The Nation March 24, 2013

APC: INEC has not registered new party –Jega

Kano blast kills two suicide bombers –Page 2

Says commission will follow the rules Rules out electronic voting in 2015 –Page 4 Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

Vol.07, No. 2440

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

SUNDAY

MARCH 24, 2013

N200.00

THE TWO POPES • Newly installed Pope Francis greeting Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, at the papal summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, near Rome yesterday. Photo: AP

2015 will be war for PDP, says Tukur Says ruling party won’t allow ‘new group’ to IN DUBAI ‘sweep mat off our feet’ CHINUA ACHEBE: HIS UNFULFILLED DREAMS, BY KINSMEN

LOVE

–Page 2

• Nigerian superstar singer, Tuface Idibia, drew a large contingent of the creme de la creme of the entertainment industry to witness his white wedding to Annie Macaulay at the Jumeirah Beach in Dubai yesterday.

–Page 7

NEWS PENCOM uncovers multiple registration by pension contributors

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HE National Pension C o m m i s s i o n (PENCOM) says it uncovered some multiple registration of Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) by some pension contributors.

This is contained in a statement by its Corporate Affairs Manager, Mr Emeka Obiora, in Lagos on Saturday.

It stated that the RSAs were opened with different Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs).

According to the statement, in the course of planning for the new transfer windows, we discovered a single contributor with six RSAs in six PFAs, and we are sorting it out.

“This development is wrong and in such situations the first PFA of choice is picked for the contributor.

“This development is what is delaying the various transfer windows the commission is planning for contributors.

“The transfer windows will provide the contributor different options to choose from, on how he wants his contributions to be invested and how to collect his money as a retiree,” it said.

PENCOM said that it would not roll out the transfer windows without clearing the data as it would complicate issues.

“At the heart of the transfer windows were biometrics and PENCOM will not have that in place with such problems,” it stated.

It advised contributors that are having problems with their various PFAs to inform the commission about it instead of going to another PFA. The commission said it had dedicated a whole department to make the transfer windows possible.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

2015 will be war for PDP, says Tukur N

ATIONAL Chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, yesterday warned his party members that the emergence of the All Progressive Congress (APC) is for real and poses a formidable threat in the 2015 elections.

“There is a group that just came up and wants to sweep the mat off our feet,” Tukur said in a veiled reference to the APC at a meeting of the Northwest zone of the PDP in Kaduna.

Three of the six PDP governors in the zone -Sule Lamido of Jigawa, Rabiu

•Says ruling party won’t allow ‘new group’ to ‘sweep mat off our feet’ From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

Kwankwaso (Kano) and Aliyu Wamako (Sokoto) were absent at the meeting.

It was, however, attended by Governors Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State, Usman Dakingari (Kebbi) and the host, Mukthar Ramalan Yero.

Continuing, the PDP Chairman said: “PDP is all about patronage. We are going to dole out our patronage to all our members who remain in the party.

“I am here to tell all our supporters about the virtue of patience. Patience is such a priceless thing, that the Hausa people say, ‘a patient man can cook a stone and drink its sauce’.

I want to plead with our members in this zone to imbibe this teaching.

“This is because without patience, we will all be in disarray. And we cannot afford to be. There is a heavy war ahead in 2015.

A group has come up and wants to sweep the mat off

our feet. We cannot allow that to happen. The PDP is the only party that is not religious, not sectional or tribal. We are one big party, and we intend, and we must remain so.

“What I am saying here is what I told our supporters in the South West. They are not happy, because of the problem they face in the party in that zone, a minority has taken over power there.

“Let me inform you. We are going to give patronage

•President Goodluck Jonathan arriving the Buena Esperanza residential district in Malabo, Equaitorial Guinea on Friday

Kano blast kills two suicide bombers T

ERRORISM swept through Kano yesterday for the second time in five days leaving two suicide bombers dead.

They were blown up at Eastern bye-pass in Hotoro Quarters by explosives which they were allegedly transporting in a truck to an area of Kano Metropolis.

According to the State Police Commissioner, Musa Daura, the explosives which targeted the JTF checkpoint were remote controlled and buried in the ground close to the checkpoint.

Mr Daura said one of the suspects who targeted the police checkpoint disguised as a water seller while the other one gave him cover on a motorcycle.

However, on throwing the

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Kolade Adeyemi, Kano/ Barnabas Manyam, Yola

explosive, it hit the motorcycle rider and killed both of them on the spot.

The commissioner said no police officer was killed or injured in the attacks, adding that four other people were arrested while attempting to attack the police after the explosion.

Even before the incident, residents of Hotoro and Sharada quarters had been woken up by multiple explosions.

It was not immediately clear what led to the explosions.

However, the police arrested four Nigeriens in connection with the explosions.

On Friday night, gun men had killed a shop

owner, identified as Matthew Owoniyi, who was shot dead inside his chemist in the presence of his wife and two kids .They shot him thrice in the head.

The gunmen allegedly made away with Owoniyi’s sale proceeds for the day and his Golf car.

Tension sparked by last Monday’s explosion at the Kano Central Motor park in which about 65 commuters were killed is yet to subside.

Also on Friday, terrorists struck in Ganye, Adamawa State, close to the Nigeria/ Cameroun border.

Twenty-five people are feared dead in the terror attack with the divisional police station, prison, a first generation bank and relaxation centres as the prime targets.

Indeed, most of the casu-

alties were recorded at the relaxation spots.

The terrorists first struck the police station which they set on fire.

They then proceeded to the nearby prison, forcing its gates open for the inmates to escape.

Next was the bank.

With the aid of dynamite they tore down the walls to enable them gain access into the vaults.

It could not be immediately confirmed if they succeeded in taking away any money.

With no one venturing out to confront them, the terrorists had a field day moving from one hotel/relaxation centre to the other.

They ransacked everywhere and opened fire on fun seekers. Pandemonium soon broke out with people

running for their lives.

The State Police Command confirmed the incident.

Its spokesman, Mohammed Ibrahim, a superintendent (SP), said a team of policemen and soldiers had been deployed to go after the hoodlums.

The Comptroller of Prisons in the state, Mr. Andrew Barka, also confirmed the attack on the Ganye Prison.

He gave no details.

Terrorists have lately been raiding border towns around the Nigeria/Cameroun border.

Only last month, they seized a French family of seven in Northern Cameroun and allegedly moved them into Nigeria.

They are demanding the release of imprisoned terrorists for them to free the hostages.

to all our members who have contested elections and lost. There is enough in the party to go round everyone. There is no need to leave the party.”

Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo who was at the meeting asked members to unite for the rebuilding of the party.

“This tour undertaken as part of the celebration of the first anniversary of the national working committee is also in line with the reconciliation, reformation and Rebuilding agenda of the party chairman,” he said, adding, “As a party that is fully organised and vibrant, well noted for its adoption of rule of law and natural justice in the discharge of its activities, the decision to embark on this tour in order to properly position the party to face future challenges is indeed paramount.

“The assembly of the crème of our party faithful at this meeting only signals and lends credence to our desire to ensure that we develop new ideas, initiatives and innovations that will further solidify the party and move it forward.

“I therefore call on us to approach today’s meeting with a clear mind and conscience and to develop more pragmatic ways that will consolidate the strength of our party by embarking on people-oriented projects and programmes in each tier of government that will not only improve the lives of our people but will create wealth amongst our citizens.

“We must shun all overtures by those who are bent on destroying the party through anti-party activities and be unified in our quest to strengthen a party that has made its mark and improved the lives and well-being of our citizens.

We must be unified and steadfast for the growth and strength of our great party and in the interest of our dear citizens.

“Our actions speak for us. Our laudable programmes at all the three tiers of government coupled with our respect for rule of law, good governance and democratic tenets serve as our trademark. It is in this regard that it becomes pertinent among members of this great party to carry this trademark wherever we go as a good product sells itself.

“Our greatest asset is our unity of purpose and acceptability as the only national party that has as its centre piece the popular slogan ‘Power to the People’. Once we are fully reconciled, rebuilt and reformed, we shall continue with our capability of tackling any opposition from any quarters of this country.”

Column

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Nationals against the nation I

N its extreme formulation, the title of this column can be recast as “Nationalities against the Nation”. Nationalities are groups or people(s) with distinct cultures, linguistic coherence and a homogeneous spiritual, political and economic worldview who inhabit a nationspace. Nationals are bona fide citizens of a nation-state. But there ought to be a distinction between nationals and nationalists.

Nationals are in the nation, but nationalists are both in the nation and for the nation. In other words, while there have been a sizeable number of worthy and illustrious Nigerian nationalists many of whom have lived for the nation and a few of whom have died for it, there is as yet no Nigerian nationalist class in the proper sociological sense of that term.

Yet every nation requires a true nationalist class to move from being a nation in itself to a nation for itself.

It was not for sheer brinksmanship that Admiral Horatio Nelson of Trafalgar presaged every naval battle with the memorable summons: “England expects every man to do his duty”. It was a call to martyrdom in the service of a nascent nation. With one hand already lost in battle, Nelson himself eventually succumbed to a solitary enemy rocket.

In effect, then, what Lord Lugard created was a nation in itself, which was the best he could do in the circumstances. To become a nation for itself requires the sterling and heroic efforts of a truly Nigerian nationalist class that would then transform the chaotic amalgam to a coherent and organic nation. One hundred years and much momentous bloodshed and upheavals after, this has proved a costly and illusory mirage.

A nation-space in a perpetual and permanent state of becoming is vulnerable to certain nation-destroying tendencies and activities. With the carnage in Kano this past week and the discovery of active cells in Lagos , it is clear that the Boko Haram insurgency is bent on tipping the nation into an orgy of religious and ethnic bloodbath the like of which has never been seen anywhere in the world.

This is a dire moment for the nation. As it is currently constituted, the Nigerian political elite, particularly its dominant faction, is organically incapable of handling the challenge.

The unforeseen contradictions of post-military anarchy and anomie have rendered the ruling party statutorily incompetent and incapacitated by its lack of transformative imagination and vision.

Given the structural and systemic disfiguration of the nation, the PDP may win many more elections, but it is incapable of holding the nation together for much longer. A fixation with elections is electoralism in its worst and most berserk form. This is the time for the emergence of a truly nationalist class which will save Nigeria from political, economic and spiritual predators. Unfortunately for now, there seems to be none in the horizon. So by the time we all wake up from this nightmare in all its bloodthirsty absurdities, Nigeria may be gone.

As it is at the moment, Nigeria is prey and hostage to four main predatory groups whose activities, wittingly and unwittingly, are mutually reinforcing in their nation-evaporating possibilities and potentials. Although they may have their arrowheads and clusters among certain ethnic groups, it is juvenile and delinquent bêtise to reduce this complex issue to a question of ethnicity or of some nationalities against the nation.

Whenever and wherever nationalities have risen against the nation, it is always an elite-driven phenomenon.

The four groups that Nigeria is vulnerable to and that have rendered

(Four pillars of instability)

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nooping around With

Tatalo Alamu

•Boko Haram insurgents

the country virtually ungovernable are the following. First are the political terrorists who are using the power of political ascendancy and incumbency to unleash a reign of terror on the nation in order to secure and safeguard their temporary and transient advantage. They have broken all the rules of sober and civilized governance in this country and we are still counting. With their boorish and undemocratic conduct, they constitute the gravest nuisance to the nation.

The second are the spiritual predators and religious terrorists who will stop at nothing in recreating the nation in their own image even if entire swathes of the country is laid waste and the nation itself is foaming with blood. They are savage and medieval tyrants who will stop at nothing in turning Nigeria into a theocratic state of their torrid hallucination. To their Stone Age and fundamentalist mindset, the very idea of a secular state is a horrific anomaly. Yet this is the very fundament of the modern nation-state paradigm.

It is the theocratic state that is a modern anomaly, the exclusive preserve of societies transiting from first degree feudalism to modernity.

Goodluck Jonathan is right to call Nigeria a secular state. A nation may be a multi-religious nation with freedom of worship guaranteed to its citizens but when a state becomes multireligious, it means that every ascendant religious group can take its turn in spiritually gang-raping the nation without any regard for the core val-

ues that bind it. This is a classic enactment of Hades on earth.

The third group are the economic terrorists who are bent on bringing Nigeria economically to heel. At the level of state actorship, they are those who believe that Nigeria is a sinking Titanic to be stripped of all valuables before the might hulk topples over. They are like raiders of a lost Ark. At the level of economic society are the petty and petit predators : hegemonic amputees who had lost potency and feel hardly done by a nation that had castrated them politically. As a result, they are engaged in all manner of economic sabotage against a nation for which they nurse nothing but seething animosity and volcanic resentment.

The last group are the logical progeny of the first three, intellectual counter-terrorists and anti-state actors who deploy superior knowledge and advanced political consciousness to mount a devastating siege on the Nigerian post-colonial state in all its startling inadequacy and bankruptcy. They are products of the global rise in counterhegemonic knowledge by which those who are outside of government know far more than those who are inside.

Whether from home or from abroad, they deploy their intellectual firepower to telling effect forcing the hunter to become the hunted. In its extreme and adversarial version, it is an anti-terrorist terrorism whose aim is to exclude the excluders and which will stop at nothing but the reconstruction of the nation and the

reconstitution of the state. After each encounter, the government looks so weather beaten and punch drunk that you have a sense that only gluttons for scarifying punishment would like to remain in power no matter the perks and perquisites.

With all these forces ranged against themselves and against the nation and the state, it is not surprising that Nigeria often gives the impression of a nation permanently at war with itself. It is to be noted that apart from minor border skirmishes with Cameroons and Chad, Nigeria has not fought any external war since amalgamation.

Yet the history of the country is a history of epic bloodletting arising from civil wars, coups, countercoups, civil uprisings, religious insurgencies, invasions, massacres, pogroms, tribal feuds, state executions and economic genocide. The enemy is entirely within, and Nigerians have been killing Nigerians ever since amalgamation.

All lucky countries are not the same and every unlucky country is unlucky in its own unique way. In the crucible and roiling contradictions of national evolution, adversities often turn into advantages just as advantages turn into adversities. The ANC was founded in 1912, changed its original name in 1923 but did not come to power until the last decade of the last century. With all its ugly scars, apartheid turned out to be a unifying factor for the diverse and disparate ethnic groups of South Africa.

The Sotho people who were subordinates within the context of the mighty Zulu empire simply turned to education and Christian modernity and were able to turn the table with their massive manpower. Yet unlike the Gikiyu/Luo/ Kalenji/ Masai maelstrom which continues to hobble modern Kenya and the majorities/minorities struggle for power which has stymied Nigeria’s march to authentic nationhood, nobody ever hears of the ANC fracturing along ethnic lines, despite the worst efforts of the Mangosuthu Buthelezis.

This was because the ANC was primarily and principally a politi-

Corporal punishment for the corpulent prince

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H dear, oh dear, it is Alapansanpa in Aso Rock.

Anybody familiar with Ihe cultural history of Ibadan must surely remember the dreaded masquerade and its infamous ambidexterity when it comes to wielding the native atori whip. The victims are known to weep and wail far into the night from complications arising from post-flagellation trauma. Not a few have ended up with distorted and permanently corrugated buttocks.

There are weeping generals and there are whipping generals. When snooper famously announced that actual reality in Nigeria had retired him from fiction writing, not a few thought that this was a premature and unwarranted termination of noble labours. But reality in Nigeria has continued to make fiction look like a poor cousin: inferior and famished.

Has anybody noticed that mum has been the word from the prince and lead Alsatian of the Aso Rock presidential menagerie-since the

impossible and implacable Dr Mohammed Junaid famously declared that he once personally witnessed our own Doyin Okupe of the Agbonmagbe royal lineage being subjected to merciless presidential flogging by former president Olusegun Obasanjo? Or is it Snooper that is hallucinating as usual? What further indignities must a man suffer in a legitimate forage for the next meal? What a plebian assault and insult!

It may however be that in this matter, canine discretion is the better part of valour. A few months back, snooper witnessed the two political medicos square up to each other on television. With his visage permanently frozen in fiery contempt, snooper knew that it was only a question of time before the Moscow trained medic raised the ante.

The affable and amiable Remo prince is right to keep mum on this matter. As a Moscow trained doctor, the Kano stormy petrel must

have had more than a passing acquaintance with the ways of the KGB or the OGPU, the old Russian allpurpose police. It is not unlikely that he might have recorded the tumultuous shellacking for posterity.

If care is not taken the fire-spitting contrarian may yet release the pummeling proceedings to Nollywood under the title, The Pacification of A Prince of the Upper Majidun River, with the sub-title, The Labours of A Lacerated Labrador.

Snooper will like to have the last word on this one but not the last stroke of the cane from the old general. Obasanjo is known to wield the whip with a soldierly sternness and a monstrous mien of private pleasure. He once famously flogged a security man for mishandling a crowd and his victims are known to take to a shuffling crouch.

Anytime you see the prince walking with a crouching gait, it may well be as a result of spinal lesions occasioned by corporal and corporate beating.

cally conscious intellectual organization waging an ideological warfare against apartheid. Forged in the cauldron of an unjust and ungodly system, the ANC acquired the discipline, the fortitude and the political clarity which promote national spirit and consciousness above the petty demands of ethnic animosities.

Apartheid was an equal opportunity barbarity and not even the fair skinned Indians could pass.

Nigeria may not be lucky in the lottery of colonial conquerors. But it is to the credit of the British colonial masters that after decades of neglect and negligence, they finally roused themselves to provide the institutional framework by which the new nation would be governed. The constitution so bequeathed was not, and could not have been, a perfect document since the colonial masters themselves were not altruistic arbiters.

But at least there were nascent institutions. It was left to a Nigerian nationalist class to improve upon for the greatest benefit of the greatest number of people. This was unlike what happened in Portuguese overseas possessions. As the first true nation-state and founding colonial power, armed with raw brutality and without the intellectual sophistication of later modes of modernity, Portugal simply regarded its overseas possessions as forcible extensions of the metropolitan mainland.

Indeed at a point in history, the entire Portuguese royalty relocated abroad and ruled from Brazil until the bubble burst.

This was why in virtually all the Portuguese overseas holdings, from Angola, the Cabinda enclave to Mozambique through Guinea Bissau, a national war of liberation had to be waged to rid the nations of their colonial incubus. It has proved very costly and draining for the countries and for Africa. Till date, Guinea Bissau which was conceived as a Portuguese overseas plantation remains without any viable political institution with armed bandits parading as soldiers while political warlords and drug cartels rule the roost.

Nigeria has not been so unlucky. But there is a limit to legendary luck without commensurate political praxis. The four pillars of national instability enumerated above, in combination or as individual calamities, can tip the nation into a sudden implosion or engender its catastrophic dissolution into warring ethnic nationalities.

This is particularly so of the Boko Haram war against the state and the nation.

Despite the bluff and the bluster, Goodluck Jonathan appears to be at his wits’ end. The national hopes invested in his administration have all but evaporated. You know a ruler is beaten black and blue when he begins to make offensive and insensitive noise against the spirit of the nation. He has been hinting darkly about the removal of the “remaining” phantom subsidy even when the national uproar caused by the last is yet to subside.

The president has shown a bizarre and inexplicable prodigality in expending social and political capital both at home and abroad. The ship of state is once again at the mercy of elements. This week, the Americans tellingly excluded Nigeria from a democratic summit. By virtue of its size, military and economic might, Nigeria ought to be an automatic choice. If this is the international verdict on Jonathan’s tenure, the national verdict is bound to be more devastating.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

News

Ivorian election commission chief preaches neutrality

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R Youssouf Bakayoko, the Chairman of the Ivorian Independent Electoral Commission, has called on heads of regional electoral departments to be honest in the conduct of the April local council polls.

A statement in Abidjan said Bakayoko made the call at a seminar for chairmen of regional electoral departments in Yamoussoukro on Friday.

NAN reports that the Ivorian local council election was to hold on Feb. 24 but was shifted to April 21 to allow room for political dialogue with the opposition.

He said that the success and acceptability of the local council polls depended greatly on their ability to discharge their duties with honesty and neutrality.

“It is your obligation to do what is right; this is the path you must follow as officers of the commission so that the polls will be credible.

“Let it be made clear that any of you that fails to listen to this call for honesty and neutrality will face the law,’’ he said.

After the presidential and legislative elections, Côte d’Ivoire is entering the final stage of the electoral cycle with the local council elections.

Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), party of former President Laurent Gbagbo, has severally announced its decision not to participate in the elections.

APC: INEC has not registered new party –Jega

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HE Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof.

Attahiru Jega said yesterday that the commission will adhere strictly to the rules in processing the applications for the registration of the All Progressive Congress and the African Peoples Congress.

Both parties are keen on having the acronym APC. The All Progressive Congress is a fusion of the ACN, CPC and ANPP. It has accused the other APC of working for the ruling PDP with a view to thwarting the merger of the three parties.

Professor Jega, speaking on a Radio Nigeria, Kaduna, Hausa programme Hanu Dayawa yesterday said “we have not even got to that stage (registration) now.”

He said: “This issue has generated a lot of controversy in the last few weeks, but the truth is that no political party wrote to notify us that it was planning to merge with some other political parties until about five days or so ago.

“Therefore, it is not true

• Says commission will follow the rules • Dismisses electronic voting for 2015 From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

that we were notified. The issue became serious when one group came out to seek registration and I guess that was what made them to write and notify us. But that is not the issue. The main issue is that there are guidelines for registered political parties which want to merge to become a new party. There are also guidelines for individuals or groups who want to form a political party for registration.

“The guidelines for registering a new political party are different from those for registered political parties wishing to merge. For registered political parties that want to merge, they must have agreed to merge and each of the political parties in the merger must hold a convention and agree to withdraw its registration as a political party to become part of the new party to be formed through the merger.

“After their conventions, they are expected to write and request INEC to withdraw their former registration and say they want to join a new party. In spite of all the controversy, none of these political parties wishing to merge has held its convention.

“We only read in the newspapers that they have the intention of merging and nobody wrote us until about five or six days ago.

If anybody wants to register a political party, you are expected to tell INEC of your intention by saying that you want to register a party with so and so name and you want to know the procedure for doing so.

“Only one group came.

The group asked one lawyer to write INEC saying they want to form a political party with a particular name and they want to know the rules and procedures for registration as a political party.

“If the other group had done so, we would have replied and told them the

rules and the procedure they are supposed to follow to be registered. So, the issue of whether we have collected the name of this other group and whether we have agreed to register it does not even arise because we just replied to their letter by telling them the procedure.

“While this was going on, some people started making noise saying that they wanted to merge with so, so name. Some of them were even saying that we have registered the other group with that name. It is not done like that.

“People are just making noise over the name which is in the market while we have not even got to that stage. While all these noise was going on, another group came up seeking registration with the same acronym.

“We have rules and guidelines for all this and we are determined to follow the rules to avoid any confusion. But we have not reached the stage where we

ANAN wants FG to remove barriers in FTZ

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R Samuel Nzekwe, former President, As sociation of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), has advised the Federal Government to remove barriers hindering development of Free Trade Zones (FTZ) in the country.

Nzekwe gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Saturday.

He urged the Federal Government to solve the challenges in the areas of infrastructure, slow response to changes in global trend and high cost of borrowing.

Nzekwe added that inconsistency in policies were also key factors that negated development of FTZ. He called on the Federal Government to work with other relevant government agencies such as the Nigerian Customs Service and the Nigerian Immigration Service to make the zones attractive.

According to him, the removal of trade barriers will generate employment, boost export of local products and increase foreign exchange earnings for the country.

He said, in addition, it would encourage foreign investments in the country.

L-R: Groom’s mother, Mrs Ogah, bride’s father, Bishop David Oyedepo, the couple, Stephen and Love, bride’s, Mrs, Faith Oyedepo and groom’s father Mr. Ogah during the wedding of Bishop Oyedepo’s daughter in Ota, Ogun State.

PHOTO: OLUSEGUN RAPHEAL

can say a group has been registered with so, so name.

So all this noise is just part of our politics in Nigeria.

“After we explained this to them, they wrote back insisting that they should follow the guidelines. But we have not screened them yet because the procedure is step by step. Except INEC comes out to announce that it has registered so and so party, all this bickering is unnecessary.

“If you want to register a company, before the company is registered, you will have to apply for a name which the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) will take some time to search. We don’t operate like this in INEC, but because of this controversy, we have learnt a lesson. I think at the end of the day, we will also adopt the same system to avoid this problem.”

Prof. Jega also dismissed the possibility of using electronic voting system for the 2015 general election saying “the constitution has prohibited electronic voting. We have never said we will conduct electronic voting. What we said we will do is to use technology to improve on the registration of voters and improve on the electoral process”.

He added that the commission is doing its best to ensure that the 2015 elections will be more credible than that of 2011, adding that “we have been working hard towards this. We have reviewed the past and we are looking at what we can do to improve on our performances.

“Our challenges are an accumulation of problems over the years and we came within eight months and there was no how we could have overcome the rot that happened for over 20 years back. But we did our best without fear or favour. We have been transparent.

“I can swear that I have been transparent and truthful. I have never tolerated unholy attitude that came to my knowledge. If there too much destruction, it takes time to repair and make things work and for people to appreciate the repairs. We have been tying.”

FRSC urges Nigerians to adhere to traffic rules

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HE Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has reiterated its call for total commitment of all Nigerians to reducing road accidents through strict adherence to traffic rules.

Mr Nseobong Akpabio, the Lagos State Sector Commander of FRSC, made the call at the maiden biannual public enlightenment of the RS2.110, Ikotun Unit Command, held at SAMKOLL Garden, Ikotun, Lagos, yesterday.

Akpabio said the ir-

reparability of human lives made it compulsory for all Nigerians to take the issue of road safety serious and be ambassadors of the crusade.

“Nobody can pay for a life, as no amount of compensation can bring back lives lost to road crashes.

“If you have time to visit hospitals and mortuaries you will see what disobedience to traffic rules has made of many Nigerians.

“Wastages on our roads call for total commitment of everyone whether

in the southern, western, eastern or northern part of Nigeria. Road safety is a joint responsibility of all,” he said.

Akpabio urged road users to desist from taking hard drugs, use of mobile phones while driving, neglect of seat belt and disobeying traffic signs.

“The use of drugs, mobile phones, failure to use seat belt, among others, have become agents of death to many and have led a lot to permanent disability. Road does not even rec-

ognise chief executive,” he noted.

He charged law-enforcement agents to be committed and firm in discharging their civic duties without favour.

“In 2013, our goal is to reduce road crash significantly, and we will continue in the campaign to ensure safety of our stakeholders and make meaningful contributions to preserve lives of Nigerians,” he stressed.

Iwuoha Chinwendu, the Unit Commander,

Ikotun-Egbe, Lagos, called for attitudinal change by Nigerians in the usage of roads.

Mr Adebayo Bello, the Chairman, Egbe-Idimu Local Council Development Area (LCDA), asked road users to be tolerant.

Bello, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Kunle Olowopejo, said the LCDA would soon inaugurate a Road Safety Day to sensitise the public to the need for safety on the road.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

Boko Haram: Northerners will keep fighting for Nigeria’s unity, says Gana From Augustine Ehikioya and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

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News

2015: PDP member adamant, asks Appeal Court to stop Jonathan T

HE North will not relent in fighting for Nigeria’s continued unity, former Information Minister, Professor Jerry Gana said yesterday.

He is optimistic that current acts of terrorism in parts of the North aimed at dividing the country will not succeed and stressed that doubts about the country’s unity were removed by the Civil War. Gana, in a message as Guest Speaker at the launch of The Victors and the Vanquished of the Nigerian-Biafran Civil War written by the first military governor of the former North Western State, Usman Farouk, declared:”The unity of Nigeria has been settled by the civil war. In the north, we are still ready to fight for the unity of this country. So, if anybody thinks he can break the country, the unity of the country is a settled issue.”

He said the war also led to the creation of more states and more universities in the country.

“Before independence, Nigeria’s population was about 60 million, but we are now about 160 million and there is strength and opportunities in high population,” he said in the speech read by a former Director General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Ahmed Dan Fulani.

The chairman of the occasion and former Yobe State governor, Senator Abba Bukar Ibrahim, who said he has not read the book, said that it is a detailed account by an insider who witnessed the war.

“I have not read the book.

But I have read the author. We are hearing the account of the war from the horse’s mouth.

Book writing is not easy it takes a lot of time, a lot of research.

People have told us that there is no vanquished and no victors in the war, but an insider is now telling us there are victors and the vanquished from the war.”

HE intra-party battle for the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of 2015 heightened at the weekend after a member of the party, Mr. Cyriacus Njoku, approached the Court of Appeal to stop President Goodluck Jonathan from seeking re-election.

He holds the view that the 1999 Constitution does not sanction the administration of oath of office on anyone as president thrice.

The appellant insists that having completed the tenure of the late President Umaru Yar’ Adua, Jonathan has served two terms constitutionally allowed in Nigeria.

Njoku, in the appeal filed by his counsel, Mr. Osuagwu Ugochukwu, says it was wrong of Justice Mudashiru

Jukun appeal to Jonathan

•Representative of Enugu State Governor, Mr. Amaechi Okolo (left) and the Deputy Postmaster General of the Federation, Mr. Leonard Nwankwo, at the launch of the Enugu Centenary commemorative stamp in Enugu, yesterday

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HE Jukun of Taraba State have appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in dousing the tension in the area.

According to the Jukun Development Association, the president’s intervention is necessary to avert a repeat of the recent religious crises in Wukari in which several lives were lost and houses vandalised.

The President of the association, Mr.Bako Benjamin cited the January 16 mayhem in the town when a young man, in the heat of a verbal disagreement with another person, allegedly dashed home only to return with an AK47 rifle with which he shot the man with whom he had disagreed.

The incident sparked a bloody religious unrest.

He also alleged that sometime last November, the convoy of a top official of the state government tore through a security barricade mounted by members of the Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria (CRCN) at Ibi to check possible attack by Boko Haram.

5

FROM: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

Oniyangi of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to have ruled that Jonathan can contest in 2015.

He is seeking two reliefs including an “order setting aside the judgment of the High Court of March 1, 2013,’ and an “order granting the reliefs sought by the Appellant in his Originating Summons filed on the 30th March, 2012.”

He pleaded with the appellate court to declare that Jonathan is running his second term in office.

