But there seems to be a silver lining in the dark cloud, as not all our highly illustrious sons have allegedly sold their souls to the devil for an oil block or government hand-me-down. In an essay captioned "The Buhari of my personal experience," Ignatius Olisemeka, a former Ambassador to the USA and one-time foreign affairs minister didn't mince words when he declared that "Of all the Nigerian leaders, with the possible exception of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, Buhari has been the one that has most approximated my dream of what a Nigerian leader should be".

In another commentary published in The Nation on Sunday Eze Festus Odimegwu, former chairman of the Nigeria Population Commission, ex-managing director of Nigerian Breweries Limited and a close ally of both former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Jonathan, unapologetically faulted Jonathan for "seeing himself as a politician instead of the President of Nigeria" and one who "sacrificed and was ready to sacrifice anything and everything, anyone and everyone for re-election."

Odimegwu ended his piece by averring that "It is very clear to the discerning that that majority will vote for the APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, to save Nigeria from bad leadership and an under-performing administration." Phew! Truth be told, Buhari may not be a saint. No human being is; even the great

•Buhari

Madiba, Nelson Mandela, rightly said he wasn't one but see the stellar legacies he left behind after spending just four years in office.

Buhari similarly embodies the new hope for hard-pressed Nigerian masses!

Some have opined that voting for Buhari constitutes a movement backwards. If moving backwards means a naira that was at par with the American dollar, a more stable electric power supply, a more equitable society (through the supervised distribution of "essential commodities"), a more disciplined society when traditional values meant something, a safer and more secured nation and a time when corruption was less pervasive, then may we ever continue to move backwards, as a way of ultimately leap-frogging back to the future!

If you look at the west, you'll find three to five groups well represented in the major political parties. The same is true of the north. Such a strategic political diversification ensures that no matter which party wins, there's still something in the pot for the different regions. It's only Southeasterners that have chosen to play

the game with eyes blindfolded and hands tied behind their backs by placing all their bets on a racing horse without a thought for all the unmitigated risks of the horse neither racing nor winning!

Before misgivings concretize and speculations run riot, let me hasten to add that I'm not canvassing for the splitting of our pan-Igbo organization as I believe it's possible to achieve political diversification under one umbrella where honesty and sincerity of purpose subsist.

What amazed me most in the course of my interactions with a random sample of south-easterners was that the broad consensus among them that if elections had been held as scheduled, Jonathan would have been beaten silly by Buhari! If we can see the handwriting on the wall, why then do we inexplicably insist on putting all our eggs in one political basket?

Why are we allowing ourselves to be dragged by forces seemingly beyond our control (?) towards the wrong side of history? Our elders say that a prudent man must take immediate steps to dodge a stone he sees aiming straight for his head!

Four years ago, Ohaneze publicly canvassed an Igbo bloc vote for Jonathan. An Ohaneze advertorial disclosed that among other promises Jonathan has accepted to use the powers of incumbency to facilitate the emergence of a president of Igbo extraction in 2015 (a tacit agreement that he would spend only one term in office) and create a sixth state in the Southeast. We were also assured that the president would approve the dredging of the River Niger and transformation of Onitsha into a thriving deep inland seaport.

Furthermore, Jonathan pledged to build a second Niger Bridge before 2015 and complete the quality rehabilitation of the Onitsha/ Enugu and Enugu/Port Harcourt Expressways.

Raising the bar in the anti-graft war

By Yinka Adesanya paign. The challenge posed by this tall agenda gave rise to the need for an intellectual and practical support platform to guide, direct and coordinate the campaign.

That was what led to the establishment of the International AntiCorruption Academy (IACA) with headquarters in Laxenburg, Austria, by the United Nations. The Academy began operations in September 2010 with a clear mandate to promote advanced academic research on corruption related issues, especially on newer types of corruption as well as provide superior anticorruption training for various categories of law enforcement practitioners.

IACA was also mandated to provide education, capacity building and necessary technical assistance to relevant groups of stakeholders involved in the anti-corruption fight in both the public and private sectors. The institution has been delivering on these core mandates. Nigeria joined IACA in 2011. Her membership was ratified by the Federal Executive Council in 2012 and the country is proudly represented in IACA's faculty.

ICPC's Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN) is therefore a necessity in the fight to rid the country of the menace. And like IACA, it is poised to make a difference. Situated in a serene environment in Keffi, Nasarawa State, the

Academy began operations in November last year, two years behind the target set for its take off by the current Chairman of the ICPC, Mr. Ekpo Nta, due to funding constraints.

However, the Provost of the institution, Professor Sola Akinrinade, who was appointed only last October hit the ground running, as if to make up for the delay in its take-off.

The institution has already done its first training programme for officers in the Intelligence Unit of the ICPC, which was concluded in January 2015. According to the Provost, another training programme is scheduled for March 2015. This one, like some others being planned for the year, will involve external participants.

Prof Akinrinade, before his new appointment, was the immediate past Vice Chancellor of the Osun State University, Osogbo and former Visiting Professor to the Nigeria Universities Commission (NUC).

He describes the Academy as an investment in the future of the country, a centre of excellence in anti-corruption research, learning, teaching, knowledge dissemination, training and capacity building. According to him, this specialised institution is also expected to become the hub of the activities of IACA in the African region, Speaking on the mandate given to ACAN by its parent body the ICPC, the Provost listed five key areas of focus. First, its primary duty

is to train ICPC staff to meet contemporary challenges of anti-corruption fighting, to enhance the operations of the Commission. By doing this, it will build the capacity of staff to effectively deliver the strategic plan of the commission in its areas of operations including investigation, prosecution, asset recovery, public education and enlightenment.

Second, to engage ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the public sector as well as organisations in the private sector, such as corporate entities, professional bodies and others to address issues of corruption within their own areas of operation. This involves running seminars and workshops to address areas where they are prone to corrupt practices. The academy is already working on the training of Anti-Corruption Units (ACTUs) in the MDAs. Third, to run special courses that will lead to the certification of anticorruption professionals. To actualise this, the academy will collaborate with some universities and other relevant academic institutions both in Nigeria and abroad to run post graduate programmes up to Masters degree level for practitioners in the field of anti-corruption to enhance their knowledge and skills.

Already, the Senate of the University of Calabar has approved a Masters degree in anti-Corruption studies in this regard.

Fourth, the Academy will en-

FESTUS Eriye's column returns on March 8, 2015

And our leaders - whose personal interests have probably been well taken care of - are now asking us to turn a blind eye at Jonathan's scorecard in the zone, and as if hypnotized we are marching like sheep to the slaughter! Politics is a game of numbers and my greatest concern is that Ndigbo have myopically chosen to collaborate with those who cannot really help our larger interests while antagonizing those we ought to be fraternalizing with in order to realize our group objectives. We are not playing good politics at all; rather we are exhibiting pitiable naivety and wishful thinking.

There's neither sense nor logic to the opinions we continue to collectively hold. As things stand today, Ndigbo don't occupy the plum offices of the President, VicePresident, Senate President, House Speaker, Chief Justice, Chairman and Secretary of the two major political parties, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Inspector-General of Police, Director of the Department of State Security, Comptroller-General of Customs and Comptroller of Immigration.

Yet, we constitute the third largest ethnic nationality and have consistently given any PDP Presidential candidate the largest bloc vote! If Jonathan wins, the status quo would remain because the posts are already occupied. It is only with an APC victory - and by Ndigbo maintaining a strong presence in the party - that things can drastically change for the better for us. The hen said that why it screamed when the hawk carried away her chick was not so that the predator would release the prey but so that those around would bear true witness to what happened.

So, you call me an APC man if you like, although I don't possess the membership card of any political party, but if that's the price to pay for telling the truth as it is then so be it. Ndigbo, chenu ezigbo echiche! •Okoye writes from Abuja gage in knowledge production and dissemination. It has a research unit which is already developing a research policy on corruption related issues. This will make it easy to access information on such issues. The academy is backed by state of the art e-learning facilities. The research unit is headed by a renowned scholar from the University of Ibadan.

Fifth, the Academy will network and establish linkages with institutions engaged in specialised training of professionals in both the public and private sectors. These include institutions related to the banking and finance industry, media and legal professions; and public service, among others. Recently, the Provost visited the National Electoral Institute where he sought collaboration to address electoral corruption ahead the 2015 elections.

The Academy has a tall ambition to reach and educate not only the critical stakeholders in anti-corruption fight but also the general populace. This desire is underscored by the global shift of emphasis to preventive mechanisms for fighting corruption through proactive sensitization and education of all stakeholders on ethics and integrity issues as well as compliance with established rules.

In this task, the Academy has the full support of the ICPC Chairman who is eager to have it be a world class institution that will address all the country's capacity building needs in anti-corruption fighting.

All these, however, will depend on the availability of adequate funding. •Adesanya writes from Abuja.

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LIFE

SUNDAY

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

It is the stark reality.

Anal sex is on the rise in Nigeria. JOKE KUJENYA, just back from a two-week interaction with a handful of people engaged in the act reports..

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“Then one day, he told me he had a way we could be enjoying sex without fear of pregnancy. I asked him which way and he said, he could only 'show' and not just tell me”

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

• Afolabi Ogunyeye

SUNDAY LIFE 21

Olugbenga Adanikin reviews the potentials of bio-cassava products in the treatment and prevention of malnutrition and related diseases.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

22 SUNDAY LIFE

Last Sunday the Olowo of Owo, Oba (Dr.) David Victor Folagbade Olateru Olagbegi III (CFR) celebrated the 16th anniversary of his coronation amidst pomp. Taiwo Abiodun, who was there, reports

�Olowo of Owo is full of humility; he is worthy to be emulated. He is not only the community leader but a father, a good listener and a man who loves God. He is approachable and very understanding and ready to assist in any situation.

Though he wanted the celebration to be low-keyed, but people trooped out because he is loved.�

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

SUNDAY LIFE

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A pupil of Halcyon International School, Ilupeju casting her vote

Following a growing trend by schools to elect students' representatives through the democratic process as against the traditional selection process, Medinat Kanabe speaks with school heads, asking specific questions about the rationale behind it, fairness and the psychological implications on the children.

•Continued on Page 24

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24 SUNDAY LIFE

•Continued from Page 23

Pupils during campaign; above one of the pupils delivering his manifesto

By Medinat Kanabe

•Yusuf

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MARCH 1, 2015

Mrs. Dada Eriye and Editor (Sunday Nation) Mr. Festus Eriye

4th, Left, Mrs. Dada Eriye with her children during the burial service

L-R: Mr. Lucky Eriye and Mrs. Toyin Eriye

L-R:Tony Echejima, Charles Nwagbara, Victor Adoji, and Mr. Nasir Ramon

L-R: Pastor Isreal Eriye, Arthur Eriye and Edwin Eriye L-R: Mr. Dayo Asaju, Nasir Ramon, Mr. Bamidele Johnson, Azu Arinze and Mr. Tunde Moshood

L-R: Esan Sunday and Mr. Loye Amzat L-R: Ms. Tosin Ajayi and Susan Eyo-Honesty

L-R: Mr Mayor Akinpelu, Cornel Udifia Mr. Kunle Bakare and Head,Media Relations Access Bank, Abdul Imoyo.

Couple, Nkemka and Seyi with bride's father, Mr. Ajayi

L-R: Mrs. Ayoka Olasehinde and Jaiye Obijo- Edgal

Mrs. Ireti Asemota and Princess Yewande Onilere

L-R: Mrs. Teju Philips, Mrs. Biodun Ogbebo and Mrs. Shade Balogun

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

ETCETERA

SUNNY SIDE

Cartoons

By Olubanwo Fagbemi

POLITICKLE

deewalebf@yahoo.com 08060343214 (SMS only)

I am Boko

CHEEK BY JOWL

OH, LIFE!

THE GReggs

I AM Boko This is what I do: With rucksack, on bike or a-foot I am deadly.

Light-skinned Chadian, Nigerien or Malien I may be Darker Kanuri, Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, or Yoruba I am just as deadly.

By a longer appellation I know myself But Boko H. you tag me Translated roughly in your English That’s Western Education is Forbidden.

But does it matter?

Incinerating motor park, market place and school alike My reputation precedes me.

Defying bomb experts at the mall or market I vend sorrow Spread panic Hawk death.

From my bang the North recoils To my beat the South trembles Banki, Baga, Bama, bam! bam!

Dikwa, Gwoza, Damboa, gboa! gboa!

Mafa, Marte, Konduga, Gamboru too.

Raping, pillaging, plundering I smash vaults Grab police posts Sack military barracks.

Dispatching 10, 000 souls and more in six years I suspend hope and jar international nerves Leaving continent and country in sixes and sevens.

Patenting terms from IEDs to IDPs Such myth I weave Around Sambisa Forest.

Ten year-old ‘fighters’ I strap with explosives My catchment area spanning Libya to Mali The morbid theatre lately Chad, Cameroon and Niger.

To all race, colour and creed To the ‘capable’ and boastful Beware: I kidnap in hundreds and exile in thousands Conscripting for war and carnal convenience.

The old or young I maim For maiden or madam I aim Marching them off to marriage Confidence shaken, innocence taken.

Remember Chibok?

Western education is forbidden, I say.

Now, in my name, elections shifted That the government may hide behind one finger.

What government by the way?

Seeking the final word When a foothold I gained While their agents showed their backs For want of competence or equipment.

Though nations unite to lend muscle Vanquished, I will plead ‘gross human rights abuse’ Victorious, I shall claim territory for the wider movement.

I am Boko This is what I do.

QUOTE Terrorism has no nationality or religion.

Jokes Humour Poor Pa A THICK-HEADED farm boy accidentally overturned his wagonload of corn. The farmer who lived nearby heard the noise and yelled over to the boy. “Hey, Richard, forget your troubles. Come in and visit with us. I’ll help you get the wagon up later.”

“That’s mighty nice of you,” Richard said, “but I don’t think Pa would like me to.”

The farmer insisted. “Aw, come on, boy.”

The boy finally agreed. “Well, OK, but Pa won’t like it.”

After a hearty dinner, Richard thanked his host. “I feel a lot better now, but I know Pa is going to be real upset.”

“Don’t be foolish!” the neighbour said with a smile. “By the way, where is he?”

“Under the wagon.”

The Boss ONE DAY a man goes to a pet shop to buy a parrot. The assistant takes the man to the parrot section and asks the man to choose one. The man asks, ‘’How much is the yellow one?’’

The assistant says, ‘’N5, 000.’’

The man is shocked and asks the assistant

why it is so expensive. The assistant says, ‘’This parrot is a very special one. He knows typewriting and can type really fast.’’ ‘’What about the green one?’’ the man asks.

The assistant says, ‘’He costs N7, 000 because he knows typewriting and can answer incoming telephone calls and take notes.’’ ‘’What about the red one?’’ the man asks.

The assistant says, ‘’That one’s N10, 000.’’

The man says, ‘’What does he do?’’

The assistant says, ‘’I don’t know, but the other two call him boss.’’

Prestige and Etiquette A HARVARD law graduate and an Oxford counterpart met in a washroom during a law convention.

The Harvard graduate said, “Didn’t they teach you to wash your hands at Oxford?”

The Oxford grad said, “They taught us not to urinate on our hands.”

De-evolution AT the rate higher institutions are turning them out, by 2050 there will be more graduates than humans.

•Adapted from the Internet

—Vladimir Putin

Writer ’s Fountain ROFESSIONAL writing tips: Research relentlessly — A famous science return. Yet children follow parents into the trade. fiction author discovered that research leads to How can you know this? Simple. Spend time originality because nothing is exactly as it seems with athletes, talk to horticulturalists and read at first. Athletes may seem tough, but they often about fishermen. Read widely, learn new things, observe superstitious rituals while preparing explore with enthusiasm, try anything and talk for competition. Insisting on certain clothes to to anyone. Beside the pleasure you derive from wear or foods to eat helps them handle anxiety. the activity, it helps you write better.

Smuggling rings are involved in In writing nonfiction, assemble as many basic horticulture, not because they love flowers but facts as possible in order to create an accurate because certain endangered species are sold for outline. You don’t have to become an expert on great profit to unscrupulous collectors. And your subject. You just have to find someone who some commercial fishermen despise the sea. is. You never know how much you can discover They dread fishing trips because they might not and experience by simply asking. People who are passionate about their profession or expertise love Queer traditions: sharing with writers.

•Korea’s poshintang dog meat soup is a popular item on summertime menus, Mind the Details despite outcry from other nations. The soup Nothing frustrates the average writer more is believed to cure summer heat ailments, than details. While any decent writer can get the improve male virility, and improve major aspects of a subject right, lots of minor errors women’s complexions. can easily creep into prose, and knowledgeable •Las Vegas means ‘The Meadows’ in readers will spot them and call the writer to task.

Spanish.

The tricky thing about the details is that you may •‘Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch’ not know they’re important, or even that they is the actual name of a village in northern exist. This is where in-depth research and a friendly Wales. expert become essential.

P

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Raising a voice for the Nigerian girl With Temilolu Okeowo temilolu@girlsclub.org.ng 07086620576 (sms only) Please visit my blog www.temiloluokeowo.wordpress.com for more inspiring articles. Twitter@temiloluokeowo

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ENTERTAINMENT

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Furore over unrealistic budget parameters •2015 Budget

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...transmits 3,623.11MW From John Ofikhenua, Abuja Chinedu Nebo in world press conference of February 11 at Abuja, has 5,500 capacity.

With the commissioning of new National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs) there is now a generation capacity of 5,500mw.

But the electricity market is yet to attain equilibrium in terms of generation and transmission of power to the electricity distribution

companies.

Nebo had last year promised that the market that failed to meet its target of 5,000MW last year would hit the record January this year upon the completion of some National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) that their commission was not expected to spill beyond January.

He said in a ministerial platform of November 24 last year said that "some people are asking about the completion of NIPP. I have

mentioned about Alaoji, Gabrian and Omoku. I don't think they will spill beyond January for achieving 5,000MW because the gas is already available."

The evacuation gap in the current statistics is higher than the 73.48MW of February 22, while energy sent out to electricity distribution companies dipped from 3661.07Mw to 3,623.11MW, resulting in 37.76MW drop in power supply.

In the 24 hours between the two statistics, the market dropped from a power generation of 3,734.55MW to 3,699.23MW, showing a fall by 35.32MW. The 3,874.5MW market's peak energy generation of February 22 also lowered to 3,866.8 MW on February 22 by a reduction of 7.7MW.

Council, EFCC partner to prosecute land racketeers, fraudsters

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HE Consumer Protection Council, CPC, in partnership with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, are partnering to prevent economic crimes through investigation and prosecution.

The Director General, CPC, Mrs. Dupe Atoki, and the Chairman, EFCC, Ibrahim Lamorde signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, in the area of investigation and prosecution,

Stories from Franca Ochigbo, Abuja information sharing and public advocacy and enlightenment.

Atoki said, "over the years , the council has received a large number of complaints from consumers bordering on fraudulent savings and loan schemes, deceptive and misleading mortgage schemes, fraud scams emanating from online forex trading compa-

nies, fraudulent education admission and scholarship opportunities.

"Deceptive business practices, and pyramid sales, marketing schemes, aimed at defrauding unsusceptible and vulnerable consumers, with consumer losses valued at several millions of naira."

"While the EFCC law punishes the offender with jail terms or fines, and confiscate the ill gotten booty, it is a legal fact that prosecution does

not translate to redress for victims of criminal breaches, therefore consumers who are usually the victims of most of these scams and fraudulent practices."

Speaking, the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, said they are looking at the areas of information and intelligence sharing, investigation and prosecution, stating that there has to be input from consumers while embarking on public education and enlightenment.

NAC to roll out made-in-Nigeria vehicle finance scheme

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HE National Automotive Council, NAC, has partnered with WesBank of South Africa to roll out made-in-Nigeria vehicle finance scheme to come into effect before the end of 2015.

In a statement by the south African bank, "The WesBank team had interactive session with potential partners including selected vehicle

dealers to obtain first hand information to get acquainted with certain dealership practices peculiar in Nigeria."

The statement further said, "The NAC scheme has been designed around a network of vehicle dealers, manufacturers, distributors from whose floor the purchase process will begin.

"Earlier, NAC had signed a Memorandum of

‘Most Nigerians lack awareness about stock market’

$ense and Rands in the tourism market

Electricity market records stranded 76.12MW

HE Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) has recorded stranded 76.12 Mega Watts (Mw) being the gap between the 3,699.23MW generated energy and the 3,623.11MW, which the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) could evacuate.

In Power Statistics posted on its website, the Ministry of Power said that the electricity market hit a peak energy generation of 3,866.8 MW on February 23, 2015.

The TCN, according to the Minister of Power, Prof.

55

Understanding with First Rand Bank in Johannesburg, South Africa mandating WesBank to manage consumer vehicle financing for Nigerian assembled cars."

The Director General, NAC, Aminu Jalal, maintained that the federal government approved the Nigeria Automotive Industry Development Plan, NAIDP, to attract investment from

vehicle manufacturers globally and grow the supply of locally manufactured vehicles.

He said, the MOU would allow WesBank to work closely with NAC to develop vehicles financing solution, specifically for those built in Nigeria with the aim of making them readily affordable for the average Nigerian car users.

•Folayan

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Africa debt, capital markets summit debuts in Washington D.C.

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HE 5th Africa Debt and Capital Markets (ADCM) Summit will take place for the first time in Washington D.C. during the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings on 16th April 2015. Organised by the team behind African Banker magazine, this high-level summit will provide an update on the latest trends and development in Africa's capital markets as well as explore the growing market for international issuances by African governments.

Formerly hosted at the London Stock Exchange, the 5th Africa Debt and Capital Markets Summit is the premier event looking at the development of African debt capital markets in Africa.

Over 150 guests are expected to attend, including a range of institutional investors, African Ministers of Finance, Central Bank Governors, leading international investment bankers, private companies, investors, risk advisors and rating agencies.

The event was launched to create a platform to connect African issuers to the financial community in London, the agenda this year will broaden to explore the challenges and opportunities in Africa's capital and debt markets.

Recent global issuances have attracted wide interest from US investors, who hold the world's biggest pool of capital, but African debt and capital markets still remain off-radar for the majority of the investment community.

The key focus of the 5th Africa Debt and Capital Markets Summit will be on the emergence of financial hubs in Africa, and on ways to make them become drivers of growth. There will be a focus on domestic resource mobilisation with the rise of sovereign wealth funds and pension funds, the opportunities presented by international capital and how to tap into this, as well as a discussion on the debt issuances and the longer term outlooks for African sovereign and corporates using this asset class.

The summit, a must-attend event for financiers in the emerging market space, will take place in Washington D.C. on the 16th April.

African Media Agency signs partnership with Al Jazeera

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N its quest to expand its reach, Al Jazeera, one of the leading global media outlets has entered a partnership with African Media Agency (AMA) to leverage on technology and heightened internet growth in Africa introducing news feed to leading online news websites.

The partnership will see news portals from Africa publish Al Jazeera's Pan African news freely. Given that most media houses have a limited budget to deploy reporters to almost all the corners of the continent, most of the audiences for these news outlets have been at a disadvantage missing out on some important news. Al Jazeera has reporters deployed in all corners of the African continent who generate both text and video content that is Africa-related.

AMA becomes the exclusive re-distributor and coordinates the project on behalf of Al Jazeera. AMA's unrivalled knowledge of the Pan African media landscape will enable them to help Al Jazeera vet the news portals suitable for partnership.

"We are delighted and honored to have been chosen by a media house as influential as Al Jazeera. Years of working closely with the African media has established us as the most trust-worthy partner for this venture. This also aligns with our mandate of meeting the media needs by providing quality content to attract the right audience to their online portals," commented Eloïne Barry, AMA CEO.

Media View to launch biggest LED billboard in Africa

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•From second left: Special guest, Alhaji Rasaq Akanni Okoya, with his wife Shade, founder, Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL) Prof. Pat Utomi and Otunba Subomi Balogun, during the tribute colloquium in honour of Okoya at 75th birthday by CVL in Lagos at the weekend.

PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

EDIA Views Limited, a foremost Nigerian outdoor advertising company is set to reshape outdoor advertising business as it plans to unveil the largest LED billboard in Africa.

Just like New York's Time Square caught global attention with its biggest billboards in the world a year ago, Media Views intends to take its outdoor advertising business to a higher dimension with this transcending innovation. The firm plans to run a high definition 24-hours advert service on the platform.

The billboard measures 740 Square meter long and 11 stories high. The high-tech screen bill board powered by LASACO Assurance Plc is located in the heart of Lagos- Oworonshoki, along the third mainland bridge.

Citing the LED billboard along this location is strategic. The third mainland bridge is believed to be one of the busiest bridges in the country. The longest bridge in Nigeria connects Lagos Island areas with the mainland areas.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

BUSINESS

Furore over unrealistic budget

UDGET crisis imminent but this time at issue is that there are clear discrepancies and if you may, with the benchmark set by the executive tier of government.

It would be recalled that the House of Representatives rejected the $65 oil benchmark proposed in the 2015 budget by the executive.

It said the 2015 proposed budget was based on certain policy thrusts, instruments and assumptions that were flawed and needed to be "critically looked at."

The lower house preferred a benchmark of between $53 to $56 benchmark.

The Green Chamber described the benchmark for 2015 budget as "unrealistic" and "a problem". "The budget cannot fly," it said.

It also faulted another parameter in the budget, which is the 2.278 million barrels per day crude oil production estimate in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), saying it does not also reflect realities; little wonder at earliest meeting held last week between the Executive and the House on the budget at the National Assembly was stalemated.

The 25-member special committee headed by John Enoh, chairman, House Committee on Appropriation and Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Director General, Budget Office, could not resolve the issue.

After hitting a high of $115 a barrel in June, the price of internationally traded Brent crude oil has dropped rapidly and almost hit $45 a barrel last month - a near sixyear low.

Ali Al Naimi, Saudi Arabia's veteran oil minister, said in December it was braced for further drops in the oil price and would not change its strategy even if prices hit $20 a barrel.

The slide in the oil price has plunged Nigeria's economy into turmoil. The country, which is Africa's largest producer, depends on oil typically for about 70 per cent of government revenue.

Bone of contention Since submitting the 2015 Budget to the National Assembly in November 2014, Nigeria's Budget Office, although required by law to publish the budget details have failed to do so, preferring to keep it in secret.

Details of the budget are not available to Nigerians, amid an unusually high expectation of the budget's specifics as the government struggles to minimise the impact of slumping oil price. Many Nigerians are eager to see in clear details how the government has responded.

According to the estimates, the total spendings are N4 357 959 999 999 It should be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan refused to present the 2015 budget proposal to the National Assembly instead assigned the presentation to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The bone of contention, a source told The Nation, was the parameters. The two parties could not agree on the benchmark. While the Federal Government wanted a benchmark of $50 per barrel, the House insisted on between $53 and $56 per barrel.

According to the source, the over five hours closed door meeting also featured differences in exchange rates between the two parties.

A member of the committee rejected N165 to a dollar proposed

The much awaited 2015 budget may take some time to materialise as the lower, upper chambers and executive arm are at daggers drawn over irreconcilable differences spurred by the plummeting oil prices, naira devaluation, among others, reports Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf

by Dr. Okonjo- Iweala's team and insisted on $180 to a dollar.

The Nation also learnt that capital expenditure dominated the discussion as the lawmakers insisted that the proposed 17 per cent of the budget allocated to capital project was meagre and that it should be upped to about 25 percent to give Nigerians some benefits.

In an earlier interview, shortly before plenary, the Chairman, National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO), Hon. Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, decried the parameters in the 2015 budget, especially the oil benchmark and the oil production estimates Of the oil benchmark, he said: "Definitely, this is a wrong assumption. It's a problem. It's part of why the budget cannot fly and it's not flying.

"Going by what is happening in the international crude oil market, it's wrong. It's unrealistic for the Executive arm of government to have proposed a $65 per barrel benchmark."

The lawmaker said his committee did some comparative analysis on the issue and that it is evident that the executive is not forward looking.

"Iraq pegged its benchmark at $60 per barrel; Saudi Arabia pegged its own at $60 and Venezuela $60.

These are countries that don't even have the kind of challenges that we have, and they are countries with better macro-economic fundamentals. But based on foresight, they chose $60 as their oil benchmark."

Bamidele said the budgets of these three countries had been passed in 2014 before the price of oil fell.

"Here we are in Nigeria, we're already in the middle of it and today, they (executive) are still talking about $65. Where is the foresight?"

Bamidele also criticised the 2.278 million barrel per day estimate of the executive, saying it's not a true reflection of current realities.

House spokesman Zakari

SOURCE: BUDGIT

Mohammed expressed confidence that the 25-member committee headed by the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, John Enoh, which had been mandated to meet with the Minister of Finance on realistic parameters for the 2015 budget, will come out with a benchmark that reflects the true position of Nigeria's oil earnings, as against the $65 proposed in the budget.

Why lawmakers close ranks Drawing strength from its counterparts in the lower chambers, the upper house who met behind closed doors last Tuesday for about two hours, while analysing the budget proposals of the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government for the 2015 fiscal year and their performances for last year, were categorical in their opposition to the 2015 budget considering the different incongruous items.

A senator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told our correspondent that his colleagues expressed anger at Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala,Okonjo-Iweala and accused her of deliberately drawing back the wheel of the nation's progress.

The senator said, "All of us are not happy that most of the MDAs could not execute any reasonable capital project last year because the little money released to them by the finance minister was not enough to pay the contractors who had executed projects for them in the past."

Other senators, who spoke to our correspondent after the meeting, said the lawmakers expressed concern over the meagre allocation of N387bn for capital projects in the 2015 budget proposal.

This, they said, was unprecedented even as the recurrent component was allocated over 90 per cent of the N4.3tn in budget estimates.

They, however, resolved to carry out the necessary legislative duties

this year to ensure that the right actions would be taken against government officials who deliberately refused to release funds to execute projects approved for execution.

They also urged members of the various Senate committees working on the budget to expedite action so that it would be passed before the presidential election scheduled for March 28 since the Easter break would come immediately after the polls.

The lawmakers, it was gathered, vowed that they would not approve such a lopsided allocation.

Consequently, the various committees were directed to liaise with the MDAs to cut down on recurrent votes in order to make more funds available for projects.

The senators later vented their anger on the various committees when some ministers and heads of government agencies appeared before them to defend their 2015 budget proposals.

They vowed to redress the lopsided recurrent expenditure and capital votes in favour of the latter.

For instance, while speaking during the sitting of the Senate Committee on Power, Mines and Steel, Senator Victor Lar, said, "A situation where we considered a budget, have it approved, then somebody sits in an office and refuses to make releases is too bad.

"Ministers and heads of various agencies who had awarded contracts could not pay but somebody would sit in the comfort of her office and declare a surplus. Is that an economy that is growing?

"This is simply lack of planning; this is frustrating and it cannot go on like this. The presentation by the Minister of Steel, for instance, is an opportunity to raise the revenue profile of the ministry from a nonoil sector, which would have enhanced economic growth was frustrated.

"A serious nation would have encouraged this ministry to ensure that everything it required was pro-

vided but this is the same ministry that has been subjected to the same envelope system and to the same non-release of capital votes, among others."

Also, Senator Chris Ngige, expressed fears that the economy might collapse if the current trend of non-release of funds for project execution continued unchallenged by the appropriate arms of government.

Newly approved budget benchmark After several weeks of bated breath, the Senate last Tuesday approved a $52 per barrel oil benchmark for the 2015 budget. It also predicated the budget on an exchange rate of N190 to the dollar.

The resolution on the budget benchmark and exchange rate was the outcome of a one-hour closeddoor session held by the senators before the commencement of plenary.

The $52 oil price benchmark was arrived at on Wednesday after the chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Ahmad Makarfi, tendered the report of the revised 2015-2017 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

A source told that several senators who spoke at the closed-door session, expressed concern over the state of the economy, regretting that the nation would have to resort to borrowing to finance some projects.

According to him, it was resolved that most of the budgetary allocations to various sectors would have to be adjusted to reflect the true state of revenue expectations.

He also said that implementing capital projects this year would be a herculean task as a result of the drop in revenue occasioned by lower oil prices.

The source added that although the Senate was conscious that the naira was currently being exchanged at the rate of about N199 to $1 in the interbank market, the Senate deliberately opted to approve

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

BUSINESS

parameters

$ense and Rands in the business tourism market

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•Okonjo-Iweala

• David Mark, Senate President

• Aminu Tambuwal, Speaker, House of Reps

a lower figure for the exchange rate.

The federal government had on December 17 laid a budget of N4.357 trillion predicated on a $65 per barrel oil benchmark and an exchange rate of N165 to one dollar for the 2015 fiscal year.

The document also consisted of N2.622 trillion for recurrent expenditure, N627 billion for capital expenditure and N3.602 trillion as the government's revenue target in 2015.

Despite dwindling oil revenue at the time, the federal government stuck to the $65 per barrel oil benchmark proposed for the 2015 budget as contained in the revised Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) which it re-submitted to the National Assembly on December 2.

Prior to reducing the oil benchmark to $65 a barrel, the federal government had reviewed the oil benchmark from $78 to $73 per barrel on November 18.

The Senate's approval of the $52 oil benchmark, it was learnt, may

not be unrelated to the agreement reached by the executive arm of government and the National Assembly to settle for the new benchmark following weeks of negotiations between them.

Both arms of government had been meeting to find an agreeable benchmark but disagreements over some budget details have lingered.

A source privy to the negotiations disclosed that while the executive had proposed $50 per barrel, the lawmakers rooted for $55 per barrel, after which both parties were said to have finally agreed on $52 per barrel.

Another major highlight of the negotiations was the executive volunteering a 25 per cent cut in the State House budget.

An initial agreement of N115 billion was also reached as the National Assembly budget, which is N35 billion or 23 per cent short of the lawmakers' regular N150 billion annual budget.

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T is estimated that the business generated by the 184 qualified buyers at Meetings Africa 2015 could bring 54, 000 convention delegates worth nearly R1 billion in revenue to our shores in the next two years"-South African Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom on February 24, 2015 Nigeria participated differently at Meetings Africa 2015, the annual gathering of players in the meetings and conventions ecosystem, with the presence of the Calabar International Convention Centre, a new purposebuilt centre for business tourism. The Calabar ICC opens in June 2015.

The Calabar ICC exhibition stand was significant for the previous absence of a Nigerian stand almost every year of this event. Facilities in Southern and Eastern African countries normally feature alongside the dominant display of various hotels, convention centres and tourist facilities of host country South Africa.

South Africa Tourism and the South Africa National Convention Bureau annually bring in about 1000 participants from across the world to participate in Meetings Africa. The 2015 edition marked the 10th year of the event, inviting congratulatory handshakes and cutting of cakes.

Meetings Africa is a farsighted concept whose execution also underlines the synergy and cooperation critical to success in business tourism.

Cooperating parties range from airlines through tour operators, hotels and convention centres to professional conference organisers and providers of event and conferencing facilities.

South Africa Tourism underwrites fully fare and lodging of all participants. Many participants only register their presence and no more. A short sighted view would thus wonder at such seeming waste but the return on investment has been salutary, according to the country's Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom.

Hanekom stated at a Gala Dinner to mark MeetingsAfrica2015 that the investment on Meetings Africa 2015 alone could bring in business worth R1billion (N25billion) over the next two years. South African Tourism expects a return of about 54,000 convention delegates.

The growing business tourism market is the target of Meetings Africa.

Through it, South Africa marries the business and leisure aspect of tourism out of a realisation that appreciation of the attractions of a country can only truly happen when the target market is exposed to them. Associations are a major feature of professional and business life, with many professional bodies having regional, continental or global associations whose annual gatherings draw thousands of participants. The business tourism industry joins destination marketing to sell particular locations and their facilities as a reward to participants and economic stimulus to the host cities.

Hanekom testifies, "According to research conducted by the South Africa National Convention Bureau, 40 percent of all convention delegates attending meetings in South Africa return in the next five years as tourists, boosting tourism growth and job

By Chido Nwakanma creation years into the future. …We have already secured 177 major international association meetings for the next five years - thereby attracting a quarter of a million delegates with an estimated economic impact of R3.5billion.

"Besides hosting globally strategic events of the magnitude of the COP17 Climate Change Conference and the 2013 BRICS summit, we have excelled in providing a home to literally thousands of other business events.

This has contributed positively to tourism growth and job creation.