The respondents are the President (1first), PDP (second) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), (third).

The notice of appeal, filed on March 22 reads in part:

“TAKE NOTICE that the Appellant, being dissatisfied with the Judgment of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, of Nigeria, Maitama Division, presided over by the Honourable Justice M.N. Oniyangi dated Friday, the 1st day of March, 2013, do hereby appeal upon the grounds set out in paragraph 3 and will at the hearing of the appeal seek the reliefs set out in paragraph 4.

“The learned trial Judge erred in law when he held that the Appellant’s case did not disclose a reasonable cause of action.

“The learned trial judge erred in law when he held that the gist of the case is whether as a result of the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua and the swearing of the 1st Respondent, who was till the death of

Yar’Adua the Vice-President, as President for the unexpired period of four- year tenure of the late President Yar’Adua would mean a four- year tenure as President by the 1st Respondent. “ The gist of the case of the Appellant was whether or not the 1st Respondent(Jonathan) can contest the 2015 general election as presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party after he had taken the Oath of Office and Oath of Allegiance as President of the Federal Republic off Nigeria on the 6th May, 2010 and 29th May, 2011 respectively in view of the provisions of Sections 180 subsections 1 & 2 (a) and 182 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

“In the case of MARWA

VS. NYAKO (2012) 6 NWLR (PART 1296) 199 @ 308-309, (a case relied on the trial Judge but which he wrongly applied) the Supreme Court held that it is settled law that the time fixed by the Constitution for the doing of anything cannot be extended.

“The case of MARWA vs.

NYAKO (supra) was decided on the construction of the provisions of Section 135 & 137 of the Constitution which is exactly the same as Sections 180 (1) & 2 (2) (a) & 182 (1) of the Constitution which the case under reference was hinged.

“It follows therefore that the 1st Respondent is not eligible to contest again in respect of the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2015 after having taken the Oath of Office and Oath of Allegiance twice.

“The learned trial Judge erred in law when he held that the provisions of Section 137 (1) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (supra) which provides that a person shall not be qualified for election to be elected to such Office at any two previous election does not apply to the case of the 1st Respondent.

The appellant insisted that President Jonathan cannot be sworn in thrice as the nation’s leader.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the appeal.

Oyo warns against indiscriminate pasting of posters From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan N its bid to rid Oyo State of dirt, the state government has warned against indiscriminate pasting of posters within the metropolis.

The Director General of the Oyo State Signage and Advertising Agency (OYSAA), Mr. Yinka Adepoju, stated this yesterday while speaking with journalists during a sanitation exercise at Sango/Iwo-Road area of Ibadan.

He vowed the state will continue to pursue the existing zero tolerance policy on indiscriminate use of posters.

Adepoju emphasised that the warning should serve as a reminder to all religious organisations, companies, schools and other multinational companies to refrain from the indiscriminate use of posters in Oyo State.

He frowned against the non-compliance of the members of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), churches and schools with the policies of Oyo State Signage Agency and Advertisement Agency.

He added the agency is giving IPMAN, banks, religious bodies and schools 14 days ultimatum to register and pay for all sign boards across the state.

I

Banky W, Hafsat Abiola to speak at Bola Tinubu Colloquium

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HE fifth Annual Bola Tinubu Colloquium is to hold on March 28 at the Shell Hall, Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

The theme for the colloquium is ‘Beyond Mergers: A National Movement for Change, A New Generation Speaks!’ with Femi Edun as lead presenter.

He will speak on Poverty and the Nigerian State.

Other speakers include, Hafsat Abiola-Costello, who will speak on “The Millennium Development Goals: where are we in the race and how can we go faster?”; Bankole Wellington (Banky W) who will address New Media; Myani Bukar on the issues of Citizenship and Identity; and Kola Oyeneyin on the responsibilities of the older generation to the younger generation in charting a course for change.

The colloquium planning committee headed by Gover-

nor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State said the choice of issues lined up for discussion at the forum were informed by the optimism for the future which the emergence of the All Progressive congress (APC) has engendered in the country.

The development, the committee added has “ also somewhat excited the thought that perhaps this might be an opportunity for a more broad-based movement for true national transformation.

T

“ This year, the Colloquium seeks to create a platform for encouraging that possibility.

Part of the strategy for achieving this is to bring some new and younger voices to the table to interrogate ways by which the political space can be made more inclusive, especially how our increasingly cynical youth can become involved in a national movement to save the Republic.”

The 5th Bola Tinubu Colloquium is in celebration of

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 61st birthday. The event is to be chaired by Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.

A key feature of the colloquium is the formal presentation of the “National Movement for Change” (NM4C).

The movement is aimed at mobilizing “ a new generation of voices across the country to actively engage the political space and eventually cause change in the way the country is being governed.”

Centre honours Railway boss

HE Managing Director/ Chief Executive, Nigeria Railway Corporation,Mr. Adeseyi Sijuwade, has been conferred with a honourary distinguished Gold Medal Award by the Centre for Democratic Governance in Africa.

The Director General of the centre, Dr. Dafe Akpocha, said Sijuwade was being recognised

for the giant strides he has recorded since he took over the reins of the Corporation few years ago.

He said: “The board and management of the Centre for Democratic Governance in Africa decided to bestow on you this distinguished Gold Medal award in recognition of your selfless effort at not just

returning the once moribund Nigeria Railway Corporation to its lost glory but making it a vibrant organisation that would be the pride of all.”

Sijuwade said he was humbled, adding the recognition coming from such an eminent body would further spur him and his team to greater heights.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

News

6

Suswam: He was Nigeria's William Shakespeare

CHINUA ACHEBE (1930 - 2013)

Tinubu: His death, loss of a national treasure

B

ENUE State Governor, Gabriel Suswam, has expressed sadness over the death of literary icon, Professor Chinua Achebe.

He said it was painful the sage whose literary prowess, strength of character and integrity loomed larger than life would succumb to the cold hands of death at the time the world was waiting on his fertile mind for creative and lasting solutions to the trouble with Nigeria.

According to him: "Achebe was a man who demonstrated with his lifestyle and works that there is candour and beauty in simplicity of expression and carriage.

He added: "Now, with his passage, another solid pillar of our nation's conscience has fallen and things would appear to be no longer at ease.

"We are, however, comforted that people like Chinua Achebe don't really die. They live in our hearts and in their works.

"He was Nigeria's William Shakespeare who has bequeathed a sumptuous reservoir of knowledge and wisdom that the world will continue to drink from for centuries to come."

Achebe in good company, says Okorie

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HE Pioneer chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Chekwas Okorie has joined other Nigerians to eulogise the departed novelist, Professor Chinua Achebe.

He said the deceased is now in good company.

According to Okorie: "The Iroko has indeed fallen. The great Igbo son and an icon of universal acclaim has joined his ancestors "He is now in good company with Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr. Michael Okpara, Dr. Akanu Ibiam, Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu, etc.

“Men with the moral integrity and forthrightness of Professor Achebe are in short supply.”

Ikuforiji xxmourns Achebe

By Oziegbe Okoeki

S

PEAKER of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, has consoled the intellectual community on the death of literary giant, Professor Chinua Achebe.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Rotimi Adebayo, Ikuforiji stated “The news of the demise of one of Nigeria’s greatest novelists, was received by me with immense shock and disbelief.” “ As we all know, Professor Chinua Achebe has for so long now, remained one of best novelists to come out of Africa.

“His novels have also remained an avenue for teaching young Africans of the fact that they once had very vibrant cultures before the coming of the White colonial masters to the continent of Africa.”

•Tinubu

N

ATIONAL leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday described the death of literary giant, Professor Chinua Achebe, as the loss of yet another national treasure.

He said Achebe died without seeing his dream of a better-governed, fully democratic and united Nigeria fulfilled.

Tinubu, in a statement by his special media adviser, Sunday Dare, said:

"Achebe's words were like the arrows of God penetrating the fortresses of our leaders and striking their hearts to do good; unfortunately not many harkened and that is why we remain stuck as a people and a country."

He said, notwithstanding Achebe's exploits on the literary stage and his world acclaimed status, he had one regret, which is the failure of successive leadership to birth a new country and liberate Nigerians from abject poverty and want.

The former Lagos State governor said: "Chinua Achebe lived an exemplary life of sacrifice and excellence. He was a critiquegeneral who through his writings offered lucid suggestions and advice on how Nigeria's problems can be tackled.

"We are able to glean from his writings a burning desire for change and a crushing devotion to the emancipation of the larger society."

Stating Achebe's writings will stand the test of time, Tinubu said his books, essays and commentaries will stand as ringing indictments to all Nigerian and African leaders who fail to liberate their people from the shackles of want, poverty and oppression.

The former governor added: "Nigeria has a lot to offer not just the world but her citizens. Unfortunately, the best, the brightest and selfless amongst us are often shoved aside.

Our loss has been the gain of other countries."

He pointed out that while the world recognised and elevated Achebe for the brilliance of his writ-

ings and seminal interventions, the Nigerian government treated him like an irritant and one of the pesky activists.

Tinubu recalled how Achebe's life and writings touched many and mentored several.

"In my personal encounters with him, his simplicity, his forthrightness and engaging personality struck me.

"Achebe and his writings were one and the same. He breathed what he preached," Tinubu stated.

He added: “Though he elicits different reactions from different people, Achebe's love for his people and his patriotism was unquestionable.

"His devotion to creating a better society was resolute.

Ogidi, Achebe's community, in grief

I

KENGA, Ogidi in Anambra State, the community where Albert Chinualumogu Achebe was born on November 16, 1930 was in grief at the weekend.

Young and old wore long faces when the death of its illustrious son was broken.

The reporter had made some inquiries that sparked some suspicion in Nonye Okoli, Achebe's sister-in-law.

She responded in tears.

She guessed right: The worst had happened to the literary giant.

It was only a matter of time before the news spread.

Other relations and neighbours quickly gathered, many of them recalling his exploits as an author and his time as President General of the Ogidi Town Union.

Dr. Emma Obianagha, a native of Ogidi and former presidential aspirant on the platform of the PDP, said : ''There are some people a community will lose and still bear the loss but our brother's death is a big blow to us.

"We are disturbed, we are mourning. This was a man who always advised us not to soil our hands."

Only one person was in the house where Achebe grew up.

Juliet Anyacho, the caretaker of the house, described Achebe's death as sad and painful.

She said each time the deceased was in the village he was like a father to everyone.

Achebe's nephew, Aguluchukwu, said his death was a big blow to the family.

He said: "We were not expecting his death now though he had been ill for some time.

God knows why he has called him at this particular moment. ''Some of us in the family who are young would have loved to draw inspiration from him but our prayer is that the vacuum his death will create in the family will not give rise to any form of rancour.''

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka The immediate past National President of Ikenga Ogidi Family Union (Achebe's home), Chief Uba Onubogu, said the community was sad-

dened by Achebe's demise.

"Last week, we heard he was recovering, but this morning we got news of his death; it will create a very big vacuum.

"The current executive of

our union will hold its general meeting on Easter Monday and the agenda will be to send a delegation to the U.S.A from Ikenga Ogidi because he was our leader before the accident.''

"Nigeria must listen and recognise our best minds and not waste them. Achebe was primus inter pares, a social crusader, the conscience of our nation and we celebrate him rather than mourn him."

Anambra mourns, eulogises literary icon From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

T

HE death of Professor Chinua Achebe has continued to elicit tributes from prominent indigenes of Anambra.

The Anglican Bishop of Amichi Diocese Anglican Communion, Right Reverend Ephraim Ikeakor, said posterity can never forget because he wrote his name in gold.

Ikeakor, who spoke through his media aide, Reverend Canon C h u k w u e m e k a Chukwuebuka, said all the books of the late writer have deep insights that have benefitted humanity.

Former Governor of Anambra State, Dame Virgy Etiaba, described Achebe as a “bold man of integrity who stood to challenge millions with ordinary pen bought from the market.”

She said: "The nation has actually lost an icon; the world also has lost an icon because Chinua Achebe was somebody you can never forget easily.

"He was a man of his own and was never carried away by wind of the world.

He was bold and said his mind not minding whose ox was gored."

The Provost Federal College of Education (Technical) Umunze, Professor Josephat Ogbuagu, described the loss as a big blow to the literary world, Igboland and the nation at large.

The member representing Orumba North and South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Ben Nwankwo, described Achebe as a legend who dignified ancient and modern art.

He said: "Chinua Achebe's passage is a passage of a national hero, a legend who dignified ancient and modern arts, a luminary of the literary order.

"I see his exit as a major loss not only to the literary art industry but to the country. We will miss his intellectual depth and his level of consciousness for national development."

xxx

•Achebe at a function during a trip to Nigeria

He was Africa's foremost storyteller - Obi

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PECIAL Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Inter Party Affairs, Senator Ben Obi, has joined others to mourn the late Chinua Achebe.

In a statement yesterday, he said: "It is with a great sense of shock, loss and immense sense of foreboding that I received the sad news.

"Chinua, as he is fondly called, was an epitome of

literary creativity that went beyond the normal, his witty anecdotes in his books especially the early three: Things Fall Apart, Arrow of God and No Longer at Ease, compelled the readers (especially Africans) wallow in homesickness.

"A true scholar who has left immortal footprints in contemporary literary history, a great son of Africa and statesman is

indeed no more. Things really have fallen apart and the centre will no longer hold."

He consoled the widow, children, extended family and the government and people of Nigeria "on the sad event of the death of one of the greatest men that ever trod this earth in our time and indeed Africa's number one foremost story teller."

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

News

7

CHINUA ACHEBE (1930-2013)

‘My life has been full of changes’ S

INCE its publication in 1958, Things fall apart, the story of a Nigerian yam farmer who is unable to accept the changes wrought by British colonialism, has become the best-selling novel ever written by an African.

Well, I hear such exaggerated comments. I just leave them alone.

It’s a staple of American high-school English classes and it has supposedly sold more than eight million copies.

That would be possible.

I’m not grumbling; I have done well. But don’t imagine I’m a millionaire.

Things are again falling apart in Nigeria, which was in the news this month, when a pre-dawn massacre occurred near Jos and all the world saw images of Christian villagers, many of them women and children, laid out in mass graves. Do you think the incident is related to the spread of Muslim extremism?

It is, but it is other things as well. My own explanation would be the failure of the authorities in Nigeria to address the issue. The nation cannot be trusted to use the machinery of law and order.

And in that kind of situation, all kinds of people who are normally sort of put aside suddenly find an opening for

We have lost a great man –Ribadu

F

ORMER Presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has mourned the passage of leading novelist, Professor Chinua Achebe.

Ribadu, in a statement yesterday, said: “I join the world today in mourning the passage of Professor Chinua Achebe, a man I describe as the pillar of African literature and perhaps the most attentive and painstaking missioner of African culture in the face of a global doubt in the immediate years after the independence wave of the sixties.

“By this passage we have lost a great man, a moral centre and a brave commentator who always spoke loudly and clearly what most believe but are too timid or shy to utter.

“May his death bring a nobler challenge to the Nigerian dream and our vision of a just homeland.”

S

An extract of an interview with the late Professor Chinua Achebe, which was published in the New York Times on March 26, 2010 evil.

What do you think of Nigeria’s acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, who just dissolved the cabinet?

He suddenly doesn’t seem to bring good luck. He is weak. A strong man in any position in Nigeria should be horrified by what happened in Jos. Shamed is what we should feel. We don’t seem to have any government. People don’t know where their president — before the present acting president — where he went or where he is.

You’re referring to President Umaru Yar’Adua, who left Nigeria in November for a three-month stay in Saudi Arabia.

Presidents do not go off on leave without telling the country.

As the son of a Christian missionary, were you aware of conflicts between Christians and Muslims when you were growing up?

No, they lived in another part, and so there was no reason for me growing up to know very much about

Muslims. It was not an issue.

If you had the chance to say something to the so-called underwear bomber, the Nigerian man who tried to blow up a plane approaching Detroit on Christmas Day, what would it be?

I would say to him: “That is insane. Drop it. You cannot solve any problems by blowing up innocent people.”

As a professor at Brown University, in Providence, R.I., you yourself live in exile, as do many other Nigerian writers, including the playwright Wole Soyinka and the young novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

If you were in Nigeria and had cause to go to a hospital or to see a doctor, you would then immediately understand why so many people are abroad.

You’ve been wheelchairbound since 1990, as a result of a car accident that left you paralyzed from the waist down.

Yes. I was in Nigeria when the accident happened. I was flown to England for treatment. They tried to put me together, then they

•Late Achebe

recommended that I go to America for a follow-up and that’s why I came to America.

How old are you now?

I’m approaching 80. I don’t care about age very much. I think back to the old people I knew when I was growing up, and they always seemed larger than life.

Nigeria has lost a titan of incomparable proportion, says Ihedioha

D

EPUTY Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, has described the death of foremost literary icon and novelist, Prof. Chinua Achebe, as a devastating blow to the country.

He said Nigeria has lost a titan of incomparable proportion.

The deputy speaker, who expressed immense shock and sadness at the news of Achebe’s demise, stated it will be a tough challenge to fill the gap left by the departed nationalist and globally recognised cultural hero.

Ihedioha, however, said the evergreen impact of the literary icon’s works is a legacy that offers consolation to the Achebe family, Ndigbo, the nation and Africa in general.

According to him: “Ni-

geria has lost a true national hero and a towering titan of inestimable proportion whose works, words, and lifetime continue to prick the conscience of a nation in search of fairness and equity

for all and sundry.

“Prof. Achebe lived a Spartan life that mirrored some solutions to the challenges that Nigeria encounters as a nation.

“His lasting legacies however provide us with a conso-

“ I was shocked when I learnt about the death of Professor Chinua Achebe, one of the most fertile minds to have emerged out of the African continent.

“His death has further depleted the growing list of our great statesmen. His demise is not only a huge loss to me as a senator rep-

lation and incentive to put in our individual and collective best at all times to ensure the fulfillment of the dreams of our founding fathers and heroes past including the departed Achebe.”

His unfulfilled dreams, by kinsmen

K

INSMEN of the departed literary icon, Prof Chinua Achebe, regretted the unfulfilled dreams of their illustrious son.

They said Achebe had two important issues to settle in the sleepy community which he could not see to until his death.

First was the settling of a boundary dispute with a neighbouring community.

They also said the late literary icon was determined to ensure the right person was chosen as traditional ruler of the kingdom.

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

The traditional ruler of the community, Engr Walter Amobi died about 15 years ago when Achebe was the president General of Ogidi Town Union.

Since then, the community in Idemili North Local Government Area had been under a regent, Chief SN Okeke (Akunwata of Ogidi).

Speaking with The Nation yesterday at Ogidi, Achebe’s ancestral home, the immediate past president general of the area, Chief Uba Onubogu, said those issues gave the lit-

Uba mourns Achebe

ENATOR Andy Uba(Anambra South) has expressed deep shock over the death of the literary icon, Professor Chinua Achebe.

Uba, in a statement, described Achebe’s death as not only a huge loss to the Igbo race but the country and humanity in general.

What do you consider the most important thing about yourself?

Oh, the most important thing about myself is that my life has been full of changes.

Therefore, when I observe the world, I don’t expect to see it just like I was seeing the fellow who lives in the next room.

resenting his state, but to the country at large and people whom he impacted on with his great writing.

“He was not only a cultural icon but a great social crusader, erudite scholar who made his mark in the firmament of world literary giants.

“He was not only immu-

table, he was concerned about the social political development of his country.

He was great teacher, historian, story teller, intellectual, culture ambassador and champion of the oppressed.”

Uba said although Achebe was dead his writing would continue to inspire generation yet unborn.

erary giant sleepless nights.

Onubogu said: “We know that those issues will be bothering him anywhere he is now because he was singing it that those problems were his greatest headache in Ogidi and he had started making moves towards realising them until he had that fatal accident.

“It was the accident that made him not to fulfill his dream of bringing neigbouring towns around Ogidi together and not picking our monarch.

“He had told us that he had made contacts with the state and Federal governments to settle the age- long disputes in the communities but as it stands, those dreams had died with him”.

He blamed the accident for the inability of the community to access opportunities in government.

Onubogu stressed: “If he had not had that accident that almost claimed his life that particular time, most of the things Ogidi community had been lacking would have been here, because his presence was always intimidating to any-

There is this complexity which seems to me to be part of the meaning of existence and everything we value.

Are you still writing every day? What are you working on?

I’m working on this interview.

By Deborah Solomon

Declare public holiday for Achebe, says centre

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HE Ken Nnamani Centre for Leadership and Development has challenged the Federal Government to declare a day to commemorate the values and ideals of literary icon, Prof. Chinua Achebe.

It said the honour will compensate the late icon for his commitment to national development.

In a statement by its executive director, Professor Ebere Onwudiwe, the centre said: “There should be a public holiday in honour of Professor Chinua Achebe whose integrity and courage in the service of our father land was nonpareil.

“The day should be named ‘Chinua Achebe Day.’ Few have done more for our international image than Achebe, a great lover of this potentially great and loveable country of ours.

“The nation must show its gratitude to him. Achebe used his God-given talent to fight the good fight.

“He courageously defended the dignity of Africans against the assaults of some western writers and most importantly against Nigeria’s political leadership that he blamed for most of our national problems.”

8

News

Easter: Police reassure Aba residents Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

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HE Area Com-mander (AC) of the Nigeria Police, Aba, Abia State Rabiu Dayi, has assured residents of Aba and its environs of a crime free Easter celebration Dayi said both the intelligence and the antirobbery squad units in the command have been repositioned and reinforced to combat crime during the Easter celebration as the commercial city sets to witness influx of both human and vehicular movements.

The area commander in an interview with our correspondent said the "Operation Show of Force" patrol has been placed on red alert for quick response to crime scenes, adding that, with the visibility policing system and collaboration with other security agencies, the police were prepared to make Aba unsafe for criminals to perpetuate their evil acts.

He advised criminals taking refuge in Aba and its environs to leave the city or be ready to face the consequences of their actions as punishable by law.

The AC, however, assured the citizens of the city of maximum protection of lives and properties during the Easter period.

"The area will be crime free for anybody wishing to celebrate Easter holidays here, so no cause for alarm, people should come home and spend it with their loved ones," he assured.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

Abducted journalist: Kidnappers A demand N6m ransom

BDUCTORS of a journalist and nursing mother, Mrs Olubunmi Oke, a staff of the Nigeria Television Authority, kidnapped in Akure, are asking for N6 million ransom. They initially asked for N15 million. The family has,

By Dupe Olaoye- Osinkolu.

however, been unable to raise the money.

Women journalists under the aegis of Nigeria

Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) are therefore, seeking unconditional release of their kidnapped colleague.

In a statement released

yesterday and signed by NAWOJ chairman, Ondo State Chapter, Mrs Olutope Ayo Fashuyi, the association said the kidnapped member, Mrs

BIU to establish cancer centre A As part of efforts to help improve the health care of sufferers of cancerous ailment, which is fast ravaging the Nigerian society, authorities of the Benson Idahosa University (BIU), Benin, has disclosed plans to establish a research center to deal with the issue.

The center, when operational, will also deal with health issues which are of great concern to human existence, including diabetes and prostate cancer.

Disclosing this to newsmen in Benin City during the official

From, Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

presentation of Edotide food supplement drugs to the public, the vice chancellor of the University, Professor Macdonald Idu, said with such a breakthrough invention by a member of the BIU, succor have come to the sufferers of these ailment in Nigeria.

He said by this common feat, the BIU has now become an affiliate of National Academic of Inventor (NAI), Florida USA, thus becoming the first university in the sub Sahara to be recognised by the Academics.

While presenting the researcher, Professor Ernest Izevbigie, the VC said the drugs are made from extracts of bitterleaf.

Prof. Izevbigie, who is the Deputy vice-chancellor of the Benson Idahosa University, said using local bitterleafs which is well grown in the country, has produced the drug which is now in high demand in Europe and America.

The drug "Edotide", according to Prof. Izevbigie, whose research focus is cancer biology and pharmacognosy, said it is very potent in the management of diabetes,

prostate enlargement in men and breast cancer in women.

Izvebigie, a professor in the area of vernonia amygdalina (bitter leaf) research at Jackson State University, said "We found that in using the plant material, some compounds from the extracts were able to inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells, later through collaborative research, we found they were also effective in other tumor cells," he added.

"Although, the formulations are not optimised for diabetes, they provide some health benefits to diabetes patients," he said.

From, Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

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Aregbesola for media award in Lagos

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ACN flags off LG campaign, as Oba of Benin prays for peace HEAD of the April 20, 2013 Local Government Election in Edo State, the Benin monarch, Oba Erediauwa, has urged chairmanship and councillorship candidates to go about their campaigns peacefully in order to sustain the prevailing peace in the state.

The Oba's advise came as the senator representing Edo South Senatorial District of the state, Senator Ehigie Uzamere, urged members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to vote massively for the party in the forthcoming election, so as to replicate the developmental success of Governor Adams Oshiomhole at the grassroots.

Also the state deputy governor, Dr. Pius Odubu, has charged the people of Orede to repeat the feat extended to comrade Adams Oshiomhole in the July 14, 2012 Governorship Election to Hon. Osaro Obazee come April 20, 2013.

A chieftain of the ACN in Edo South, Elder Sunny Uyigue, has cautioned members of the party to be vigilant, alleging plans by some aggrieved members of the party to vote against the party, particularly in Ovia North East.

Olubunmi Oke, a staff of Nigeria Television Authourity, Akure, was abducted by unknown gunmen,while returning home after casting the 7 o' clock news.

She was abducted around 11pm, Thursday night.

Her colleagues got wind of the incident on Friday. "We passionately appeal to these people that Mrs Oke be released, being a nursing mother to enable her attend to her baby. NAWOJ equally calls on the security agencies in the country to do all they can to ensure her quick release in order for her to breast-feed her baby," said Fashuyi.

•Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson casting his vote during the 2013 Local Government Elections at his hometown, Toru- Orua, Sagbama L.G.A, Bayelsa State... yesterday

Agbaso: Seven-man probe panel inaugurated

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ARING all odds, the Imo State Judiciary yesterday, inaugurated the seven-man panel constituted by the State Chief Judge, Justice Benjamin Njemanze to probe the allegations of fraud against the deputy governor, Jude Agbaso.

Performing the inauguration on Saturday at the secretariat of the Imo Council of Ndi-Eze, Njemanze, represented by one of the State High Court Judges, Justice Goddy Anunihu, charged the members of the panel to carry out their responsibilities without fear or favour.

He further charged them to employ the principle of justice in their duty, stressing that, "it is to ensure good governance and for the betterment of the entire Imo people".

In his acceptance speech, Chairman of the panel, Justice Godwin Emeka Ihekire rtd, commended the

…CJ absent at ceremony From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

chief judge for founding them worthy to be members of the panel, assuring that they will discharge their duties honestly and creditably without fear or favour.

Other members of the

panel who were inuagurated in the brief ceremony, were James Gozie Nze, Akaonu Chigozie Mere, Vincent Onyeka, Elder Humphrey Ajolu, Cecilia Chinyere Oladimeji and Okparaku Nwarie.

It would be recalled that

the inauguration of the panel, which was scheduled to hold at the office of the Chief Judge earlier in the week, was put on hold due to some legal issues arising from the motion ex-parte filled at the Owerri Court by the deputy governor seeking restriction of the Chief judge from inaugurating the panel.

ABSU rape case: Abia threatens legal action against rumour mongers

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OLLOWING the alleged false rumours that have been peddled against Abia State Government in recent times, it has warned that it would henceforth take legal actions against any person or group that tries to rubbish its hardearned reputation.

Speaking with newsmen in Umuahia, the Chief of Staff (COS) to the Governor, Mr Cosmos Ndukwe, said that media practitioners and

From, Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

media owners who allow their media to be used as a tool of blackmail against the government would no longer be allowed to escape the long arm of the law.

Ndukwe who was speaking against the backdrop of the vindication of the state government and authorities of Abia State University, Uturu (ABSU), by the Police, to the effect that

the alleged gang rape of August 2011 did not take place in ABSU, said that government will no longer fold its arms while some people take it to the cleaners.

The rape was recorded and posted in one of the social media and internet by the rapists after their exploits with a young woman and it was alleged to have been perpetrated by students of ABSU and that the incident also took place at ABSU.

SUN State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, is scheduled to attend the 10th anniversary of the Factor magazine next Thursday.

Factor magazine is an Ikorodu-based grassroot focused publication in Lagos State.

Aregbesola, who is the special guest of honour at the event, will also deliver a lecture with the theme " N i g e r i a ' s structure;Federation, state governance and the role of grass-roots journalists."

The event billed for the Ikorodu town hall will also feature the conferment of community builder awards on dignitaries including Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Aregbesola, Babatunde Fashola,Dr Muiz Banire and Senator Ashafa, amongst others.

Old students get Lagos coordinators DIRECTOR with Nigeria Deposit Insurance Company (NDIC), Mr. Tunde Mojola and Mr. Vincent Nwana, a private legal practitioner and Alhaja Nura Ajigbewu, an NDIC director, have been nominated as coordinators of the Lagos chapter of the Old Students of the Holy Trinity Grammar School Ibadan.

The association’s national coordinator, Mr. Soji Obebe, stated the establishment of the chapter was a child of necessity.

Obebe, a director with Ogun Osun River Basin Development Authority, Abeokuta, congratulated the Lagos old students for being the first branch of the association outside Ibadan.

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NEWS REVIEW

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

•One of the flooded farms

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ONTHS after severe floods displaced thousands of residents in Benue State and with the promise of a N500 million relief for the affected communities; they are yet to get any materials.

Most of the communities along River Benue were flooded, with houses submerged and farmlands washed away with the victims means of livelihood gone.

The communities mostly affected were Tse Dwungwe, Mbarkoya, Tombo ward in Logo local government, Guma, Makurdi, Agatu and Buruku local government areas.

In Tse Dzungwe, Mbakorya district, which is predominantly a rice farming settlement, over 20 000 hectares of rice farm was washed away.

The farm owned by Ashi Food Limited, had secured a N200m loan for the farmers to grow paddy for Ashi Rice Mill Plant at Anyiin to boost rice production in the country.

Those affected in Makurdi, the state capital were mostly those living along River Benue, on Gyado Villa, Kucha Utebe, Agbadu, Brewery, Wadata and Gaadi.

The flood sacked more that 150,000 people from their homes leading the state government through State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to set up three displaced persons' camps at LGEA primary school, St. Catherine primary school and NKST Primary school all in Makurdi for the victims to be registered.

Questions over N500m Benue flood relief fund

Flood victims in Benue State who were promised N500 million relief fund are wondering when they would get paid. Uja Emmanuel, reports.

For three months, some primary schools were closed to accommodate victims of the flood disaster who turned the classrooms into temporary home.

Coming to the aid of victims Individuals and nongovernmental organisations responded to the plight of the victims as they donated cash, relief materials, and offered free medical service to displaced persons in the camps.

President Goodluck Jonathan announced a donation of N500m to victims of the flood, the state is regarded as the food basket of the country, owing to its agricultural potential.

Apart from the president, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Abuja, also sent thousands of tons of rice and fertilizer to farmers who were affected by the flood.

However, five months after the flood disaster, victims have

returned to their shattered homes and with the prediction that 2013 would witness massive rainfall; no victim of the disaster has been given a dime out of the N500m or tons of rice from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.

Most of the victims who returned to their submerged homes have not been contacted or informed when the money would be disbursed to them as a relief measures.

Worst still no government official has disclosed when the funds would be disbursed or what is delaying its disbursement.

Mr Innocent Nyigba, a victim who is also a student of Benue State University (BSU) told The Nation that since the disaster, he has not heard anything from the state government, even though he heard a radio announcement that N500m was given to the state and

the governor set up a committee to work out modalities for sharing the funds.

He appealed to Benue State Government to disburse the money to the victims just as he expressed concern that another year of heavy rain is approaching, while they are still waiting for last year's relief package.

Another victim, Simon Kwaghbula, who also lives at Kucha Utebe settlement, said they spent three months away from their abode as the flood as water submerged their family.

According to him, he only heard of the N500m on the radio and has not heard any further information on disbursement.

He expressed doubt if the money is still intact, as he feared that some government officials might have pilfered with the funds at the expense of the victims.

Msugh Shachi who was displaced with his wife and two children, he expressed regrets that SEMA officials ejected victims from the camp and gave them a miserable N2000 to go to their homes and wait for the relief sent by the federal government.

"The best way government would have disbursed the funds was when all the victims were in displaced camps, not now that most people have gone back to their homes, some are now dead."

Mr. Ben Adasu, younger brother of a former governor of Benue State, who lost his personal house to the flood, said apart from the relief measure, which has become a sing song, government should consider dredging River Benue to accommodate large volume of water as a permanent solution.

He called on the Minister of Agriculture and the federal government to probe the alleged diversion of relief materials.

However, chairman of Benue State Relief Agency, Dr. David Salifu said on phone that the N500m from the federal government is intact and very soon government would disburse it to those he described as real victims of the 2012 flood.

He said the disbursement was delayed because some people made false claims. "Those who came forward that they were affected were not real, so we as government is taking our time to ensure inventory of real victims.

More so some people registered twice and accuracy must be taken care of before disbursement would commence."

He assured that this would be soon.

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Rebels enter Central African Republic capital

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UNDREDS of rebels penetrated the capital of Central African Republic yesterday, posing the gravest threat to President Francois Bozize's government in a decade.

The rebels, who signed a peace agreement in January that was to allow Bozize to stay in power until 2016, have threatened to overthrow the country's leader unless he meets their demands.

The rebels come from several different armed groups that have long challenged the government. They are now accusing Bozize of failing to abide by the terms of the latest deal signed two months ago, with the help of mediators from neighboring countries.

Fighters rapidly seized a dozen towns in December and January but never entered the capital of Bangui before agreeing to negotiations.

Guy Moussa, who lives in the PK12 neighborhood on the north side of the city, told The Associated Press that hundreds of rebels entered the city around 6 p.m.

Panicked residents cowered in their homes, many shrouded in darkness after rebels took out a power station supplying parts of Bangui.

Earlier in the afternoon, nonessential United Nations personnel taking a bus to the airport were stopped by a group of angry youths.

"No one leaves this country. You will stay here. If we die, we all die together," the youths shouted, according to U.N. employee Debonheur Deotar.

The unrest is the latest threat to the stability of Central African Republic, a desperately poor nation of 4.5 million that has long been wracked by rebellions and power grabs. The president himself took power in 2003 following a rebellion, and his tenure has been marked by conflict with myriad armed groups.

Bus overturns in Pakistan, killing 32 police official says a bus has overturned on a highway in eastern Pakistan after hitting a roadside electricity pole, killing at least 32 passengers.

Senior police official Zulifiqar Cheema says 35 passengers were injured in the accident near the city of Sheikhura early yesterday. He says the apparent cause was driver negligence, as the bus was speeding.

Cheema says the bus was traveling from Lahore to Faisalabad, an industrial city which lies in the eastern Punjab province.

Road accidents are common in Pakistan because of poor infrastructure and routine disregard of traffic laws.

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Egypt confiscates shipments of military uniforms

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

News Review/World

AIRO airport officials confiscated 10,000 pieces of military-style clothing yesterday as officials in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria seized 25 tons of camouflage material used for making military uniforms.

Maj. Gen. Yousri Abdel-Aziz, head of security at the airport, said the large shipment of items such as shirts and pullovers lacked proper shipping permits and was essentially being smuggled out of Egypt to Libya's eastern city of Benghazi.

Airport officials said an Egyptian businessman was trying to ship the uniforms to a businessman in Libya. It was not clear what the uniforms would be used for in Libya, where the government has yet to bring militias fully under its control.

Separately, a state prosecutor in Alexandria said officials are investigating a Chinese company after it shipped 25 tons of material in the khaki and brownish-green style worn by soldiers. The company manufactures clothing in Egypt and sells abroad.

Pope Francis tells predecessor, Benedict: "We're brothers" P

OPE Francis travelled yesterday to this hill town south of Rome to have lunch with his "brother" and predecessor Benedict XVI, a historic and potentially problematic melding of the papacies that has never before confronted the Catholic Church.

The two men dressed in white

embraced warmly on the helipad in the gardens of Castel Gandolfo, where Benedict has been living since he stepped down Feb. 28 and became the first pope to resign in 600 years.

In a series of gestures that ensued, Benedict made clear that he considered Francis to be pope while

Francis made clear he considered his predecessor to be very much a revered brother and equal. They clasped hands repeatedly, showing one another the deference owed a pope in ways that surely turned Vatican protocol upside down.

Travelling from the helipad to the palazzo, Francis sat on the

•Friends and family of Kimani Gray, 16, carry his casket after his funeral service yesterday in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Kimani Gray was shot and killed by New York police officers for allegedly pointing a gun at them. PHOTO: AFP

France confirms death of al-Qaida chief Abou Zeid

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HE al-Qaida-linked warlord Abou Zeid was killed in combat with French-led troops in Mali in February, France said yesterday, ending weeks of uncertainty about whether one of the group's leading commanders in the region was dead.

In a statement yesterday the office of French President Francois Hollande said the death was "definitively confirmed" and that the killing "marks an important step in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel."

Chad's president had said earlier this month that Chadian troops killed Abou Zeid while fighting to dislodge his al-Qaida affiliate in northern Mali. French officials have maintained for weeks that the Algerian was "probably" dead but waited to conduct DNA tests to verify.

Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, thought to be 47, was a pillar of the southern realm of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, responsible for the death of at least two European hostages and a leader of the extremist takeover of the north.

The French military moved into

Mali on Jan. 11 to push back militants linked to him and others who had imposed harsh Islamic rule and who are seen as an international terrorist threat.

Abou Zeid was killed in operations in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains in northern Mali in late February, the statement from Hollande's office said.

One analyst warned that Abou Zeid's death will not significantly weaken AQIM, as some analysts predict, and may in fact lead to greater unity among its factions.

Jean-Paul Rouiller, director of the Geneva Center for Training and Analysis of Terrorism, described AQIM's organization as a set of insulated cells under the larger al-Qaida umbrella, which existed independently of each other.

The region of Mali - known in the group's parlance as the "emirate of the Sahara" - was divided between units loyal to Abou Zeid and those loyal to his rival, Moktar Belmoktar, the international terrorist who led the attack on the Ain Amenas gas plant that left 36 foreigners dead in Algeria earlier this year.

Chad's military chief has claimed that his troops killed Belmoktar, but France has not confirmed the death and many analysts say they don't believe it.

Rouiller said the likely scenario is that Abou Zeid's longtime associate, Yahya Abou ElHammam, will take over control of his brigade. For years, Hammam acted as the gobetween when Abou Zeid wanted to communicate with Belmoktar, suggesting he likely had a good relationship with Belmoktar.

"Especially if Hammam takes over, there could be a chance for a better coordinated relationship with Moktar Belmoktar," Rouiller said. "In terms of controlling Mali, the death of Abou Zeid could mean more cooperation between the arms of AQIM." Abou Zeid's brigade, believe to be one of the most violent in al-Qaida's North African franchise, was thought to be holding four French nationals kidnapped two years ago at a uranium mine in Niger. The fate of those hostages, working for French company Areva, was unclear.

Rebels seize air defense base in southern Syria

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YRIAN rebels yesterday seized a major air defense base in a strategic region in the south near the Jordanian border, the latest battlefield triumph for fighters seeking to topple President Bashar Assad, activists said.

Fighters with a rebel group active in the south stormed and seized control of the base used by the 38th Division after a 16-day siege, according to a statement posted on

websites of the group known as the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade. The base near the village of Saida is situated along the international highway linking the Syrian capital, Damascus, with Jordan to the south.

Fighting in Syria's southern provinces bordering Jordan and Israel has increased sharply in the past few days. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of people, mostly opposition fighters, were

killed in heavy clashes this week in the Quneitra region along the ceasefire line between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights.

The Britain-based group, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said it had documented the deaths of 35 opposition fighters and that contact had been lost with more than 20 others believed to have died in the fighting. Dozens of others were wounded, the group said.

right-hand side of the car, the traditional place of the pope, while Benedict sat on the left. When they entered the chapel inside the palazzo to pray, Benedict tried to direct Francis to the papal kneeler at the front of the chapel, but Francis refused.

"No, we are brothers," Francis told Benedict, according to the Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi. He said Francis wanted to pray together with Benedict, so the two used a different kneeler in the pews and prayed side-by-side.

Francis also brought a gift to Benedict, an icon of the Madonna, and told him that it's known as the "Madonna of Humility."

"I thought of you," Francis told Benedict. "You gave us so many signs of humility and gentleness in your pontificate." Benedict replied: "Grazie, grazie."

Benedict wore the simple white cassock of the papacy, with a quilted white jacket over it to guard against the chill, but minus the sash and cape worn by Francis. Walking with a cane, the 85-year-old Benedict looked frail compared to the robust 76-year-old Argentine.

Outside the villa, the main piazza of Castel Gandolfo was packed with well-wishers bearing photos of both popes and chanting "Francesco! Francesco!" But the Vatican made clear they probably wouldn't see anything.

The Vatican downplayed the remarkable reunion in keeping with Benedict's desire to remain "hidden from the world" and not interfere with his successor's papacy. There was no live coverage

by Vatican television, and only a short video and still photos were released after the fact.

The Vatican spokesman said the two spoke privately for 40-45 minutes, followed by lunch with the two papal secretaries, but no details were released.

All of which led to enormous speculation about what these two popes might have said to one another after making history together: Benedict's surprise resignation paved the way for the first pope from Latin America, the first Jesuit, and the first to call himself Francis after the 13th century friar who devoted himself to the poor, nature and working for peace.

That the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was second only to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in the 2005 conclave that elected Ratzinger pope has only added to the popular imagination about how these two popes of such different style, background and priorities might get along.

Perhaps over their primo, or pasta course during yesterday's lunch, they discussed the big issues facing the church: the rise of secularism in the world, the drop in priestly vocations in Europe, the competition that the Catholic Church faces in Latin America and Africa from evangelical Pentecostal movements.

During their secondo, or second course of meat or fish, they might have gone over more pressing issues about Francis' new job: Benedict left a host of unfinished business on Francis' plate, including the outcome of a top-secret investigation into the leaks of papal documents last year that exposed corruption and mismanagement in the Vatican administration. Francis might have wanted to sound Benedict out on his ideas for management changes in the Holy See administration, a priority given the complete dysfunctional government he has inherited.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

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URING mass last week, the Pope Francis appealed for protection of the weak and poor.

The new pontiff seems a humble person committed to humanity. Hopefully, he will sweep the stale air and crooked ways from the Vatican so the Catholic Church can be a church again. Not only Catholics but the world can stand to have a pontiff who wears common, plain robes but speaks in words touched by the spirit of divinity. For too long, we suffered religious leaders who wore divine robes only to speak in the spirit of what is common and worldly. May Francis be more than fine ritual and liturgy. May he be real and compassionate. Even at that, he will face hard opposition and sour disappointment. His counsel to protect the weak and poor was condign but it was only hortatory. Save for public attention, a pope commands little these days. Those in positions of power and wealth to make good his counsel paid him as little heed as they do the poor and weak of whom the new pontiff so touchingly spoke. In many ways, it is not an outmoded perspective to think of the world as a perpetual battle of good versus its opposite.

A subtle global struggle is underway.

The outcome will determine the course of nations and the welfare of billions of people. Hundreds of millions of lives will be made long or cut short depending on how the conflict unfolds. As long as man has existed, the rich and power have taken more from the weak and poor than they have given the humble masses. In prior ages, this dynamic assumed several names that highlight the foul play of which man is capable in pursuit of high affluence and great power. Slavery, serfdom, and indentured servitude are but the poor man’s basement view of the grand historic procession of the divine right of kings, noble aristocracy, manifest destiny, and the white man’s burden.

Today’s struggle is the latest manifestation of elite man’s penchant for polishing his boot against the neck of the lowly. This time is has little to do with birthright or pedigree. It has taken centuries but science has largely shorn us of the myths of innate superiority of any race, people or class. This time the struggle is distilled to the most durable and persistence of social myths: the supreme worth of money. This myth has been sustained by that ever present thing called human greed. It has been legitimized by the advent of perverse social science known as classical economics. It has been made catholic by the advance of technologies permitting the transmission of information or money in the form of electronic pulses moving at the speed of light. Economic life has been globalized. With globalization comes uniformity. What might have been the way of a few nations and their allies has become the way of the world.

On a universal scale, Money Power and its enabling philosophy, financialism, seek to place the rest of us under the lash. Thus far, they are winning because people were so deceived they believed no option existed but to accept their fate. Things are now changing.

People are beginning to understand that few economic policies are objectively inevitable. Policies result from subjective preferences. To accept the policies espoused by the rich and powerful is to relegate most people debt peonage and reduce poor nations to colonial outposts of international finance in the same manner much of Asia and Africa were subjected to ownership by royal corporations in days of yore when imperial aspirations and discrimination against purportedly lesser civilizations were considered virtues to be nurtured and extolled.

During the last one hundred years, global wars have been military in nature, i.e., the two world wars and the resultant Cold War. In the 21st century, the first war of global dimension is the purported fight against terror. Terrorism is a serious matter. Nigeria well knows the harsh costs incurred when terrorism takes residence. However, the alleged global nature of the war on terrorism is more in hyperbole than fact. Most people and areas are unaffected. In truth, the first global war of the 21st century is financial in nature. It is a battle where rich and powerful nations, instigated by their largest financial houses, seek to control the destiny of other nations by whittling their economic sovereignty so that the

News Review/World

The continuing onslaught: The rich ambush the poor •The rich so cherish the poor: they do everything to keep them in that condition

•Cypriots protesting the island nation's banking crisis last week

BRIAN BROWNE

lesser nations become vulnerable to further machinations by the more powerful economies. It is this war, not the one against terrorism, that affects all of us. This war’s outcome will determine whether modern technology joins with humane social knowledge and understanding to forge a better world where poverty is less jarring and wealth more equitably shared. Or will technology be perverted by twisted ambition to bring hardship that is severe and disconnected from the world’s actual productive capacity? If the latter, then we have entered a period as doleful as the entrance into the Dark Ages. A thick, heavy cloud would have descended over the vast swath of mankind for no reason other than to sate the greed of a powerful few.

As irony would have it, the epicenter of this fight is Europe much the same as Europe was the center of last century’s world wars. What Hitler could not accomplish through racial hatred and by strong bayonet, modern Germany now attempts to do through the manipulation of government and bank balance sheets.

Germany seeks nothing less than to bring the rest of Europe to heel economically.

Instead of the military blitzkrieg, Germany seeks to dominate Europe by brusque financial intimidation. It seems national tendencies don’t easily fade.

When it comes to attempting to dominate others, the Germans dispense with subtlety. Bullying becomes the order of the day. Over the past two years, the euro zone has been a battlefield of rich versus struggling European nations. On one hand, Germany, using the European Central Bank (ECB) as proxy, has battled the southern tier of Europe. One by one, it has subdued these nations like a conquering invader. Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy have fallen down the maw of austerity. Toss in Ireland for a measure of geographic diversity. One by one, these nations plummeted into recession.

Now, enter the most unlikely hero at the most unlikely moment. If this chapter in history has a benign conclusion, the small island nation of Cyprus may well be the proximate cause.

Buffeted by the Greek meltdown, the Cypriot banking system is in crisis. The island’s second largest bank is overexposed to potential Greek default.

If that bank goes down, the other Cypriot banks go with it. Thus, Cyprus needs a bank bailout of 16 billion euros in short order. It turned to the European bank for help. In effect, this was tantamount to requesting the financially martinet Germans for assistance. Viewing the Cypriots as profligate wastrels living beyond their means, the Germans conditioned help on the Cypriots donning a skin-piercing hair shirt. The Germans demanded Cyprus pay for the bailout, in part, by imposing a ten percent tax on bank deposits. This was a brusque and unusually draconian move.

Germany and the ECB had strongarmed and intimidated relatively large nations such as Italy, Spain and Greece, to the extent of causing the Greek government to fold during the height of that crisis. German officials and European bureaucrats blithely thought they could steamroll tiny Cyprus which represented a fraction of one percent of the euro zone GDP. In their arrogance, they miscalculated.

The move sent shocks through the world banking system. The highbrows in Berlin and Frankfurt (the latter being the home of the ECB) had stepped too far to grab too much. In order to stop bank runs, governments have insured private bank deposits since the Great Depression.

This has been a totem of modern banking.

The innovation strengthened depositor confidence and encouraged savings. In one swoop, the equation changed in Cyprus. The Euro giants were demanding the Cypriot government to shift from guaranteeing deposits to confiscating them for no compelling reason. Worse, roughly one-third of bank deposits were expatriate, mostly Russian.

Thus, the euro giants were poking a finger in the Russian eye by essentially demanding that Russians involuntarily fund the Cypriot bailout. Clearly, European officials knew of this Russian presence in the banking system.

Penalizing Russia also gave motive to this harsh tactic.

News of the proposal predictably ignited a bank run which was only stopped when banks used various tricks and methods to dishonor depositor withdrawal requests. Those who thought the euro zone had exited crisis better thing again. If people in other troubled nations believe the medicine foisted on Cyprus may soon come their way, we will witness depositor withdrawals and bank runs in these nations the likes of which the world has not seen since the scythe of economic depression mowed down the European banking system seventy years ago.

Yet, something peculiar happened in the Cypriot capital, Nicosia. Parliament balked at passing the confiscatory deposit law. With this, they rejected the Germanoriginated bailout plan. Germany thought they had Cyprus trapped. Without the bailout, a major bank collapses and a national banking crisis becomes imminent. With the bailout’s confiscatory tithe on bank deposits and its fiscal austerity measures, the economy will lose its place as a preferred international banking center and will deflate due to lessened government expenditure.

Similar to Greece, the bailout may avert rapid financial calamity by replacing it with a slower yet inexorable long-term diminution approaching acute recession or depression.

Cyprus was being asked to select the means of its execution, either by gunshot or slow but sure poison. Banking on the risk-adverse nature common to most politicians, the euro bullies figured Cypriot parliamentarians would pass the legislation, thus avoiding an immediate financial showdown in favor of creeping disaster. The proud Cypriot lawmakers did what their colleagues in larger Spain, Italy and Greece lacked the spine to do. If they were to sink, they shall do so on their own terms, not according to commands from Berlin or Frankfurt.

Finally, the euro giants had encountered resistance through this act of desperate courage. Given the smallness of the Cypriot economy, this was the wrong nation to take the stand but at least a stand was finally taken. Now electorates in Spain, Italy and Greece are irate that their lawmakers were not possessed of such nationalist courage when their moment to stand or fold came. As the winter becomes spring and weather moderates, expect street protests and political realignment in these nations as the people bristle under the harsh weight of unnecessary austerity.

Despite the courage shown, Cyprus is still in dire trouble. It must devise a rescue package by Monday or the ECB pulls the plug on the vulnerable bank.

Then collapse would no longer be imminent. It would have begun. The last time someone in this part of the

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Mediterranean survived such a predicament was when Odysseus navigated past the monster Scylla and Charybdis, the whirlpool. Yet, this offers the Cypriots no consolation. This feat took place several millennia ago and is the stuff of myth. The Cypriots must face the pressure of modern financialism which places little premium on national heroism.

In the end, Cyprus will likely bend. It is too small and the pressure too great upon it. Being in the euro zone, the gallant island does not print its own currency. If it had a sovereign currency, the nation would have more policy space in which to maneuver. To a degree, it could inflate its way out of immediate crisis. This has problems but not as severe as those now faced. Cyprus has run to Moscow in search of kinder bailout assistance. The Russians will not do enough. Moscow will use Cyprus as a pawn in the grand game of geopolitics it plays against the European Union and NATO. Simply put, the island was ripe for the plucking. Exposure to Greece made frail the banking system.

That it has untapped gas reserves makes the island a more attractive prey. “Cripple the economy, then take assets and resources on the cheap.” This is the new leitmotif of economic cooperation among nations bound as allies in an economic treaty and monetary union.

The crisis should sound a caution to African nations. By all means safeguard your currency sovereignty. Any nation that uses the currency of another or pegs its currency to the value of another, has shifted too much of its financial decisionmaking to another nation. That other nation will exploit the unintended gift; it will not act with altruism. Consequently, Nigeria must discourage the growing practice of conducting domestic transactions in dollars. While this might benefit individuals, it saps the overall economy.

West Africa must closely reexamine its pursuit of a monetary union that is partially based on the flawed European model. If the flaws are not resolved in this architecture, the union not only might cause imbalances between its members, it could make their economies more vulnerable to manipulation by foreign powers. Last, Nigeria and Ghana especially must be wary of the renewed flow of speculative hot money. Since the 2008 meltdown, western financial houses have largely been made whole by massive doses of government subvention. They are flush with cash. Due to the structural uncertainty of the euro zone and the low rates of return throughout the developed world, they do not have many places at home to park this money to earn handsome returns. Their eyes bulge as they look at the high interest rates in West Africa. They rush to temporarily park money here to profit from the high rates.

We should be concerned. Lest we forget, a similar inflow helped foster the Nigerian banking bubble years ago. A subsequent outflow of the same money precipitated the banking collapse of 2008-9. This sudden and steep crash checkmated the banking system, almost crumpled the entire economy and obliterated the savings of hordes of forlorn investors. We must not allow a repeat so soon thereafter.

We would be wise to impose capital and currency controls to prevent a repeat of this speculative roller coaster ride and its concomitant crash into the hard wall of financial reality.

To safeguard African economies from the fate of Cyprus, we must unlearn the mainstream economics we have been taught. Mainstream economics preaches that sovereignty matters little. It says go for the most lucrative deal. The lesson of the euro zone is that the most lucrative deal today might not be the best deal for posterity. Joining the euro zone was clearly against the national interests of Greece, Spain and Cyprus. Perhaps Cyprus might escape but with difficulty. The best way to escape such a trap is never to enter it. No nation with a large population base has ever reached durable, broad-based prosperity without maintaining its currency sovereignty. To relinquish sovereignty is to relinquish your right to grow as you deem fit. In such a mean, ungracious era of human history, no wise nation will place its fate in the hands of a competitor.

Enough said!

08060340825 (sms only)

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News Review

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Phantom coup: I've forgiven all -Diya On March 12, 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan approved a presidential pardon for some Nigerians, including Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya, former Chief of General Staff, who was condemned to death over his role in the controversial 1997 coup. At the weekend, Gen Diya spoke to some journalists on the pardon, his experience during his incarceration and other national issues. Sam Egburonu was there

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ppreciation on the presidential pardon My immense appreciation goes to the President, Goodluck Jonathan, for his kindness and courage. By this decision, he has demonstrated that he is a leader with a high sense of fairness, equity and justice. I am equally thankful that he allowed God to use him to exonerate me finally from the diabolical and unjust treatment meted to me on account of my principled opposition to forces of tyranny.

This appreciation will never be complete if mention is not made of the heroic role played by Gen Abdulsalam Abubakar and his Military Executive Council, who earlier gave us clemency. This clemency released us from our various places of detention. I was released from Potiskum Prison.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the state pardon for all those involved in the 1997 coup saga.

I want to assume that it is extended to all other people involved in the saga. It is no gain saying that both officers and civilians sentenced on the incidence must benefit from this federal government benevolence otherwise it will become a selective state pardon, which will put to question the fate of others not so pardoned and are involved in the saga.

On the difference between Gen. Abubakar's clemency and Jonathan's pardon The clemency granted by General Abubakar was the authority to release us from our various places of detention. If there was no clemency, the sentence would still have been on and that sentence was execution. If it had been pardon, immediately we were released, all our entitlements would have been given to us, all payments due would have been given to us. That was not done. Even the security of myself as a person, my family and my house here would have been provided for if it were pardon. That is why I extend my appreciation to the IGP, who has been providing police security. It is not his duty.

On tyranny associated with the late Gen Abacha government which he served I want to say that I served that government and using the words of my friend, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, I would have regretted if I didn't serve that government. The government of Gen Sani Abacha assembled the best cabinet that has ever

•Diya

been assembled in Nigeria.

Name any gentleman that is not in that government. Is it Chief Lateef Jakande, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, the late Alex Ibru, a gentleman to the core, he served that government.

But yes, we are all human beings. If it gets to a point, where we have to suggest certain things and it didn't go down well. That was why when I had opportunity, I made that statement in the open, where is this person, where is this person. Oh, this is a conspiracy and I am the target. I knew, from what I went through that night after that speech... but all of that is over now. I am now appealing concerning the Oputa Panel report, which is yet to be implemented, though it was not officially made public. People read it on the Internet.

I am only making this appeal for the benefit of a lot

of civilians, who went through torture during that period. Oputa Panel listened to everybody and made recommendations. That is why I am calling on President Jonathan to unveil the Oputa Panel report or at least implement its recommendations.

This is important, espe-

cially as it affects the civilians who were involved in this phantom coup. I did not know many of them beforeI met them in prison or saw them in chains being tried with me for a coup.

On implementation of Oputa Panel report This was a panel set up by the Federal Government with state funds and a re-

“It is no gain saying that both officers and civilians sentenced on the incidence must benefit from this federal government benevolence otherwise, it will become a selective state pardon, which will put to question the fate of others not so pardoned and are involved in the saga.�

port was submitted on it. A lot of findings and recommendations were made, most especially on the phantom coups of 1995 and 1997.

A similar panel called the Truth and Reconciliation Committee was set up in Republic of South Africa.

The implementation of that committee in South Africa has contributed tremendously in stabilising and putting the country through the path of growth.

On future roles I thank every Nigerian, who never shy away from believing in me all through my travails. I promise to continue to devote the rest of my life to seek the unity and progress of our beloved country, Nigeria and the good of mankind.

On his next political move I thank God for the frame of mind He has given me. I am not in partisan politics for now, but I won't say I am not in politics. All Nigerians are in politics. The difference is that whether you are in partisan politics or whether you are alive to political developments and willing to speak up when things go wrong. If you are not in politics at all, then you will not comment on any issue, whether good or bad. Partisan politics is different. I am not in partisan politics. I do not intend to go into partisan politics, at least for now.

But I will join you in observing what is going on and if anything goes wrong, it is your duty, it is my duty to speak up.

On insecurity in the land I am not in a position to assess the security situation in the country. During my days in the military, there was no Boko Haram. Then, we had enemies that responded to military tactics, which is if you fire, he moves or runs. But today, the enemy would have wired himself up and ready to die. If you fire, he would not run.

It is a different tactics entirely.

So, the President is in the best position to assess the security situation today. All that one can say is where there is need to adjust, he would adjust.

On whether he has forgiven those who erred against him during the coup saga I am a Christian and so I have forgiven all the people that offended and or persecuted me. Today, I pray for them.

On if he is writing a book on his experiences Yes, I am writing a book, but we have to wait a little.

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COMMENT and ANALYSIS TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Talakawa Liberation Herald (5)

BY BIODUN JEYIFO [For Akinwunmi Isola, now an old man but still burning with the spirit of the eternal youthful quest for dignity, decency and justice for all]

‘Before this generation shall pass’: our need for a true intergenerational dialogue (2)

Hamm [Son]: Scoundrel, why did you engender me?

Nagg [Father]: I didn’t know.

Hamm [Son]: What? What didn’t you know?

Nagg [Father]: I didn’t know that it would be you.

Samuel Beckett, Endgame

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STARTED this series last week with an opening epigraph from the Bible which is the following famous quotation from Christ in Matthew 24:34: “Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled”. Now, although it is not yet a million days since Jesus died, it is more than two thousand years and every single member of the living generation of those who heard this prophecy from him, old and young, women and men, died long ago. One of “these things”, one of the prophecies that Christ asserted that the particular generation he was addressing would not have passed before it was fulfilled was his second coming. As we all know, that particular prophesy has not been fulfilled even though in the more than two thousand years that have passed since then, scores of charlatans have claimed to be Christ come back to fulfill the prophecy. We even had one or two of such charlatans in our country, each with a very large flock of fervent believers and followers. Two of such bogus claimants to the second coming of Christ in our country come to mind: Odumosu, the “Jesus of Oyingbo” in Lagos; and Olumbe Olumbe Obu, the “Christ” whose site of alleged reincarnation was Cross River State.