Business events and major conventions have become important components of the economy and plan to achieve the ambitions outlined in the country's national development plan."

Business tourism makes sense in several ways beyond the dollars and rands, according to the South Africans who have been at it for at least a decade. Tourism Minister Panekom adds, "During Meetings Africa 2015 we invited the world to rise with us.

Bring your events to our destination.

While you are here, enjoy our hospitality. Plug into our local knowledge economy in fields as varied as mining, astronomy, design, health and medicine, telecommunications and environmental conservation. The business events industry is not only about tourism, conventions and trade, nor is it only about direct spend and the immediate benefits to the local economy. Business events and conventions are catalysts for new thinking and competitiveness. They connect the best minds to spur innovation, they create platforms to collaboratively solve common global problems and they create people-topeople connections that advance the cause of our common humanity."

The $90m Calabar International Convention Centre seeks to tap into this growing global niche market. It would commence operations in June 2015 hosting a major meeting of a medical association and announcing Nigeria's readiness to play in business tourism in Africa.

The Calabar ICC is one of two major convention centres planned for Nigeria. It comes ahead of plans for another International Convention Centre in the capital city of Abuja.

The Calabar International Convention Centre (Calabar ICC) "is not only the first dedicated convention centre in Nigeria but also the only new conference centre in Africa opening this year", said Paul D'Arcy, Chief Executive Officer. "Even more exciting is the fact that international events are already booked and well-known and experienced management team is in place."

D'Arcy, surrounded by Mike Lord and Ben Asoro, directors, stated further, "Indeed, the Calabar ICC is opening a new frontier for Africa and offering meeting organisers a new venue/destination option on the continent. This is especially true for

the West Africa sub region, which, until now, has been virgin terrain for business tourism.

"Nigeria's entrance, with the Calabar ICC, into the international meetings industry is significant, not only because of the country's large population, but also for its projected continuous economic growth. With a GDP of US$510 billion and a population of over 170 million people, 40 million of whom are middle income earners, Nigeria is surely a viable place to do business."

Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State has led the push for the development of the Calabar ICC as part of an overall strategy of positioning Calabar as a foremost destination for tourism, both leisure and business. Calabar already hosts the annual month-long Calabar carnival that draws in thousands of visitors and tourists. The Calabar ICC would "host a wide array of events for national global audiences comprising businesses, governments and associations."

The Calabar ICC is part of a new development area in the Cross River State capital, the 357-hectare Summit Hills. The area would feature a business hotel, an 18-hole golf course, and an international hospital. A monorail would connect it to the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort.

"This train will make it convenient for delegates and organisers staying at the Tinapa Lakeside Hotel (located across the lake from the Calabar ICC) to attend conferences at the centre in style and with ease."

As the Calabar ICC officials announced the readiness of the venue, they were quick to tackle perceptions of Nigeria by foreign associations and individuals.

D'Arcy, a South African, told guests at the press briefing how he does not lock his doors at home or at the office to underline the relative safety of Calabar. "There is no electric wire fence", he added, in reference to a key security feature of homes in South Africa.

Over 2000 professionals in the meetings and conventions industry gathered at the Meetings Africa event held annually at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg.

D'Arcy stated, "Interestingly, Nigeria epitomises an almost bipolar view of Africa. While it is an exciting, dynamic, high-octane growth market for investors already doing business here, for others on the outside looking in, it appears chaotic, unstable, and uncertain. However the unrest, instability and uncertainty is, in the main, confined to the northern regions while Calabar is located in the far south of Nigeria."

Dirk Elzinga, managing director of Convention Industry Consultants (PTY) Ltd asserts that the Calabar ICC would be a major beneficial addition to the industry and open up the West African market. Elzinga believes that Calabar provides just the right ambience for business tourism as it retains the allure of nature while removed from the more populous Nigerian cities of Lagos and Abuja.

•From left: Gary Grimmer, Jeffers Miruka, Chido Nwakanma and Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo, Chief Convention Bureau Officer of South Africa National Convention Bureau

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

BUSINESS

HAT are the challenges facing stockbroking firms in Nigeria?

The main challenge facing stockbroking firms at the moment is that of volume of business. Trades in the market have been largely done by institutions (mainly foreign) while the domestic retail investors have not sufficiently returned to the market since the financial crisis of 2008/2009. There are a few stockbrokers working with these foreign institutions who collectively control the major volumes traded in the market.

Foreign investors are also very sensitive and any information that reflects uncertainty in politics and government policies trigger a fast withdrawal from the market which results in high levels of volatility. Thus, the market still suffers from confidence issues within the domestic sector. We need increased level of domestic participation to improve the volume of trades and to contain the high volatility currently being experienced in the market.

Other challenges include the issue of brokerage commission which continues to be squeezed as stockbrokers pursue limited clients for business as well as the increase in regulatory costs of doing business, which is like a double jeopardy. Of course, operational costs or what I will call high infrastructural deficit costs is a common challenge across board for anyone running a business in Nigeria as you try to maintain a good and conducive working environment and service a level of redundancy.

How can these challenges be addressed?

I would like to limit the main challenges that face the industry to three main areas: awareness, confidence and distribution. Other issues like increasing operational and regulatory costs are quite common to all regulated businesses.

Awareness of the benefits of the capital market and traded securities is quite low in Nigeria, even amongst those you expect should know when you compare with more developed markets. If you measure the NSE market penetration, measured as a ratio of turnover to GDP, it is estimated at 1.67 per cent, which is dismal, compared to a country like Kenya which has 4.08 per cent market penetration.

To solve the issue of awareness, the market needs to make a concerted effort by both operators and the regulators. The regulators, SEC & NSE, have tried to address this recently with increased educational efforts, collaboration with Nollywood and by reaching out to ordinary Nigerians, but I think these efforts can even be more strategic.

We probably need to engage policymakers to make financial literacy, especially knowledge of the capital market, a

'Most Nigerians lack awareness about stock market' Mr. Afolabi Folayan is Managing Director/Chief Executive, Securities Africa Financial Limited, a company incorporated as PSL Limited in 2001 with special focus as an operator in the Nigerian capital market.

In this interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf, he speaks on the challenges, prospects in the nation's stock market. Excerpts: compulsory part of the school curriculum right from the primary school level. This is a medium term strategy but should improve awareness.

In terms of confidence, the domestic retail investors are yet to regain the boldness to come back to the market after the market crash of 2008/ 2009. There is also the perception that the market is not transparent and this has not been helped by the number of illiquid stocks on the bourse as some investors are still looking for ways to sell some of their holdings. To improve trust and confidence in the market, the NSE and SEC have put in place a market making mechanism to allow for improved liquidity but this has not properly taken off. All clogs in the way of proper market making such as the proper framework for short selling, securities lending and attractive reward system will need to be addressed. For institutions, a number of them, especially the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), have complained about the limited number of securities available for them to trade on. So efforts to bring in the telcos, power plants and attract IPOs using proper incentives will help improve confidence and participation amongst this group. Whilst the pension law allows PFAs to invest up to 25 per cent of their Assets Under Management (AUM) into quoted equities, the total exposure from that group has only been 16 per cent of their AUM, leaving them with a lot of headroom.

For distribution, the acquisition cost of retail clients is high and KYC documents are largely unavailable which has to do with the national identity scheme. Usually, it is better when savings mobilisation is institutionalised through collective investment schemes, such as mutual funds.

Unfortunately, the depth of funds under management is currently very low. The reformed pension scheme has been largely successful with N4.9trillion AUM raised within 10 years of establishing the scheme, which translates to about $25 billion or 5 per cent of GDP.

•Folayan

This is very low when compared to the pension assets of South Africa of $236 billion or 67 per cent of GDP and Brazil at $284 billion which dwarfs Nigeria.

So you can start to see how far we have to go. To move the Pensions AUM and mutual funds further, the industry has to be creative in attracting the informal and public sectors into collective schemes which will improve distribution.

Each stockbroker reaching out to individual retail clients is very cumbersome and costly, especially when facing the KYC challenge.

The use of technology through e-trading will help in a way as internet usage improves and cost of internet continues to drop, but the country needs to move into a centralised ID regime in such a way that once an investor already has a bank account and has done biometrics with a BVN number, he does not have to go through the process of doing his KYC all over

again. This will, however, need the different regulators and policymakers to agree to one database pool.

There are concerns that on-line trading is fast making stockbroking job an allcomers' business. a. Do you agree? b. What are the implications to stockbroking business?

No, this is not so. Trade execution is only one aspect of the job of a stockbroker. The stockbroker is a well trained professional who can use his skills for investment advice and research. As Nigerians become more aware of the benefits of the stock market and the stakes become even bigger as the market deepens, the reliance on the investment skill of stockbrokers will be more relevant. Also, on-line trading can only be done though the trading platform of a stockbroking house, so even though execution of trade seems to have been contracted out, other duties to allow for a

‘

successful trade settlement will still be performed by professionals. The implication is that transparency will improve in the market as well as confidence. This will ultimately lead to increased trade volumes.

The Nigerian Capital market is contending with illiquidity. What is the way forward?

The way forward, I believe, is to compel the companies to provide timely and richer information on their businesses. So, a lot more disclosures should be provided to investors which will help in quicker decision making. I have addressed the other issues relating to market making, earlier in the interview.

Are there positives that an investor can take out of the market?

Yes, the equities market index (ASI) lost about 16 per cent last year and has lost about 15 per cent already this year which will make many investors wonder if they have not permanently lost value.

The good news is that the fundamentals of the market are still very strong and positive. The regulators have also improved regulatory oversight which strengthens the integrity and orderliness of the market. The issues that have affected the market largely relate to perceived political risks and the losses in value appear to be an exaggeration of the risk.

A well conducted election and tidy post election resolution of disputes will dissipate the tension and allow for a rally in the market.

Thankfully, the price of crude oil is rising in the international market, which would help to reduce our budget deficit and stabilise the naira.

Can you tell us a brief background of Securities Africa Financial Limited and its operational focus?

Securities Africa Financial Limited was incorporated as PSL Limited in 2001 with special focus as an operator in the Nigerian Capital Market. Then it was a subsidiary of Prudent Bank Ltd. In 2009, the company changed its name to Skye Stockbrokers Limited to reflect

Awareness of the benefits of the capital market and traded securities is quite low in Nigeria even amongst those you expect should know when you compare with more developed markets

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the new name taken up after five banks merged to become Skye Bank Plc. Upon deciding to divest its interest in noncommercial banking businesses, Skye Bank gave up its shareholdings in the company and this brought Securities Africa Limited into the picture owning majority of the shares with other local investors taking up some shareholdings.

The company has done well for itself in terms of brand recognition and product/ service offerings. Our primary business focus as a company is stockbroking as the company is registered as a dealing member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

We understand that Securities Africa Financial Limited has a parent company Yes. Our parent company is Securities Africa Limited, a global company which has offices in major financial centres in the world and a strong presence in South Africa. There are also other local shareholders.

Your company is operating in the embattled Nigeria's financial market.

How have you been coping?

Yes, the market has been very challenging. We have, however, leveraged on our past relationship with Skye Bank Plc, our relationship with Securities Africa Limited which gives us access to foreign flows, our strong knowledge of institutional investors' trade and our large clientele base.

One of our efforts at remaining relevant and to meet the needs of our clients and the yearnings of investors and prospects in the Nigerian Capital market is the introduction of our real trade product.

Every organisation is aiming at the next level. What are your new business lines?

At the moment, our securities trading business deal in equities only. We are, however, keenly considering the Fixed Income space as additional business opportunity for our clients.

How would you assess your staff either from general or specific perspective?

In Securities Africa Financial Limited, our asset is our crop of staff as we are blessed with competent and dedicated human capital.

Their selfless service has helped greatly to move the company to this height.

What are the company's milestones in recent time?

The recapitalisation of our company as mandated

by Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as the recent addition to our products, i.e. "Real Trade" products are our recent milestones.

How has the deployment of new technology enhanced your company's performance?

I dare say, greatly. We are using the latest version of our software; our data/server is hosted in the cloud, hence our operations are not limited to an office location and this gives us great advantage with regards to speed and reliability of transaction execution. Our uptime is nearly 100 per cent.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

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HIS week really, we had planned responding to the deluge of responses we received as a result of the story we published last week about consumers not yet feeling the impact of the recent government 'Kero Correct' programme that is supposed to deliver cooking kerosene to consumers at N50 per litre from NNPC stations.

However, all that changed when we got an email from Mr. Bola Akinrele who said he bought a popular brand of house paint but was disappointed when he opened it and saw that the content was not the original one.

Not only that, he said he notified the authentic brand owner whose office is at Oba Akran Ikeja and they displayed nonchalant attitude. It immediately brought to mind my own recent experience.

Early last month, I narrated my experience on this page. I had gone to buy an Always pad, the Procter & Gamble brand, and ended up with a fake one. I sent a text message to one of the company's senior managers, made calls and got no response.

Does the company not care about their customers or even the damages being done to their reputation? After all, counterfeit is all about the practice of manufacturing goods, often of inferior quality and selling them under a brand name without the brand owner's authorisation.

Another surprise came when I called the customer care line printed on the package [0800-88888888] and it did not go through and the response was 'failed'. Looking closely at the number, I noticed it was even 12 digits. In Nigeria, telephone numbers are 11 digits. In frustration, I gave up.

When products are counterfeited, the person I believe that gets the brunt of it is the consumer. Depending on the kind of product, there can be serious health and safety concerns for the consumer. If value for money is not derived (as in my own case), it's the consumer that loses. I had to spend the money twice; first by unknowingly purchasing the fake and, spending, secondly, in order to buy the authentic product.

What does the brand owner lose?

Reputation and profit. Damage does not stop with brand owners and consumers alone, because it also deprives national economies of customs duties

Who protects consumers from counterfeit products?

•Market place

and tax revenues.

As I was reading Mr. Bola Akinrele's mail, I wondered whose duty is it really to protect customers from adulterated products. The three parties involved in this saga are actually the manufacturer, the consumer and government. What role, if any, does each have to play in this matter?

"Government has the right of protecting the lives and well being of her citizens, all of whom are consumers," responded the national coordinator for Anti Counterfeiting and Piracy Initiative (ACAPI), Mr. Hanson Maduagwu.

He, however, added that in a developed society, it should be the duty of everyone.

"Government's role is to enact and

Oriflame Cosmetics steps up

T

HE wave-making net working Oriflames Cosmetics is gradually but surely taking over a big chunk of the cosmetics market.

At the price of N5, 990.00, I dare say it's good value for money though I find the smell strong and will rather recommend Giordani white gold for ladies.

I will advise you make room for testers. For instance, I ordered for 22752 warm coral Giordani gold lipstick after seeing the beautiful and appealing colour on page 61 of your magazine.

On getting the order, I eagerly tore it open and was very disappointed when I saw that the colour was almost •Cosmetic brown and not the supposedly warm defeated. coral on the magazine.

Excited about the progress of the If I should pay N2, 990.00 for a business, Oriflame Sweden in Nigeria, lipstick when I can get some other the Country Manager Oriflame brands for even N150.00, I expect I Nigeria, Hanna Einarsson, said, "a should get some satisfaction from couple of months have passed since using it. But the way it is now, my aim our opening and we can say it has been of buying it has been completely a tremendous success."

enforce laws formulated for the protection of the legitimate rights and interest of consumers while also maintaining the socio economic order and the promotion of a healthy development of market economy," he explained.

On the part of manufacturer's, the ACAPI National Coordinator said it is their responsibility to protect the Intellectual Property (IP) of the brand's products by registering IP rights, including trademarks, copy rights and patents in all relevant jurisdictions.

He also stressed the need for manufacturers to review their product lines to identify which items have been counterfeited and those which are susceptible to copying.

D

EAR Editor, We read with dismay the

story titled, 'When Will 'Kero-Correct Scheme Take Effect?' on page 59 of the 22nd February edition of your newspaper which was laced with a lot of misconceptions and misrepresentations.

We therefore wish to use this medium to set the records straight regarding the essence of the KeroCorrect Scheme and what has been done so far.

First, it needs to be stated that the kerosene distribution and supply system is a very complex one that lends itself to abuse due to the various use the product is being deployed to beyond domestic cooking. Because of this, the Kero-Correct Scheme was designed to use NNPC Mega, Floating, and Affiliate stations across the country as outlets in the pilot scheme for ease of control. The reporter tacitly acknowledged when he quoted the General Manager of NNPC Retail, Mr. Ufford Ibanga, as assuring that all the 524 NNPC Retail's Mega, Floating and Affiliate Stations will be used as outlets for the Kero-Correct Scheme. It was therefore unconscionable for the

"The aim should be to prevent or substantially reduce imitations," he added.

Consumers, he said, must simply stop buying fakes. "Because the consumer is always looking for a bargain, it's easy for the consumer to buy imitations."

Advising consumers, Mr. Maduagwu said they should be wary of 'too good a price' while urging consumers to be more observant and report issues of counterfeit to the Consumer Protection Council and other related agencies for assistance.

Engineer Folusho Adebayo, of the Manufacturer's Association of Nigeria (MAN), said it is the duty of every one to protect consumers from counterfeit

FEEDBACK

Kero-Correct: The True Story reporter to link the absence of kerosene at Major and Independent Marketers' stations with the KeroCorrect Scheme as he did in the story apparently to make the scheme look bad.

Second, it is not true that NNPC Mega and Affiliate stations in Lagos have been without kerosene for the past two months as stated in the report. It is on record that all Mega and Affiliate Stations, not only in Lagos, but all over the country, have been receiving supplies of kerosene since the project was flagged off last month. It is true that the supplies have not been as regular as desired due to bridging challenges as the product has to be lifted from depots in Lagos and Oghara across the country using trucks. But that is not to say that the scheme has not been efficient in delivering on its mandate of getting kerosene to the end users at N50 per litre. This is the reason

products. "Government cannot do it alone as the market is so large and the products so numerous.

"What government can do is to enact relevant laws and promulgate them. There should be maximum and consistent enforcements and penalties."

Engineer Adebayo insisted that "the responsibility for fighting counterfeits starts with manufacturers and distributors. If you have a brand, especially a global one, monitor the market and promote market surveillance.

"Consumers can educate themselves about counterfeit and they can avoid purchasing goods that are obviously counterfeit. However, there are a few, if any, anti-counterfeiting technologies available for consumers to enact on their own without the brand owner organising it," noted the MAN official.

Speaking further, he said that even if the responsibility of anti-counterfeiting falls on the consumer, "the consumer still needs the help of brand owner and the government to carry out their responsibility. It is up to the manufacturer to put anti-counterfeiting programmes in place.

"Trademark owners have the discretion to enforce their trademarks," emphasised a director of MAN who, however, spoke on the condition of anonymity. He noted that many companies feel a sense of corporate responsibility and duty to their loyal customers and to their employees to fight counterfeits.

In an interview with the MAN Director in his office, he said that everyone involved in the supply chain has a stake in ensuring that products, whatever may be, are protected from counterfeiting attacks.

Calling on brand owners, he advised them to educate the public by way of advertisements and even dedicated pages on their website, and that once the facts are presented, it is left to the customer.

We consumers should recognise that we are part of the problem and therefore it is important that we become part of the solution.

We should be informed and be vigilant. We should buy from reputable sources and ask questions if something does not add up. We should make informed and responsible purchasing decisions. If the price is too good to be true, ask yourself, why?

why Nigerians prefer to queue at NNPC Mega and Affiliate stations to buy the product rather than go to other stations where they sell at higher prices, a fact the reporter failed to acknowledge in the report.

Finally, we wish to state that efforts are on to resolve the challenges that have been noticed in the bridging system to ensure a more robust and regular supply of the product to Mega and Affiliate stations across the country. We are also in the process of extending the scheme to the hinterland where most of the consumers of the product reside. This we are doing in conjunction with some reliable independent marketers whose outlets will be used to dispense the product at the regulated price of N50 per litre and 25 litres per household.

We would appreciate it if you can reflect these facts in your story in order to help us serve Nigerians better.

Accept the assurances of our utmost regard.

Thanks, - Mr. Nwakwu Anthony, Chairman, Kero-Correct Committee, NNPC, Abuja.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

'Right skills, hard work secret of successful startups' C

AN you tell us a bit about yourself and your company?

My name is Akinmolayan Abiodun Akinfolarin. I won't say that I am a geek, but then I have always been very passionate about technology. I started my company way back in 2003 while I was still in the University of Lagos.

We started out as a consulting service company, where I was trying to carry out trainings for individuals who were interested in knowing more about technology but most importantly internet-enabled services.

Back then, we really didn't have the kind of platform we have right now. What we had were a bit primitive and not as fragmented the way it is now, so our energies were poured on specific languages, platforms and so on.

It was easy to learn and easy to also pass on the knowledge and that's how we created Neo2, as a technology resource company at that time and we were able to grow it into software development, application development over the years and into digital research and digital concepts and designs.

Let's look at Nigeria's digital space, coming from 2000 where we had the Y2K Millennium bug, between that time and now, how would you assess Nigeria's digital and mobile space?

There's been a very huge improvement and I think that improvement is primarily out of necessity. If you look at the Nigerian growth rate in terms of internet penetration at that time, it was very low. And then fortunately for us, we had the GSM licences with the likes of MTN coming on board.

From 2007, we saw a very huge spike particularly with the advent of mobile internet services. Nigerians don't adapt to technology that quickly but out of necessity and when platforms realised that it paid better to stay modernised with technology, knowing that there is also some cost savings with it. That is, business processes are done better, we witnessed a mass migration

“I

HAVE learnt a lot on how to handle customers and exposed to with varying soft skills that are needed for job placement and self employment."

These were the words of one of the graduates of the second batch of a youth empowerment scheme, Mrs. Justina Hegeth.

The workshop was organised by the Nigeria Opportunities Industrialisation

Fola Akinmolayan, who prides himself as an internet evangelist, is Founder/Chief Operating Officer of Neo2. Since 2004, Fola has grown his understanding of on-page optimisation, online reputation management and social media with both in-house and agency positions. As CEO of Neo2, he had led the company to partner with Africa's biggest ICT Company, MTN Nigeria, in launching the my2015 BetterMe app. In this interview with Bukola Aroloye, Fola examines the growth of mobile and ICT in the country, and the challenges of running a business in Nigeria. and we are seeing that trend right now where technology and internet enabled services are seriously on the rise.

Prior to now, we never used to have e-commerce but today e-commerce stores are on the increase. And I'm not talking about the big ones like Jumia and Konga. The trend is that there are small shops setting up niche online stores and they are doing pretty well. What that tells you is that there is a mind shift here where people are now relying on technology even for fulfilment of services.

Also look at PayPal; I remember way back then, PayPal said that the region was too risky to do businesses and now PayPal saying, "Hey, we want to do business with you guys." I see a lot of improvement and I think it is purely based on technological investments that we have in the country and most importantly, the necessity to also play at that level.

Did you have any apprehensions about reaching out to a big multinational corporation with your product?

I have always told myself that I knew when Google and Yahoo started and I was already doing IT around that time. However, the place I was in couldn't enable me to become what I had hoped I was going to become.

Today, when I see how successful these companies are, I don't find myself being scared because I remember reading up about Google the very first day they started. I also remember then I was trying to learn a particular language and there was this buzz about this new company that just started with some of my friends arguing about whether it was going

• Akinmolayan

to be a success or not.

There were a lot of things coming up at that time too and Google was just one of the very many. Seeing them as big companies right now is not scary at all because, for me, I just feel that if they could do it, why not, everybody can do it, if you put your heart to it.

Approaching MTN, I approached them like I was Google, like I was Facebook, like I was Yahoo. The worst case scenario is that they would not buy and you move on to the next person.

My advice to a lot of young people out there who are looking at trying to pitch big companies, they are not monsters, they are human

beings like you there and will listen if you have an awesome idea.

Why should the ordinary Nigerian be enthused by access to the internet?

The internet can be likened to the air we breathe, the food we eat. It is the hip culture right now and the language of this century.

The internet is absolutely everything in that it is what makes us what we are and what we'll become. I do not think that in the history of technology that there has been any form of technology as disruptive and persistent as the internet, especially when we consider its alarming growth rate in so short a time.

We have technologies in cars that have been around there since the1940s and have not changed. I was watching the movie, Fast and Furious, and looking at a particular car that was produced around 1940 and they were talking about the pistons and carburettors and its ilk. We still talk about that technology today in relating with cars.

However, the internet is just an amazing part of modern day technology that seems to just stick on and is able to make lives better via its value added extensions.

When Nigerians have fast and cheap access to the internet as we are trying to achieve with the BetterMe app, you can imagine how big the internet will become in our lives.

Could you take us through the start-up process and growth trajectory of Neo2?

At Neo2, we've been silent for years, really. This would be our first serious engagement with the traditional media even though we've been in this business for years and have been enabling services also for years. We've always tended to shy away if not for the magnitude of this project, we probably won't be having this interview.

Looking at how we started and where we are right now, we've not really done bad for ourselves. We are well positioned through our sister companies in our desire to take over and create a platform for technology, particularly consumer technology in 2015.

We have other platforms such as Digital Passion, as well as an IT-focused radio show and all sorts of ways by which we hope that to create a platform where companies like MTN and the likes might want to launch a product or partner with us to render some

Centre boosts youths with hands-on skills

By Adeola Ogunlade Centre (NOIC) in collaboration with Opportunities Industralisation Centre International and Walmart Foundation, United State of America.

The workshop tagged: 'Empowering Africans for Retail Needs' featured courses on retail operations, customers series, safety in retail operation,

store operations, inventory and merchandising, food and beverage retail, held simultaneously in Lagos and Kano. Justifying the need for the capacity building workshop, Chairman, NOIC, Arch Bishop Magnus Atilade said the training was aimed at given young people the tools needed to create new jobs and compete favourably in

the world of work.

Atilade opined that the new threat of terrorism, armed struggle, extremist activities are deeply rooted in economic inequalities among many African states and the youth are mostly affected.

The clergy, who shared his experience in bringing Walmart to Nigeria, said the training programme intends to equip

youths with necessary skills for immediate employment in the retail industry.

"Every youth needs basic education and industry related skills and knowledge for employment which should be the priority of everyone," he stressed.

Echoing similar sentiments, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Religious Af-

key services. It is very important to create platforms and for us, that's the position we are trying to take going forward.

Do you see yourself leapfrogging the competition as a result of this partnership with MTN? Yes, we can. MTN is a very big brand and when you work with them, it is a lot of work. A lot of work in the sense that meeting expectations, deliverables and all of that. Often times we find ourselves getting more resources. Working with a very big brand like MTN provides valuable learning opportunities to leverage on and help to position our brand for more clients.

What are your thoughts on the technology start up in Africa and what would be the key differentiator in the market?

I think that the African tech start up scene should be focused on creating technology solutions that are situated for the African market, localised apps, localised content. I think it will go a long way in adoption and rendering tangible services and solutions.

What advice do you have for young people who have similar ideas like yours?

These are the three ingredients to being successful anywhere, not just in Nigeria. First you must be hardworking. Second, be good at what you do. You don't have to be good at so many things, learn one good thing, and be good at something. And lastly, humility is also important; be humble to learn and listen.

These are virtues that you can't get it wrong following them. If they don't listen to you now, they will listen to you at some point. fairs, Rev Akitoye Braimoh appealed to the graduates to make the best use of the opportunities given to them and make themselves useful to Nigeria.

She said that the challenges of the time should not be an excuse for anyone not to reach the top of their chosen career as there are vast opportunities that can be explored for greater productivity and profitability.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

INTERVIEW N summary, how would you describe the journey of leading this church in the last 15 years?

Yeah, the journey has been both ways. We have had down times and up times; troubled times and pleasant times. But it has been an exciting journey. I told a friend in the UK 'I can't stay with you guys here'. You, know there is no gallop and pothole.

Sometimes, those challenges make life exciting.

We need some little hardship to enjoy life better.

Without a wall, there won't be progress. I have seen some of our setbacks that have become setups for our breakthrough.

What are some of these remarkable hiccups you could recall over the years?

For example, we were about some two kilometers away from our current location. Suddenly, the landlord said he was jerking up the price to just N250, 000 but we couldn't afford it. It was like the end of ministry for us. But while we were down with that, suddenly someone said a land was available here. We didn't even consider it because it was inconceivable. We couldn't pay rent so how do we buy a land?

So, the man who saw the land told us, 'if you have to pay N250, 000 as rent, why not deposit this with the landowners?'

When we met them, they said there was no discussion without full payment.

But one of them, popularly known as Alhaji Waseco, stood us in the meeting and offered to be a guarantor for us. He said he would stand for us and we should start building. The N100, 000 that we gave the owners as appeasement, he paid them himself.

That was how we came here.

Just like that?

Yes my brother. We started with digging the foundation. Within five months, we had completed the first floor. God spoke in February but by August, we had our convention here. Where we raised the almost N6million for the building, I cannot tell.

When we did the decking, it came crashing the same day. That was a big issue for us. We were demoralised. Within one week, we raised money to do it again. If that decking had not collapsed that day, it would have been a bigger disaster for us.

We were able to bring in all manners of engineers

I

'Why I'm an incurable church planter' Down-to-earth and radical, the general overseer of God's Mercy Revival Ministries, Lagos, Dr James Akanbi, spoke with Sunday Oguntola on his church-planting exploits and sundry issues. Excerpts: and planted columns that held the structures. We now have a very sound building. Another major challenge was when one of my very close ministers had to leave. He was the next person to me and had been given visibility. But then he had to leave and I didn't want that.

People were saying it wouldn't be easy and the ministry will suffer for it.

But the moment he left, things picked up radically.

Before then, we were battling with just 40 branches but within the three months of his departure, I planted 14 more branches.

In fact, it was almost as if he was the one holding us down. Things spread and expansion came.

How many branches do you have now?

We have about 56 across the world. He left September 2014 and we had 16 more branches.

What is it about you and the church that makes ground-breaking in difficult terrains stress-free?

I have been able to realise it's not about me. I'm a little bit addicted to divine signals. Everything about me revolves round hearing from Him. I try to invest some few hours daily standing in His presence.

I get signals on when next to move. Some of these expansions are what I hear from Him. Many asked why we couldn't do it before, I said it was because the signals had not come.

When they came, doing was easy.

When they didn't come, I ask if we could go ahead. Once you get signals, you can be sure God is with you. I tell people if you have good strategies or formula on how to succeed but God is not there, you might not succeed. The first 99.9 percent of success is God. The 1 percent is following divine leading and strategies.

I believe in success principles and I teach and practise them myself. I have done all manners of fasting. I have done 60 days, 90 days and 100 days of daily break. I have done all of them but never believe in them. The first thing first is what is God saying. He must be the underlying factor. If you

• Akanbi

fast 100 days non-stop and God is not interested, you cannot force Him. But people say if you stay more around, maybe you will have a bigger, mega church. Do you agree?

I don't totally agree. It's debatable because for the first four, five years, I was always around. I stayed on ground and was ministering to the local church. We had only 400 or 500 members. Then, I moved into branching and we doubled the following year.

Yes, there are advantages of staying in one point but you will be keeping vibrant members around you. What happens? You will be killing them.

So, you are not intimidated they are doing well?

Not at all. Why should I? If anything, I am impressed and fulfilled.

But they could also defect and move on to start another church after you have helped them to the top?

Will you say you won't sleep because you may die in the process? Even if you are just on a spot, there could be breakaways there. So, why are you afraid of death before it comes? In all our existence, we have never had such an experience. The only person who tried it in Ikire left with some members. After about six months, all the

members returned to another church we planted there.

When the person next to me left, he could not leave with three months despite all the capacity he had in his branch. So, for almost 16 years, we have never had any breakaway.

I am not envisaging one.

But even if it will happen, I can't stop planting churches now. I have in-

curable when it comes to church planting. Even if I want to stop now, I can't stop again.

In January 1999, when God commissioned me, He showed me many flags of nations and uncountable branches. So, I knew it would be an apostolic, prophetic commission.

People say that I keep planting churches maybe because I have not had a bad experience but I say even if it happens, I will not stop. To me, it looks stupid to stop because even if someone takes two branches, I would have planted another five. So, I can't stop again.

I believe I'm in the will of God and so He will handle the situation for me. If you plant churches because someone else is doing it, you will fail but if it is because He tells you to, you are secured.

Apostolic and prophetic ministers like you tend to draw people to their gifts and not God. Is that different with you?

Cult personality cuts across board. The truth is when people see the moves of God in the life of a man of God, they become convinced and open to surrendering to that man. But it's now the responsibility of that man to point them to

God as the source of power.

In Gambia, I met a man with a swollen hand. His goods were seized in the borders and his family was down. I told him God would fix him if he would be committed to serving Him. I asked him to put the swollen hand on mine but he was hesitant so as not to infect me. I told him to go ahead and do it. I prayed over him and by 12midnight, the borders were opened. He was called to come and pick his goods.

We met on a Sunday and by Tuesday, his hand was healed. That night, his children were given scholarship. When you get a radical turn-around like that, you think I'm a special breed but I have the responsibility to point him to God. I tell my members not to look up to me because I have my issues too. I had been ministering for years but my wife had to wait on God for five years to get the fruit of the womb. If I had all the powers, I should have given her once. But we waited like any other member to receive the gift.

If any minister boasts he has any powers, tell him to fix the challenges in his life too.

NEWS

N7billion bribery: Prove your allegations, clerics challenge Dikwa

F

OUNDER of Karis Christian Magazine, Pastor Bosun Emmanuel, has denied being a beneficiary of the alleged N7billion bribe offered by President Goodluck Jonathan to the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to support his re-election bid.

Emmanuel, who produced a CD almost a year ago, asking Christians to vote only those who can defend their faith, described the allegation as untrue and mischievous.

In a statement last week on the allegation, Emmanuel said: "My attention has been drawn to a report credited to Pastor Musa Dikwa that N7 billion was given to some pastors to campaign for President Jonathan.

"In the unfortunate report, my name was mentioned as being one of the beneficiaries of the said

By Adeola Ogunlade amount. Pending the official clarification of CAN on the issue, I am compelled to immediately clarify that no money was given to me.

"I did not collect any money from anybody neither am I campaigning for anyone."

He attributed such allegation to a bastardised national psyche, which he said makes everyone believe "anyone can speak the truth without financial inducement or gratification."

According to him: "Fortunately, there are still people in the nation who act without financial inducement.

"I am a Christian and my candidate is Jesus Christ. So long as I believe that the Church is under threat, I will speak for Jesus Christ and maintain the wake up call to the Church."

Speaking in the same

vein, the Director of Voice of Christian Martyr, Rev. Isaac Wusu, described Dikwa as a charlatan.

He said: "He (Dikwa) is well known to us and has approached with so many documents castigating all kinds of people in the past.

"His allegations are crude and false and he is a man that should be investigated and probed because I believe that he is being paid to do what he is doing."

He went on: "There is no doubt that he is paid to do all that is doing and those who know him knows him to be a man of shady character. He is a man who runs and chases after those who he thinks he can collect money from."

He challenged Dikwa to provide evidence of his claims, saying "if he is sure of all he is saying, I challenge to come out and He should provide evidence."

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

WORSHIP

COLUMN

Candidates to vote for, by Foursquare overseer

T

HE District Overseer of Foursquare Gospel Church Ifako, Lagos State, Reverend Paul Fadayini, has called on Nigerians to evaluate candidates well before voting for them.

Nigerians, he stated, should vote candidates passionate about the nation's unity and committed to raising their standards of living.

Such candidates, he added, should be committed to implementing their parties' manifestoes and programmes.

Fadayini spoke last week with reporters ahead of the forthcoming general elections.

He said: "The candidate for any post should be a Nigerian who strongly believes in the unity of Nigeria, a person who understands the realities of our economic, infrastructural and social backwardness, at least, and has workable plans for bringing a turnaround in these areas spelt out in his or her political agenda.''

Commending the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for recent performances, the cleric urged the body to up its game and conduct better

By Sunday Oguntola elections next month.

"Adequate security at polling booths and collation centres should be ensured, while incidents of ballot box snatching should be curbed absolutely.

"INEC and the government should provide good election security network for all the states, not minding the party that has overwhelming presence in a state. By now cases of multiple voting should be decisively eradicated in our polity," he stated.

On the allegation of bribery against some church leaders, Fadayini condemned the development, if true, as dangerous.

To him, such act among

church leaders will only make corruption fester.

He said: "I do not intend to castigate or judge any one.

But I daresay this portends disaster for our political system. For if the head is corrupt, the whole body will stink with corruption."