For those who might instinctively feel that my interest here resides in the fact that not only has every single member of the generation that heard the famous prophecy from Christ died a long time ago but that many generations have also come and gone and the prophecy is yet to be fulfilled, let me say with as much emphasis as possible that that is not my interest at all. To the contrary, my interest lies in the fact that, first, Christ was bold enough to make that extraordinary prophecy and, secondly, that he had a moral authority that members of all age groups, all generational cohorts either tacitly recognized or fully accepted. As this is a crucial observation, let me explain what I have in mind here.

[Parenthetically, let me add that I actually believe that this prophecy of a “second coming” has been fulfilled many, many times since the death of Christ though not in the exact manner he envisioned it. But this is another matter entirely that I will probably take up in a future essay in this column] Christ died at approximately the age of 33. Moreover, most historians and theologians hold that his ministry lasted for just slightly more than three years. Thus, here was this young man who was not yet in middle age speaking to every member of the living generation of his day and getting to the core, the heart of matters that concerned every single one of them, old and young. In other words, Christ was one of those great moral reformers and visionaries in history whose message, whose “ministry” reached out across supposed generational divides precisely because the “generation” which they had in mind and about which they spoke was not only their own but the “generation” of everyone coevally alive in their day and age, all facing irreducibly common moral and spiritual crises that gave rise to equally common yearnings and aspirations.

Since my “religion” is that of iwalesin, my reference to Christ in this essay is not an act

•Obu

of worshipful adoration. And I am not thinking of the example of Christ as a lone, exceptional or transcendental avatar outside of time and history - as virtually all Christians do. Indeed, I am thinking of some of the other great visionaries and reformers in history whose concern, whose passion, and whose authority embraced a notion of “generation” that included everybody alive in their country, their time or the entire planet.

These figures included both men and women who, like Christ, died young and others who started their “ministries” young and lived to old age without ever abandoning the “mission” they began in their youth. Thus, the essential thing is not which age group, which generational cohort one belongs to but rather how one reaches across all generational groups to speak to issues of common concern and destiny to all. Let me cite the lives and examples of a few worldhistorical figures to illustrate this observation, this claim.

Martin Luther King, Jr., died before he was forty and so did Joan of Arc who actually did not make it past her teens. When Fidel Castro made his famous “History Will Absolve Me” speech in 1953, he was only 27; and our own Anthony Enahoro was only 30 when, also in 1953, he moved the first motion for Nigerian independence.

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Mother Teresa and Mahatma Gandhi all shared this extraordinary destiny: they started a life devoted to their country, to others and to humanity early in life and to the last day of their lives never gave up their vision for a better life for all. Indeed, what one commentator said of Martin Luther King, Jr., holds true for all the reformers and visionaries who did not make it to old age: “though a young man, he had the soul of a wise, old man” In a reverse logic, it could be said of the likes of Nelson Mandela who started their “mission” early in life and are extremely lucky to have made it to old age

that though he is now an old man, he still has the spirit of an idealistic young person for whom possibilities for making life better and more dignified for all are limitless despite all the crises and challenges that we face. This is the moral core, the philosophical basis of the deep solidarities across generational cohorts on which rests a true intergenerational dialogue.

Nothing I have so far said in this piece is meant to deny the profoundly disturbing existence or reality of deep and sometimes extremely bitter intergenerational divides that separate the older and younger populations of a country like ours and many others in Africa and other parts of the developing world. Such deep intergenerational moral, spiritual and expressive fault lines exist in many parts of the world at the present time.

Perhaps the most paradigmatic of such sites of intergenerational war is to be found in slums and refugee camps in many parts of the world in which the conditions of life are so dire for all that all the sources of authority of the old are eroded and the young have no basis on which their sense of responsibility, their hopes for the future can find solid anchors and consequently, an either open or hidden but always simmering war erupts between the young and the old. This is the sort of a seemingly incommensurable and intractable intergenerational war that the epigraph for this essay from Samuel Beckett’s play, Endgame, tries to capture. For how more irreconcilable can this intergenerational conflict be than for a son to ask the father why he was “engendered” by the parent and for the father to reply that he did not know beforehand that it would be the kind of son who could and would ask such a question?

Is this grim and spiritually desolate scenario from Endgame an appropriate analogy for the essential state of things between the older and younger generations of Nigerians at the present time? Metaphorically

speaking, is present-day Nigeria the sort of vast sprawling slum, the sort of undeclared refugee camp for the great majority of its population that produces a breakdown of solidarity and mutual respect and reciprocity between the older and younger generations? With a median age of 19 and with the vast majority of our young people seemingly condemned to a future with little or no prospects at all, it would be against everything we know about human nature, everything we have learned from history not to expect a revolt of the young, regardless of the forms such revolts take, whether of criminal brigandage for extortionate ransoms; fanatical and brutally murderous religious terrorism; or armed, militant insurgency for resource control. Thinking of this, it is not difficult to imagine the short dialogue from Beckett’s play that is our epigraph this week as a sort of a perfect analogy for the non-existence of a true intergenerational dialogue in Nigeria today.

But all is not unrelieved doom and gloom. Indeed, there is an ironic basis for hope and optimism in the very contexts that either directly or subliminally foster the “rebellions” of the young of the kind that we have in Nigeria at the present time. For these were the sorts of context that produced nearly all of the reformers and visionaries that I have mentioned in this essay: Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela. And as I have repeated again and again in this series, the world’s list of great reformers and visionaries down the ages to the present time has included women and men of all ages, from those barely out of their teens to those who were far advanced in age. By the same token, those who make the world so unsafe, so insecure and so unjust for their contemporaries that life becomes meaningless and without dignity for so many in our country, our continent and our world come from all age groups, the young and the old inclusive.

To all such should our opposition and our resolve for a better world, a better legacy for those who will come after us, be directed.

Postscript: As I was finishing the very last few paragraphs of this essay came the news, communicated by phone to me by my friend Femi Osofisan in an incredulous and anguished tone that our elder, Chinua Achebe, had just died.

Stupefied, I immediately called Eddie Madunagu, Kayode Komolafe, Yemi Ogunbiyi and many others in the community of Nigerian literati, progressive journalists and radical democrats. I then checked the internet in the hope that this was a false rumour and not a confirmed fact. What I found gave some confirmation to the news and my spirits sank.

As I write these words of this postscript, I do not have absolutely irrefutable confirmation that the iroko has fallen, that he is really gone from us. If it turns out that he has indeed made the great transition, then in the words of WS on the occasion of another great loss to us all, I say that I know that Chinua Achebe will walk tall among the ancestors. But if he is still with us on this side of the great divide, then, why, as an old African saw has it, that means that he will tarry much longer yet among us.

He was/is one of a kind that was/is absolutely irreplaceable. And he was/is here and the world was/is not the same again.

Biodun Jeyifo bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

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Festus Eriye efestus2003@yahoo.com

F

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

Comment & Analysis

OR some, the killing of more than 70 persons in a suicide bomb attack on a bus park in Kano last Monday makes the case for granting terrorists rampaging across northern Nigeria amnesty, more compelling.

I beg to disagree. If anything, this stomachchurning slaughter of innocents by faceless cowards should embarrass all those making the amnesty argument.

As an instrument for bringing peace to strife-torn countries, the amnesty has its place.

But it works best where the issues involved are largely political or more general crimes. It is more difficult to accept where the matters are sectarian or religious, and where the potential beneficiaries are bestial killers who unapologetically target unarmed civilians – even children.

Those pushing the case for amnesty for Boko Haram militants think they have latched on to a magic bullet that will make the current misery of northern Nigeria disappear. But they are mistaken for a number of reasons.

Firstly, mass killings have become ritualistic over the last five decades in the north.

What Boko Haram is doing today is not different from what the followers of Mohammed Marwa aka Maitatsine did in Kano, Kaduna and other places in the 70s and 80s. In that period, thousands of people lost their lives as adherent of his sect clashed with other groups and security agencies.

Interestingly, Maitatsine saw the reading of any other book but the Koran as paganism.

He preached against the use of radios, watches, bicycles, cars and undue accumulation of cash – doctrines which bears an eerie resemblance to what Boko Haram – Western education is sin – propagates.

Today’s horrific killings may be shocking, but all those not afflicted with amnesia, will

Kano, amnesty and amnesia see that they pale in comparison to what happened to a certain Gideon Akaluka in Kano in 1994.

He was an Igbo trader resident whose wife was accused of desecrating a page from the Koran. Confronted by irate accusers, Akaluka fled to the Bompai, Kano police station for refuge.

Soon the mob tracked him down and demanded that the police hand him over. They quickly obliged.

Right there, before people who were supposed to enforce the law, he was beheaded and his head impaled on a stake. The gory trophy was then paraded triumphantly round the metropolis by the ‘all-conquering’, singing and chanting mob. No one was ever brought to justice over that act of bestiality, neither were the police ever punished for dereliction of duty.

Hardly a year passes in the north without terrible and inexplicable killings triggered by sectarian or political causes. Over a week in February 2000, more than 400 persons were killed in Kaduna State following riots that accompanied the introduction of Sharia law.

After three days of rioting across the north in November 2002, over 100 people were killed after THISDAY newspaper published a controversial article following the botched attempt to host a Miss World pageant in Nigeria.

I doubt if anyone is keeping count. But the death toll in the lingering communal clashes in Plateau State since their onset must be somewhere in the thousands. The outrages continue today, unfortunately we have become so desensitised to mass murder that the abominable numbers no longer shock us.

This mass slaughter is errant behavior that has continued because it has never been confronted in any serious manner over the years.

Rather than bring peace to the north, amnesty will be a reward for bullying conduct. Another set of thugs will rise up conscious of the fact that

politically-correct politicians will one day band together to pat them on the back.

The second reason why this amnesty business will not wash is that the current insurgents are a totally different kettle of fish because of the time of their manifestation. Whereas their forerunners like the Maitatsine sect were a local phenomenon, Boko Haram has well-established ties not only with the routed Islamists in Mali, but also with the global Jihadi movement.

It continues to thrive because some of those it targets are not motivated just by a need to escape justice. They are not the dregs of earth pushed into criminality by poverty. Some like Farouk Abdulmuttalab are the scion of the rich classes seduced by romantic notions of jihad sold by the terrorist Al-Qaeda network.

When President Goodluck Jonathan said government will not extend amnesty to ghosts, some criticised him – saying Boko Haram were not faceless because some of their suspected members were in jail. But who do we have in jail other than some hungry 18-year old paid to place an IED in a public square?

These are errand boys whose only contact with anything that approximates sect leadership is some disembodied voice at the other end of a phone line. A serious matter like amnesty cannot be discussed with clueless messengers or so-called leaders who won’t show their faces.

Boko Haram bigwigs are not in jail, neither are their sponsors. They are so ashamed of their evil deeds they hide behind balaclava masks to address the media. If I were responsible for the Kano carnage that killed more of my people than my supposed enemies, I would be ashamed too. This is the third ground that makes it virtually impossible to contemplate any such measure for the sect.

When the Niger Delta militants signed on to the amnesty deal, they all crawled out of the

“This mass slaughter is errant behavior that has continued because it has never been confronted in any serious manner over the years. Rather than bring peace to the north, amnesty will be a reward for bullying conduct.

Another set of thugs will rise up conscious of the fact that politically-correct politicians will one day band together to pat them on the back”

creeks and were shipped off to Aso Rock for photo opportunities with the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. The world was at last able to put faces to shadowy characters with exotic names like “Tompolo,” “General Shoot-atSight” “Ogunboss” etc.

Although they had used unlawful, and often violent means to pursue their cause, but their fight against the economic rape of their region and the decades-long environmental degradation was a noble one that even mainstream politicians could identify with. The same cannot be said of Boko Haram. Which major northern politician wants to be associated with this despicable group?

Several months ago they named some major northern figures to negotiate with the Federal Government on their behalf. Within hours the would-be peacemakers were falling over themselves trying to put distance between them and the group.

Of course, there is the rump of Boko Haram led by one Sheik Abu Mohammed Ibn Abdulazeez which says it now wants peace.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, we should ask how many legions of terrorists this chap commands.

One thing I know is that he has absolutely no control over the Kano killers. Neither does he have any hold over the Ansaru faction which claimed responsibility for the execution of seven foreign hostages two weeks ago.

Rather than wasting time on this amnesty talk, government should be thinking of developing capacity for fighting the terrorists. After 9/11, when Al-Qaeda caught the United States cold, the Americans created the Department of Homeland Security as part of their comprehensive response. They didn’t choose the easy way out by offering amnesty to the enemies of all that they stood for.

Today, the major national security threat facing Nigeria is terror, not some cross-border invasion by any of our neighbours. That is why the balance of our security spending should tilt away from conventional forces towards building up intelligence and counterinsurgency.

Let’s fight for justice and human values for once. This unhealthy stampede to offer amnesty is akin to surrendering to fringe elements who through murderous tactics are making us lose our humanity. Let’s grow a spine and say no to evil.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

Comment & Analysis

15

Fresh twist The bombing of Kano's luxury bus park may have introduced an ethnic hue to the activities of Islamist terrorists

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FRESH twist may have been added to the terrorism tendencies of the Islamists in the north of Nigeria. Seemingly unrelenting in their quest to inflict maximum damage to the polity, they may have gone one step clear of the authorities by playing the ethnic card; trying to incite one group against the other in a bid to escalate the crisis. This may be the thinking of the sect which bombed the New Luxury Bus Park in Sabon Gari, Kano, last Monday.

Though no group has owned up to perpetrating the massive explosions that devastated the large park, it has all the trappings of the Boko Haram group.

The suicide bombings, according to reports, had happened at about 4.30 pm when a few luxury buses had been fully loaded for the onward night journey to Abuja, Port Harcourt, Onitsha and other parts of the east. One of the bombers who was said to have driven into the park in a Volkswagon Golf car, pretended to be a passenger and pulled up right in front of the buses. As the bus stewards crowded the car to canvass the 'passengers', the explosion went off; another one was said to have gone off in seconds and all hell was let loose in the park.

Some of the luxury buses in the park traded by the name, Gobison, Blessed Chimezie, Ezenwata and New Tarzan; some of the buses are said to be brand new and at least one was reported to have been fully loaded, ready to leave the park. Others were in various stages of loading. No fewer than 75 people may have died almost immediately, especially those seated in the badly charred buses. About twice that number may have been injured considering the size of the park and the fact that it was at its peak. Of course, the damages in goods and even cash will remain incalculable because the victims were mainly traders who were set

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STATESMAN recuperating from a debilitating ailment hardly needs any unnecessary distractions let alone one that could snowball into a conflagration, an uncontrollable combustion enough to trigger of an internecine hostility nay war.

Permit me, Your Excellency to have taken this thorny and sensitive issue to the public domain, but this is possibly the fastest means of communication, considering the urgency it deserves and more so, your gubernatorial authority and dispatch can only nip in the bud this injustice.

A vibrant town called Umualo, landlocked but strategic in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area, has for long endured the provocation and overt display of intrigues by its neighboring town,Amankanu, of Nkanu East Local Government.

About three decades ago, the farmlands and settlements of Umuezuboke Village that border Amanakanu people, became the centre of a communal war when the latter forcefully encroached on Umualo lands to usurp them. The Amankanus were repelled, thus suffering a bloody nose.

Only last week, 31 years after, another surreptitious attempt was re-enacted. This time, with an alleged tacit government support of the Ministry of Lands in Enugu State. A surveyor emerged on the lands again with some Amankanu people and illegally began demarcation encompassing farm-

on night journeys to either buy goods or sell their wares. Both the luxury buses and a good number of the travellers were suspected to be Igbo, the park being their hub.

There are strong reasons to believe that the bombers did not hit the Luxury Bus Park by accident or by random selection. It seems a well thought-out and premeditated attack designed to score a certain point. We think the attackers were trying to 'ethnicise' their operation in other to provoke a spontaneous chain of retaliations across the country. With such a result, they would have set the country on a violent bloodletting spin whose end portends dire consequences.

Again and again, we condemn the dastardly and senseless killing of innocent people who have not done any harm to the Boko Haram sect or any sect for that matter. No religion preaches the hateful slaughtering of fellow human beings as witnessed in Kano last Monday and as have been carried out in the north of Nigeria in the last two years. As we write, we, and we bet, most Nigerians do not know for sure, what grieves the Islamist terrorists. Neither have they stated coherently, their demands from the Nigerian state or even the people. Are we to assume that the mission of the Islamists and their backers is to ensure the willful destruction of Nigeria; is it 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 Kunle Fagbemi

possible that these criminal acts are being enacted by foreigners intent on breaking up the country?

We also restate, as we have done so many times before, that the Federal Government has not done well in combating the incipient terrorism that has been playing out in the last two years. Neither political solution nor security efforts has been seen to be carefully thoughtout and carried out. For instance, we expect that Nigeria's security agencies would have ramped up to be among the best in the world today, especially as concerns counter-terrorism and intelligence gathering. We expect that there ought to have been some form of security 'cover' for some areas of our major cities which would ensure that even when a terrorist slips through the net, it would be easy to track his trajectory and pre-impact manoeuvres.

But we fear that our security agencies seem to have remained the same rumbustious bunches of gun-wielding people. We aver that security today is more a mind game conducted on hitech and electronic platforms. We have also canvassed several times that the president must also relentlessly work on the political solution. There is dire need for rapprochement; for the deliberate slaking of the current bloodthirstiness and a show of goodwill and generosity instead of hardening of stances.

We commend the governors of the south east states, Igbo monarchs and some elite who seemingly saw through the bait of Monday's bombings and called for restraint. While we commend their forbearance in the face of extreme provocation, we call on the federal and Kano State governments to move quickly to assuage the pains and losses of the victims. And to all Nigerian everywhere, we urge eternal vigilance.

LETTERS

Open letter to Chime lands of Umuezuboke, their schools and the natives who had resided there since the days of Methuselah.

Of course, the natives rushed out and seized the implements, chasing away the surveyor and his collaborators.

How lucky they were. Our people, who have the greatest respect for the governor, have always remained peaceful, a hallmark of Isi-Uzo people in general. In other very hostile climes, the intruders would have disappeared from mother earth.

Before this ugly incident, the news had been rife that the Amankanu people would be giving their land to government for various developmental projects. What a lofty news, but would they be consigning

T

HE present administration has deemed it wise to celebrate Nigeria’s attainment of its 100 th year of its amalgamation which it promised would be private partnership driven.

The move by the federal government must be applauded in context of holistic approach of making less money spinning venture, where scarce resources are

parcels of land they don’t own to government. Are they Umuezuboke people who own and had lived there ever since the ancient days? No one toys with his ancestral land.

Umualo cannot be an impediment to development. It is most welcome but if government should be keen on the area, it is only proper and just that the genuine people who own the land are consulted directly because it is an autonomous community and not answerable to interlopers.

Let’s humour the commissioner for Lands and give him the benefit of doubt that he is ignorant that the proposed ‘Greek gift’, by the Amankanus are parcel of lands of Umuezuboke people of Umualo Town viz Igbogobe,

Ikagwu, Egerum and Odobido amongst others. The alarming permutations have call for your immediate action, more so when it is feared that the commissioner coming from Nkanuland is out to railroad a long-forgotten dispute in favour of Amankanu.

This writer cannot forget in a hurry the wisdom you displayed in settling amicably a hot bed of 23 chairmanship candidates vying relentlessly to become the flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last elections in Enugu State. So patient, so fatherly with firmness and fair play, you devised a methodology that eventually produced the PDP candidate after four-gruelling hours you gave to Isi-Uzo. Even when it was obvious other local governments lay in

wait to have audience, you said inter alia: “I have all the time for Isi-Uzo people by so doing demonstrated a heart pure, untainted and love for my people.” You won my admiration that sunny day at the Enugu Government Lodge.

It is on the strength and realising how decisive you resolved the burning issues of that time, that this letter becomes imperative to be channelled to you, to call the commissioner and his ilk to order.

The Isi-Uzo people remain eternally grateful to you for doing the road from EnuguUgwogo-Ikem, making it easier for our people to get to the capital city. Some of us were born into seeing no such road since in the 50s. Although Umualo still awaits your prom-

ise of doing their road less than eight kilometres off the major Ugwogo-Neke-Ikem road, the community has borne the brunt of being the only community in Isi-Uzo without electricity, without a GSM service provider, it would be a telling blow if their ancestral lands would now be usurped through tyranny.

This has fuelled the suspicion of our people that they have been wrongly lumped into Enugu East as yeomen instead of Nsukka which is their ancestral home and some of us who are unrepentant Nsukka people believe that the contraption was unjust and like a popular cart pusher plying the ever busy Ogbete market in Enugu with bold inscriptions on the body of his ‘car’ “Agaracha must return.”

Our people must return to their kith and kin, it’s just time, just time!

A good laugh, Mr. Governor.

By Obinwa Nnaji

Lokoja and the centenary celebration been spent for selfish creeds.

When President Goodluck Jonathan was canvassing for votes in 2011 at a political rally in Lokoja, Kogi State he promised the people that Lokoja would play a greater role in Nigeria’s centenary celebration, by giving her special role considering the importance of the town to the country’s historical

development.

We would like to appeal to federal government to consider the building of the centenary city in the ancient town of Lokoja to accord her this important role, in fulfilment of the president’s promise.

The decision to build the centenary city in Abuja is untenable, wasteful and unnecessary. Building it in

Lokoja would go a long way to attract many would be visitors that would come into the country to see other parts of the country that played different roles in uniting this country.

The many historical monuments in the ancient town of Lokoja would be added show piece to the centenary celebration, many

would-be tourists would believe in our historical heritage when they criss-cross all the nooks and crannies of the country.

We hope the federal government would see to the building of the centenary city in Lokoja for the overall success of the celebration.

Bala Nayashi Lokoja, Kogi State.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Comment & Analysis

Boko Haram: the road not taken Ropo Sekoni ropo.sekoni @thenationonlineng.net

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HORTLY after Boko Haram launched its terror against Nigeria, I wrote a longer version of the article below. The hope then was (as it is now) to urge our rulers to approach this new political challenge with creativity and courage, rather than over relying on the mantra of our country's indivisibility passed down by military rulers.

The new tempo of violence by Boko Haram, particularly in Kano, and the new layer of violence from Ansrul directed at foreigners that came to the country to add value, as well as the 'Enough is enough' response of Igbo and Christian groups necessitate the re-featuring of this article.

There is no doubt that Boko Haram now has the reputation of being the greatest informal threat to Nigeria's unity. The civil war was a formal threat. It was not individual Igbos or groups of them that declared war on the nation.

It was the Nigerian military government in the Eastern Region that did that. In a way, the Biafran war was a government-to-government conflict. Individual Igbo

Femi Orebe femi.orebe @thenationonlineng.net 08056504626 (sms only)

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OURTESY elombah.com, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi's vituperation on the Yoruba being the problem of Nigeria had a fresh life of its own on the internet this past week and it is only fair that we take a new and proper look at the messenger on our way to dismissing his virulent assertion as merely a fanciful and rootless shibboleth. One constant with the educated Northerner is that he is either decent or plain brash, disdainful, and out rightly disrespectful. This I should know having worked closely with then Dr Jibril Aminu, later Prof, in the early '70's, during the deanship of both Professors Ladipo Akinkugbe and Kayode Osuntokun at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ibadan.

Professor Aminu was, and remains cultured, decent and is as brilliant as are his distinguished senior colleagues. On the obverse of Aminu, however, is the boastful and loquacious Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who for so long, has been pouring all manner of invectives on every section of of the Nigerian polity sans his 'Aryan race', the HausaFulani. When Sanusi is not talking down to the entire nation like he is from outer space, he is claiming to know it all or putting himself forward as either the single holy malam in town or Nigeria's only prince charming. Asked the other day, at the Minna Seminar on Security, why he garrulously goes to work in his 'emirate' attire, he contemptuously replied that his turban is Resource Control cap; a condescending reference to the justified struggle people of the Niger-Delta

There needs to be a national conference or constituent assembly involving Boko Haram men and women did not have any objection to the worldview of Nigerians in other parts of the country; they felt unsafe in northern Nigeria and were called home to safe grounds by the government of their region.

At the beginning, the Boko Haram's war was against Muslims who were not considered by the group to be orthodox enough, those that were found in or near beer parlours. Later, the war was taken to government institutions and international organizations, such as police stations or the United Nations office in Abuja. In its present state, BokoHaramists direct their violence primarily at Christians.

At the infancy of the Boko Haram menace, conservative pundits described advantage and disadvantage of dialogue and discipline as mutually exclusive while liberal pundits see them as complementary approaches that are available to government. The dithering and temporizing that marked government's response in the first year of Boko Haram's outing grew out of the uncertainty generated by the schools of dialogue and punishment. Most northern leaders and institutions called for dialogue as preferred option, citing the UmaruYar'Adua's adoption of Amnesty for Niger Delta militants

as an enviable model for Jonathan to use.

The road not taken so far is to recognize the imperative of apprehending the subtext of Boko Haram's message. The surface text of the sect's message is about the violence to government institutions and now to Christians.

The subtext is that the sect wants to engage the rest of the nation on how to re-organise or re-structure the multicultural and multi-religious character of the nation. It should not be too hard for federal and state governments and their advisers to come to terms with the subtext of Boko Haram's messages. Members of the sect want to live in a region or a country (if they succeed through terrorism) that is organized and ruled on the basis of Sharia jurisprudence and religious intolerance. In effect, the sect wants to change the nature of the Nigerian state.

It is conceivable that the federal government can muster enough force to defeat Boko Haram. But it is not likely that this will automatically kill the idea that drives the sect, particularly the sect's obsession with religious intolerance. Just as it is with all wars and conflicts, there is always room for talk to prevent major conflict or to end it. This is why treaties are signed after full-scale wars, to usher in peace. This is

also why talks are held to preempt wars. We went to Aburi to work against having to go to war with Biafra, but the rest is history.

It is still not too late to call a conference of all stakeholders in the Nigeria project. It is reassuring that the federal government has emphasized the importance of unity in its rhetoric against Boko Haram. But the federal government does not need to be obsessed about national unity to the point of not seeing that Boko Haram is calling for a negotiation of the character of a united Nigeria. BokoHaramists are asking for a true situation of unity in diversity. It is not the unity part of the country's goal that is at stake; it is the diversity part of it that appears to be at issue with the fanatic sect.

The federal government needs to provide leadership for a national conference on how to keep the country united, rather than waxing eloquent on the dogma of indivisibility of the nation. The insistence on legalism as excuse for not having a constitutional conference has become obsolete in light of Boko Haram's increasing violence. The legislators that claim that no other group should be allowed to create a new constitutionappear to be as helpless as the executive on the issue

of Boko Haram. If Boko Haram is not contained, it appears capable of running the legislators out of town. Nigeria needs a constitutional conference to negotiate the place of cultural diversity in its territorial unity.

There needs to be a national conference or constituent assembly at which Boko Haram and its supporters are given the chance to participate in negotiating with other ethnic and religious groups in the country a new federal constitution that addresses religious diversity, rotation of presidential power, freedom for federating units to live according to their preferred values, etc. Any group that feels it cannot participate in a federal system should be given the option to check out of the federation.

This is the time to let sponsors of Boko Haram know that no citizen or group has the license to exploit the nation's obsession with unity at all costs. This is not the time to believe that the mantra of indissolubility is good enough to neutralise the danger posed to the country's unity by Boko Haram and now Ansarul. This is the time to stop playing the ostrich. This is the time to get realistic. Nigeria is certainly losing grip of its rod of unity at the instance of Boko Haram and its sister-organisation, Ansarul.

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s insults All Sanusi’s effusions against the Yoruba count for nothing had to fight to get anything tangible out of their God-given oil. Considering himself an untouchable, he had unilaterally been shelling his Kano state with unappropriated millions of naira from the oil resources like he owns Nigeria. This is a guy who will fight to the death to ensure that the National Assembly had nothing to do with how the Central Bank -a national institutionis run so he could run riot with its funds. Now that his brothers whose lead protagonist he has become spewing forth infantile poverty theories - have again incinerated fifty plus Nigerians at a Southbound bus stop in his Kano, it will be interesting to see how much he doles out to both the dead and the injured, not to mention owners of the five luxurious buses that went up in smoke. That is the guy who, rather than be penitent, has been regaling Nigerians with who planned to stage the first coup in the country, conveniently forgetting that was nothing more than a plot by his forebears. And as to royalty, which he brandishes like a lightning rod, were Sanusi not a poor historian, he should have remembered how Abacha - a mere plebeian - dealt with that presumably untouchable institution. How rude and unfeeling can an individual get? How impudent and insufferable to start bad mouthing a race as distinguished as the Yoruba or Igbo?

And Sanusi did n't just start today.

I never spared a thought for Sanusi - indeed, he never occurred on my radar, until he was named governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2009 and there were those thoroughly acerbic newspaper comments on his person, appar-

ently now, by people who must have known his antecedents.

Desirous to ensure that a young man was not unduly shot down, I leapt to his defence. And to make a sense of whatever I was going to write, I decided to google our man.

Although his pride came out shining like a thousand stars, I thought that should matter nothing if he was a good banker. He has since amply justified those who doubted his all round suitability for such a high post having copiously demonstrated, especially through his unguarded speeches, that though, a good banker he may be, he is a damn poor public servant; dispensing insults as generously as his whims dictate.

Undue pride in what he is, and whatever he hopes to become, has colluded to fatally damage this ethnic chauvinist, who considers General Babangida and Abacha, in his words, 'as people of a lower culture,' but sees his own race, the Hausa-Fulani, which in reality symbolizes nothing more than a gobbling stomach, contributing nothing and irretrievably dragging Nigeria down in every respect, as the country's super race. For ease of reference, I think we better quote the loud mouth seriatim. Said Sanusi Lamido in one of his expansive moments: '‌ the problems of this country have a lot to do with the shift in power away from the Fulani to individuals like Babangida and Abacha, products of lower cultures'. That, funny enough, is the character who says that "The Yorubas are the greatest obstacles to nation-building'.