He stated that men of God must realise that "any form of assistance given by political office seekers during a period of electioneering campaign is tantamount to voting inducement."

Fadayini said church leaders should never dabble into politics, stating "one duty the clerics owe Nigeria is ceaseless prayer for the peace and stability of the nation as well as national growth and development."

Importance of fasting, by Martins

T

HE ongoing Lenten period is an opportunity to seek the face of God and embark on self-examination, The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Rev. Alfred Martins, has stated.

He also urged Nigerians to seize the period to ask for forgiveness of sins.

Adewale, who spoke on the importance of fasting, challenged Christians to take the exercise seriously.

He said: "If you are not

By Stella Edmund sober in your reflections on God's words, then the Ash on you makes no meaning because you could have been killed."

The Diocese President of Catholic Lawyers St. Agnes, Mrs. Maria Abeke, stated that the Lenten session offers an opportunity to self-examine "our consciences and approach God through Mary for forgiveness of sins.

Methodists pray for peaceful polls

T

HE Archdiocese of Lagos Methodist Church Nigeria will hold the inaugural prayer assembly for peaceful polls at Hoarse Memorial Methodist Church Cathedral

Yaba, Lagos.

Worshippers from different political parties are expected at the first session, which holds on Wednesday, 18th March.

The second session is on

Wednesday 1st April by 5pm.

The Prelate, Methodist Church Nigeria His Eminence, Dr. Samuel Chukwuemeka Uche JP, will preside over the assembly.

• Chairman, AC Yafeng West Africa, Architect Emeka Okoye(middle) flanked by Chidi Okoye (3rd left) and Pastor Akobundu (far right) with other dignitaries during the 50th birthday celebration and launch of Prophetic messages on Nigeria… in Lagos recently

Provost tasks pastors on training

T

HE Provost of Citas Levitical Theology University, Professor Iseoba Patrick, has appealed to leaders to go for training in well established bible based theology school for church growth and development.

Patrick spoke during the conferment of an Honorary Doctorate degree by the university on the general overseer of the Christ Anointed Church, Peculiar International Ministry, Prophet Olakunle Hephzibah, in Lagos.

He lamented there are too many quacks on the pulpits, unschooled men of God he said are deficient in biblical knowledge and unfit to lead others.

By Adeola Ogunlade He said that the challenges of today's world pointedly requires that church leaders focus on training and discipline of their members so they could be strong, firm, and courageous in the truth of God's word capable of keeping them from falling.

He noted that the early church were able to stand in the midst of trials, temptation and persecutions because the apostles gave themselves continually to the infallible truth of God's words.

Patrick, who lauded the life and principles of Hephzibah, said that the university honoured him in recognition of his commitment to holy living, mission and the

humanitarian lifestyle.

"We have checked his testimonies and by the grace of God, we have found them to be sure and true.

"There is no contest he is born again and he has the love of Christ and the gospel. He is mission inclined and he is faithful pastor," he said.

Responding, Hephzibah lauded the University for the Honour, saying it would spur to greater heights and commitment to God. He advised church leaders to be humble enough to go to a sound bible teaching school or remain under the tutelage of well- tested men who will train them to become better and fruitful in the vineyard of God.

Living Faith

By Dr. David Oyedepo

Encounter With The Power Of The World To Come!

W

ELCOME to the third month of the year.Recognize that this is our year of Heaven On Earth, which simply connotes experiencing the realities of heaven in the now. That means whatever is not obtainable in heaven, the throne of God, is not permitted to be found in and around us (Revelation 21:1-4; 22:3-5).

We must realize that God is set to launch us into realms of unending exploits and breakthroughs. Therefore, all through 2015, no one shall doubt the reality of Heaven On Earth in our lives!

It is written: And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come (Hebrews 6:5).'The power of the world to come' is a divine enabling to live a heavenly lifestyle in the now. While on earth, Jesus portrayed the splendour of heaven and as believers, we are to depict same to the world.That means we are to operate at the same level of command as Christ.Jesus said:Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father (John 14:12).

The'power of the world to come' is also the conferment of supernatural dominion over all life situations and circumstances upon the saints.

That is, having it as desired in spite of the enemy (Psalm 110:1-3; Daniel 4:26). However, we must understand that we cannot operate in the realm of the 'world to come' except

we are empowered. As it is written:But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God… (John 1:12).

What Are The Characteristics Of The 'World To Come'?

•It is a sin-free world: When we are endued with the 'power of the world to come', our dominion over sin is established. As it is written: And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein (Isaiah 35:8; see also Revelation 21:27).It is also written: For sin shall not have dominion over you... (Romans 6:14).

We must understand that when our dominion over sin is established, living, thinking, speaking and acting rightly becomes our natural lifestyle. For instance, Daniel operated in the realm of the 'power of the world to come'. His accuserscould not find anything against him, except against the law of his God, (Daniel 6:1-4).

•It is a sickness-free world: Heaven on Earth is a state of no pain, sorrow, crying, or death. The Bible says: God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away (Revelation 21:4).

When Jesus' disciples were with Him, none of them was reported sick, because they lived in the realm of Heaven on Earth.

Thus, when we are endued

with the power of the world to come, we are conferred with dominion over sicknesses and diseases (Psalm 105:37; Matthew 10:1).

•Every day is Christmas in heaven: The 'world to come' is a concern-free world and the 'power of the world to come' empower us to experience Christmas daily. It is written: And there shall be no night there… (Revelation 22:5).'Night season' connotes weeping, stagnation, etc and the Bible says: ...Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning (Psalms 30:5).

However, it is also written: Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation (Psalms 68:19; see also Proverbs 4:18; Psalm 23:6).Salvation entitles us to daily loads of blessings and that means we are ordained to enjoy Christmas daily.

Friend, the power to access the above is the heritage of those saved. You get saved by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. You can be saved right now as you say this prayer: "Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins.

Cleanse me with Your precious blood. Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now I know I am born again!" I will continue this teaching next week.

Every exploit in life is a product of knowledge.

For further reading, please get my books -Walking In Dominion, Winning Invisible Battlesand Born To Win. I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 9:40 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. respectively.

I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 7747546-8; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

Special anointing service in Lagos

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HE President, GodWill-Do-It Ministries, Ibadan, Dr Gomba Fortune - Oyor, will next Wednesday host a special interdenominational service at Eko FM (Upper suite) Radio La-

gos/LTV Complex, Agindingbi, Lagos.

The special deliverance and anointing service takes place from 5:30am-8am (first session) and 5:30pm8pm (second session).

A statement by the

church said the sessions will feature prophetic word and prayers, anointing with oil, word expositions, healing, deliverance, fruitfulness, breakthrough and victory among others.

Foursquare holds special seminar HE annual threemonth special seminar of Saabo Foursquare Gospel Church District headquarters has kicked off.

It runs from January 4th to March 8th every Sunday

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by 8am.

Venue is District headquarters, 21/23, Adebowale Street, Debo Bus-stop, Ojodu Berger, Lagos.

Some of the topics to consider include: How to sack your landlord and

build your own house without stress; how to fire your boss, among others.

The host, Rev. Albert Aina, said the seminar is specially for impartation to start and finish all projects in 2015.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015 CHANGE OF NAME AJIBOYE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Ajiboye Funke Folake now wishes to be called Mrs Adenuga Funke Folake. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ALADEJIMOKUN

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Aladejimokun Oluseyi Adefunbi now wishes to be called Mrs Akinbola Oluseyi Adefunbi.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

65

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE CHANGE OF OF NAME NAME

IYIP

OLUSOGA

AGBO

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Macillina Agbo now wishes to be called Mrs Macillina Saasaa.

All former documents remain valid.

Benue State Polytechnic, First Bank Plc and general public should please take note.

IDOGUN

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Idogun Oluwatosin Modupe now wishes to be called Mrs Shokunbi Oluwatosin Modupe. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

BASSEY

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Udeme Bassey Etim Ukim now wishes to be called Mrs Udeme Mfon-Abasi Asuquo. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

AGOHA

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Chinomso Victoria Agoha now wishes to be called Mrs Chinomso Victoria Ogueri. All former documents remain valid.

NIMASA and general public should please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I Adeleke Alimot Fisayo am the same person as Aransi Sadiat Folasade henceforth I want to be known and addressed as Adeleke Alimot Fisayo former documents remain valid general public take note.

NGEGWE

I formerly known and addressed as SARAH NGEGWE now wish to be known as Mrs. SARAH SAANA. All former documents remain valid Ministry of Education Port Harcourt and Zonal Schools board Eleme and general public please take note.

OKINLUYI

I formerly known and addressed as Miss OKINLUYI OLUTOSIN OLUKEMI RADIANT. Now wish to be known as Mrs. ORUNGBE OLUTOSIN OLUKEMI RADIANT. All former documents remain valid general public please take note.

OKONKWO

I formerly known and addressed as Miss OKONKWO UCHE ESTHER now wish to be known as Mrs. NWEZI IFEANYI UCHE ESTHER. All former documents remain valid National Open University general public please take note.

MOMOH

I formerly known and addressed as Miss GLADYS AMANELE MOMOH, now wish to be known as Mrs. LUCY GLADYS AMANELE EWONODE. All former documents remain valid general public please take note.

OFFOR

I formerly known and addressed as Miss OFFOR MESSIVE NONYELUM, now wish to be known as Mrs. EZE MESSIVE NONYELUM. All former documents remain valid general public please take note.

EKELI

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. EKELI DORIS ASARI IKIOWORI now wish to be known as Miss. EKE MANGITE IKIOWORI PRINCESS. All former documents remain valid general public please take note.

ADAMS:

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Shukurat Ayotunde Adams, now wish to be Known and addressed as Mrs Shukurat Ayomide Akinyele . All former documents remain valid. The general public please take note.

AKANYA

I, formerly known, called and addressed as Miss Olatoun Adesola Olusoga, now wish to be known, called and addressed as Mrs. Olatoun Adesola Somefun.All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ebube Kate Ifeanyi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Onyia Kate Ifeanyi. All former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

CHIAHA

OSAKUE

I,formerly known and addressed as Chiaha Sunday Chibuike, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Ozo-Okafor Sunday Chibuike. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

I, formerly known, called and addressed as Osakue Anthonia Orobosa, now wish to be known, called and addressed as Ugorji Anthonia Orobosa.All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ndulaka Kate Nneoma now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oludemi Kate Chinatu all former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

IZEZE

IBEBUIKE

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Juli Etare Izeze, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Juli Etare Arowojobe. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I, formerly known, called and addressed as Ibebuike, Onyinye Perpetua, now wish to be known, called and addressed as Ilobi, Onyinye Perpetua.All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Nneji Prisca Akudo now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Onyeka Prisca Akudo. All former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

AWODIPE

AZEEZ

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss AROWOIYA AYORINDE IBUKUN, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OJO AYORINDE IBUKUN. All former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

I,formerly known and addressed as Awodipe Abimbola Oladimeji, now wish to be known and addressed as Ayodele Abimbola Oladimeji. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I, formerly known, called and addressed as Miss Azeez, Taiwo Idayat, now wish to be known, called and addressed as Mrs. Zinsu Taiwo Idayat.All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

CHUKWU

AZEEZ

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Chukwu, Viola Chikwado, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Okoronkwo Chikwado Viola.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

OLAWOYIN

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Olawoyin Oluwafunmilayo Dorcas now wishes to be called Mrs Mrs Ajayi Oluwafunmilayo Dorcas. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

EBUBE

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss ANIEFON JOSHUA GEORGE IYIP, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. ANIEFON ANTHONY CHRISTOPHER. All former documents remain valid.

Whom it may concern and general public should take note.

BATULB

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Batulb Elizabeth now wishes to be called Mrs Anju Elizabeth. All former documents remain valid.

School of Midwifery Makurdi and general public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

OLAFISOYE

I, formerly known, called and addressed as Miss Azeez, Kehinde Fadiat, now wish to be known, called and addressed as Mrs. Amosu, Kehinde Fadiat.All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

AKINYELE

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Olafisoye, Temitope Oladoyin, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Temitope Oladoyin Olafisoye-Subair. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

I, formerly known, called and addressed as Miss Akinyele, Omolara Lola, now wish to be known, called and addressed as Mrs. Balogun, Omolara Lola.All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

COLE

I formerly known as Miss Mosunmola Funmilayo Bamidele Ajiboye henceforth wish to be known and called as Mrs. Favour Mosunmola Sobowale. All former documents remain valid. Federal University of Technology, Minna and general public take note.

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Oluwafunmilayo Adedoyin Cole, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oluwafunmilayo Adedoyin ColeEdun. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

ADIO

I,formerly known and addressed as Adio Babajide Olatunde, now wish to be known and addressed as Fagbohunka Olatunde Jibayo. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

AWOSEMO

I formerly known and addressed as Awosemo Ayobami Olusola, now wish to be known and addressed as Awosemo Abayomi Olusola John.

All former documents remain valid.

GTB and general public should please take note.

ADESANYA

SOBOWALE

AKINBODE

NDULAKA

AKUDO

AROWOIYA

OGUNDIPE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ogundipe Folashade, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Alli Folashade. All former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

FAYOKUN

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Fayokun Moyosore Olufunbi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Curtis-Joseph Moyosore Olufunbi. All former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

OLOWOOKERE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Olowookere, Oluwafunmilayo Beatrice, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oladiran, Oluwafunmilayo Beatrice. All former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS TAIWO HAZANAT AKINBODE. Now wish to be known and addressed as MRS TAIWO HASSANAT RAYMONDAKINBODE . All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Ajayi, Folahan Michael, now wish to be known and addressed as AjayiFemi Folahan Michael. All former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME Miss BABALOLA RUKAYAT OLAITAN, is the same person as Miss MOHAMMED RUKAYAT OLAITAN now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. ADEWOLU RUKAYAT OLAITAN. All other documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Adeyi, Folawewo Aderonke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Raymond, Folawewo Aderonke. All former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

BAMIDELE

AJAYI

ADEYI

OWOLABI

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Adesanya Adebukonla Omorinsola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Salako Adebukonla Omorinsola. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss BAMIDELE ALICE OLUWASEUN, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. SUBAIR TAWAKALITU OLUWASEUN. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Owolabi, Modupe Grace, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Fatuase, Modupe Grace. All former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

ADESINA

OKOH

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Motunrayo Eunuce Iyanda, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Motunrayo Eunice Kafidipe. All former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Adesina Adebola Mariam, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Popoola Adebola Mariam. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OLAGOKE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Funmilayo Omotola Olagoke, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Funmilayo Omotola Adewuyi. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

MGBEZE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Gloria Amaka Mgbeze, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Gloria Amaka Wenike-Briggs.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

AKINBILE

I formerly known and addressed as Miss AKINBILE BLESSING BUCHI, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. GEORGE BLESSING BUCHI. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OGBONNAYA I, formerly known, called and addressed as Ogbonnaya Jessica Ngozi, now wish to be known, called and addressed as OGBONNAYA-IDAM JESSICA NGOZI. All documents bearing my former names remain valid. Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria,Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (FETHA) and the general public to lease take note.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Oseyiomon Ejimiagbon Okoh, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oseyiomon Ejimiagbon Jobarteh. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OLAJIDE

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS OLAJIDE OLUWAKEMI RUTH now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. IGE-JOHN OLUWAKEMI RUTH all former documents remain valid. Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) and general public should please take note.

SALAU

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Salau Victorial Wuraola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Packson Victorial Wuraola.

All former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

OMOROGIE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Omorogie Caroline, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Bamigbe Abuede Caroline.

All former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

OLAGOKE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Olagoke, Aminat Odunola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Shoyege, Aminat Odunola. All former documents remain valid. UNILAG, NYSC and general public should please take note.

IYANDA

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Akanya, Onyinye Obianozo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Onwuemelie Onyinye Obianozo. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public should please take note.

SAMBO

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Sambo, Rasheedat Abiodun, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adeolu, Rasheedat Abiodun. All former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

IWUAGWU I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Iwuagwu, Janefrancis Chika, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Janefrancis David Opara Chinedu. All former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

NWANERI

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Nancy Nkechikara Nwaneri, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nancy Nkechikara Ibeawuchi Akuneho. All former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

OZOWARA:

I formerly Known and addressed as Miss Chizoba Vivian Ozowara , now wish to be Known and addressed as Mrs Chizoba Vivian Ozowara Softeland. All former documents remain valid. The general public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Boma Cookey, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Edema Boma. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

MBACHU : I formerly known and addressed as Miss Mbachu Maryann Obiageli , now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Umeatueyi Maryann Obiageli. All former documents remain valid. The general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I,Mr. Okoronkwo Arinze Charles and Mr. Obiagu Charles Michael refers to the same and one person. Now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Okoronkwo Arinze Charles. All documents bearing the above names remain valid. First Bank Nig. Plc., UNIZIK Awka and general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Yaroson Catherine, now wish to be known and addressed as Miss Ayuba Catherine. All former documents remain valid.

General Public Should please take note.

COOKEY

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I,Olakunle, Festus Adeniyi and Fatai, Saheed Olakunle refers to the same and one person. Now wish to be known and addressed as Olakunle, Festus Adeniyi. All documents bearing the above names remain valid. General public should please take note.

AMUPITAN I, formerly known and addressed as MISS AMUPITAN ELIZABETH ODUNAYO, now want to be known and addressed as Mrs. OMOTOSO ELIZABETH ODUNAYO. All formal documents remain valid. Ekiti State Civil Service Commission, Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) and general public should take note.

AZIEKWE

I,formerly known and addressed as Aziekwe Chioma Loveline, now wish to be known and addressed as Nwagboo Chioma Loveline.All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

OROGBEMI

I,formerly known and addressed as Mr. Orogbemi Oluwole Olufemi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Olugbemi Oluwole Johnson.All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

ILOKA

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Iloka Chinyere Grace, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ogbolagha Chinyere Favour.All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

CHUKWUKELU I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Chukwukelu, Lisa Chinaza, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ani Lisa Chinaza.All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

UMEH

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Umeh Chioma Grace, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ejiofor, Chioma Grace.All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

ONYEMACHI I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Victoria Onyinyechi Onyemachi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Kelechukwu Victoria Onyinyechi.