Yet, he must have readily salivated on the fact that I, a Yoruba, as well as some others like Dr Olajide Ogunlayi, had overlooked

his distressing record of 'academic' publications, which are ALL about Sharia, Islamic Law and Women , instead of penetrating articles on Nigeria's economic issues and challenges, to warmly endorse and defend his appointment , by none other than his Fulani compatriot, the late President Yar' Adua. And, whereas, one would have expected the cheer weight of that office to temper his unnecessary effusiveness, Sanusi has continued, like a drunk, to insult the sensibilities of other sections of the country seeing himself solely as nothing more than a Fulani irredentist, gadfly and armour bearer. For him, there is no longer 'the question of negotiating the difficult terrain of politics and developing true concepts of citizenship in plural societies' as he once absent-mindlessly prescribed. Not only that. Were he not consumed by his self-importance, Sanusi should have benefitted from Muhammad Jameel Yushaa's unsolicited admonition to him to 'let us learn to respect one another and use the little knowledge Allah (SWT) endowed us with in building bridges of understanding rather than engaging ourselves in self glorification and the destruction of others'. Were that the case, he should have known why it's unnecessary to rave and rant, attempting to diminish others.In spite of my fulsome endorsement of Sanusi as CBN governor in my 2-part article titled: 'Psycho-analyzing Sanusi Lamido Sanusi' , beginning Sunday, 6 September, 2009, I had also indicated my fears about the possibility of his being deliberately head-hunted to be the North's deus ex machina for its having been allegedly short-changed during the banking consolidation exercise.

That has turned out to be pretty un-

canny given the free rein HausaFulani itinerant currency dealers enjoy hauling money all over the place, a trade Sanusi would long have found a way to squelch were it dominated by people from tribes other than the Hausa-Fulani.

It certainly cannot be too late in the day to teach Sanusi a thing or two about the Yoruba. I therefore reproduce below, the concluding part of my 2-part article under reference: 'However, suffice it to say that he(Sanusi) missed the point in his characterization of South-West politics.This is because in the same way the Islamic faith has never accepted the dichotomy between Religion and Politics, mainstream Yoruba political thought is congenitally opposed to politics of paternalism, as practised in the North.

Rather, it is driven, solely and in principle, by what we call the OMOLUABI precept. This is precisely why the South-West political landscape is strewn with the skeletons of opportunistic politicians who deviate from this time-honoured cultural prescription from whose group the North, unerringly, recruits its allies in the region'.

Here, in Yoruba land, we know right from wrong and some things are simply anathema meaning: Yoruba mo ko to.

Therefore, all these Sanusi effusions against the Yoruba simply count for nothing. We shall never be anybody's plaything.

Rather, it is driven, solely and in principle, by what we call the OMOLUABI mindset. This is precisely why the South-West political landscape is strewn with the skeletons of opportunistic politicians who deviate from this time-honoured cultural prescription and from which group the North, unerringly, recruits its allies in the region.

Here, in Yoruba land, some things are simply anathema'.

Comment & Analysis

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

Tunji

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

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VEN as the fury generated by the presidential pardon granted ex-convict Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, former Governor of Bayelsa State by President Goodluck Jonathan was yet to subside, the President sprang another surprise: Nigerians should get ready for full deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry. In our context, they should be prepared to pay more for fuel. The President spoke in Abuja when he received the report of the graduating participants of the Senior Executive Course 34, 2012 of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, at the Presidential Villa.

"Why is it that people are not building refineries in Nigeria, despite that it is a big business?" President Jonathan asked. He provided what seemed to him the answer: "It is because of the policy of subsidy, and that is why we (emphasis mine) want to get out of it". But who are these 'we'? For me, the word 'government' would have been better in place of the 'we' because it is only the government and those feeding fat on public funds that are complaining about fuel subsidy. If President Jonathan is in doubt, he should call for a plebiscite.

It is however instructive that, at about the same time the President was dropping the bombshell on Tuesday, the Federal High Court, Abuja, also dropped the knockout when it declared as unconstitutional, illegal, null and void, the controversial government proposal to deregulate the prices of petroleum products. Gratifying as this might be to the millions of Nigerians already

Postscript, Unlimited!

By

Oyinkan Medubi 07057012862 (SMS only) puchuckles7@gmail.com

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OMFOOLERY, says my encyclopaedia, is silly behaviour; and befuddling, goes the same authority, means causing someone to be confused. To be honest, I am so confused by the silliness of Nigeria's wise rulers and business class that I think it is time to bring out my bag of hows. How come that, according to news reports, some of Nigeria's rulers and business men, have been able to donate more than N6 billion towards the building of a deanery for the president's homeland church?! How possible was it for the president of my country to be looking on while those figures (money that is, not the people) were being thrown around and he was not in consternation as I am now?! Just how large can that deanery be that it would require that much money?

And just how on earth am I going to explain this to my grandchildren, eh?!

Truth is, anyone can do what they like with their money; it is after all, their money. When someone decides to put his/her money under his bed rather than take it to the bank, he is exercising his full rights over it.

When s/he decides to give out every penny of the billions he owns, he is still exercising his full rights. Some

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Mr. President, remember January 2012 Nigerians are not ready for high fuel prices under whatever guise traumatised by the misrule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government in the last 13 years, I would not want us to rely much on this victory for reasons I would mention shortly.

The fact is that, nothing the President says can ever justify the so-called deregulation on the present template of importation. The question is, why has the PDP government not been able to construct more refineries in the last 13 years? It takes about 12 months to construct a skid refinery of about 30,000 bpd capacity. On the other hand, a mega refinery with about 100,000 bpd capacity and above takes between three and four years to construct, with an estimated cost of about $3.5 billion. With fuel subsidy now gulping more than one trillion naira annually, would it not have been better for the government to invest in refineries, even if it would later pass them on to private investors to manage?

One of the questions that the President has not satisfactorily answered is why an oil-producing nation like Nigeria continues to import fuel. This is a country having four refineries with a combined capacity of about 445,000 bpd but which are operating at about 30 percent capacity. How do we explain this? And the government wants us to believe that they can never work well due to corruption or whatever. What kind of

spirit is that? And we are being told stories about these refineries as if they never did well at any point in time. If they once did well, why are they the way they are now?

Obviously the refineries have not worked well over the years not necessarily because they are owned by the government, but because their managers, in conjunction with successive governments, ran them aground, essentially through corrupt practices. I had to say this in response to President Jonathan's allusion to the fact that refineries in Canada are working well because they are all private sector-driven. There are refineries in, China, the world's second largest refiner, that are owned by the government and they are doing well. Why is ours different? Another reason why our refineries are dying is because those benefitting from fuel importation will never allow them work well for their selfish reasons.

Unfortunately, the PDP government has not done much to address the issue. And it cannot because it is steeped in iniquities itself. When people donate billions to facilitate the building of a presidential library, or to facilitate the construction of a church in the President's town, or to fund elections; that is the kind of result we get because the donors are not fools. Whatever they donate must be recouped somehow, and it is one

“For more than 13 years, the way successive PDP governments at the centre have been handling the 'scalpel' is enough to convince Nigerians that they will all end up in the morgue by the time the 'surgery' (deregulation) is completed by a government they have come to see as insensitive and inept, and one that is too tainted to fight corruption.�

reason why we may never get to the root of the fuel subsidy scam. How can government look the people it got money from to finance elections in the face and allow such people to be sent to jail? When that happens, the source of such slush funds will dry up.

We should thank Bamidele Aturu for instituting the deregulation suit, and the judge for his courage. But we should not over-celebrate the victory because, as we know, our judiciary is not there yet. Lest we forget, the court where the matter has been decided is not the court of last resort. We still have the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court to contend with, and, trust the Jonathan government; it would want to appeal the judgment, especially if it is sure somehow it will have the last laugh at the Supreme Court. The point is that the matter is more of a political issue than legal.

By the time we make it a completely legal issue and the government gets a favourable judgment at the Supreme Court, then it would make any action against its decision look like an illegality, which all right-thinking persons know is not true. This is not to say that the protests will not come irrespective of whether the government loses in court ultimately or not; with the trigger being high fuel prices.

I find the President's likening of deregulation to surgery, which initially is painful but leaves sweet memories thereafter, rather amusing. But the allegory is misplaced.

Hear him: "To change a nation is like surgery. If you have a young daughter of five years who has a boil at a very strategic part of the face, you either, as a parent, leave that boil because the young girl will cry or you take the girl to the surgeon. So, you have the option of just robbing

mentholatum on the face, until the boil will burst and disfigure her face, or you take that child to the surgeon. On the sighting of a scalpel of the surgeon alone, the child will start crying .But if she bears the pains, after some days or weeks, the child will grow up to be a beautiful lady."

This is highly witty, but the minus there is that President Jonathan did not tell us that the beauty can only manifest, other things being equal; that is if the surgeon to perform the operation is not a quack, for instance. For more than 13 years, the way successive PDP governments at the centre have been handling the 'scalpel' is enough to convince Nigerians that they will all end up in the morgue by the time the 'surgery' (deregulation" is completed by a government they have come to see as insensitive and inept, and one that is too tainted to fight corruption.

I also agree with the President that "‌ you do not need a lifetime to change a nation. Under 10 years, Nigeria can change and people will not even believe that this is Nigeria again. Immediately you come up with strong policies in key sectors of the economy and keep it for 10 years, the change will be astronomical." But his Papa Deceive Pikin party (apologies to Reuben Abati) has been in government for close to 14 (not 10) years now. Do we then take it that the ruling PDP has been feeding us with the wrong policies since then, hence our present sorry pass?

And is that the party to trust to handle deregulation to our common advantage? I doubt. And I have the feeling I am on the same page with many Nigerians on this. That is why they must be ready to return to the trenches. It is not yet Uhuru. January 2012 beckons again!

What befuddling tomfoolery is this now?!

If the FIRS would pay such people a visit, find out their businesses, slap them with a tax so befitting no earthly tailor could match it, then we probably would become less befuddled or were we not invited to this event?!' even be cured of our tomfoolery businessman somewhere in the world was said to have one day become very sick of having so much money and seeing so many people with nothing to eat that he decided he had had enough. I would have liked to tell you that he then had the poor swept off the streets so that he would no longer have to look at them, but that would be my own story, not our man's. Our man decided to wind up his business, he gave large chunks of his fortune away and used the remaining to start a food kitchen where the poor could come and eat and where he himself served.

When an individual decides to write his/her birthday party invitation on the nation's bank notes, s/he is exercising rights that are stolen, cause, as any idiot can tell you, the notes belong to the central bank while the rights to use it legally belong to the holder. I think I've reported once that some party girl somewhere in our south-west here once did just that. She decided to send out invitations for her twenty-first birthday on the nation's highest currency then of fifty naira. Luckily for us all, the police quietly stepped in. We never did find out what happened to those notes.

So, anyone who decides to give the president's deanery any sou, s/he is freely using his/her rights to do so.

But we object seriously because that right infringes on our collective sense of what is full and empty. It is not right that while two-thirds of the country is empty in stomach, money should be thrown over our heads by the full in stomach as if we don't ex-

ist. It's not right.

Someone said the monies donated have been used to serve God. Truly, I cannot comment on this because it is only God who knows who is serving Him. I do know, however, that if the almighty had a say in the matter, he would ask that the president should just take what he needs for his deanery and send the remaining to others still struggling to erect their own church walls, like err, mine. But then, who is the almighty to say anything in matters like this? So, back to breaking our backs, folks, as we struggle on to raise the walls of our worship tents.

One thing is clear. Those stupendous monies have come from people who have gained immensely from the president's office. Don't praise me.

Saying this does not particularly make me a genius; I am only repeating what others have said because I am rather good at that. But seriously, I don't care about anyone gaining from the office of the president. What gets my goat is this public show of gratitude. Why must these people show us so blatantly that they have got the president's ear and we have not? Why must they rub it in that because we don't have billions to dole out for any cause at all, we don't get our photos taken with the president?

Oh, how I hate these show-offs!

Anyone who has studied the business clime of Nigeria knows for sure that, for good or bad, the federal government has managed to tie every

venture in Nigeria around itself and itself around every venture. So, no one can breathe now without the government knowing about it. This of course translates to the fact that the government allows those that it loves to take in more gulps of air than others so that those ones will know how to be grateful in times of contribution so that they can be allowed to take in more gulps of air so that they can be eternally grateful so that ... Get my drift? Then you're doing better than me. I guess what I am trying to say is that launching times are often gratitude times; something you and I can never understand because it is too much like watching the ping-pong of table tennis. Your head is swivelling so much following the ball that you soon lose any idea of who is winning; you just know that if you stand there watching for too long, you will be the one losing.

The trouble in all this, and this is where I suspect the people's umbrage derives its strength, is that these gratitude times are ultimately tied to the people's fortunes. What wealth the government doles out to the privileged few does not belong to it but The People who have given it to the government to hold in trust for it (the people that is, not the government).

So, when large figures are flying around national news organs, The People's heads threaten to burst and indignant exclamation marks escape from their mouths: 'Whar a heck!; why

The people know that even though they have not been partakers in the ping-pong of business and money, ultimately, they and their children will have to pay for it. They know that they are the ones losing because all the figures flying around are really theirs, and they have no idea where they are going (the figures, not the people).

To me, the real culprit in all this is the tax office, or the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). In a good country, where there is adequate reverence for law and order, there would be some officers of FIRS who do not sleep but are perpetually on the lookout for anyone who wants to play the fool with the nation's money.

Their beady eyes would immediately alight on such a figure, note his/ her name, place of abode, and times of playing the fool and to what tune.

Then those fine gentlemen and women would pay such a one a visit, politely ask what line of business s/ he was in to accrue such an amount and then literally slap him/her with a tax so befitting no earthly tailor could match it, no matter how close the person was to anyone. Honestly, that is how we can become less befuddled or even be cured of our tomfoolery in this country. In the absence of that, all the president's beneficiaries continue to exercise their rights to be grateful citizens, even if at the expense of us all. They also continue to rake up enough goodwill to warrant greater cause for future gratitude world without end, Amen.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Comment & Analysis

There is blood in the land

P

me to begin this contribution by quoting the insightful and powerful words of Hon. Dino Melaye who is undoubtedly one of the rising stars and stronger voices of the new and up and coming generation of political leaders in Nigeria. On the 19th of March 2013, just a day after the terrible bombings in Kano in which between 30 and 65 innocent Nigerians were killed (depending on whose report you choose to believe), Melaye wrote the following words on his facebook wall‘’The Kano bombing is barbaric, callous and wicked. God save us in this country. The Federal Government and indeed President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has demonstrated incapacitation and ineptitude by their inability to contain this growing insecurity. According to our constitution the fundamental objective of government is the provision of security and welfare for the people. Unfortunately Jonathan has failed in both regards. Our President is overwhelmed. He should take the path of honour, take a bow and resign. There is too much blood in the land. There is blood on our roads, air, police stations, army barracks, churches, mosques, clubs, car parks and homes. There is blood every where.’’

This is a courageous contribution from a young man who obviously has tremendous passion for our country and who is deeply troubled by all that is happening today. I only wish that there were more young men like Melaye in Nigeria. Can any serious-minded person disagree with his observations on this matter? Is Nigeria not in a state of undeclared war today? Is this not a season of complete anomie in which human life no longer has any value and where life itself has little meaning? Do we actually have a government in this country today? Are the murderers that killed the innocents in Kano on the 18th of March worthy of life let alone amnesty?

Are they really human beings?

Can anybody, no matter how highly placed, respected or reverred, still talk about amnesty for Boko Haram now?

What do such people suggest that we tell the families of the 60 that were slaughtered on the 18th of March and the 4000 that were killed before them? How do we wipe away their tears and ensure that they are given the justice that they so desperately seek? Do we tell them that it was just one of those things and that they should consisder the murder of their sons, daughters, wives, husbands, parents, grandparents, siblings, distant relatives and friends as part of their sacrifice and contribution to national development and service? Do we tell them that those that murdered their loved ones have now been granted amnesty for their efforts and that they have been forgiven by the state and reintegrated back into society? Is that justice? Is the very suggestion not utterly heartless and insensitive? No-one should ever sing the amnesty song again because too many innocent and defenceless people have been killed. In this matter justice must be done.

Yet the sad tale does not stop at the loss of life. There is more. It is a sad testimony to our national malaise that in the very week that a refreshing and exceptionally compassionate and humble new Pope was elected to lead the 1.2 billion catholics in the world today, we have been reliably informed by the Catholic Churchin Nigeria, through Rev. Father Ituah,that no less than 50 of the 52 Catholic churches in Maiduguri,Borno State have been burnt down by Boko Haram. How does one explain this madness? How would the muslims of northern Nigeria have reacted if virtually every single mosque that had been built in one of the southern states had been burnt down by christian militants?

Would they have shown the level of maturity and restraint that the christian community have displayed in the face of these provocations and attacks on their places of worship? Would they have ERMIT

Lekan Otufodunrin Otufodunrin@thenationonlineng.net 08023000621 (SMS only)

One blast too many

J

•Boko Haram attack

By Femi Fani-Kayode

insisted on amnesty for those who killed their people and burnt down their mosques?

Why is it that Boko Haram and those in the muslim community in northern Nigeria that secretly sympathise with them cannot learn a thing or two from the billions of muslims in the world that live peacefully and happily side by side with other faiths including christians, jews and hindus? Why cant they learn from the yoruba muslims who are, generally speaking, exemplary and very liberal in their approach to adhherents of other faiths. Are they not muslims too? What is it about the islamist that he feels the need to kill and shed blood in the name of God? Indonesia has the largest number of muslims on this planet with 200 million practising muslims in it’s borders. Yet Indonesia is a secular state with a sizeable and respected christian minorty population which runs into millions.

India has the second largest concentration of muslims in the world with a muslim population of over 150 million. The muslims of India are a minority because the country is predominantly hindu yet the religious rights of every Indian is guarded jealously and protected by the constitution because India, just like Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt, Malaysia, Pakistan, Algeria, Syria, Lebanon, Senegal, Tunisia, the Palestinian West Bank and many other predominantly muslim countries, is a secular state. Why can’t the islamists of Boko Haram in northern Nigeria learn from these great countries and these great people who have proved to the world by their conduct what a civilised, humane and decent religion islam really is?

Boko Haram insists on trying to give islam a bad name and the challenge that they have thrown down to us is one that we must take up vigorously. Yet despite all the evil and ugliness that we see around us in Nigeria today we must not allow ourselves to lose sight of the light.

St. Francis of Assisi whose name and memory has been resurrected by the new Pope Francis once said ‘’all the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of one candle.’’ And he was right. The darkness of Boko Haram will not extinguish the light of Nigeria but it is time for us to bring a firm end to their carnage before it is too late and before all hell break loose.

Though the bitter truth is this- Nigeria will not know peace until the blood of every single one of the over 4000 innocent souls that have been cut short and slaughtered by Boko Haram, Ansaru and all the other Al Qaeda-affiliated islamist terrorist groups that have plagued our land and bled our people in the last 2

years is fully avenged. Until this is done, that sea of innocent blood that has been shed will continue to cry out to God in heaven for vengeance and it will attract all manner of misfortune and curses on our beleagured land.

My solution to the Boko Haram scourge is simple and clear. The President, the Federal Government and the people of Nigeria must join hands together, rise up as one and seek them, their secret backers and their secret sponsors out. They must be unmasked, brought to justice, systematically eliminated and sent to hell where they belong. Enough is enough. Call it what you like- a crusade, a war against terror, a fight for justice and righteousness, a war against the kingdom of darkness, the final battle for the soul, liberation and independence of Nigeria or any other name that you choose. Let us take our country back from these heartless men called Boko Haram that were sent to our shores by the devil himself to slaughter and torment our people and to paint our land red with the blood of our women and children.

Mr. President needs to wake up, smell the coffee, rise up to the occassion and do his job diligently by defending and protecting the lives and properties of the Nigerian people effectively. He must have no sense of restraint and he must give no quarter in this war. Yet if for any reason he cannot muster the will to do so then I would have to agree with my brother Dino Melaye that it is time for him to do the honourable thing; to resign and to leave the job for someone else who has the guts, the strength of character, the sense of urgency and the courage to do what needs to be done.

Nigeria is dying. She is being bled to death by Boko Haram, Ansaru and Al Qaeda. Who will deliver her? Who will save her? Who will take the bull by the horns and ‘’fight the good fight’’? We need a President that has the stomach for that fight. We need a leader that harbours no fear, that has the courage of the biblical Joshua, Jehu and David and that is ready to stand up and openly confront the greatest evil that our country has ever known. It is time for old men to hold their peace and for young men to rise up in rage and anger and defend their values, their families, their faith, their lifestyle and their nation. It is time to put on the mantle of gallant men and to recite the inspiring words of King Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt. It is time to invoke the spirit of the great Greek warrior, the noble Achilles . It is time to remember the words of Mark Anthony and to shout ‘’Cry havoc ! And let slip the dogs of war.’’

It is time to save our beautiful nation Nigeria from the evil that stalks the land and from the enemy that resides within.

UST when we thought that the terrorists in the north will show some remorse by observing their so called cease fire to justify the call for amnesty for them, they struck last Tuesday at the Kano Luxury Bus Park killing and wounding many as usual.

This particular bomb attack has really generated a lot of concern considering that it has an ethnic dimension which could lead to reprisals from the section of the country where the bus was heading to.

Although no group has so far claimed responsibility for the dastardly act, the pattern of attack is typical of the past ones and there is no doubt that it is the same group of unrepentant fundamentalists who are still at work.

Both the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Jamatu Nasir Islam underscored the grave implication of the Kano attack in their reactions in which they noted that it was capable of threatening the unity of the country.

It is bad enough that the terrorist have refused to listen to voice of reason to sheath their sword and halt the senseless killing of innocent citizens in the Northern part of the country, to now deliberately resort to targeting buses heading for another part of the country where they have not succeeded in extending their activities to amounts to instigating ethnic clashes in the country.

Already there are reports that some Northerners in the South East are feeling unsafe after the bus attacks, while some Igbo groups have warned that they can no longer tolerate indiscriminate killing of their citizens in the North.

While the terrorists definitely don’t have the backing of indigenes of where they hail from, there is the danger of reprisal and counter reprisals if the targeted killing like the recent bus attack and others is not halted.

The terrorists seem to be out to cause disaffection in the country and they should not be allowed to do so in the interest of the unity of the country. Their agenda is to achieve what they have failed to achieve through their past attacks with the new strategy of targeting buses heading for the Southern part of the country.

They have tried hard to make living in the core Northern states dangerous particularly for non-indigenes and are very desperate to force them out if possible. Even for indigenes their safety is not guaranteed as long as they don’t share the beliefs of the terrorists.

For once, the government has to take necessary steps to checkmate the terrorists before they make the country ungovernable. The rate at which they keep striking is very worrisome and all options must be explored to stop them from denting the image of our country.

POLITICS

19

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

Anxiety over Tukur’s reconciliation moves •Tukur

•Jonathan

I

T was an upbeat Alhaji Bamanga Tukur that left Abuja on that fateful Tuesday for Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State about two weeks ago. Tagged ‘reconciliation tour’, early signs that this mission embarked upon by the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may not achieve its desired objectives were brought to the fore in the ancient city.

Invited to the Ibadan meeting included past and present PDP political office holders from the South-West, party leaders from all the states in the region, including Lagos, past and present lawmakers in the National Assembly and other stakeholders, to mention but a few. And they showed up in large numbers.

Present were former Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin; former PDP National Deputy Chairman, Alhaji Yekini Adeojo; Interim National Vice Chairman (South-West), Chief Ishola Filani; former Governor of Ondo and Ekiti States, Dr. Olusegun Agagu and Ayo Fayose, respectively; two members of the party Board of Trustees-Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun and Chief Ebenezer Babatope and other party leaders.

A source at the meeting told The Nation that the mood among those present was somber. Of major concern to Tukur and everyone present was how to unite the deeply divided party in the region in readiness for the 2014 governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States, and most importantly the 2015 general elections.

Appealing to warring party members to sheath their swords in the interest of the party, Tukur was also reported to have warned them that current developments in the party posed great danger to the electoral fortunes of the party if not nipped in the bud. With other party leaders taking their turns to air their grievances, the meeting ended after about four hours of deliberation.

But for the power brokers in the party and the Presidency, the Ibadan parley, according to a source, was described as a flop.

The reason may not be unconnected to the absence of former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; former National Secretary of PDP, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; the party’s National Vice Chairman and National Auditor, Chief Olusegun Oni and Chief Bode Mustapha respectively, and former Gover-

From the South-West to the South-East, South-South down to the North-East and North-Central, it appears the mission of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, to reconcile aggrieved members of the party is turning out to be an arduous task, reports Remi Adelowo nor of Oyo State, Adebayo Alao- Akala.

Obasanjo’s absence did not come as a surprise. Alleged not to be on good terms with President Goodluck Jonathan, the former president has paid heavily for this, with his perceived loyalists holding key positions in the party removed unceremoniously.

The sacking of Oyinlola, Oni and Mustapha is alleged to be a direct fall-out of the president’s frosty relationship with the former president. At the Ibadan meeting, Obasanjo, it was gathered, neither showed up nor sent any representative. The former Ogun PDP deputy governorship candidate in the 2011 elections, Tunde Oladunjoye, who spoke on behalf of the former president, said he (Obasanjo) was not invited to the meeting, but a source at the party’s national headquarters denied this claim.

A former senator who spoke to The Nation last weekend said the Presidency is waiting for the outcome of the yet unscheduled visit of Chief Tony Anenih, the party’s Board of Trustees chairman to Obasanjo before deciding the next line of action.

At the Enugu parley From Ibadan, Tukur proceeded to Enugu on the same mission to bring aggrieved party members together.

Though the roll call at the meeting was quite impressive, not a few party leaders were disappointed that some key political actors in the South-East geo-political zone, who were invited, stayed away. They included former vice-president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme; former Senate President, Ken Nnamani; Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Chief Emeka Ihedioha; former Governor of old Anambra State, Chief Jim Nwobodo, Chief

Chris Uba, to name just a few.

The drama in Port Harcourt Days after Tukur left Port Harcourt at the end of his South-South reconciliation tour, the ripples it generated are yet to settle.

Described as the most well attended of Tukur’s zonal tour so far, the meeting held at the Civic Centre in the oil-rich city was attended by all the governors in the SouthSouth.

Midway into the meeting, however, the host governor, Chibuike Amaechi and his Delta State counterpart, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, allegedly walked out to the consternation of their colleague governors-Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom and other party members.

Though the two governors have denied insinuations that they walked out, explaining through their media aides that they duly took permission from Tukur to attend to other pressing matters, the controversy their action generated to lingers.

Amaechi’s ‘affront’ is being interpreted as a subtle way to express his alleged displeasure over the moves by the president and the party to remove him as the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the formation of the PDP Governors Forum (PDPGF), headed by Akpabio. The Rivers State Governor has not attended the two meetings of the PDP Governors Forum since it was established.

The scenario at the North-East parley Held in Bauchi, two governors in the region were conspicuously absent. They are the Adamawa State helmsman, Muritala Nyako and his Gombe State counterpart, Ibrahim Damkwambo. The latter’s immedi-

ate predecessor, Senator Danjuma Goje, also stayed away.

Nyako’s absence may not be unconnected with his battle for supremacy with Tukur over the control of the party apparatus in Adamawa. Tukur, it was gathered, is alleged to be positioning his eldest son, Awwal, a former member of the House of Representatives, to succeed Nyako in 2015, a plot the governor is alleged to be aware of and is determined to scuttle.

More headaches in North-Central It was a visibly angry Tukur, who was alleged to have privately confided in other top party members who accompanied him to Makurdi, venue of the meeting, that the party has its hands full in its quest to solve the crisis bedevilling it.

Sources revealed that Tukur was worried that none of the governors in the zone, including those believed to be loyalists of the president, attended the meeting. Only the host governor, Gabriel Suswam, reportedly sent his deputy, Chief Steve Lawani, while the governors of Plateau, Kwara and Niger states failed to show up.

Jitters in the Presidency Concerned that Tukur’s tour, planned as the first in the series of reconciliation moves by the party, has recorded little success, the Presidency, according to sources, has ordered security agencies to place the activities of governors perceived to be antagonistic to the president’s alleged second term ambition on strict surveillance.

This move is coming against the background of alleged moves by hawks in the seat of power and the PDP national headquarters to suspend Amaechi and Governor Babangida Aliyu from the party.

Amaechi’s ‘sin’, it was gathered, is his refusal to back down from his intention to seek re-election as chairman of NGF next month, while Aliyu’s crime is his insistence that the president allegedly signed an agreement with northern governors not to seek for a second term in office in 2015.

With the North-West remaining the only zone yet to host Tukur, it remains to be seen how the party and the Presidency intend to put their reconciliation agenda back on track.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

Politics

Akpabio and the politics of benevolence T

ODAY, he easily qualifies as the most powerful governor. That the Presidency found him worthy to lead other governors elected on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says a lot about the influence Akwa Ibom Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, wields in the polity. Akpabio has been growing in leaps and bound since the election of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011.

This has been playing out in recent months. First, it was to him the Presidency turned when the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), headed by Governor Rotimi Amaechi, became too much to handle. Amaechi, the Rivers State governor, was alleged to be working against the interest of President Goodluck Jonathan. He was also a known critic of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur.

When NGF became more or less an opposition forum, the presidency decided to step in. A plot was conceived to polarise and break the ranks of the governors. That idea, it was realised, will not only whittle down the influence of NGF in the polity but also provide a support base for the President’s re-election bid in 2015.

When it was time to decide which of the governors will play the ostrich, Akpabio fitted comfortably into the mould. His support for the President is wellknown. He is also from the South-South, the regional bloc of the President, just like Amaechi.

The President needed someone with a strong personality and financial muscle to retain the groundswell of support among his kinsmen.

Akpabio gladly accepted the challenge with excitement. His mandate, according to sources, is to match Amaechi words for words and cash for cash. He played out this card so well penultimate weekend during the reconciliation meeting of the party in Port-Harcourt, capital of Rivers State. There, he announced, to the discomfort and chagrin of his fellow colleagues, the donation of N1million for lunch to state chairmen of the party in the region.

His politics His politics follows a simple Machiavelli’s law: never fight the man in power. The law recommends absolute loyalty to the man in power to remain relevant and rise. Akpabio has left no one in doubt he is the President’s man. He fights the President’s battles like his and takes on whoever stands against Jonathan.

The overwhelmed President must have become so impressed he is willing to grant Akpabio as much authority as he needs to carry on.