All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

GANIYU

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ganiyu, Hulemat Damilola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Lanlokun Hulemat Damilola. All former documents remain valid.General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

UMEKWE

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Umekwe Grace Enyioma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Alamba, Grace Enyioma. All former documents remain valid. Primary Health Department, Ugwunagbo LGA, Abia State and general public should take note.

ADIKEA

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Adikea, Ijeoma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ukpe, Ijeoma All former documents remain valid.General public should take note.

OGUNLEYE I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Ogunleye, Olabisi Abigail, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Fagbamigbe, Olabisi Abigail All former documents remain valid.General public should take note.

OMOTARA

I,formerly known and addressed as Miss Omotara, Oluwakemi Augustina, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olufayo, Oluwakemi Augustina All former documents remain valid.General public should take note.

YAROSON

UDOSEN

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Adiah Inih Florence Udosen, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Adiah Inih Florence Chukwu. All former documents remain valid. General Public Should please take note.

ADESINA

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Adesina Afusat Mosunmola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Sokunbi Elizabeth Mosunmola. All former documents remain valid. General Public Should please take note.

BANKOLE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Mariam Adedoyin Bankole, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Mariam Adedoyin Odunbaku. All former documents remain valid. General Public Should please take note.

A D V E R T : Simply produce your marriage certificate or sworn affidavit for a change of name publication, with just N4,500.

The payment can be made through FIRST BANK of Nigeria Plc. Account number 2017220392 Account Name V I N T A G E PRESS LIMITED Scan the details of your advert and teller to gbengaodejide @yahoo.com or thenation_advert @yahoo.com.

For enquiry please contact: Gbenga on 08052720421, 08161675390, E m a i l gbengaodejide@ yahoo.com or our offices nationwide.

Note this!

Change of name is now published every Sundays, all materials should reach us two days before publication.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

66

EBERE WABARA

WORDSWORTH 08055001948

ewabara@yahoo.com

‘Electioneering campaign’?

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HE NATION ON SUNDAY of February 22 welcomes us this week with the following headline infractions: “Uche calls for reflections at Lenten (Lent)” ‘Lent’( noun); ‘Lenten’ (adjective) “Calls (on the same quarter page) for Ekiti poly (Poly) rector’s sack unreasonable, says CSOs” Why the disagreement?

“Egypt (Egyptian) court acquits ex-oil minister of corruption charges” “Who wins (win) Kogi senatorial seats?” A senator is entitled to only a seat!

“The Board and Management of Niger Delta Power Holding Company invites (invite) the world to the official commissioning ( a u s p i c a t i o n / inauguration) of the 750 megawatts….” “ C a m e r o o n (Cameroonian) troops recover Nigerian armoured carrier from sect” “Sanusi, the man at the centre of the melodrama, had, in September 2013, written (written to) President Goodluck Jonathan alleging that….”

THE GUARDIAN of February 18 contributed just one impropriety: “Role of meter testing (meter-testing) equipment” THE NATION ON SUNDAY of February 1 comes next: “APC flag (standard) bearer says PDP’s desperation frightening for Nigeria” “Boko Haram failure of govt, says Catholic Bishops” Why the slip? Yet another slip-up: “Ondo APC chieftains condemns attack on Buhari” “After the mudslinging and other inanities that have characterized electioneering campaigns in the last few weeks….” (THE NATION ON SUNDAY COMMENT, February 1) ‘Electioneering’ and ‘campaign’ cannot cofunction.

“Crocodile tears for late (the late) coach….”

“Odo: Where m a s q u e r a d e s (masqueraders) celebrate love” ‘Masquerade’ is the mask/effigy worn by masqueraders.

“Eye catching (Eyecatching) brights (sic)” “Microsoft launches internet user friendly (userfriendly) phone” “His joy was shattered by a distressed (distress) call informing him that the dutiful PRO of the university…died in an auto crash few (a few) minutes after he left the school for his home in Ogun State.”

“Second hand (Secondhand) clothes business boom (booms) in Ilorin Sunday Market” “Why people patronise second hand (sic) clothings” ‘Clothing’ is uncountable.

“The rise of the Yorubas (1)” (THISDAY, THE

SATURDAY NEWSPAPER COMMENTARY Headline, February 14) This way: The Hausa, the Igbo, and the Yoruba—no inflection.

“Nissan reinvents XTrail SUV with family oriented (family-oriented) values” (Source: as above) “Happy 45 th Birthday Anniversary to my mentor” (Full-page advertorial signed by Hon. Mrs. Tonye Briggs Oniyide, Commissioner Representing Rivers State, Federal Character Commission, THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER, February 14, Page 54) ‘Birthday’ and ‘anniversary’ cannot co-exist because ‘anniversary’ is otiose in that phrase.

Finally from THISDAY: “Imoke commissions (inaugurates) science labs, roads in Navy Secondary School” “Truck load (Truckload) of Cheers” (Full-page advertisement by Fidelity Bank PLC, THE GUARDIAN, January 15) “Oil price drops below $50 per barrel,, in over five year (five-year) low” (THISDAY Front Page Window Headline, January 6) “Taking a journey into the Abia State governorship e l e c t i o n campaigns…reckons that the Abia electorate appears (appear) wiser now.”

(THISDAY PERSPECTIVE, January 19) “Jonathan’s grouse with (about) senior citizens” (THE PUNCH Headline, January 9) “Reps in last minute (last-minute) move to bequeath legacy” (THE GUARDIAN, January 9) “African economies have great potentials (potential or potentialities) to build on their demographic dynamism, rapid urbanization and natural resources assts.” (The Guardian Back Page, January 9) “Why we can’t continue display of voter’s (voters’) cards at polling units, by INEC” (THE GUARDIAN Headline, January 16) “Worries over incessant fire outbreaks” (Source: as above) “The post election (postelection) petrol price increase (1)” (THE GUARDIAN Opinion Page Headline, January 21) “Ascendancy of social media in build up (build-up) to elections” “Achieving balance in work ethics (ethic), industrial harmony” (THE GUARDIAN Banner, January 13) “ P r e s i d e n t i a l declaration: My take away (takeaway)” (THISDAY Back Page Banner, January 12) “Investing into (in) toothpicks manufacturing and packaging business”

( T H I S D A Y BUSINESSWORLD Headline, January 13) “INEC deploys 1,555 card readers to (in) Ekiti, says election dates stand” (THISDAY Lead Headline, January 20) “Police disrupts (why?)APC rally in Akure with teargas” (The PUNCH Headline, January 10) “President’s convoy trapped, heavy causalities (casualties) recorded” “Day Egba in Minna rolled out drums to celebrate 50 (50th) anniversary” “Rags to riches (Rags-toriches) story of university proprietor” “FG commended over (for) rice value chain” “Pensioners demand payment of 29 months (months’) arrears” The last three errors this week are from THE NATION ON SUNDAY of February 22: “Assemblies of God sets (set) for great awakening” “Apostolice Church commissions (inaugurates) road, building” “Beckham watches son takes (take) on Liverpool youngsters” The wages of spiritual ungrammaticality is journalistic death!

ONCE more, corrections in this column are mostly in brackets immediately after the wrong word or expression—excluding, of course, the attributions, emphases and elucidations.

FEEDBACK WORDSWORTH, whip The Nation, February 22, Page 7, for not upholding good grammar. “Jonathan assures on (promises, pledges) stable power supply”. “Assure” is a transitive verb; it requires an object such as residents, citizens. Also in its Comment on Page 15 on “Military and our democracy: Assurances (countable, plural noun) by the military that it is set to defend democracy is (why “IS”, a singular verb, and not “ARE”, plural?) suspect.”

“The junta and the hunters”, The Nation, February 22, “blocks” in “major power blocks” and “hegemonic blocks” should read “blocs”.

The two differ. (KOLA DANISA, 07068074257) PLEASE note that “evidence” is both countable and uncountable, but, in a law case, we correctly say or write: a piece of evidence/ pieces of evidence, some evidence/ enough evidence/a mass of evidence, etc. We cannot afford to have the mediocre. The mediocre cannot teach/ communicate is correct.

“Reoccur”, like “reoccurrence”, is Americanism, “bus station” is Briticism while “motor park” is Nigerianism. “Host-guest” is Briticism while “invitorinvitee” is Americanism.

Usage is king. (BAYO O G U N T U A S E , 08056180046)

Sustaining value in the pay-TV industry

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f, like me, you want top class television content at a cost that has charity written all over it, this piece is for you. Still there?

I grew up watching television content for which we did not have to pay. And even up till today, millions access plenty of TV content such as sports, sitcoms, news, movies, music and kids’ entertainment without paying for anything other than electricity consumption and, of course, the oneoff purchase of their television sets.

There are millions of others that find the programming on nonconditional access television sterile, making them pay some money to pay-TV companies with considerably better programming and audio-visual quality.

Frankly, many of those in the paying category, certainly, would wish they did not have to pay for the vastly superior service they enjoy. Even within this category, there are many that wish to pay for the superior service, but not the same amount the television companies are charging.

They would rather pay, preferably for a lifetime, a tiny fraction of what they currently pay. I do not mind paying, but prefer to pay the same subscription rate forever.

But it does not require plenty of acumen to know that this is not possible. After all, I am not earning the same wage I earned three years ago.

So, can I, with any justification, assume that whatever I pay to access premium television content should remain the same despite economic signs that such is not possible?

And if I do, will I be on solid grounds?

Answer: No. The reason is simple. The economics of pay-television, driven largely by live sports broadcast and airing of movies makes such an assumption untenable.

Sports, without doubt, is responsible for a huge percentage of t e l e v i s i o n ’ s programming costs and accounts for more than half the revenue of many professional sports. I am certain that without television, professional sport would be nothing like we currently know it. And without sport, the influence of cable TV on her lives would have been considerably weaker than what it is.

•Chief Edem Duke

By Ebitimi Waritobo

Television content, especially of the world class variety, has always been pricey. It is exactly why we are required to pay certain amounts in subscription fees to have access to such.

The subscription we pay is for the programming ( those channels we watch, that is) and the distribution (the infrastructure and profits for the cable companies).

It means that every time we pay subscription, the channels collect a fraction of the fee. That fraction is called an “affiliate fee.” The affiliate fee is the way cable providers compensate producers of the content that thrills us.

Affiliate fees are what drive content development.

They represent a “share” of the subscription fee we pay to our cable or satellite operator that is then shared with the content owner or distributor, often on a per subscriber basis.

The most watched channels attract the highest fees. And those tend to be entertainment channels like those of sports and movies.

In the current economic climate, marked the naira’s free fall, I have continued to wonder how pay-TV companies, charging the same as they have always charged will remain in business. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced the devaluation of the naira is what will unhinge them unless, of course, they have acquired an expertise akin to one required to turn water into wine.

The broadcast rights for much of the content they bring to us are paid for in dollars. And in many situations, contracts for many of such are due for renewal.

The implication is that pay-TV companies are condemned to pay a lot more than they paid the last time to have the rights to bring the content to us.

The bidding process for

such rights, anywhere in the world, does not allow for low-balling. The most in-demand content attracts fiercely competitive bids, a state of affairs that puts Nigerian pay-TV providers at a huge disadvantage on account of the naira’s limpness.

The latest television deal for the broadcast of England’s Barclays Premier League matches, signed earlier this month, showed a 70% jump in cost. This was provoked by the frenzied bids by Sky and BT. The deal, which runs from 2016 to 2019, will cost Sky, which got the lion’s share of the matches, £4.176billion.

The outlay sparked panic among Sky subscribers, who wondered if they would not have to pay more than they currently do. Keen to quell the panic, Sky issued a statement saying subscribers will not foot the bill. But in the same statement, the company said it would minimise the impact of the outlay on the subscribers. In plain language, Sky was saying that subscribers have to pay more because it has had to pay more.

But it is not only foreign content that is affected by the sliding naira.

Currency devaluation drives up the costs of goods and services, even if they are not coming from abroad.

What this means is that pay-TV companies with interest in original local content production will have to spend more to have the type of content that keeps subscribers glued.

This is in addition to acquiring content for which they have to pay.

The movie offerings on MultiChoice’s eightchannel Africa Magic range have cost implications in form of payments to movie producers. If pay-TV companies lose the capacity to pay adequately, content producers will see their investments faced with the threat of going belly up.

Pay-TV is business, it must be stated, is not a social service.

It does not depend on government subventions.

It creates value and for it to continue to create value, it must have a value-an appropriate value to which the subscriber’s contribution is required.

Waritobo, a public affairs analyst, lives in Amasoma, Bayelsa State.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

Cameroonians protest Boko Haram

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HOUSANDS of Cameroonians yesterday took to the streets of the capital Yaounde to protest against Boko Haram insurgency and express support for their army, which is fighting alongside regional neighbours to defeat the terror sect.

The march was aimed at informing the public, especially in the southern regions, about the threat posed by Boko Haram, which has carried out regular cross-border raids in the far north, one of the organisers said.

"It was important to tell Cameroonians that we are at war and a part of the country is suffering," said Gubai Gatama, a newspaper editor who was among the march's organisers. "About 150,000 people have been displaced by the conflict."

In addition to its own citizens forced to flee the violence, thousands of refugees have poured into Cameroon from northeastern Nigeria, the epicenter of the sect's terrorism.

"Some 170 schools in Cameroon's northern region have been closed," Gatama said.

•Contd from page 11 President in the six states is the crisis in the PDP Since last year, the president's men have invaded the Southwest.

But they could only strike a deal with Yoruba leaders who lack a viable electoral constituency and formidable support base. Since 2003, Afenifere has been battling with crisis. There are two factions led by Chief Rueben Fasoranti, who was named Acting Leader by the Leader, Senator Abraham Adesanya, and the Deputy Leader, Senator Ayo Fasanmi. The two factions have not reconciled. In the Fasanmi faction are Chief Bisi Akande, Senator Bola Tinubu, Senator Biyi Durojaye, Pa Olatunji Hamzat, Chief Busura Alebiosu, Prince Oluyole Olusi, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Chief George Akosile, Sooko Adedoyin, and Prince Abiodun Ogunleye. The latter group has been in power in the Southwest since the collapse of the AD. Sources said that the second term ambition may have been commercialised in the region. Indeed, fat contracts were said to have been awarded to the ethnic militia to monitor pipelines.

But mobilisation for elections has not been the pastime for the OPC. The contract, added the source, became a source of conflict between the polarised group.

When the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) was formed, there were insinuations that

Fear in Russia after killing of Putin’s critic

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BOUT two weeks before he was shot and killed in the highest-profile political assassination in Russia in a decade, Boris Y. Nemtsov met with an old friend to discuss his latest research into what he said was dissembling and misdeeds in the Kremlin.

He was, as always, pugilistic and excited, saying he wanted to publish the research in a pamphlet to be called "Putin and the War," about President Vladimir V. Putin and Russian involvement in the Ukraine conflict, recalled Yevgenia Albats, the editor of the New Times magazine.

Both knew the stakes.

Mr. Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister, knew his work was dangerous but tried to convince her that, as a former high official in the Kremlin, he enjoyed a immunity, Ms. Albats said.

"He was afraid of being killed," Ms. Albats said. "And he was trying to convince himself, and me, they wouldn't touch him because he was a member of the Russian government, a vice premier, and they wouldn't want to create a precedent. Because as he said, one time the power will change hands in Russia again, and those who served Putin wouldn't want to create

•Tributes for Boris-Nemtsov this precedent."

As supporters of Mr. Nemtsov laid flowers on the sidewalk where he was shot and killed late Friday, a shiver of fear moved through the political opposition in Moscow.

The worry was that the kill-

ing would become a pivot point toward an even less pluralistic form of government for Russian domestic politics, already under strain from Russia's unacknowledged involvement in the war in

Ukraine and runaway inflation in an economic crisis.

"Another terrible page has been turned in our history," Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, the exiled former political prisoner, wrote in a statement about the killing.

Can Jonathan spring surprise in Southwest? it was set up to front for the president and polarise the region. The party could not, however, fly. Its leaders have been trading accusations over party funds. Also, when the SDP came on board, it was perceived as an extension of the Afenifere. Since the leaders of the two small parties have identified with the second term ambition of the president, the people believe that they are an extension of the PDP. Unlike before, Afenifere leaders have been visiting Aso Villa, the seat of government, to discuss with the president.

One of them, Dr. Femi Okunrounmu, was appointed as the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Dialogue.

Many Afenifere leaders later became delegates to the conference. The report has not seen the light of the day.

But how far can Afenifere go in selling the president's bid to the Southwest? Apart from Chief Olu Falae, the Olu of IluAabo, Akure, its leaders - Chief Rueben Fasoranti, Chief Olaniwun Ajayi, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, and Dr. Femi Okunrounmu - were associates of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. They are credible politicians and founding fathers of the Alliance for Democracy (AD).

But, according to observers, these men now rely on old glory as leaders of latter-day Afenifere, which can only bark, but cannot bite. The last time they mobilised successfully for

candidates was in 2003. But, all their candidates - Adebayo Adefarati (Ondo), Adeniyi Adebayo (Ekiti), Aremo Segun Osoba (Ogun) and Alhaji Lam Adesina (Oyo) lost the governorship. Only Tinubu, who they deserted, survived the political earthquake in the region. In 2007, Afenifere floated the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA) and sponsored Mr. Jimi Agbaje, a pharmacist and former treasurer of the group, for Lagos State governorship. They failed.

Despite their support for PDP in Ogun State in 2011, the party was defeated by the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

Many have queried the motivation for regressing into the conservative arena by the old Afenifere leaders, who in 1998/89 distanced themselves from Chief Ebenezer Babatope and Alhaji Lateef Jakande for their involvement in Abacha politics and victimised the former Secretary, Ayo Opadokun, for allegedly fraternising with the All Peoples Party (APP) governor of Kwara State, the late Alhaji Mohammed Lawal. Critics have raised some puzzles: If Afenifere leaders are espousing Awoism, where is the meeting point between Awoism and Jonathanism?

Why should leaders who fought for the restoration of democracy now queue behind a government that has not performed? Why the sudden love for mainstream politics?

Does the romance between the PDP and Afenifere have an ideological basis? In the recent past, Afenifere berated the Jonathan Administration for marginalising Yorubaland in the scheme of things. What has now changed between last year and now to warrant the endorsement of the president by the group? Why should Afenifere leaders act like political jobbers, despite their proud history?

One of the top Afenifere leaders shed light on why the group endorsed Jonathan for a second term. He said the president approached the leaders and promised to implement the report of the Abuja National Conference.

He also conceded that the decision was taken to spite Tinubu, who they perceive as their foe.

However, the endorsement has divided the fold. The Ekiti State Chapter of Afenifere dissociated itself from what it described as the unwarranted endorsement, saying that it is illogical and questionable. Also, other panYoruba groups, including the Oodua Nation, led by Mr. Samuel Ayodele, and Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), led by Hon. Olawale Oshun, have rejected the endorsement, saying that it is counterproductive. They said it did not reflect the true mood of the Southwest. Also, former Lagos State Deputy Governor Rafiu Jafojo, an Afenifere chieftain, said close associates of Awo

have desecrated the sage's memory and violated his principles. He lamented that the old Awoists made a mistake of departing from Awo's path, thereby mocking their antecedents as ideologues and a moral voice in the society in the post-Awolowo era. He said the purported endorsement was embarrassing to Nigerians who have held them in high esteem as men of principle, adding that it was done in utter insensitivity to the public mood.

Taking an exception to the endorsement, Opadokun said that Afenifere, which has now become a weak organisation, lacked the strength and goodwill to mobilise for the victory of candidates in Yorubaland. He said the conditions which aided their successful mobilisation in the pre-2003 period have vanished.

The former Afenifere Secretary said, unlike 2011, Southwest will not vote for the president.

Jafojo dissociated the Afenifere Independent Group from the endorsement, which, he maintained, was questionable, adding that those behind owe an explanation to the people of Yorubaland. He said the endorsement has generated nasty thoughts among the people, with the youths wondering whether it was done for pecuniary gains.

Jafojo said those behind the endorsement are puppets in the Awolowo camp, who have never won elections in the over

Scores dead as car bombs target crowded market in Iraq capital

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AR bombs targeting a crowded market and Shiite militia checkpoints north of Iraq's capital killed 27 people yesterday, authorities said, as the country's prime minister vowed to punish Islamic State militants who smashed ancient artifacts in a northern city.

The first bombs exploded near the market in the town of Balad Ruz, 70 kilometers (45 miles) northeast of Baghdad, killing 11 people and wounding 50, police and hospital officials said.

A suicide car bomber later attacked a checkpoint manned

by Shiite militiamen near the city of Samarra, killing eight Shite fighters and wounding 15, authorities said.

Samarra and surrounding areas have been under constant attacks by the Islamic State group, which holds about a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in its self-declared caliphate. Clashes between Iraqi security forces and Islamic State militants followed the attack around Samarra, 95 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad.

A second suicide bomber attacked another Shiite militia checkpoint just south of Samarra, killing eight fighters and wounding 16, police and hospital officials said.

50 years of their so-called active involvement in politics. He said while some of them had survived politically by leaning on Awolowo's reputation, they have also indulged in misusing his name after his demise.

The former deputy governor said that it is illogical for the associates of the late sage to abandon his granddaughter, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo, the wife of the APC vice presidential running mate, Osinbajo, for President Jonathan, who has performed below expectation in the last six years.

He added: "These are the people responsible for the present state of Afenifere.

These are the people who caused the trouble in D' Rovans. These are the people causing division in Afenifere and Yorubaland. What is the relationship between their endorsement and Awoism?

If Awolowo were alive, would he endorse a nonperforming person for a second term? It was a onesided endorsement by a section of the group. It lack the blessing of the majority.

Afenifere is not the Afenifere we used to know. It cannot even bark again and it cannot bite. It cannot mobilise the people of Yorubaland. Many now hate the organisation because of the endorsement.

It was a thoughtless move. It is unfortunate. Well thinking Yoruba people have rejected the endorsement. It will not work. It is vanity. It is unlike Awolowo."

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

WORLD NEWS

N the human mind, fantasy and myth can hold the same place of respect as ascertainable fact. Man can believe what he ought to reject with equal force as what he should embrace. While myth may becloud the mind and distort the eye, it does not alter reality’s landscape. That the leaders of a nation believe a fable does not mandate that reality distort itself to fit the false tale.

Herein, the seeds of folly are sown.

While leaders may chart their course by myth, the real world is not obligated to fit nicely into their design. A powerful nation may try to impose its will on reality.

However, the brash ultimately finds that, at best, they occupy the weaker side in a sobering negotiation. Reality will have its way. The closer you align your thoughts and policies to it, the wiser you are. The more the outcomes of your actions will accord with your purposes.

After two years of bumbling in Ukraine, America and its NATO allies should have learned this lesson in its fullness. Instead, they persist in arm-wrestling with a reality they seem unable to comprehend or to match it in strength. Should they continue in this way, they may do irreparable harm to Ukraine, Europe and beyond. Through their error, the Cold War may escape the past to break upon tomorrow.

This results from a dire misreading of history, primarily by American leaders and their NATO allies. These leaders have become inebriated on the myths they crow about themselves. Unilaterally or through platforms like NATO and the EU, they believe their role is to impose their version of the political economy on the rest of the world. They seek to liberate the world by bringing it within the grip and embrace of American power and ideology. Nations should be governed through electoral democracy, through representative elections that only feature servants of the rich contesting as candidates against each other.

No matter the outcome, the deck is stacked that the rich shall win. The economy should be in the hands of the local financial elite, themselves satellites of global Money Power.

A person may be elected president or prime minister. But on all accounts, the dollar shall be king and the American military its muscle, its strongly armed underwriter.

This was how America bullied the Caribbean and Latin America during the last century. During that period, America intervened militarily in numerous countries.

Many of these occupations lasted several years with American economic interests taking control of prostrate governments’ revenues and economic policies. In addition to direct intervention, the United States government authored coups and funded insurgencies against governments deemed hostile to American hegemony. Haiti is the nation that came under the American lash the harshest and for the most years. We can see how awfully Washington’s assistance has benefitted that nation.

Feeling the full breadth of its status as the lone superpower, American conservatives seek to export American hegemony to the four corners of human civilization. Before, the Monroe Doctrine was a rationale for supremacy limited to the American continents. Now, the conservatives who define American foreign policy hope to share the Monroe Doctrine with the rest of the world.

This gives rise to a few sticky problems.

The histories of other regions have given rise to actors with significant wealth, power and interests. These actors are great nations in their own right. They see no need to cohere to Washington’s designs. Just as Washington does, they have their designs some of which include measures to protect their traditional spheres of influence from Washington’s encroachment.

Nowhere is this clash more poignant and dangerous than in the standoff between America and Russia concerning the Ukraine.

America continues to instigate conflict in Ukraine although an objective mind would find itself at a lost to identify America’s vital interest in this nation that once belonged to Russia. If Ukraine were suddenly stricken from the map, Ukrainians would deem it an extreme act of ill-humor.

They would be sorely put off. European economies would be hurt and Russia would be crippled. America would merely yawn.

Consequently, America action in Ukraine has no connection with how nations traditionally define their interests. Instead, it has more to do with how America defines

Ukraine: The containment policy revisited The well-fed is foolhardy to fight a hungry man over a slice of bread.

•Ukraine’s post-Yanukovych authorities rejected by Russia but courted by US and Europe

its status as a global superpower and selfappointed leader of the both the free world and the rest of the world that needs to be freed.

For Washington, Ukraine is about putting Russia in its place. The sad thing is that Russia already is in its traditional place. It is the policies of the United States that have become disjointed.

In mid-February, Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France executed the second Minsk Protocol. Among other things, the plan established a cease-fire that tentatively holds and paves the way to a political solution. While America eagerly funded the 2014 Maidan takeover from the elected Yanukovych government, it refused to participate in the Minsk agreement. While the Minsk quartet talked peace, the hawkish Washington establishment was urging the Obama administration to provide lethal military equipment to the Kyiv government. (Rest assured America is already handing weapons to this client government under the table. The current debate’s portrayal as a decision whether or not to originate arms is inaccurate.

Arms have been provided for some time. The real issue is whether America now equips Kyiv openly or continues to do so in the hidden places that everyone already knows exist.)

As long as the fighting is stalemated or leaning toward the eastern Ukrainian federalists that Russia supports, America hopes to prolong the battle until the tide turns. This is dangerous. At American insistence, the Kyiv government launched an offensive against the federalists. Government forces suffered grave defeat and lost ground. The more they fight, the more they seem to lose. Yet, American hawks believe they can will the losing side to win. This is the hubris that locked America into Vietnam.

Without measuring the possible costs before entering the dangerous gambit, America believes the battle over Ukraine is the Cold War in miniature. If they won the historic Cold War, they can easily take this small dustup.

They strap themselves to the wrong historic analogy and will likely get a result reflecting this error.

Current American leader thump their chest that their nation defeated the USSR to end the Cold War. In reality, the U.S. did not defeat the USSR as much as it outlasted it. The USSR fell

of its own internal inconsistencies. The Soviet empire had extended its reach beyond its ability of sustain the heavy costs of a far-flung empire. In truth, the Soviet Union lost the Cold War at the inception of the rivalry. Apart from Germany, the USSR was the nation most devastated by WWII. Such a broken economy had no business entering into a global race with the American economy that was the by far the most powerful in human history and which had emerged unscathed and more robust than ever after the war. It was a feat of obdurate pride that the Soviets maintained the competition for so long. It would cost them in the end. All America had to do was to have its economy keep pace with the aims of its war machine. That war machine would become an integral part of the economy without deflating the rest of the economy. This would assure the Soviets could never make up the vast space separating the two economies as long as it focused on geopolitical and military expansion.

Due to the relatively modest scale of the Soviet economy, it could not expand the empire and sustain domestic prosperity at the same time.

Trying to do both, its leaders ultimately achieved neither.

The Cold War erased the USSR just as it gave rebirth to Russia. Russia’s worldview is more compact and defensive than the Soviet version. Moscow’s geopolitical strategy is to establish a “near empire,” insulating the heartland by creating a buffer zone of friendly client states whose primary relationship is with Russia.

This stance is derived from equal parts ambition and apprehension. As with most strong nations, Russia seeks to shape the way of adjacent nations. But fear also informs its actions. Since the days of Napoleon, Russia’s existential military threat has been invasion from the west. Russia suffered the most civilian and military casualties of any nation in both World Wars, again due to conflict with nations west of it. In WWII, it lost roughly 25 million people. America lost approximately 500,000.

Despite the array of Hollywood movies extolling American heroism (such heroism was authentic), the brunt of that war was fought on the eastern front by the Russians.

Based on this history, Russia will go to extreme lengths to protect its western flank. It will pay a high cost for this objective because it

fears a higher cost will be exacted should that flank is left unattended and visible to the hostile eye.

For American foreign policy to discount this history and to discount Cold War pledges not to expand NATO eastward is a dangerous thing. It abuses its economic and military superiority to heighten tensions in an area where its vital interests are absent yet Russia’s are foremost. This unnecessary display of supremacy tramples traditional notions of geopolitics and balance of power.

Herein resides the great danger of the Ukrainian escapade. It is an attack that would alter the European balance of power at a time when that balance accurately reflects the politico-military and economic realities on the ground.

To adjust the power equation would require the American government to invest more in Ukraine’s military than America’s interests should allow. It would also call for Russia to underestimate its interests in the matter. This combination of decisions is unlikely to occur. If America begins to openly arm the Kyiv government, a fretful dynamic begins. The conflict then becomes a patent test of wills between Washington and Moscow. National pride and international credibility would be at stake.

With the world watching, neither side would be willing to blink first. In such a scenario, accident or error might result in fiery calamity.

We should never forget the presence of nuclear weapons. Russia inherited the Soviet arsenal. While inferior to America’s, the damage it can still cause remains unbearable. That one side has the ability to destroy the other three-four times over is of no solace when the other side can also annihilate the first. In the game of utter destruction, once is as effective as thrice.

The current machinations over Ukraine bring to remembrance the Cuban Missile crisis over fifty years ago. The crisis brewed when the Soviets recklessly parked nuclear weapons in Cuba. A dagger was pointed at Washington’s throat. It was an intolerable breach of the American security curtain.

Invasion of Cuba was threatened. A blockade was instituted. At the eleventh hour, the crisis was averted when the Soviet leadership accepted a face-saving measure allowing it to pull the nuclear warheads from the island nation.

During this crisis, a naval incident little known to most people occurred. But for the courage of a single Soviet naval officer, the fate of mankind might be different. After the American blockade was established, a tense encounter took place between an American destroyer and a Russian nuclear submarine. With depth charges exploding around his vessel, the Russian commander concluded that war had begun. He prepared to launch his nuclear payload. Only the calm, wise counsel of a fellow officer prevented him from an act that would have forever made his name a proverb for catastrophe.

Events in the Ukraine are not nearly as intense as the Cuban Missile scare. Yet, as that historic example teaches us, mistakes in policy can cause things to spin quickly out of control. Events can take on a momentum so strong that decision makers become more slave to, than shaper of, them.

We all should pray this dynamic does not take hold between Washington and Moscow. While Ukraine is far away, policy moves regarding that nation have already affected Nigeria and Africa. The drop in world oil prices is, in part, an instrument meant to punish oil-producing Russia. The harm to Nigeria’s economy is counted merely as collateral damage to those who evoked this policy. While the economic damage to Nigeria may be collateral to them, it is of central importance to you. Yet, even greater harm may be in store unless America stops this radical breach of traditional geopolitics.

More than which side holds greater influence in Ukraine could be at stake. No nation has the right to increase the risks of major conflagration when the only interest it is pursuing is an overinflated view of its role in the world. Reducing the exaggerated role will reduce global risk and maintain the greater peace. This is the right path if a nation truly wants to be a leader and have the rest of the world respect and just not fear it. The other way is fraught with risks and dangers to mankind that are better left unexplored.

08060340825 sms only

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

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SPORTS THE NATION ON SUNDAY

Unpaid salary: Surulere Council manager under fire

EXTRA

MARCH 1, 2015

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NE month after Council Manager of Surulere Local Government, Mrs. Basirat Akinsanya, agreed to pay up salaries and allowances owed players and coaches of Surulere Sportcity Football Club, the team is yet to get a kobo.

According to the chief coach of the team, Peter Nieketien, the new management of the Surulere Local Government council is yet to fulfill its promise, even after members of the team had undergone screening twice.

The team had in December last year cried out that they were being owed two months salaries and six match bonus, and that the Council Manager was against their establishment.

They also petitioned the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Lagos state, Ademorin Kuye, over unpaid salaries and allowances amounting to N1.7 million.

In a letter made available to Sport Extra, the Permanent Secretary in the office of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Lagos State, directed Mrs Akinsanya, to pay the outstanding salary and allowances of the players and coaches.

The letter, in reaction to the December petition, read in part: I have been directed to inform your good office to pay all outstanding allowances and salaries of Sportcity Football Club. It is pertinent that that the welfare of footballers will enable the council tackle resilience among the youth.

Treat as urgent.

Nieketien said his wards are now been owed four months' salary running into millions of naira.

“We spent the Christmas without a dime and even after we have appeared for screening two times, we are yet to get paid.”

He added: “Before now, Mrs Akinsanya said the local government would pay if we come forward to identify ourselves. We have come forward, not once but twice and yet nothing came out of it.”

Ujah proud of Bayern goal

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OLN striker Anthony Ujah says he is proud of scoring past Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, but is disappointed with the club's 4-1 loss.

Ujah netted on the stroke of half-time to reduce the deficit after early goals f r o m B a s t i a n Schweinsteiger and Franck Ribery saw the defending champions race to a twogoal lead.

However, second-half strikes from Arjen Robben and Robert Lewandowski ensured a comfortable win for Pep Guardiola's side and while Ujah admits the result was far from ideal,.

Ighalo: Eagles talk won't distract me

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ATFORD striker Odion Ighalo says he will not allow himself to be distracted by talk of an international call-up from Nigeria.

The 25-year-old is the English Championship's second top scorer with 17 goals and has scored 13 goals

in 2015 alone - the highest in English football.

But Ighalo, who has represented Nigeria at Under20 and U-23 levels, plans to concentrate solely on his club football and see where that takes him.

"Truth is I would love to

play for my country, but at the moment all I want to do is play football for Watford," he told BBC Sport.

"It's my professional career and I have to keep working at it every day.

"I know if I keep playing well and training well, it will

Falcons to camp in Abuja for World Cup

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UPER Falcons will use their training camp in Abuja for their 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup campaign. That is the view of national captain Evelyn Nwabuoku who has in a buoyant mood since the team started preparation for the competition last weekend.

Nwabuoku, a double winner with Rivers Angels in 2014 and also the skipper of the Falcons' 2014 African Women's Championship winning team, said that the togetherness in the set-up would stand them in good stead for the forthcoming global soccer showpiece.

Speaking to SL10 reporter Abayomi Ademetan on Friday, the utility player hailed the entire set up of the team and stressed on the need for support from all.

“The coaching crew have always done their best. Now we need to keep the momentum going.”

She stressed, however, unity and teamwork would be the key and the players have adopted the one team, one country slogan from head coach Edwin Okon.

“There is no special preference, we are all Falcons players fighting to achieve the

same goal and that is getting through a tough group where we have USA, Sweden and Australia.

"But things are looking up.

The mood in the camp since I arrived has been fantastic.”

“The winning mentality is always there. We just need good preparation and support. We have never doubted our ability as a team The former MFK of Finland and Bayelsa Queens of Nigeria star added, “We just have to be given the right exposure. We see this task as an opportunity to announce ourselves to the world not just in Africa.

CAF U-17: Amuneke rallies Eaglets for third-place match

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OLDEN Eaglets' Head Coach, Emmanuel Amuneke, has psyched his wards to go all out for a victory in Sunday's third-place match against Guinea as parting gift from Niger 2015 CAN U-17 Championship.

Nigeria secured a ticket to the 2015 World Cup in Chile by reaching the semi finals but was halted in their quest for a place in the Final after a 1-0 defeat to Amajimbos of South Africa. But speaking ahead of the game against Guinea, the former African Footballer the Year told the

players matter-of-factly that a bronze medal is better than nothing.

“We wished to play in the final but that is no longer going to happen but let us be focused and play the thirdplace match as if it is the Cup Final,” Amuneke said.

“We have to put behind the loss against South Africa because we can't do anything about it again; what we can now do is to give our best against Guinea on Sunday.”

Incidentally, both Nigeria and Guinea played a pulsating 1-1 match in their preliminary Group a match and Amuneke said it was

important for the players to go all out against the Guineans.