Since his emergence as Chairman of PDP Governors’ Forum, Akpabio has been

Governor Godswill Akpabio is the man of the moment. While his controversial appointment as PDP Governors’ Forum chair is still generating heat, he finds himself receiving flak for uncommon generosity with state funds. Sunday Oguntola takes a look at his politics.

carrying on like a moving train. At a courtesy call on the National Working Committee (NWC) shortly after his emergence unopposed, Akpabio said he was poised to weed out Judases among governors working against the interest of Jonathan. According to him: “What the PDP is trying to do now is to cleanse its house to try to identify the ones they called Judas and whisper it to them and say go out, the train is moving and you cannot stand, otherwise we will crush you.”

He went on: “That’s the new PDP; it isn’t to challenge the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, but to strengthen it. We will not allow minorities impose their ideas on us, the majority. We will not allow NGF to be seen as a trade union to fight government. We cannot be fighting the federal government; we are part of the federal government. Our job is to work with the federal government to initiate best policies for the interest of Nigerians.”

His benevolences Akwa Ibom receives the highest monthly allocation from the federal government. This follows the victory of the state over Cross Rivers on disputed oil wells last year. Critics say the presidency deliberately swayed the judgment in Akwa Ibom’s favour to give Akpabio a strong financial warchest to carry out ‘’special assignments”.

Akpabio, ever a big-spender, has not disappointed. He recently gave out 2 Toyota Prado jeeps and a cheque of N3million wedding present to popular hip hop star, 2 face Idibia and his wife, Annie Macauley-Idibia. The traditional wedding took place in Uyo where Annie hails from. Akpabio, who was at the event, also promised to sponsor 20 family members to their forthcoming nuptial in Dubai.

Before the outcries from the largesse died down, Akpabio threw a bigger masterstroke. He announced the donation of N230million on behalf o f

South-South Governors at the fund raising for President Jonathan’s village church in Lagos. Most governors from the region have since distanced themselves from the donation, meaning Akpabio will effortlessly pay singlehandedly.

Less than 24 hours later, Akpabio announced a gift of N1million to each PDP chairman in the SouthSouth “for lunch”. How he went about the announcement left no one in doubt he was playing to the gallery.

As 2015 draws closer, Akpabio is certain to be a strong factor to reckon with.

He will be a strong mobiliser and field worker for Jonathan’s second term bid. With a strong financial war chest and presidential backing, the flamboyant governor will be prepared to crush opposition among governors and within the South-South a g a i n s t Jonathan.

But in the murky waters of politics, only fate will determine how far he will go.

•Akpabio

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

Politics

21

During the recent fund raising event in Lagos for President Goodluck Jonathan’s country home church, Prince Arthur Eze, the chief launcher, caused a stir across the country when he splashed a personal donation of N1.8billion. In this report, Associate Editor Sam Egburonu and Assistant Editor Remi Adelowo write on the enduring power of the moneybag and confidant of presidents.

S

AVE for the glittering Rolls Royce (Phantom) in which he was chauffeur-driven to the event and a retinue of mobile policemen who escorted him, Prince Arthur Eze ycould have been mistaken for just any other guest. His face is not one of the very popular ones that would be easily recognised by the people.

But the stampede that trailed his arrival, rather than his person or the way he carried himself, confirmed his importance.

Date was Saturday, March 16, 2013. Event was organised to raise funds for St. Stephen’s Anglican Deanery and Youth Development Centre in the Otueke country home of President Goodluck Jonathan. But the venue was the glamorous Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, almost a thousand Kilometres away from the village where the church is located.

Eze, the chief launcher in that fund-raising bazaar, caused a stir, when he splashed a personal donation of N1.8 billion ($12 million), thus emerging the highest personal donor in the fund-raising bazaar that garnered over N6 billion.

As would be expected, since the generous donation, many questions have been asked by bewildered Nigerians. Who is Arthur Eze? Where is this multi billionaire donor coming from?

What is his source of income?

Etcetera !

His background Eze hails from Ukpo village in Dunukofia Local Government area of Anambra State. His elder brother is the traditional ruler of the town. A chemical engineer by training, Eze is the Ozoigbondu of Igboland.

A grand power broker Though many may not immediately identify the billionaire oil magnet as a politician in the strict sense of the word, those who know Arthur Eze very well said he has, for over two decades, played an active, though behindthe-scene, role as a grand political power broker both in his native Anambra State and the entire South-East geo- political zone.

Among some top political lords in Anambra State, Eze is

•Eze

The second coming of Arthur Eze

simply referred to as ‘the godfather.’

This, according to one of his former aides, could be explained by the argument that most of the controversial political godfathers in today’s Anambra State, especially within PDP, actually learnt the trade under his feet. Such godfathers, who were his students, include Sir Emeka Offor and Chief Chris Uba, the same power brokers alleged to have masterminded the political coups that ironically chased Arthur Eze away from the politics of Anambra State during the tenure of President Olusegun Obasanjo. Then, Eze reportedly flew to London, thus making way for Offor and Uba to dominate the political chess game in Anambra during the governors Mbadinuju and Ngige’s tenures.

In fact, students of Anambra State politics allege that the history of god fatherism in the state may actually have commenced with Eze’s sponsorship of Emordi during the late General Sani Abacha’s era. The game developed further when Eze lost out to his disciples, with Emeka Offor’s sponsorship of former governor Mbadinuju under Obasanjo and later, Chris Uba’s sponsorship of former governor Ngige also under Obasanjo.

When the former CBN governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, joined the Anambra State gubernatorial race for the February 2010 Elections, Eze

returned to the scene in his usual benevolent style.

His presence could no longer be mistaken after the grand fund raising dinner for Soludo’s governorship campaign, when Peoples Democratic Party Finance Committee raised over N2 billion for Anambra PDP Chapter.

In that event, Eze was the chief launcher. He also made the highest donation of N250 million, followed by the Chairman of the occasion, Sir Emeka Offor, who donated N100 million.

It would be recalled that dignitaries present at that PDP dinner included the then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, PDP governors, the then National Chairman of PDP, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, ministers, PDP National Assembly members, Speakers of state houses of assembly, PDP chieftains, Anambra State PDP governorship candidate then, Prof. Soludo, and his running mate, Senator Emmanuel Anosike.

Before that grand event, it was on record that the same Arthur Eze had earlier donated N30million to the Soludo campaign.

Eze’s business interests Prince Arthur Eze is the owner of the defunct Triax Airline, which folded up early 2000.

Currently, he is the major pro-

moter of Orient Nigeria Limited, the first privately-owned refinery to be sited in Onitsha, Anambra State. Former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, is the company’s chairman.

Eze is also the Chairman and Chief Exectutive Officer, Atlas Oranto Petroleum International Limited (AOPL). Some sources said Eze founded and incorporated the company around 1991 and 1993 respectively.

Official records describe AOPI as a wholly Nigerian oil exploration and production company and an active operator of 14 oil blocks in the West African sub-region, including OML 109 and OPL 320 in Nigeria.

Insiders in the oil and gas sector describe Eze as a major international player, given that his company has secured significant upstream positions in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Togo, Ivory Coast, Chad, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

Reports also said his “company has various technical partners, ranging from Roc Oil, Pioneer Natural Resources of the USA, Canoxy, Transworld of the USA, LukOil of Russia, Tetra, Noble, Kosmos Energy of the USA, Petronas of Malaysia, DNO of Norway, TransAtlantic Petroleum

of the USA and Canada’s Nexen.”

Besides his wide interests in oil and gas sector, Eze is also a well connected government contractor, a sector he has excelled in during the military and civilian era.

During the late General Sani Abacha’s military regime, for example, Eze was at the very centre of power and his businesses enjoyed great boom.

Also when Chief Jim Nwobodo was the civilian governor of the old Anambra State (now Enugu and Anambra States), Eze (then better known as Arthur 1,000) won mouth-watering contracts in the state, including the contract to build the Anambra State Broadcasting Service and Television studio (ABS Channel 50), as it then was, which was later to be a subject of criticism against Nwobodo’s government.

Philanthropy Described as very generous, Eze floated Arthur Eze Foundation many years ago to assist indigent students to pursue their education in Nigeria and in many foreign countries.

His flamboyant style A great lover of Safari suits, Eze is also very flamboyant, with his garage boasting about five different models of Rolls Royce.

He also owns a private jet, the latest Bombadier worth about $25million.

News about his acquisition of a luxurious jet first came as far back as February 2011, when it was reported that he bought one of the jets in the Presidential Air Fleet through auction. It was revealed that Eze was one of the successful •Continue on Page 23

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

Politics

‘Judiciary hasn’t done much on conviction of electoral offenders’ Mike Igini is the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Cross River State. He was in Kenya to observe the recent presidential polls and shares his experience there with some reporters in Calabar. Nicholas Kalu was there.

Y

OU were in Kenya to observe their presidential elections. How would you describe the experience?

I would say it was an interesting experience, being the first post-conflict election; one observed the collective will and determination of a nation to avoid a repeat of the tragedy of the 2007 election. That crisis led to the death of over 1,200 people, like the post-election violence in Nigeria after the 2011 election. There are still 600,000 displaced people yet to be rehabilitated five years after the 2007 election in Kenya. But for the Mobasa separatist pre-election violence that led to the death of policemen and civilians, the general impression one got from the Kenyan people was a determination to put such ugly electoral history behind them.

On election procedure, there were efforts to speed up the process by using electronic accreditation with standby manual registers of same data as well as electronic transmission of already counted results from polling stations. However, because there were some hitches, the IEBC had to revert to the manual processes and all results were brought in from the collation centres to be counted centrally.

A significant difference between the system and ours was the expeditious zeal with which the judicial system handled electoral offences. For instance, a supporter of an MP was found trying to induce voters with money neatly packaged in envelopes during elections on Monday 4th, and by the next day, Tuesday the 5th, while the electoral process was still ongoing, the culprit was arraigned before a magistrate court, convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment, with no option of fine.

One significant lesson on the use of electronic voting process is that it requires robust systems with early warning feedback loops that allow instant remediation of glitches because election processes are highly sensitive issues which cannot allow for prevarications. Also, there is a need to always have manual back-ups as we did here in Nigeria because dispensing with the manual system could be costly if very serious challenges develop.

How would you describe their electoral system compared to Nigeria’s?

An electoral system has many contextual peculiarities, so it is often best to talk in relative terms when comparing. However, there are significant parallels and differences between

•Igini

our system and theirs. As you may already know, the electoral system relies on many factors from the general country context, the legislative framework, the attitude of stakeholders and the rule of law. In general, my impression is that the same historical background of colonialism with voters aggregating around primordial ethnic comfort zones rather than policy issues, obtains in Kenya as it does in Nigeria. This is a problem that the Ghanaians had significantly overcome although there were some remnants of the problems, hence voter aware-

ness was still a significant problem as with Nigeria. But the Kenyan electoral system has acknowledged this by introducing the presidential debate that was focused on issues of development that really matter and thus educate voters on policy benefits. Another significant difference in my view is the issue I mentioned earlier relating to the expeditious consequences for electoral fraud. In the Kenyan situation the judiciary clearly was not ready to brook such threat to their democratic progress, whereas here we would find judicial officials vacillating on the same issue which is an existential threat to our democracy. I say this with all seriousness because until 2010, it is on record that our judiciary had not done much on conviction of electoral offenders, and even when INEC made strenuous efforts to push for such consequences, we met with significant structural resistance to maintain the status quo ante, except for just one conviction we secured here in Cross River.

This is bad for our progress.

Could corruption be the reason for the failure in virtually all spheres of government?

Any society that accepts corruption as an article of faith will never attain its full potentials. As I have just related in regard to electoral offenses, a significant stumbling block to corruption of all kinds in Nigeria is the sense of impunity built by the years of a lack of effective judicial consequences.

No doubt there have been many convictions for crimes in Nigeria but regarding fraud, especially the type of fraud which threatens our economic growth and development in many dimensions, there is a significant deficit in consequences, and the judiciary should lead the way on that count, that is why we have separation of powers with the judicial arm and that is why democracy is always qualified with the mantra “and the rule of law” , for as St Augustine insisted, a country is nothing but a gang of rogues without the rule of law.

How can corruption be addressed?

The way we are going now with our value pyramid upside down; a society where money is everything, no sense of shame and nobody afraid of anything except death, we may have to go for death penalty. Those who do the wrong things that endanger our collective wellbeing are the very ones that would tell to go to court and boast of their influence and how they will stall trial through frivolous application upon application. Even in our churches now, pastors would announce during thanksgiving that members should take their personal effects when dancing to the altar because of stealing even in the house of God. This is how terrible our society has declined. In addressing this problem, we should adopt these three approaches in addition to others; firstly and curatively we should ensure that proven cases of corruption be met with maximum judicial consequences; second preventatively by ensuring that regulative and normative control measures in the private and public sectors are in place and effectual. Regulative controls involve the bureaucratic, financial, quality and other measures of control that are the organisational practices for decades and normative controls includes the evolving codes of expected good practices which are reviewed from time to time.

Is it right that we celebrate 100 years of amalgamation at a time when the country is faced with issues of insecurity and others?

It is an apt opportunity to ask ourselves why we abandoned the path of governance framework Sir Ahmadu Bello, Awolowo and Zik, after series of conferences, finally agreed on to promote rapid development? Why is it that we have refused to reconcile ourselves and build a country of equal opportunity for all? Our reality is that after these many years we have not arrived at a consensual agreement of who we are; what we want to be; and where we want to go. We are still grappling with the intricacies of nationhood. We are yet to be at peace with one another after almost 100 years. In other words we have not realistically formulated a common acceptable shared vision that would generate common determination to achieve common goals.

Powers of Mr. President and NGF election

T

HERE is a monumental falsehood that has been diligently promoted in Nigeria since 1999, and that is that the President of Nigeria is the most powerful leader on earth because his presidential powers are said to be unlimited and he can do whatever tickles his fancy without hindrance. It is this false contention that perhaps informed President Goodluck Jonathan’s insistence that Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State must be removed as the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) as reported in The Nation’s front-page news-story of Wednesday, February 27, 2013. Interestingly, however, the issue has naturally brought to the front burner of national discourse the question of the limits of presidential power in Nigeria.

According to The Nation’s news report under reference and entitled, “Revealed: How Jonathan threatened PDP Governors”, President Jonathan is reported to have threatened the governors with the following three action plans unless they do his bidding over Governor Amaechi’s continued headship of their forum. The first bordered on the threat to deprive the governors of their security details. The second concerned the threat to deprive them (governors) access to funds from the illegal and unconstitutional excess crude oil account. The third referred to the threat to refrain from appending his signature to the benchmark for the 2013 budget or Appropriation Act. Of course, any doubts about the truthfulness of The Nation’s news report pales into insignificance when a presidential minion, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, screamed in the Sunday Punch of March 10, 2013, that, “the President has enormous powers under the constitution. The fact that he does not use up to 40 per cent of his constitutional powers does not mean weakness.”

A major fall-out from the current political struggle over the chairmanship position of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum

By Nkemjika Nkemjika (NGF) is certainly the resolution of some critical questions that have become inevitable. Is it true that the powers of the President of Nigeria are overly enormous and unlimited? Is it true that the President of Nigeria is above the law and can carry out actions that breach the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) without any sanctions against him? Are the powers of an unelected military head of state in a military regime the same with those of an elected civilian President in a constitutional democratic society?

The answers to these questions will be attempted by the appraisal here.

Firstly, the power to deploy security details for the protection of state governors belongs to the Inspector-General of Police who determines all the operational activities of the Nigeria Police Force. See section 215(2) of the 1999 constitution (as amended).

Secondly, the President of Nigeria does not have the power to deny state governors access to the proceeds from the illegal and unconstitutional excess crude oil account. The constitution is quite clear that the stakeholders or owners of the excess crude oil account are all the three (3) tiers of government (federal, state and local governments), and that it is the National Assembly that has the final say on the modalities of releasing funds from federation funds or accounts, see Section 162 (1 & 3).

Any doubts about the efficacy of the position highlighted here should reflect on the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case between Obasanjo’s Presidency and Tinubu’s Lagos State Government where it was determined that the President of Nigeria has no powers whatsoever over the release of local government funds to its recipients.

Thirdly, the President of Nigeria also does not have the final say in the determination of budgetary benchmarks. See Section 81(1) and section 80(3) of the same 1999 constitution.

From the foregoing, it is clear that all the three issues which President Jonathan reportedly used in cowing or intimidating some PDP governors into doing his bidding over Governor Amaechi’s continued headship of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum were mere hot air without any force of law.

As we march towards the month of May 2013, when the election of a new chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum will take place, it behoves on well-meaning Nigerians to mobilize their governors into ensuring that Amaechi retains the position.

While it is true that President Jonathan has the constitutional right to contest the 2015 presidential election, so it is for other Nigerians in the PDP like Sule Lamido, Babangida Aliyu, Chibuike Amaechi, Atiku Abubakar, etc. In the final analysis, it is the Nigerian electorate that will decide who gets sworn-in as President on May 29, 2015, and not any cabal masquerading as PDP Governors’ Forum or the national leadership of the PDP. In conclusion, the point has to be made that the powers of the President of Nigeria are not unlimited or all that enormous as those who have difficulties appreciating the meanings of the constitutional provisions would have the world believe. The office of the President of Nigeria was created by the constitution.

The same constitution also enjoins the President to act within the confines of the law.

So, the President of Nigeria, who is just one of the authorities in the land, does not have any constitutional powers to punish or remove a sitting governor from office for failing to do his political bidding.

Mr. Nkemjika, a research writer and strategic thinker, is the Chairman of Mezie Ala-Igbo Foundation.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

Politics

23

Political Politics

Eze’s second coming

turf

with Bolade Omonijo boladeomonijo@yahoo.com

Fuel price hike again?

O

•From Left; Chief Arthur Eze, Tourism Officer, Bascilica of Our Lady of Peace, Ms Ines Anoman; President Goodluck Jonathan; his wife Patience and wife of the President of Cote D'ivoire, Mrs Dominique Ouattara, during the visit of President Jonathan to the Bascilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro.

•Continued from Page 21 bidders for the three aircrafts in the PAF in December 2010.

That year, the federal government had, through the office of the National Security Adviser, put up three jets for sale through an invitation to tender, which was advertised in the Federal Government’s Tenders in Nigeria Journal.

The jets were a Hawker 125-800, Falcon 900B and Gulfstream IV. That was shortly after the federal government acquired three new aircrafts for the PAF. Though an introvert, Eze is a fan of the late highlife musician, Oliver De Coque, who waxed an album solely to eulogise the wealthy businessman.

Another Igbo artiste, Emeka Morocco, the creator of Ekpili brand of music, also sang Eze’s praises in several of his albums.

His recent controversial quotes “No politician will give you contract without asking for percentage.”

- Arthur Eze, December 29, 2009 A day before this controversial statement, precisely on December 28, 2009, Eze had also attracted public criticism when he declared that the military government of late General Sani Abacha was the best administration Nigeria ever had.

Though he accepts democracy as the most acceptable form of governance, he said he prefers a military government because “the late Abachaled military never used the award of contracts and execution of projects as a means of stealing public funds.”

“What Jonathan did is what a man who fears God will do. If I have an opportunity as president of Nigeria I will do the same. All of us are

human beings. What he did was correct. We are not fighting war. Jonathan took advice from God. God has told him to show mercy. The bible says blessed are those that are merciful for they shall see God,” he said early this month over the presidential pardon granted former Bayelsa State governor, DSP Alamieseigha.

“President Olusegun Obasanjo from the South-west held power for eight years. We are calling on you Mr. President to take another four years as one term is clearly too short for you to finish the job you have at hand. You can consider giving power to the North after your eight years, so that that they will return it to the Southeast after their own eight years,” Eze said, in 2012, when President Goodluck Jonathan paid a one day working visit to Anambra State.

Political

ripples Between Jumai and Ag. Governor Umar

T

ONGUES are wagging in Taraba State, but this time it is not about the hospitalisation of ailing Governor Danbaba Suntai or the fallouts of his absence from the state.

Rather, the people, especially the political class, are talking about an alleged new-found relationship between the Acting Governor of the state and Senator Jummai Alhassan, a known critic of Suntai’s •Umar administration.

If what those spreading the rumour are saying anything to go by, then the Acting Governor may have decided to reach out to the camp of Suntai’s political enemies for reasons best known to him.

While it is too early to confirm or deny this liaison, it cannot be shoved aside as untrue given the strained relationship between Umar and some of Suntai’s aides. No doubt, an alliance between Umar and Alhassan will change the face of Taraba State politics.

•Filani

Filani, Lawal in secret war

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WO officers of the recently constituted zonal executive of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West are currently at daggers drawn over the running of the party in the zone. Sources disclosed that the National Vice Chairman, Chief Ishola Filani, and the Publicity Secretary, Waheed Lawal, have severally disagreed over how the publicity of the executive is being handled.

Lawal is alleged to be uncomfortable about how Filani has been allegedly usurping his duties, a development that has virtually rendered him idle.

ONCE more, the Jonathan administration is demonstrating utter insensitivity to the plight of the general public that presumably elected him to run the affairs of the country till 2015. Since he assumed office in May 2011, it has been a litany of woes; some due to clear incompetence, others due to sheer wickedness and recklessness. Despite confessing to starting life as a poor child in a typical Ijaw village, the president has not demonstrated empathy for the underprivileged. Many are wont to blame the ills being perpetrated by the regime on the legion of advisers. I choose to differ.

A leader is free to choose those to work with. When he does, he makes a statement about the direction he has chosen to travel. The first indication that a leader intends to succeed is given by the quality of officials and advisers he picks. He is thus saying that he would take responsibility for their deeds and misdeeds. Why then turn around to blame them when things turn awry? In any case, he also has full powers to sack any official who fails to live up to expectations. But, when an Edwin Clark decides what government does and who is saddled with what responsibility, the outcome is obvious.

Twice now within a week, President Goodluck Jonathan has informed us to brace up for another round of hardship as his government is set to further inflict pains on Nigerians already impoverished by his regime's economic policies. He said the so-called fuel subsidy would soon be finally removed.

He believes that his government has got over the spontaneous demonstrations in various parts of the country January last year. He is driven by the need to start amassing wealth to fight the 2015 electoral battles and thinks the best way to do it is make the people pay to enable him impose an unpopular government on them. Dr. Jonathan is no longer afraid of the likely consequences of the action.

It is a shame that, despite the ugly revelations during the probe of the subsidy deals presided over by the Petroleum Resources Ministry, no official has been punished. It is business as usual. To buy time, the regime had moved swiftly to hoodwink the people by setting up committees and task forces that would ostensibly sanitise the sector.

The two houses of the federal legislature also swung into action and treated Nigerians daily to theatrics.

A SURE-P scheme was hurriedly initiated to lull the people into believing that infrastructure would be given facelift. And, to further indicate that it meant business, it sought to buy into the integrity of an over-recycled Dr. Christopher Kolade. A nonagenarian Kolade was made chairman of the scheme in the same way that General Muhammadu Buhari was brought by General Sani Abacha to preside over the Petroleum Trust Fund. In about one year, it is obvious now that the SURE-P has collapsed.

Dragged before committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate, Dr. Kolade failed to convince anyone that he is really in charge. He neither could defend activities of the programme in one year, nor could he explain the notorious duplications in the budget.

Now, the regime wants to increase prices of petroleum products again using the same jaded and hackneyed arguments that the military first introduced. Why should anyone trust Jonathan and his clique when they have failed woefully to justify the confidence earlier reposed in them?

What would they be doing with the trust they want reposed in them this time? Should more fund come into government coffers, how would that translate to better life for the people when we have a government that is at best at sea on most issues?

Very soon, my brother, former comrade and friend, Labaran Maku would be all over the public space, making those points that he had joined us in debunking when Babangida first advanced them in the early nineties. He would tell us that hiking the prices would check activities of smugglers. He would tell us that only consumers in Lagos and Abuja are protected by the current pricing mechanism as the products sell for much more in other parts of the country. He would suggest that only the rich benefit from the subsidy. Labaran and his soul mates, Reuben Abati and Doyin Okupe, would argue that the pains arising from the removal would be soothed by a number of measures to be put in place and that SURE-P would be strengthened.

It is obvious that the federal government is set to remove the subsidy. Whether it succeeds depends on the people. A massive point was made by the protests that rocked Lagos, Ibadan, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, among other cities last year. The civil society groups that organized that should begin to mobilize Nigerians across the strata again. If the government is not tired of anti-peoples' moves, the public should not be tired of rising against such unpopular measures. It should be noted that the government and security forces would have learnt some lessons from their least performance, but so should we, the people of Nigeria. We cannot afford to allow one organisation take sole charge; neither should the movement be restricted to a few cities. This time, even the rural folks should be brought on board.

This is certainly one oppression too many.

24

THE SUNDAY INTERVIEW

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

I was miserable during Yar’Adua sickness saga

As Director General of the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Dora Akunyili was celebrated as a heroine willing to risk her life to tackle the cabals behind the fake drugs business in Nigeria. Her tour of duty as Minister of Information and Communications was, however, more controversial and turbulent. In this interview with RITA OHAI, she discusses a public career and political journey marked with unexpected twists and turns.

Y

OU were clearly enthusiastic about your job as Director General of NAFDAC. What didn’t you like about the role?

I did not like the threats and the tension I was going through. I also didn’t like all the abuse that came from my own people who felt that I was spoiling their business; all they wanted was to make money through the sale of counterfeit drugs.

But what nearly affected me was the assassination attempt on my life. After that incident, I felt really traumatised for a long time - even though I tried to keep a bold face so I would not look defeated, or else it would have meant jubilation for the criminals.

NAFDAC gave me the exposure and the opportunity to put in my best in my area of core competence. But it was because of the pressure that my husband announced during my fourth year anniversary at NAFDAC that I would not have a second tenure in public office.

I agreed with him because my entire family was counting the days until I quit. Besides, five years is a long time for somebody to

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After our meeting with President Yar’Adua, I went to him and knelt down. Before I could say ‘Your Excellency’ he told me to calm down because Nigeria had image problems and we needed to fix them. And he said I should go and do the job well.

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What nearly affected me was the assassination attempt on my life.

After that incident, I felt really traumatised for a long time - even though I tried to keep a bold face so I would not look defeated, or else it would have meant jubilation for the criminals.

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constantly be under tension. Then President Olusegun Obasanjo called my husband and spoke to him asking him to support me, while reassuring him that everything would be put in place for my protection.

The normal practice is for the outgoing DG to write for an extension of their tenure about three months to the end of the current tenure but I did not write until one year after my first tenure had ended. It was not until my board chairman, Dr. Andy Andem, a thorough gentleman, told me that if I did not write for my second tenure, somebody could say that everything I had been signing for the past one year was illegal.

So I reluctantly wrote in for it. If not for the invitation President Obasanjo gave my husband, I do not think I would have gone for a second tenure.

The suspects who tried to assassinate you are still walking freely around the country. How do you feel about that?

It is my greatest pain. It is because of the botched court case against these people that my book did not come out earlier than it did. I kept hoping and praying for the proper conclusion of that case for it to be published.

One of the suspects has been released and it pains me dearly but I still trust God. The case is still on and my prayer is that it will be concluded in my life time.

First, we went to the High Court in Abuja and after a long time of adjournments and stories, the judge said he had no jurisdiction. The question is, ‘did he not know he had no jurisdiction until after one year?’

We went to the Appeal Courts

barons paid them N10 million to do the job and while they were fighting over that money, they got angry and went to report to the police. So even the police knew because one of them confessed that they hired guns from Nigerian Army 82 Division, Enugu.

I reported this to the National Security Adviser, the Police Commissioner and they all did nothing. If we had the correct system, this case would not have lasted this long but I have not lost hope.

With your background in pharmacy, how did you qualify to become the Minister of Information?

I would like to say that ministerial positions are not based on profession because it is a position of management. That is why the Minister of Works is not always an Engineer. The degrees I have had, the exposure and the managerial positions I have held put me in a position to run any ministry. What matters is that we have technical people around us.

I never expected that I would become the Minister of Information because I see myself as a change agent. I like a critical ministry that I would go to and there would be visible change in six months.

But in Nigeria, it is after the person is sworn-in that portfolios are given. If portfolios were given before my swearing-in, I would have declined.

However, another thing happened. After the swearing-in ceremony, and I was given the Minister of Information and Communications, I was in shock and you should have seen my face. It would have been silly for me to get up and say I was no longer doing it or for me to say I was going back to NAFDAC. My mother-in-law and daughter were with me and I went to the bathroom and cried out my eyes. But my daughter while trying to pacify my said that the ministry was the image-maker of the economy. My mother-in-law also told me that nothing happens without God’s approval.

I then remembered that my elder sister, Mrs. Okpala, called me six months before that time and told me she dreamt that I was made Minister of Information and I said ‘God forbid, you must have malaria’.

After our meeting with President Yar’Adua, I went to him and knelt down. Before I could say ‘Your Excellency’ he told me to calm down because Nigeria had image problems and we needed to fix them. And he said I should go and do the job well.

When I got there, almost nothing was working. There was no website. Can you imagine a Ministry of Information without a website? I worked really hard and it made me happy that journalists that said I was not one of them started writing that they wanted me back and I started enjoying the place.

You received a lot of backlash on your ‘Naija’ and rebranding Nigeria project. Did you feel the criticism was fair or did you consider it politically motivated?

The Ministry of Information is very political. I saw most of the bashing as part of the job.

People kept asking what we were rebranding since there was no light and water and I kept wondering whether I was the one to provide the light and water.

Some of my relations would call me and ask why I was not doing anything for anybody after announcing plenty billions of naira on television. When people see you speaking for government, you become the government they know.

It was more of bitterness against leaders and not against the minister but the minister could not wriggle out of it because she was the spokesperson.

It was very tough and it is not that I really loved the place, but I decided to make the best of the situation. I know that I would have done better in ministries like Agriculture where you could easily measure success with physical yardsticks.

Some young people came to show me things they did and it was filled with ‘Naija’ and I thought about it that the word was something that should be used in a light mood, and not when making a formal presentation. Another thing that people had problems with was when I said they should not sing the national anthem with various tones.

And then you plunged into politics fully – running for the senate. That didn’t end too well. Do you accept that you lost fair and square or do you think you were rigged out of the senatorial seat?

Oh clearly! This was why the case was never concluded. I have enough honour, and I say this with all humility, that if there was clear voting and counting, I would congratulate that person. In an election, one person must win. Nothing says that it must be a par-

and they asked him to go and hear the case but the suspects went to the Supreme Court and brought up all kinds of appeal. I keep telling my children that I thank God I did not die because this is how the case would have fizzled out.

During the shooting, five of the six assassins they sent were killed by the police. The star witness who escaped is still alive. And after the shooting the next morning, they went to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital to look for me.

They went to Dr. Mbadiwe and told him they were sent by their boss at the police station in Awka to come and take care of me which was a lie. The doctor told them I was not there and they left which shows that they really wanted to finish it up.

We had evidence of these people planning their attack. The drug

•Continued on Page 25

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

THE SUNDAY INTERVIEW

25

•Continued from Page 24 ticular person that must win. I am a professional in politics and not a professional politician.

I have come out of the things that happened in that election emotionally but I still cannot believe the things that happen in the 21st century.

I was part of the problem in a way because I never made use of a single thug. Young people came from time to time almost on a daily basis for me to enroll them in my campaign and I refused to do it because my son cannot be a thug and I cannot use somebody’s child as one.

But on the day of election, thugs ran us out of the state. They made sure we did not see what was going on. My governor and I were playing it clean because he was supporting me.

When the results were being compiled the thugs were in such a huge number that they did not let my car get to the center. On the day of the rerun, one Anaene went to a hotel and announced the result. This is the first time results are being announced from a hotel on cardboard paper. That same Anaene told a lawyer, Barrister Erike, who was in my campaign team to give him N10 million because he was under pressure to announce result. I felt that it was bribery and decided not to do it.

The results that INEC had showed that I leading by over 700 Before I acted, was votes. Even during the I went to see re-run, we had more than voters in three different thugs places like Umunnachi. ministers. In When we went to court, did not present most one of the we of the ugly things that and relied on minister’s happened data. We were also naïve house I saw as we were rejoicing we kept winning Dr. Kalu Idika when from one technicality to Kalu and I con- another and after 180 expired. fided in him daysIntheancase interview you on why I came gave, you were quoted saying that you husto see the min- as band asked you to leave ister. While PDP to save your marApart from your talking to that riage. husband’s intervention, did you leave the minister, I let why party? him know that I was misquoted it is not true. We all if our democ- and know that the PDP in racy collapses, Anambra has always having problems. generations been Since Governor Peter unborn will Obi is very close to my and we have not forgive us. family known him for many The man said years as a very stable and person, we felt he he will never honest will not mislead me.

He wanted to help say anything. me get another platform The two other to serve our people. I do regret leaving PDP ministers said not and going to APGA to the same thing. run an election. It is all part of life experiences.

There has been a lot of confusion regarding the leadership of APGA. Who is the legitimate APGA chairman and what is your take on all the controversy surrounding the party?

The issues in APGA are being sorted out and I believe that in no distant time, they will be resolved.

The governor has even assured us that he will do the local government election before the gubernatorial elections.

Before all of this takes place, APGA will hold its convention and ward congresses. I believe that APGA is just experiencing a family quarrel. Wherever you have human beings, there are bound to be misunderstandings as long as they are resolved amicably. Right now, we have an interim chairman who is Mr. Maxi Okwu, and he is the chairman until we do the convention.

Will we see you in 2015 vying for any political position?

Yes! I will run in 2015 if it is the will of God. It is a problem to be overconfident because when you are confident and sure you are going to win, your opponent will be trying to make sure that he wins by hook or crook. Nigerian politics is not a fair game. It is either you act like them or you prevent them from playing dirty games.

You were the first person who officially revealed the state of health of late President Umaru Yar’Ardua during the period of his extended absence from the country. What pushed you to take the risk?

It was not President Yar’Adua’s fault that he fell ill. But people around him, I call them ‘the cabal’, mismanaged his illness.

When he was rushed out of the country, his spokesperson, Segun Adeniyi, did well to tell us he was sick. But from that time onwards, it became one story or the other. We all suspected he was in bad shape but nobody was 100 percent sure and we were fed with lies.

As the Minister of Information, I was in a very bad shape because whatever story I was told, I had to announce. I suspected they were lies but you cannot depend on suspicion.

When I confirmed that people around him were lying was when they went to get the National Assembly to get assent for a budget

“

“

•Akunyili with a signature from him. I spoke to three different people that went on that trip and they all told me different stories of how he signed it.

One of them said they were in a town far from where he was and they sent the documents to him and he signed. Another one said, they were downstairs in the hospital and they took the papers to him and he signed. One other person told me he actually went into the President’s room and watched him sign it. He also said they did not allow him to talk.

When three people that went for the same mission were telling different stories, I concluded that they were lies. At that point, I started feeling miserable.

We went for council meetings and they began their stories again about re-assuring Nigerians. That particular day, I made up my mind not to report this again in council. It was that same day that Michael Aondoakaa, the former Attorney General, took over my job and my face actually gave me up as I was sitting and looking at him in shock as he was reeling out lies.

I was the most miserable human being during the Yar’ Adua saga and I was taking a lot of sedatives to sleep. Because of my position as Minister of Information, even if everybody knew they were lying, I was the person speaking to the public.

Before I acted, I went to see three different ministers. In one of the minister’s house I saw Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu and I confided in him on why I came to see the minister. While talking to that minister, I let him know that if our democracy collapses, generations unborn will not forgive us. The man said he will never say anything. The

two other ministers said the same thing.

That Tuesday night, I wrote a memo, called my Special Adviser, Mr. Ugwumba, who proofread it and told me it was suicidal. I told him that if I die doing this, let me die. I was tired of the lies and went to council the next morning.

I circulated it and some of the ministers read it. The Secretary to the Government said the memo must be withdrawn. Some people did not send back their own because they were angry with how ‘the cabal’ was handling this but they refused to speak up.

I did not have any support. In a few minutes, the news was all over the place. My husband called me and asked why I made that kind of dangerous move without telling him and I let him know that if I had told him, he would not allow me because I was ready to leave the job.

Many of the ministers supported me secretly but they only came out to speak when they saw that the National Assembly and other people had followed.

Do you think members of the legislative and executive arms of government earn way too much in salaries and allowances?

People in public service earn reasonable allowancesbecause if you are not corrupt and if you are not earning money from other places, I think it is good. A minister or director general of an agency needs to be comfortable to do the job well.

What I think is that the civil service is over-populated. In the ministry, you see some rooms with six people and one small table and you ask youself how they can function well.

26

•Uba

A

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

Politics

BOUT 13 years ago, there was no single person that could talk without making reference to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State; the party was like a cult group and if you were not inside, it was as if you had lost a valuable jewel.

That era was lost when the former governor of the state, Dr. Chris Ngige, now senator representing Anambra-Central, lost the governorship battle at the appeal court in Enugu to incumbent Governor Peter Obi of the All Progressives Alliance (APGA).

Since then, it was APGA all the way until Ngige emerged the flag bearer of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which almost snatched the state from the ruling party in the state.

Though, the PDP’s leadership battle began in 2002, when the governorship ticket was taken from the then governor, Dr Chinwoke Mbadinuju, and handed over to Ngige for the 2003 governorship election, it has remained so till date.

The supremacy battle got to its height when the then Governor Chris Ngige was kidnapped by those who claimed they had the sole ownership of PDP, which, of course, failed. All that is now history.

But, it has not been easy for the party with its political caterpillars and juggernauts in the state fighting to take control with their wealth. The major actors include: Over the years, Sir Emeka Offor, an oil magnate, former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Chief Chris Uba and Chief Joseph Okonkwo had, one time or the other, called the shorts in the state but today, they are just mere stakeholders.

Those who claim the leadership of the party in Anambra are many and for a long time, no one could claim the chairmanship of the party, and the party in the state has become like a sheep without a shepherd.

Also, court cases had further

•Soludo

•Obidigbo

2013: PDP’s dilemma in Anambra State

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

sunk the party to the great beyond, while Prince Kenneth Emeakayi, who is currently serving as the new state chairman, also has enemies within.

Feelers suggest that problem in the party may stop it from fielding any candidate in the forthcoming November 16, 2013 governorship election in the state as the top stakeholders have seemingly failed to resolve their differences But with the intervention of Senator Emma Anosike, who has declared his intention to run for the governorship under the platform of the party, it seems there is still light at the end of the tunnel.

Last weekend, Anosike held a meeting with stakeholders of the party, which was chaired by Chief Okey Muo Aroh, who lost the national publicity secretary position of the party to Chief Olisa Metu on the way forward for the party.

The meeting was held at Umueri in Anambra East Local Government Area with former state and national lawmakers, former state chairmen of the party in the state, including Chief Partrick Agu, who was former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s South-East coordinator in attendance.

Though former Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme, was not in the meeting, they said as an elder stateman, they would pay him a visit in his country home to brief him on the latest in the party.

The forum also said it would seek audience with other absen-

tees like Chief Chris Uba, former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, business mogul, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, among others.

Again, they alleged that the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metu, had not done much in helping to resolve the crisis in the party in the state, adding that he would equally be reached.

Anosike had told The Nation that his interest was not the contest of the election but to make sure that the party resolves its long lasting crisis which had denied them the governorship of the state since 2003.

The Nation investigation also shows that what gives the party sleepless nights in Anambra State is the formation of All Progressives Congress (APC), with notable names in the state set to join the party, including those in power elsewhere.

Apart from Anosike and Dr. Alex Obiogbolu, who had indicated interest to run for the election on the platform of PDP, ‘others like Nze Akachukwu Nwankpo, Senator Andy Uba, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, had been playing hide and seek game on their ambitions.

They believe that printing and pasting posters at strategic positions will buy them governorship position which will be vacated by Governor Peter Obi on March 17, 2013.

For Professor Chukwuma Soludo, there is every indication that he may not run on the plat-

form of PDP, following his alleged romance with few of the political parties in recent times.

However, the battle for the ticket of the parties has been identified with Nwankpo, Uba, Ukachukwu, and Anosike as the arrow heads fighting it from Abuja.

The only thing going for Anosike is that he is considered a grassroots politician, unlike Nwankpo, whose critics allege is not well known in Anambra State.

They alleged that Nwankpo is using his position as Secretary of Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (S.U.R.EP) to muscle his way.

Uba himself, who won the seat in 2007, but was removed after 17 days in office, is allegedly counting on his old goodwill during the period under review and his alliance with former President Olusegun Obasanjo to grab the ticket.

The Nation gathered that the battle has become so fierce in Abuja that it may boil down to the party not having any candidate during the election.

Prince Kenneth Emeakayi who is currently holding the chairmanship of PDP in Anambra State, with many members of the party loyal to him, is said to be in the good books of Ukachukwu.

Another group that prides itself as Fresh Congress Group, led

by Pastor Emma Obiora, is said to be clearing and watering the ground for Nwankpo, while Uba is still floating with the old structure of his younger brother, Chris Uba.

There are few others who still claim they are in control of the party structures in the state from the three senatorial zones, who are already boasting to be PDP aspirants.

Some of them have branded vehicles, tricycles, otherwise known as Keke Napep, while their posters adorn some of the minor and major streets in the state.

Others, who claim they are in the race under the platform of PDP, are, according to insiders, just there for the sake of making themselves known, playing to the gallery to see if they could grab any appointment if eventually their party enters the government house.

An insider and one of the alleged aspirants told The Nation that the issue today is not the candidate but the need to resolve issues tearing the party apart. But according to him, “before PDP gets to what it used to be in the past, all the pending court cases instituted by various groups and individuals must be vacated before the arrangement of congresses could begin.”

Generally, it has been observed that the problem of the party in Anambra State include, primarily that of loyalty occasioned by too much money on the part of the socalled stakeholders, as these have been the dividing factor in the party, leading to a situation where nobody wants to be submissive to another.

Observers in Anambra agree that if this issue is not solved, then the party may forget about the 2013 governorship election.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Greatest lessons life taught me

–NOLLYWOOD STAR, URE EKE –Pages 34 & 39

28

Glamour

Kehinde Oluleye Tel: 08023689894 (sms)

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

E-mail: kehinde.oluleye@thenationonlineng.net

T

Hair

that simply sets you apart

R E N D I L Y woven hair styles show off your natural beauty, and how creative your hairdo is will stand you out and making you feel fresh, elegant and beautiful. Hair not only frames the face, it appears to substantially transform it.

Africans are blessed with a wide variety of beautiful hairstyles. Woven hair-do giv es a classy look that no other hairstyle is ever able to. So it is no surprise that ladies, even men, are sporting such hairstyle that sets them apart in a crowd and enhances their beauty or outlook.

Depending on the style or parting, weave can also be used to make a fashion statement; gone are the days when many look at it as a not-too-serious or a local hairdo.

Trendily woven hair-do of different partings and cuts are now the in-thing, but the truth is, the type of weave you sport can actually say a lot about you. Elegantly cut weave can give you a unique look that is both sexy and official at the same time.

What kind of weave do you go for?

There are different categories of weave.

We have the normal didi, didi elegbe, Hausa weave, Ghana weave, Fishbone weave, thinning weave etc, says Mrs.Bola Owatunde of Fetowas Beauty Consult.

When it comes to weave, different occasions to wear them don't matter, it all depends on you.

You can sport a 'shuku' weave style on suit; the patronage which these hairstyles currently enjoys is high and the good thing is that it is good for all weather.

It could actually survive any weather.

"You can't predict when it will rain. Basically, all you need to do is (for this) to blow dry after you have been soaked. In fact, if it is not much, it will dry off on its own and you will still have your hairstyle," says Bobby Eke of Bobby Signature.

After spreading like wildfire, weave has refused to take a bow from the fashion scene. At both local and international levels, it has become a thing of class and the fad. Apart from the fact that it gives the hair an opportunity to rest for a while, it will •Tiwa Savage save you the stress of styling or packing every morning; all you need do is to add cream once in two or three days.

Glamour

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

29

Oversized

handbag

rage!

•Burberry

By Kehinde Oluleye

A

RE you fashion crazy about handbags? Are you looking for the trendy and distinct handbag, a bag that is unique, different and stands out in a crowd?

Then your best bet is a beautifully crafted oversized handbag. It is a handbag that will absolutely complete any fashionista's wardrobe.

Oversized/big handbag is the fashion statement this season; it is everywhere and vibrant in different designs. Handbags today are now a

way in which ladies add to their beauty in order to make them look more sexy; though it is not compulsory, it has become a popular necessity.

It is stylish, sophisticated, and timeless and they never go out of style. Carrying a big handbag will certainly add a dash of elegance and allure to your appearance.

There is absolutely nothing wrong in carrying an oversized handbag even with traditional dresses, it can be combined with all class of dresses.

It all depends on the design/cut; nevertheless when it is worn with something trendy, the effect is certainly a lot classier as well as more sophisticated.

Women who are fashionable know that the oversized handbag is a must-have; you can't just afford not to have one in your wardrobe. They have great versatility and they are one fashion item that has remained constant. And they are likely to remain like that for ages to come.

•Elehor Aisien

•Solape Adegunwe

•Ezinne Alfa •Eku Edewor

•Leather Tote handbag

30

Glamour

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

Jazz up the slit N

10 things you don’t know limes could do!

By Olanike Akinrimisi

OT all slit dresses befit all occasions.

Mostly, they are worn to black tie events, dinner party, cocktail events and red carpet. When you have an outing outside your official duties, try putting on a slit dress to give you that glam look you have always wanted.

You can also add a conventional slit to a tight-fitting dress or turn a modest satin sheath into a sexy date night dress by adding a thighhigh slit along one or both side seams. Add a slit to a single dress for special occasions or give your entire dress wardrobe a sexy slit makeover.

For casual maxi slit dress, you can wear slippers and any other footwear for special occasions.

T

•Lilian Esoro

•Oreka Godis

•Aisha •Ojy Okpe

•Rita Dominic

By Adedayo Lawal

HERE are two common varieties of lime (Citrus aurantifolia): the sweet type and the sour kind. The latter alleviates all three humours vatha, pitta and kapha.

They help with hangovers. A helpful healing concoction to consume the morning after a heavy night of drinking consists of 2 teaspoons of lime juice and 2 pinches of sugar in a glass of water. She says the lime cleanses the liver while the sugar helps pick up glucose levels after their alcoholic drop.

They clean microwaves. Lime juice, about 3 tablespoons mixed with water and heated in the microwave until boiling point is extremely effective at cleaning. It gets splatters off the inside of the microwave as well as any store-bought household cleaning product!

They brighten skin. Adding lime juice to a body scrub (particularly if you are home-making it!) adds vitamin C in, which contains acids and salt that rid skin of dead cells in a rejuvenating way. Ideal for blemish-control: rub lime on your face and leave it for 15 minutes.

They help fight diseases.

Adding lime (or, presumably, lemon) juice to a cup of green tea aids the release and digestion of more of the tea's catechins, or antioxidants that have been shown to reduce the risks of cancer, heart disease, and stroke.

They help get rid of a sore throat. Mixing lime juice with a little bit of honey (best together in tea) is an effective way to soothe throat pains.

They help lessen the itchiness of mosquito bites. Rubbing lime on mosquito bites should aid in itch-relief. This trick should also work for stings from coral.

They soothe headaches .

Placing lime on your head should lessen the pain of an average headache. They have also been shown to reduce fever when applied this way.

They help to get rid of dandruff. Rubbing lime juice onto your scalp for 15-20 minutes and then rinsing it out should moisturise the skin and get rid of extra flakes, leaving you dandrufffree!

They lighten your hair. As with lemon juice, streaking some lime juice in your hair and spending some time in the sun should leave those streaked sections noticeably lighter than the rest of your hair.

Repeat more times for enhanced streak.

They get rid of kitchen odours.

Grind a lime into a sink garbage disposal for an overall fresher scent.

32

Glamour

Beyoncé

Knowles: The

Queen B

my husband. But it's just. . . .”

She pauses.

“Life is so much more than. . . It's not defined by any of this.”

This, of course, means the attention, the money, the fame, this spectacular backstage fruit at our fingertips.

It's worth remembering that she is entering the fourth decade of life, most of it spent in show business, and she's never had a wild period or selfdestructive lapsethat obligatory run of embarrassing headlines that seems like a pop star's due.

“She's wise beyond h e r y e a r s s o m etimes,” Rowland says. “I think that comes with her growing up in [her mother's] hair salon. I also grew up in the salon. . . . We'd listen to other people's conversations and learn a lot.”

Now there is balance, a blending of work and home life.

Beyoncé recorded much of her upcoming album (which she compares to a blend of her last album, 4, and 2008's I Am . . . Sasha Fierce) this past summer in New York's Hamptons, where collaborators included Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, and The-Dream, and the vibe was beachy and relaxed. “We had dinners with the producers every day, like a family,” she says. “It was like a camp. Weekends off. You could go and jump in the pool and ride bikes . . . the ocean and grass and sunshine. . . . It was really a safe place.”

She has found an equilibrium. Beyoncé's close friend Gwyneth Paltrow relates a story of going to visit her in the recording studio and encountering mother with daughter.

“Blue was sleeping in her arms, across her body, and B was listening back to what she had been working on,” Paltrow says. “I thought, This is how you do it. You do what you love with who you love included.”

There's one change in the musical life of Beyoncé, Paltrow notes. When Blue's in the studio, they turn down the volume.

A couple of weeks after the Super Bowl madness, Beyoncé will admit the publicor at least the HBObuying members of the publicinto her world in a manner she's never done before, through Life Is But a Dream. “My story has never been toldno one really knows who I am,” she says, a comment that may distress the authors of the nine unauthorized Beyoncé biographies I found for sale on Amazon.

Beyoncé, of course, lives her life before camerasnot just the unsolicited paparazzi ones, but her own videographers, who chronicle everything from mundane meetings with producers to family birthday parties. And so Life Is But a Dream unfurls less like a traditional documentary and more like a tastefully appointed home movie. There are monologues featuring Beyoncé in her bed, without makeup, talking into her laptop. There are glimpses of private helicopters, jets, a balcony suite at the Ritz Paris. There's cute footage of a bathing-suitclad Beyoncé frolicking with her husband

Chart-topper, glamour wife, style icon, filmmaker, new mom, business mogul Beyoncé is at the height of her powers and writing her own script. Interview

by Jason Gay. Excerpts:

I

N the past, Beyoncé has been guarded about details of her personal life, but motherhood appears to be a subject too powerful for her to completely hold in. It's impossible to say this without sounding like the host of a cheesy daytime TV show, but the joy just radiates from her. Her happiness is undeniable, and for a woman of discretion, she doesn't try to be discreet.

“I felt very maternal around eight months,” she remembers. “And I thought I couldn't become any more until I saw the baby. . . . But it happened during my labor because I had a very strong connection with my child. I felt like when I was having contractions, I envisioned my child pushing through a very heavy door. And I imagined this tiny infant doing all the work, so I couldn't think about my own pain. . . . We were talking. I know it sounds crazy, but I felt a communication.”

Beyoncé confesses that pregnancy scared her. She was accustomed to a finely tuned level of controlKelly Rowland, her longtime friend and Destiny's Child collaborator, describes her as a perfectionist who will stay up until 4:00 a.m. the night before a concert, attending to issues as minor as a costume button. (“Her hand's in everything,” Rowland says.) Now Beyoncé was about to embark on life's most unpredictable journey.

Babies do not care that Mom is playing the Super Bowl. Babies do not ask to go to the Grammys after-party.

At the hospital her fears vanished. “My family and my closest people were there when I gave birth,” she says. “Everything that scared me just was not present in that room. So for me to really let go and really appreciate every contraction . . . it was the best day of my life.”

Rowland says that Beyoncé has “always had that motherly instinct . . . ever since we were kids.” And there is a sense that with Blue, Beyoncé is slipping into a natural, comfortable role. Days are now oriented around her new family, and though it's hard to imagine the Beyoncé/Jay-Z household resembling the frantic home of exhausted first-time parentsthe crib-side renditions of “Itsy Bitsy Spider” must be amazing, howevershe says there's a clear focus. “I feel like I have something that has grounded me so much more,” she says.

“Family has always been important. I've always had my mother and my father and

aboard a yacht and at a dinner in Croatia, where the pair perform a duet of Coldplay's “Yellow.” While there is plenty of singing and dancing, Life Is But a Dream also visits moments of heartbreak. One story line that shapes the film is Beyoncé's difficult 2011 decision to split with her father, Mathew Knowles, as her business manager. At first she is desolate“My soul has been tarnished,” she declaresbut later, as she asserts her independence and confronts the petty squabbles of the business, she comes around to appreciating her father's hand. “My father taught me so much about being a businesswoman,” she says. “And I'm understanding him a lot now. . . . A lot of the crazy things he d i d w e r e n e c e s s a r y . ” Beyoncé says she found the filmmaking process therapeutic. “This movie has healed me in so many ways,” she says. “It makes me want to cry.

“I'm sorry,” she says, her eyes welling.

“I'm very passionate about it, and it just feels good.”

Life Is But a Dream also doubles as Beyoncé's mission statementa document of self-discovery that announces a superstar's worldview. Beyoncé speaks out about gender equity and unfairness“Equality is a myth, and for some reason everyone accepts the fact that women don't make as much money as men do”and offers assertive advice on the acquisition of power. (“Power's not given to you. You have to take it.”) And while there's unprecedented access that her fans will go cuckoo for (Blue's sonogram!), it's Beyoncé who is managing the access. Everything that's in there has her personal stamp of approval.

Life Is But a Dream does attempt to set portions of the Beyoncé record straight. At one point it addressesand debunksthe peculiar rumors that Beyoncé was faking her pregnancy and was instead secretly using a surrogate. Today, the gossip bewilders her more than it angers her. “That was very odd,” Beyoncé says now. “Who even thinks that? Like, who would make that up. . . . You can't take it too seriously.”

Beyoncé's mother, Tina Knowles, who calls the pregnancy rumors “the most ridiculous thing in the world,” admits she has a harder time letting gossip slide. “It's tough as a mother because people say all this crazy stuff . . . and I want to say, 'You should tell them' sometimes. She'll say, 'Mom, I don't owe them that. Let them say what they want to say.' ” “I have to calm her down,” Beyoncé says of her mother.

But even the sharply disciplined Beyoncé machine cannot always foresee controversy; recently, when she signed a deal with Super Bowl sponsor Pepsi, she was criticized by health advocates for endorsing soda, given the problem of child obesity. Such blowback is rare.

Beyoncé Inc. is typically an unrushed, stable place. She doesn't overshare. Beyoncé has nearly seven million T w i t t e r followersand as

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013 of mid-January, four tweets.

Here she credits her husband, another entrepreneurial superstar who has proved to be disciplined at navigating celebrity. “Just knowing someone's always going to be honest and tell the truth,” she says of Jay-Z, “[who] can understand exactly what I'm going throughand I can understand exactly what he's going through.”

They have figured something out. If you spend time in New York, there's a chance you will encounter Mr. and Mrs. Carter. There they are, courtside at the new billion-dollar home of the Brooklyn Nets, in which Jay-Z is a stakeholder. There they are shopping for last-minute Christmas gifts at Bergdorf Goodman. There they are in my Brooklyn neighborhood, dining à deux at a tiny, bringyour-own-wine pizzeria, doting on the baby of a young couple sitting nearby. It is a rare accomplishment: a private life successfully lived in public. (When the couple headlined a fund-raiser for Barack Obama during the 2012 campaign, the president cracked that his life was similar to Jay-Z's: “We both have daughters, and our wives are more popular than we are.”)

But Beyoncé cannot insulate herself from every crazy and idle rumor. When she encounters a story about herself on the Internet, she reads only the story. She stops there. She doesn't let herself scroll down into the comments sections, which have a tendency to become cruel, ad hominem freefor-alls.

“Don't scroll down!” Beyoncé advises, laughing. “You're definitely going to get your feelings hurt.”

She will tour, later in the year. She will be cautious with her performing schedule, making sure to take time off with Blue to go to museums and restaurants and “expose my family to beautiful things.” But she is excited to get back onstage. She cannot wait.

“When she is working onstage, she has more power than any woman I've ever seen,” says Paltrow. “She would never say it and has never said it, but I feel she knows with every fiber of her being that she is the best in the world at her job.”

There's still an obsessiveness about detail in Beyoncé's artistic life. In her studio are elaborate “vision boards” to stimulate her creative processphotographs, writings, reminders of past achievements. There's the cover of her 2003 album Dangerously in Love.

There are photos of her Grammy performances with Prince and Tina Turner. Song concepts. Potential titles. “There's so much stuff up there,” she says. “It kind of feels right now like A Beautiful Mind.”

Beyoncé says her new music “is a lot more sensual . . . empowering.” It celebrates being a wife and a mother, reflecting the obvious changes in her life. “Right now, after giving birth, I really understand the power of my body,” she says. “I just feel my body means something completely different. I feel a lot more confident about it. Even being heavier, thinner, whatever. I feel a lot more like a woman. More feminine, more sensual. And no shame.”

Beyoncé refers to the sacrifices she made when she was young, the thousands upon thousands of hours of spent practicing and performing and accruing success and goodwill. She believes she has earned some latitude, the ability to occasionally step away and let go. “I don't feel like I have to please anyone,” she says. “I feel free. I feel like I'm an adult. I'm grown. I can do what I want. I can say what I want. I can retire if I want. That's why I've worked hard.”

She's not retiring anytime soon, but you get the point. In the life of Beyoncé Knowles, there is a new freedom. There is happiness.

And not far from where we sit, beyond this door that opens up onto this wildly desirable and famous life, there is a baby stroller. There is Blue, and a big, boundless future ahead.

OK, there is That Beauty and That Voice (“An incredible voice,” says her friend Alicia Keys) and Beyoncé's place in pop music, which is now more adult and tenured than trendy“She's the queen,” says master music producer Timbaland. But she also knows how to deliver. When a camera on rails swoops in, she executes one of those dramatic hair flips that look deranged when attempted by ordinary civilians but amazing when she does them. Nava calls, “Cut,” and Beyoncé smiles and then tosses her hair around like a metalheadneck down, hands raised in devilhorn salutes, as if she's standing front row at Iron Maiden. The crew cracks up. There's your hair anarchy.

Courtesy: Vogue

t

THEATRE

BIGSCREEN

With VICTOR AKANDE

Tel: 08051101822

SOUND TRACK

GISTS

PAGE

33

plus

E-mail: victor_akande@yahoo.com

Why I left Chocolate City —Jesse Jagz T

By Ahmed Boulor

HE fact that he feels his music career has not been given the needed attention has led to the surprising exit of Chocolate City's rapper, Jesse Jagz.

The talented rapper released a statement days ago, stating he has left his erstwhile record label.

There have been reports of the rapper having issues with his label but no one expected him to go public about his intention to quit Chocolate City. His move which caught everyone at the label off guard, including his brother, MI (Vice President Chocolate City), has left so many fans reeling on the shocking exit of the rapper.

The rappers press statement reads thus; To whom it may concern: I, Jesse Garba Abaga (also known as Jesse Jagz), an artiste formerly signed to Chocolate City Music label, hereby wish to notify my fans and the general public about my voluntary exit from the label.

After my initial two years' contractual agreement with Chocolate City, I do not wish to renew my contract with them and as such have proceeded to continue my music career with my new team at Jesse Jagz Nation.

I still maintain a cordial relationship with the management of Chocolate City and my former label mates and I wish them the best in all their future endeavours. Any further information will be passed across through my publicist, but until then, have a good day. Look out for my sophomore album JagZNation Vol. 1 coming out in July. It is all for the best, Jesse Jagz.

Efezino exits ‘Nigerian Idol’

A

KPO Majiri, aka Efezino, lost his dream of emerging the third winner of the Etisalatsponsored Nigerian Idol TV music reality show with a nottoo-impressive performance last week which saw her receive the least number of votes cast by the public. With her exit, the stage is set for the last five contestants standing to slug it out for the ultimate prize.