He said: “The match on Sunday is an opportunity for us to make up for the semifinal loss and again, it is an opportunity to redeem our pride and correct the mistakes we made against Guinea in the last game.”

Meanwhile, all the players bar injured Christian Charles and Kingsley Michael who are down with malaria; are available for selection against Guinea. The team is expected to depart Niamey Sunday night for Abuja after the curtain is drawn on Niger 2015.

be communicated back to the selectors at home."

Nigeria is going through a period of soul-searching following the national team's failure to qualify for the recent Nations Cup in Equatorial Guinea.

As the Super Eagles prepare for their international friendly against Bolivia on 26 March in Uyo, the Nigerian media and fans have consistently called for the inclusion of Ighalo in the squad.

Despite scoring 13 goals in nine games in 2015, which makes him the top scorer in all four professional divisions in England in 2015, the striker wants to keep his feet on the ground.

"I just have to keep my head down and keep working because focusing on things like an international call-up could well shift my focus.

"Whatever anyone says, I only want to concentrate on myself. If I get a call up great, if not I will still concentrate on my football with Watford." Born in Lagos, Ighalo joined Norwegian side Lyn Oslo in the summer of 2007 and a return of ten goals in 23 appearances led to a switch to Italian side Udinese in July 2008.

Apart from a loan spell with Cesena, he played the majority of his football in the past five years for Granada in Spain.

FIFA stop Ghana-Nigeria friendly

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igeria's quest to play Ghana next month in London in an international friendly has been scuttled due to a FIFA directive.

According to the FIFA regulations, no country should play two games across two continents in three days.

The Nigeria Football Federation had announced the Super Eagles would play Bolivia on 26 March 26 in Uyo (Africa) and then take on the Black Stars on 29 March in London (Europe).

This means the Ghana Football Association can now

consider proposals from teams including Australia.

It has the option to play all two matches during the FIFA free window next month either in Europe or Asia.

Ghana finished second at the just ended 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea after losing 9-8 on penalties to Ivory Coast.

The Super Eagles were seeking to use the game against their sworn rivals to kick-start their preparations for the 2017 African qualifiers.

NFF condemns fans' attack on Ogunbote

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HE Nigeria Football Federation has condemned, in strong terms, the attack on Premier League club, Sharks FC of Port Harcourt Head Coach, Gbenga Ogunbote, allegedly by fans of the club.

1st Vice President of the NFF, Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi, who is also chairman of the NFF Organizing Committee,

frowned at the attack and stated unambiguously that the Federation would investigate the incident.

“This is barbaric. I saw the photographs on television and it was very bad. Why I attack a Coach for any reason? We will get to the root of this matter and those found to be culpable will face severe sanctions.”

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 1, 2015

SPORT EXTRA

Rooney brace downs Sunderland as ref makes huge gaffe

Imo: Step down for Uzodinma, Orlu elders urge other senatorial candidates

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LDERS and leaders from Imo West Senatorial District (Orlu Zone) in Imo State have asked other candidates contesting for the senate position in the zone to bury their ambition and join hands in ensuring the re-election of Senator Hope Uzodinma.

The position of the elders came in a resolution they passed after a meeting in the Ubulu, Oru West LGA of Imo State, on February 13, in which they also endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan for re-election.

The elders, acting under the banner of Orlu Zone Elders Council, an elite association of elders and elder-statesmen from the 12 local governments that make up Orlu zone, said their decision to call on the other aspirants to step down for Uzodinma was a product of “careful and clinical examination of all the contenders from Imo West (Orlu Zone) Senatorial seat,” which led to their “inevitable conclusion that Senator Hope Uzodinma is the best candidate among all of them.”

They said that he has done exceedingly well as the senator representing Imo West (Orlu Zone) Senatorial District in the National Assembly.

“He has made Orlu people proud in his first tenure, through his brilliant contributions on the floor of the senate and the quality motions and bills he has sponsored, all of which have helped to position Orlu Zone at the center stage of national politics,” the elders declared.

Noting that as chairman of the Senate Committee on

Aviation, Sen. Uzodinma has distinguished himself as a great and visionary leader, the elders council argued that the enduring evidence of their assertion was to be seen in the remodeled Nigerian airports, including Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri and the Akannu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, all of which were done under Uzodinma's watch.

According to the elderstatesmen, the senator has also attracted so many projects to Orlu zone, including roads, electricity; water, as well as the empowerment of thousands of women and youths through skill acquisition programme and gainful employment for many Orlu sons and daughters.

They said they were excited that as a member of the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Constitution Review, the senator played a major role in positioning the proposed Anim state as the prime choice for the South East equalization state, adding that he (Uzodinma) is better placed to successfully conclude the state creation project.

While enjoining all Orlu people to come out on March 28th and vote massively for Uzodinma, the elders council further declared: “Consequently Council requests all well meaning indigenes of Orlu zone, which is inclusive of candidates for the same position from other political parties, to join hands and together actualize the dream of re-electing our son and brother, Sen. Hope Uzodinma for a second term”

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CAPITAL ONE CUP FINAL

Chelsea tackle Tottenham ...for first silverware of the season J

OSE Mourinho returns to the stage where it all started for him as Chelsea take on Tottenham in the Capital One Cup final on Sunday.

The Portuguese sealed his first trophy on English soil 10 years ago when Chelsea edged an entertaining League Cup final 3-2 against Liverpool at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

In his second spell in charge, Mourinho has transformed the fortunes of the men from down the Kings' Road, and success in Sunday's final could be one of several trophies this season.

The Premier League leaders arrive at Wembley relatively unscathed. The

Blues scored the opening goal in each match on their way to the final and are yet to trail in this year's tournament.

Mourinho's men are still challenging on three fronts which will certainly stretch their squad, and the Blues' resources will be tested with pivotal midfield general Nemanja Matic missing out through suspension on Sunday. The media furore is yet to die down following Mourinho's comments in the aftermath of last week's feisty affair against Burnley which saw Matic dismissed, and eir London rivals will be distracted by the continued debate over refereeing

decisons.

Spurs will be hoping their London rivals will be distracted by the continued debate over refereeing decisons.

Mauricio Pochettino endured a stuttered start to life at White Hart Lane, but the Argentine supremo has certainly turned things around, having instilled his high pressing game on his new side.

Spurs have the highest tackle success rate in the Premier League, despite having made 10 more tackles than any other side. Several players have eulogised over their added fitness levels, and it is reaping rewards.

Suarez stars as Barcelona close gap on Real

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UIS Suarez capped a fine week with another goal as Barcelona moved to within a point of Real Madrid with a 3-1 victory at Granada in La Liga.

Suarez, who struck twice in the midweek triumph over Manchester City in the Champions League, doubled

Barca's lead after Ivan Rakitic had earlier put them ahead.

Granada rallied and reduced the deficit through Fran Rico's penalty, but Suarez helped restore the twogoal advantage by skipping past Oier before selflessly and perhaps unnecessarily passing to Lionel Messi for a

simple tap-in.

The visitors poured forward in search of more goals as space began to appear, but Messi blew two huge openings and substitute Pedro misjudged a delicate chip as Granada escaped further damage.

AYNE Rooney grabbed a brace to help Manchester United bag all three points at Old Trafford but there was controversy in the second half as referee Roger East sent off Wes Brown incorrectly.

Sunderland had held out resolutely for 65 minutes but the game turned on a decision involving two former United defenders.

Radamel Falcao did well to turn John O'Shea in the box before the Irishman pulled him down, Wes Brown only making the slightest contact.

It appeared clear who the culprit was but Mr East decided to send Brown off the field when it should have been O'Shea, even though the guilty party tried to change the decision.

Golden Eaglets to be overhauled For W/Cup

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HE bulk of the present Golden Eaglets team that qualified Nigeria to the Chile 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup, may miss out on making the World Cup, sl10.ng have gathered.

Nigeria lost 0-1 to the Amajimbos of South Africa in the semifinal, meaning they will not be making it a third win at the CAF U17 championship. And even though the Nigeria Football Federation has confirmed that the team's coaches will remain, it seems a large chunk of the players won't.

Sources at the Glass House have informed sl10.ng that the technical department/committee of the NFF have recommended for 'new and better' players to be scouted before the World Cup.

QUOTABLE “ON the issue of the INEC Chairman, I align myself with what the president said that he has no plans to sack the INEC Chairman. That is not to say that if it is time for the INEC Chairman to naturally exit his office, then the natural course of things will not take place”

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL. 9, NO. 3141

—Information Minister, Edem Duke, dispelling rumours that the INEC boss may be sacked

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URING his blitz through the Southwest more than a week ago, President Goodluck Jonathan met with many Yoruba politicians and traditional leaders to sensitise them to his political and managerial virtues, and to convince them to ignore the mixed reviews on his past five years presidency. He stressed his promises for the future, such as the implementation of the national conference reports and bountiful representation of the Yoruba in his government. A faction of the Southwest elite is convinced, without proof, that the president will keep his word. Such faith has no precedence.

Dr Jonathan also granted interviews to a few media establishments, among them Tribune and THISDAY newspapers, in which he reveals far more about himself than the mere answers to the questions asked him, some of the questions ingratiating and supplicatory, indicating he still has difficulties comprehending and responding to the deeper and more complex issues of statecraft.

The interviews exposed Dr Jonathan’s curious mindset. He is prickly, somewhat superficial, excitable and boyish. Age has done nothing to temper this mindset. Nor, to borrow from his favourite exaggerated allusions and anecdotes, can 100 years on the presidential throne do much to transform or ennoble him. From the interviews, there is little doubt he wants to do great and mighty things, but he is both unable to summon the discipline required and incapable of appreciating the weight of work and the intellect necessary to match contributions with expectations.

Had he any of these qualifications, either singly or, better still, in combination, his boyish and infectious innocence, not to say his yearnings for praise and renown, would have led him to extraordinary feats of statesmanship and valour.

Alas, his faults and weaknesses cannot be remedied, for they are already cast in granite. His critics and traducers must also now know that whatever they have to say of Dr Jonathan, particularly about his weaknesses, will only lead him to more resentfulness, bad temper, scurrility and tempting and insidious acts of tyranny. He is keenly aware of the bad press he has attracted, much of which he attributes to local and international consultants working for the opposition, and he is keener on ‘investing’ in managing it and turning it around. He tries to present himself as studious and cerebral, even flaunting his second class upper degree, but he frets under the weight of the anonymity of the course he studied, a course he selfdeprecatingly described as ‘not prestigious.’

Now and again, he rises, in the interviews, to heights of Machiavellian ecstasy, with his panegyric to the gullible faction of the Southwest elite with whom he is today besotted, but against whom in the first few years of his presidency he contemptibly erected a benumbing architecture of exclusion and marginalisation. The love affair is waxing hot, and it is perhaps a relief that both the president and his Southwest converts are locked in embrace, else, they would have had to seek out classes and groups more virtuous than they to seduce and desecrate. No one who reads the interviews can fail to conclude that the president is pristinely untouched by the rudiments of democracy, notwithstanding his vainglorious assertions on the subject, and may never be able to comprehend its philosophical underpinnings beyond its consideration as a system of government.

A few examples from Dr Jonathan’s rich and revealing interviews will suffice.

Asked to expatiate on his now discredited seven-year single tenure proposal, Dr Jonathan seems painfully incapable of understanding the irony embedded in his suggestion. It is true he is persuasive in denying his interest in benefiting from the proposal had it been accepted, but he simply could not see that the damage to the polity of an ineffective president remaining in office for seven years, just one year short of two terms of eight years, far

The problem with presidential interviews outweighs the hazards of the cost and dislocations of electioneering. Political campaigns have their therapeutic effects, their potential to trigger a country’s renewal, and sometimes to cause an acute change of direction.

Dr Jonathan simply focused on the cost of elections and the •Jonathan troubles of campaigning and renewing mandates almost to the total exclusion of the other benefits. The idea was roundly denounced when he first suggested it; it is a remarkable indication of his stoicism and imperviousness to reason that time and experience have not helped him to either refine his view or redefine the basis of his conviction.

Apart from erroneously claiming credit for voter awareness, affirming that he gave ‘freedom’ to Nigerians who now value their voter cards and are eager to participate in the electoral process, Dr Jonathan stretches that questionable bequest with a rueful statement.

He says: “Look at the freedom Nigerians en-

joy. You abuse the President and I smile. In some countries, you abuse the President, they deal with you. In so many countries, including African countries, you cannot abuse the President and go to sleep with your two eyes closed.

It is only in Nigeria that you can •Obasanjo do that.” In the first place, Nigeria is not another country, as he himself acknowledges later on in the interview, on account of the country’s diversity and complexity, and in the second place, Nigeria is not the only country where freedom of speech does not come with devastating repercussions.

But rather than celebrate this strange bequest, Dr Jonathan in fact laments it. He may deny it, but the fact is that if he had his way, those who abuse him, a word he confuses with criticism, he would deal with them, or at least make them lose sleep. That way, the quietude he pines after would be achieved.

According to him: “It is easy if you write

something against me for me to ask my security agents to come and arrest you and throw you into a dungeon for 24 hours, so that you know that there is government. Yes, one can do it. But is that what you use power for?” For a president who had just rhapsodised democracy, he betrayed his secret preferences by entertaining the thought of locking a critic up for 24 hours. And he entertains the thought because it is not beneath him.

His response to the Charles Soludo criticism of his economic policy is appalling. Here, he simply demonstrates an exceedingly poor grasp of economics, and illustrates his embarrassing subservience to and awe of World Bank economists.

He also chafes at the Chibok abductions, that remorseless totem of his impotence, and makes the non sequitur assertion that only a failed president could preside over a failed state.

One last example. Asked to justify why he dismissed the Ekiti audio recording done by a military intelligence officer as fabricated, the president backtracks a little and puzzlingly suggests that the officer must come and defend his recording. Dr Jonathan does not show his dismay and discomfort with the fact that some of his ministers were caught on tape conspiring with an Anambra moneybag and a top army general to subvert the electoral process on behalf of his party, nor does he appear to understand that he occupies an office that has a responsibility to defend the constitution without reservation and uphold the law without fear or favour. Nor, obviously, does Dr Jonathan have the mental fortitude and intellectual depth to appreciate, like great leaders, how to build a country and a legacy. At 56, and given his mindset and intransigence, it may be a little too late for him to acquire the wherewithal for profound leadership. And should Nigeria return him to office in the next poll, as he intrigues, irrespective of his huge and irredeemable shortcomings, the country is unlikely to fare any better than it has done in the past five years.

...And Jonathan gets embroiled in land deal

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T is apparently part of politics to defend the indefensible. Otherwise it seems incomprehensible that anyone, let alone a political party that claims to have set norms and standards for Nigeria, will attempt to defend Dr Jonathan’s Abuja land deal under some constructive corollary of constitutional approbation. The facts of the case are as follows. In 2011, in his second year in office, Dr Jonathan incorporated Ebele Integrated Farms Limited, with him as major shareholder. Sometime between that 2011 and 2013, the president applied for land in Abuja for farming purposes. He did not think it indiscrete. Then, in January 2014, he was granted a huge 94 hectare plot in, of all places, Abuja’s Aviation Village, a bad enough distortion as any.

When the opposition APC brought the matter to light some two weeks ago, the president’s campaign organisation rested its argument and justification on two main grounds, to wit, that when former president Olusegun Obasanjo was in office, he also applied for an even bigger plot of land and was granted; and that second, the constitution permits a sitting president, like any other government official, to do the business of farming. No other kind of business was permitted. This perhaps explains why, according to the APC, the Minister of the Federal Capital City (FCT), Bala Mohammed, incorporated a farming business, Bird Trust AgroAllied Limited, in 2012, applied for land in Abuja over which he is minister, and was granted about 40 hectare plot by his ministry in April 2014 in the same choice Aviation Village.

It is inconceivable that both the president and the FCT minister do not consider what they have done as corrupt. Of course, had the president not set the tone, there is no way Mallam Mohammed would have imitated him. But let us examine the arguments of the

president and his campaign organisation. As the APC and many commentators have argued, it is not clear how Dr Jonathan and his supporters think his land grab was excusable simply because Chief Obasanjo committed the same indiscretion. It is a lousy, childish and senseless argument to make. Two wrongs do not make a right. Second, does the constitution really sanction farming for a sitting president? Yes, it does, but it is also clear that (a) it assumes that the president was already doing the business before he assumed office, and (b) he was of course not expected to begin to use state resources, state power, and presidential influence to run that business because it would inevitably lead to a conflict of interest.

Third, and significantly, it is a bad law, one probably inspired by Chief Obasanjo himself when he was military head of state, and which the military, also inspiring our various constitutions, incongruously retained in every constitution they midwifed.

The president should not be involved in any business, and every business he had before assuming office must be put in blind trust in order to avoid conflict of interest. It is certain the constitution, notwithstanding its drawbacks, expected nobility from those

elected into office. Since Chief Obasanjo, Nigerian leaders have unfortunately fallen disastrously short of the standard of morality the spirit of the constitution, rather than the letter, naively presumed on their good sense.

There is no way Dr Jonathan can claim the high ground in this seedy transaction.

Apart from the fact that he is naturally and personally lacking in noble deeds, and his life and politics not based on any philosophical principle or conviction, he appears bereft of an understanding of the history of the country he so undeservedly presides over. Does he remember that some First Republic leaders like Obafemi Awolowo and Ahmadu Bello established or prepared the framework for universities without citing them in their own towns? Chief Awolowo conceived the then University of Ife to be established, not in his Remo Division of present Ogun State, but in Ile-Ife. Nor did Ladoke Akintola, whose government announced the establishment of the university in 1960 put it in his native Ogbomosho. And the Sardauna, Sir Ahmadu Bello, planted the Ahmadu Bello University not in Rabah, Sokoto Province, but in Zaria. Examine these facts against the unflattering fact that when Dr Jonathan would put a university in his state, he invariably put it in his small town of Otuoke in Bayelsa.

All of Dr Jonathan and his campaign organisation’s excuses are disingenuous.

Applying for land under his own government was immoral and indefensible, and getting that land in Aviation Village is a bad and horrendous distortion of what that piece of territory is, from its name, reserved for. African leaders, it is said, lack discipline and moral compass to take their nations to great heights. Nigerian leaders are probably even much worse, and Dr Jonathan a far more ignoble example.

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