Speaking on the eviction, Head, Events & Sponsorship, Etisalat Nigeria, Modupe Thani, observed that though Efezino was among the best contestants, the decision on who stays or leaves the •Jesse Jagz show was up to the audience and viewers at home. “The result today shows that contestants need to put in more effort and creativity in their performances to show that they have what it takes is left of our culture. Nigeria to become the next Nigerian Idol,” Thani said. should not go the way of UK, we Host of the show, Ill Rymz, tried to creatively are people of culture. I want our diffuse the tension that seemed to be gripping the legislators to stick to their guns and audience, contestants and judges by asking the not legalise what will be eroding judges to predict who might leave the show. our culture and make us a godless Interestingly, the three judges of the Nigerian Idol; people.'

Femi Kuti, Jeffery Daniels and Yinka Davies He also spoke about family, guessed that given Efezino's performance last acting and the lingering AGN week, she wasn't likely to win the public's vote. crisis. Actors Chidi Mokeme and The judges guess turned out right, making it Yomi Fash-Lanso were at the event impossible for them to veto the votes and save the to support one of their own. medical student with their collective lifeline. Kuti Vchannel's 'Celebrity Night Out' spoke the panel's mind when he referred to holds every other Friday with a Efezino as the weakest of the last six contestants.

Emeka Ike takes stand on gay marriage

F

I

•Emeka Ike

NTERNATIONAL actress, broadcaster and social commentator, Taiwo Ajai-Lycett, OON, was honoured at the Pencils Film and Television Institute (PEFTI) during its recent “Back in the Dayz” stage presentation which sought to evoke a feeling of nostalgia and demonstrate the creativity of its students.

According to Biola Adenuga, Managing Director of PEFTI, “Taiwo Ajai-Lycett has made immense contributions to TV and stage productions, education, journalism and several other areas, and for that, we are delighted to present her with the Award for Recognition of Excellence in Arts and Entertainment in order to show our acknowledgement of the

IERY Nollywood actor, Emeka Ike, who is on self-imposed sabbatical from the industry, recently took a stand against legalising gay marriage in the country at Vchannel Celebrity Night Out at Troy Lounge in Lagos.

Emeka, while fielding questions from Vchannel presenters, said Nigeria should not follow the footsteps of United Kingdom (UK) that legalised same-sex marriage recently. 'Knowing our penchant for 'copying' others I want to plead with Nigerians not to encourage same-sex marriage. I don't hate gays but I don't support gay marriage either. God does not want it, our culture forbids it. We should not encourage what is not right.

This is about defending whatever

PEFTI films honours Taiwo Ajai-Lycett good job she has been doing since the 1960s.”

PEFTI Film Institute was established in 2004 by Wale Adenuga MFR who is well known as the creator and producer of award-winning TV programmes Superstory, ThisLife, Papa Ajasco & Co. and Nena & Friends; as well as being the chairman of the family entertainment channel WAPTV on StarTimes Channel 222.

major celebrity as guest. He will be put on the hot seat to answer questions from presenters of the cable channel and audience. He will then club till late night with friends and fans at the popular mainland hangout, Troy.

Jahbless gets second child

J

AHBLESS, a former label mate with 9ice before both artistes parted ways with the ID Cabasa-led label known as Coded Tunes, now has a second child by his US-based girlfriend.

His America-based medical doctor girlfriend, Bimbo Kinoshi, has given birth to their second child. In 2011, both lovers welcomed their first child, a boy, also in the US. Jahbless started out as a back-up singer for 9ice before he went on to release a couple of hit singles which shot him into the limelight. His latest single titled Go Down which is off his third album was produced by SARZ. •Jahbless

34

Entertainment

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

t s e t a e r g e Th s a h e f i l n o s les taught me —Uru Eke e Born in East London in th United Kingdom, talented st actress Uru Eke got her fir movie break in 2005 when she featured in the movie Ebony directed by Obi Emelonye. The beautiful actress left the scene for a while to pursue other to passions but she returned d the movie scene in 2011 an ed ever since she has not look back. Uru revealed more in about her sojourn thus far the world of make-belief s among other sundry issue in this interview with AHMED BOULOR.

I

S it true that you decided to take to acting after featuring in a documentary about Nollywood on CNN's Inside Africa?

That's far from the truth. I featured in my first Nollywood film in 2005 and that was in London. The film was entitled Ebony and it was directed by Obi Emelonye. Ever since then, I've been in and out of Nollywood until I returned fully to the scene in 2011.

How did you get the role for that your first movie?

I was invited to audition for the movie; the

invite was handed over by Obi Emelonye who is a friend of mine. On the day of the audition, I left before it was my turn and I didn't get the chance that day. Fortunately for me, he held another audition which I attended and I was lucky enough to clinch a role.

What was your first time on set like; were you nervous?

I wasn't nervous at all; it was more of excitement and the thrill of being on my first movie set.

What is the first thing you do when you

get a movie script?

I read the script at least twice and maybe a third time, when I'm comfortable with what the character requires of me, I may watch a film that I feel I can draw some inspiration from. I do that in order for me to be able to effectively interprete my role.

Why did you leave your job as an IT consultant at Zurich Financial for a career as an actress?

I wanted to live my dream; you know the saying, “if you do a job you love, you'll never work another day in your life”, so right now I'm not working, I'm basically cruising through life doing something I passionately love.

What actually informed your decision to go into full-time acting?

It's been a life-long dream of mine to be an actress, ever since I can remember. So it was only a natural progression that at some point in my life I follow that path.

Did you make any kind of research on Nollywood before you ventured into the industry, considering the fact that you spent most of your early years in the UK? Most definitely I did; I read about the industry, the people who started it, various marketers, producers and the films they had done.

How would you describe your career at the moment?

It's been great; I've worked on some great projects which will be coming out very soon.

I'm also working with a fabulous publicist and I am meeting amazing people as I grow. I thank God for everything because when I decided to go into acting full-time, I wasn't sure what to expect but it's been all good and the prospects are enticing.

You've also featured in movies such as

Forgive Me Father, Friends in Love, Timeless Passion, Widow's Men and a host of other movies. Which of them was the most challenging?

The most challenging I've done so far is titled In Between Lines; it's not on the list you mentioned. It required depth which for me was refreshing and the director pushed me to dig deep within me to pull off the character.

What strategy have you put in place to ensure you make your mark on the movie scene, considering the fact that there are a host of other talents out there?

I'm focusing on always improving my acting skills and I try to be as natural as possible. I don't focus on my competitors; in fact, I love competition. I think it keeps you aware that you have to be a step ahead and always give your best shot.

How were you able to convince your mum who was not really in support of your intention to become an actress?

I didn't do much convincing. I think once she had seen the work I had done, it simply won her over. She is my number one fan now.

Could you recall your early years in the UK? I only just moved back to Nigeria in 2011, so it's all very fresh…

What future do you see for yourself in the coming years?

I see a brighter future for my career; I want to be at the top of the league as an actress and producer locally and internationally.

So you are looking at producing your own films in the future?

Yes, I am working on it and the scripts are nearly 100% ready now. I have two movies I want to produce at the moment and just thinking about them puts a smile on my face.

Expect something exciting from me soon.

Are you a stereotyped actress?

I don't think I am a stereotyped actress; I can give whatever interpretation is needed of a character.

What kind of roles have you been presented with as an actress?

So far, I've played a widow, a spoilt 18-yearold brat, a super-rich movie star, a moneygrabbing model and a husband snatcher.

What's your fashion signature?

I don't really have a fashion signature. My dress pattern is mainly determined by how I feel and what hairstyle I have on at any given time.

What is the greatest lesson that life has taught you?

Life has taught me to be patient. I'm one of the most impatient

Life has taught me to be patient. I'm one of the most impatient people I know, but I think with age and maturity, I have come to realise that things won't come as and when you want them

Entertainment

He's a man's man I think. From what I've seen of him on screen, I want to believe he knows how to look after his woman.

Who knows, I might be wrong but it is Leonardo for me any day

people I know, but I think with age and maturity, I have come to realise that things won't come as and when you want them. So you have to exercise lots of patience for the Lord's timing and when it does happen, you'll appreciate it a lot more.

How ready are you for the scandals and many controversies that come with the job?

(Laughs) I won't say I'm exactly ready for them but I sure am very conscious that some element of controversy comes with this business. I'm a big girl, so I'm sure I can handle whatever controversy that comes my way with God's grace How do you handle advances from fans and admirers?

I can assure you I have come across a lot of them. It has been great; the fans and admirers that I've come across have been very pleasant and lovely. In return, I give back exactly the same attitude because one good turn deserves another.

What kind of man will make you go weak in the knees?

(Laughs) That should be Leonardo Di Caprio, He's a man's man I think. From what I've seen of him on screen, I want to believe he knows how to look after his woman. Who knows, I might be wrong but it is Leonardo for me any day.

Are you thinking of getting married anytime soon?

I would say yes; marriage is in my consciousn ess, so watch this space.

Someth ing may

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Calabar Jazz festival debuts

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ASHING in on the success of the jazz concerts held during the annual Calabar Festival and the demand from the more discerning consumers for a jazz event, Cross River State is set to host yet another musical treat, the Calabar International Jazz Festival, slated for the Easter weekend.

Also designed to provide the ideal Easter weekend getaway, the 3-day event is expected to be a permanent feature in the state's social calendar. Connoisseurs of smooth jazz, funky R 'n' B and sweet soul music can look forward to three nights of fabulous headline performances by D'Angelo and Eric Benet (US), Jonathan Butler (SA) and local superstars, Asa, Darey, Bez and Burna Boy. Speaking on behalf of media partners, MTV Base Alex Okosi, Senior VP and Managing Director, Viacom International Media Networks Africa, said that the Calabar International Jazz Festival has brought together an awesome lineup of stars for its inaugural outing. “We look forward to partnering with the festival to spread the word about this exciting music event on MTV Base,” he said. Other broadcast partners include EbonyLife TV, Classic FM 97.3, Beat FM 99.9, Naija FM 102.7 and Smooth FM 98.1.

The confirmed lineup of artistes for the Calabar International Jazz Festival shows that for March 29, D'Angelo, Asa, Darey and Bez will be entertaining guests. March 30 has Eric Benet, Jonathan Butler and Burna Boy on the bill while Darey, Bez and Burna Boy are on board for March 31. All events kick off at 7pm.

Funky Mallam, Leelee Byoma turn talk show hosts

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S you read this, Funky Mallam and raising northern actress, LeeLee Byoma, are on set shooting a new hausa talk show Fuskar Jarumai - in the city of Lagos.

Fuskar Jarumai, which means face of stars in English, is aimed at celebrating successful Nigerians in showbiz and other fields of life with Hausa as the main language of broadcast.

A peep into the production script of the programme shows personality interviews that highlight the guests' sacrifices and hard work put into their journey to success and fame, as well as entertainment news as the core content of the show.

A brief chart with Leelee Byoma reveals that she is part of the project because she believes it is a show that will foster unity among Nigerians.

“For me, Fuskar Jarumai brings a message of peace and unity. I am not Hausa. I'm from Kagoma in Kaduna State but I'll gladly put on Hausa attire and present a show in Hausa to show that I am comfortable in the midst of any ethnic group or culture. We have celebrities who are Yoruba, Igbo, Tiv, etc but they come on the show and speak the language to show that they also identify with the Hausas. It gives me a feeling of togetherness; that's how Nigeria as a whole should be, and that was one of the motivating factors for me when I agreed to be a part of this show, “she submitted.

THE NATION SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

LOVE IN THE AIR Venus can't keep hands off model boyfriend

COL. SAM AHMEDU’S OPEN CONFESSION

Basketball saved me from being an Area Boy Super Eagles newest invitee, Babatunde Michael declares

I'm living the

DREAM of my

LIFE

PAGE 35

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NATION SPORT & STYLE SUNDAY, March 24, 2013

NATION SPORT & STYLE

By Morakinyo Abodunrin

LOVE IN THE AIR Venus can't keep hands off model boyfriend

I

F anyone knows the importance of keeping her mind on the game, it's Venus Williams. But the tennis superstar seemed somewhat distracted by the presence of her boyfriend Elio Pis as he joined her on court in Miami, where Venus and her sister Serena are competing in the 2013 Sony Open.

Stopping to embrace the handsome hunk, Venus looked like tennis was the last thing on her mind.

The Olympic gold medalist was dressed casually for tennis practice in turquoise knee-length leggings and a white V-neck T-shirt.

Her only jewellery was one gold necklace.

Elio was dressed in blue jeans and a white polo shirt to visit his lady on court, and he took off his brightly coloured red and yellow sunglasses to kiss his girlfriend.

The champion sportswoman's father Richard Williams also popped along to support Venus with his 33 year old wife Lakeisha and their seven-month old son Dylan Starr Richard Williams.

Venus has been dating the 24-year-old model since last year.

Elio shares his lady's passion for fashion, and has been featured in French Vogue with Brooke Shields and has modeled for Russell Simmons's clothing line.

The model has also worked with Venus on her athletic line, EleVen, and the pair recently posed together for her website, showing off her ready-to-wear tennis apparel.

The 24-year-old Brazilian accompanied his new girlfriend when she made her return to tennis last year at the New York Grand Slam tournament.

She was previously out of the circuit after battling Sjögren's Syndrome, a systemic autoimmune disease in which immune cells attack and destroy the exocrine glands that produce tears and saliva.

According to his Facebook page, Elio is a huge fan of tennis, but this isn't the only thing the couple have in common.

Being a model, he also shares a passion for fashion and has even modelled some of Venus's designs from her sportswear line EleVen, appearing on her website alongside her.

The 6'1 hunk has also been featured in French Vogue with Brooke Shields and has modeled for Russell Simmons's clothing line.

Sex problems unite Tiger Woods with Lindsey Vonn

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IGER Woods and Lindsey Vonn confirmed that they are dating. But the couple revealed that they were pals for a long time before their friendship turned into a relationship.

And three years before their romance began; Lindsey was quoted as mocking her now-boyfriend in a newly unearthed article. The Olympic skiing gold medallist poked fun at the disgraced golfing pro in an article published by Time.com back in February 2010.

The story describes how Lindsey, surrounded by her entourage at the Olympics, was told of the hugs Tiger got from supporters after releasing a statement following his cheating scandal.

'They're like, “Yeah, you're awesome, you go have that sex,”' the athlete is quoted as saying a comment which was reportedly met by raucous laughter by those surrounding her.

The blonde then described a sketch she would perform if she ever had the opportunity to host Saturday Night Live.

The 28-year-old pictured herself stood at a podium and imagined she was reading from a script in a pretend solemn voice.

'There's something you don't know about me,' Lindsey said, according to the publication. 'Tiger, you're like my idol, and I too have a sex problem.'

Lindsey is Tiger's first serious relationship since his ex-wife Elin Nordegren left him after several women came out of the woodwork to reveal their affairs with the sports star.

And the new couple decided to use Facebook to officially confirm their relationship status complete with some sickeningly sweet photographs of the pair looking loved up.

In his posting, Tiger, 37, said he was pleased with his two recent comeback wins on the US golf tour.

'Something nice that's happened off the course was meeting Lindsey Vonn,' the famously private star added.

'Lindsey and I have been friends for some time, but over the last few months we have become very close and are now dating. We thank you for your support and for respecting our privacy.

'We want to continue our relationship, privately, as an ordinary couple and continue to compete as athletes.'

Speculation that the relationship was serious grew after Tiger sent his private jet to collect Lindsey after she was injured in a horrific crash on February 5 during the Alpine Ski World Championships in Austria.

Lindsey, still recuperating from her injuries, acknowledged on her Facebook page: 'I guess it wasn't a well-kept secret but yes, I am dating Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods with Vonn

H

e dines with the shakers and movers of the society- hobnobbing with sheiks of the Arabian sporting clubs and presidents of top European clubs. But if not for his abiding love for basketball, Col. Sam Ahmedu (retd) would have been one of the wretched members of the Nigerian society.

He grew up as a teenager in the once-notorious Obalende district in Lagos with the attendant weird lifestyle of smoking and drinking but it was Ahmedu's love for sport that kept him on the straight and narrow path.

Ahmedu today is a man of many parts. In an exclusive interview with The Nation Sport & Style, he spoke glowingly about his task as the Director, Aspire Football Dreams in Nigeria. The Aspire Football Dream is a unique and fascinating humanitarian football project conceived at the premium Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence in the oil-rich gulf city of Doha, Qatar. Here, Ahmedu opened up on how basketball saved him from being one of the infamous Area Boys of Lagos. Ahmedu is undoubtedly a living testimony to the Aspire's mantra 'Aspire Today Inspire Tomorrow' as he spoke candidly on how he used the platform of sport to achieve great things.

“Basketball made me what I'm today,” Ahmedu, who voluntarily retired from the Army and passed off a rare opportunity of becoming a General, said as confidently as Hercules. “I owe a lot to basketball and if not for the love I have for the game, I would have been an Area Boy.” In downtown Lagos, Area boys are also known as Agberos- the loosely organised gangs of street children and teenagers, who roam the streets to extort money from passers-by, sell illegal drugs, act as informal security guards, and perform other "odd jobs" in return for compensation.

This is the shameful setting that the then teenage Ahmedu developed in, but with his eyes focussed on the big prize, he crossed the Rubicon.

“I grew up in Obalende in Lagos when it was notorious for all kinds of nefarious activities,” he revealed. “That was a period after the civil war and Obalende was the melting point of the good and the ugly.

“Drug usage particularly Indian hemp was prevalent and a lot of my friends were into it. But my love for basketball did not allow me to touch those things. While they were addicted to drugs, I was addicted to basketball because I was the caretaker of the court at the Dodan Barracks. I was so engrossed with basketball and, of course, other sports. “ I was also a caddie at the golf course; I was also a ball boy at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club in Onikan; you would also find me at the swimming pool and always at the then-Onikan Stadium to watch domestic football; so I had no time except for sport.

“Though I was a very stubborn kid, sport kept me focussed and I did not get trapped in the usage of drug. Sport occupied me and that is one of the reasons I set up a basketball academy today in Lagos.

“The academy is my own little way of giving back to the society and an opportunity to show the kids the right way to go to become something in life,” he said.

Ahmedu's effort in this direction has paid off.

Over 120 players have graduated from his basketball academy with some already earning their living working in several spheres of human endeavour.

Said he: “I'm so proud about what we have achieved so far with the academy. Some are abroad now particularly in the USA going to school and playing basketball. Some are in Nigeria and some have already graduated from tertiary institutions and working.

“We have some who are in the NBA with the likes of Olumide Ayodeji, Chukwudiebere Maduabum and the rest. I'm proud that my academy produced the only Nigerian to have won the NCA Ring in America. This was a player that played for the Warriors Academy before playing for Dodan Warriors and went to the NBA. “My passion for basketball is timeless and that is why I'm still funding the academy as well as the Dodan Warriors. I used to have a women's basketball team, The Amazons, but I gave it up to Deepwater because I couldn't cope with the logistical demands of running three clubs.

“Basketball has been good to me and I'm not going to abandon it now. Through basketball, I have worked for Nike, consulted for Dallas Memphis; I'm still being consulted by the NBA. Basketball is a passion for me and I'm into football now because an opportunity came,” he said.

Though his romance with football is not highflying as basketball, Ahmedu mirrors the eternal saying of American Steel magnate Charles M. Schwab that 'A person can succeed at almost anything for which they have unlimited enthusiasm.'

Hear Ahmedu: “I didn't apply for a job at Aspire.

They were actually looking for someone with integrity who had been working with the youths irrespective of his background and that was how I came into the picture.

“Of course, I was interviewed based on football

COL. SAM AHMEDU OPEN’S CONFESSION

Basketball saved me from being an Area Boy and they were actually shocked with my deep knowledge of the game. I was even asked: 'Why do you say you're a basketball man?'

“The truth is that I have been a fan of Arsenal since 1971 long before Nwankwo Kanu played for the Gunners. I've been a fan of the London club since the time of Alan Ball and Liam Brady.

“I read a lot of Match and the Roy of the Rovers magazines when I was young, and what actually attracted me to Arsenal as a youngster was the artillery gun on their crest because I grew up in the barracks.

“That was the period English football enjoyed a boom as a result of winning the World Cup in 1966.

Chelsea had players like Alan Clarke, Peter Osgood, and Osvaldo Ardiles who later played for Spurs, so I've long been a follower of football both on the international as well as on the local stage.

“I followed Segun Odegbami when he was at St. Murumba College in Jos and I watched all the WNDC (Shooting Stars) matches in the 1970s when they won the FA Cup in Lagos when Amusa Shittu stopped penalties. I watched Joe Erico at PT and ECN, and I used to wonder why someone who is not physically endowed could be that good in the art of goalkeeping. Today, Ericos work with me as part of the Aspire staff in Nigeria.

“As a teenager, I played football on the streets with people like Shakiru Afini and Emeka (the popular Area Boy at the National Stadium in Lagos); we all played in Obalende. I was a rightfooted player but I soon discovered that left-footed players always find their way into any team because they were few. I too shifted to the left back but eventually gave up playing after I had an injury.

Though I played for my house team at the military school, basketball was my number one.

“I'm a full-fledged fan of the Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa. In Italy, I support AC Milan and I'm proud to say that the current president of FC Barcelona, Sandro Rosell, is a close friend of mine. I was part of the group that worked for his election.

The fact that I don't make noise about my involvement with football doesn't make me lesser.

I'm well respected at Aspire because my style is to

My passion for basketball is timeless and that is why I'm still funding the academy as well as the Dodan Warriors. I used to have a women's basketball team, The Amazons, but I gave it up to Deepwater because I couldn't cope with the logistical demands of running three clubs

get the right people to work with me. Despite my deep knowledge, I made sure I hired the real football people to work at Aspire in Nigeria.

“Through my involvement with the Aspire Football Dreams, I have been able to help my country too.

“In 2009, the Under-17 and Under-20 team came on a training tour of the Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence which is not a mean feat. You can see the number of teams camping here, we are indeed lucky to be availed the opportunity of using this impressive facility.

“Football is a game dear to my heart and so also other sports like tennis, golf, baseball, rugby. Frankly, I'm a restless person and I can't stay in one place,” he explained.

But 'restless' Ahmedu, as a matter of fact, has remained as constant as the northern star on the home front. His marriage to his beautiful wife spanning a period of almost three decades has produced three boys who are currently schooling in the USA. “Interestingly, I didn't meet my wife through sport,” he

Ahmedu with wife confessed. “We actually met when I was sent to the Military Police College in Zaria on a course after my graduation from Ahmadu Bello University.

“It was a friend who knew her family that actually introduced me to my wife and we took it up from there to the next level.

“We got married in 1986 and we have three boys. One is reading Petroleum Engineering, another is reading Business Administration while the third born is reading Computer Engineering. My wish was to see them play in the NBA because they can play basketball very well.

“But they are no longer interested as such. I also used sport as a means to an end but I'm happy that my children are doing well academically,” revealed the proprietor of the famous Dodan Warriors Basketball team of Lagos.

WATCH OUT: REAL REASONS WHY COL. SAM AHMEDU DUMPED THE NIGERIAN ARMY

SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

PAGE 38

Super Eagles newest invitee, Babatunde Michael declares

I'm living the

DREAM of my

LIFE S

URPRISE invitee to the Super Eagles, Babatunde Michael, from Ukrainian side, Kryvbas has told The Nation Sport & Style that he's living his dream after he was invited to the Super Eagles team that tackled Kenya (yesterday) in a World Cup qualifier and believes his recent good club form is finally paying off.

The 20-year-old had been playing in Ukraine for the past three seasons and has played seven times this season with no goals yet, but attracts lot of crowd in terms of his dazzling style like Barcelona super star Lionel Messi.

Michael was a part of the Dream Team V coached by Austin Eguavoen and he was drafted in to replace injured Nnamdi Oduamadi during the 2012 Olympic qualifier against Tanzania.

The former Heartland FC star has been tipped for success by former Super Eagles' assistant coach, Simon Kalika, who predicted a bright future for the left winger ahead of the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt. Babatunde Michael speaks on his humble beginning and more. Excerpts: His humble beginning I started my career like every other great player in the world; started playing in the street games, set games to amateur competitions within and outside the states.

And as a matter of fact, I started it as a big dream to pursue because I have vowed to make it real. Gone are the days when most people thought it was only unserious persons that played football. My beginning was not easy like that, it's just that I was determined to become a great player, which am still dreaming of till today. I am not there yet; I must be very sincere with myself. I still have a lot of things to do before I get there but my journey to this level is by the grace of God and a dream I'm living.

Parental support Unlike many parents who discourage their sons from playing football, it was an easy ride for me from my parents. They have been the source of my motivation because of their support from the beginning. Though parents want their children to be educated to a certain extent because of the thinking then that it was only a banker that can be rich, but today things have changed a lot. Players are far richer than bankers and politicians if you will agree with me.

My parents bought me boots and other materials. I can't count the number of times my dad and mum have supported me with transport fee to training and other places where matches took place then. They contributed immensely to my career, even up till today, and I must give kudos to them.

Pains of World Youth Championship (WYC) snub No, I don't have any pains. I always believe in God's time. I was down because I could not make the final trip but my agent advised me to keep focussed and never look at the snub because there is always a reason for such things. I never regretted missing the tournament because I still came back to represent the U-23 team during the Olympic qualifiers. Sometimes, you don't need to be down because of a snub. I don't think that tournament was for me, if not, Siasia could have included me in the squad;

Michael with Stephen Keshi

By Taiwo Alimi player of his calibre.

Loving life in Kryvbas I am enjoying my life in Kryvbas; they are fulfilling their promise of first team shirt according to my contract.

And I have proved my potentials to them on several occasions, particularly in big matches. I have created my own world in the country and I am growing with the club.

Why Kryvbas dangled ÂŁ1m price tag I think it is a strategy to keep away suitors. There are clubs who came during the January transfer window. I won't mention the clubs, but they were from Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and Germany, but my club insisted on the price tag. Though there was a certain club that came just before the deadline and it was ready to make it real, my club refused, declaring to me that I am their big asset and they won't allow me to go cheap because they don't want to regret my sale and that is why I am there till now.

My agent, a messiah My agent's name is Makanjuola Nureni, proprietor, Water Football Club, Abuja where l started as academy player. He has been like a father to me. He has been a messiah in my career so far and I will forever be grateful to him. He has warned me to keep my head straight and be prayerful.

Keshi's call, a big surprise I don't know what to say about the invitation; it is still amazing that I will be one of the youngest stars in the camp. I did not know he has been watching my games. In the camp, he kept telling me to be calm and prove myself and that he knows what I can do. There is no amount of words that is enough for thanking him. He's really making my family proud now and I wish to give all and never to disappoint his trust in me.

Super Eagles dream I am here to learn from the coaching crew and my senior colleagues. I am happy with the atmosphere in the team, we are one house and I wish to be part of the next success of the country. I hope to put in my best whenever I am called to justify my next call up and I promise to be a patriotic player like the great Austin Okocha and Kanu Nwankwo. I believe my performance in the qualifiers will help me to dream of a World Cup when we must have qualified.

Lifestyle I am still keeping my head because my career is my first priority. I don't club nor drink alcohol because I am a devoted Christian who believe so much on God's time. What I cherish most about myself is my black skin; I am always proud of it because I eat beans a lot. Yes, that is my favourite Michael (r) against food, rice and beans, but I can eat Shakhtar beans thrice a day.

Donetsk player His stylish look People call me black and shine while some call me African Messi because of my skin. I like to dress simple and protect my father's name.

but I have no grudges against Siasia for that because I can still play for him in the future. He is a coach I respect a lot and I believe we can work for greater success in the future. He knows my talent, he knows what I can do but he has a better option; that is why I think he took the decision.

Barcelona trials It was a promising deal but it was hinged on playing at the 2009 WYC. Unfortunately l did not make the WYC; everything went off. But my agent has been working hard for me to land a more lucrative deal in Europe. Before I moved to Kryvbas, I had offers from clubs in Turkey and France. Lyon came for me but I was not guaranteed first team shirt; that was why my agent who acts like my father refused to honour the deal. But Kryvbas came and assured me and my agent a good deal with first team shirt and that was how I landed in Europe.

Disappointment I have a philosophy; whatever that is mine will surely come to me. What l just believe is that God is at work for me. I am not disappointed; though playing for Barcelona could have boosted my career more than this because they are the best club in the world at the moment. And I could have learnt more from the likes of Lionel Messi and other great players in the squad. In spite of that, I thank God for what I have learnt over the years in Kryvbas. My aim now is to keep working hard and let Barcelona regret not signing me then.

That is my focus.

Comparison with Lionel Messi I am flattered by the comparison. Messi started like me and without great coaching and learning, Messi would not have become what he is today. And that is why I have also taken my time to learn so as to become a

Entertainment

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

41

NEXIM Bank moves to synergise creative industry

W

ITH a mandate to promote the diversification of the Nigerian economy and develop the external sector through the provision of services in support of non-oil exports, which includes the creative industry, the Nigerian Export and Import Bank (NEXIM) is not resting on its oars in pooling resources to better the lot of the creative industry and its practitioners, its Managing Director, Roberts Orya, has said.

Partnering with filmmaker Tony Abulu for the movie Dr. Bello, in the recent past, Orya said that funding the industry represents a significant commitment by the federal government to the creative segment of the economy.

According to Orya then, the Nigerian Creative and Entertainment Industry Stimulation Loan Scheme is intended to address issues regarding the institution of credible structures, attract investment in the development of content and infrastructure in the media and entertainment sector as well as improvement in production standards, distribution, marketing and exhibition standards. He was speaking in terms of the federal government's directive making USD200M available to the creative industry.

Cashing in on the success of the partnership with the filmmaker, NEXIM went ahead to work with the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) in a cosponsoring arrangement at the 65th edition of Cannes International Film Festival, held in Cannes, France last year.

NEXIM team, as revealed by Orya, was at the festival to seek cofinancing/co-production opportunities in support of the Nigerian motion picture industry. At a special session held on Wednesday May 23rd 2012, in conjunction with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the NFC, the bank enjoined exhibitors to explore areas of synergies between producers and film makers. It was also an avenue to showcase the abundant opportunities in the Nigerian movie industry.

According to Orya, the Nigerian Creative and Entertainment Industry Stimulation Loan Scheme is intended to address issues regarding the institution of credible structures, attract investment in the development of content and infrastructure in the media and entertainment sector as well as improvement in production standards, distribution, marketing and exhibition standards.

True to his words, Wednesday, March 20, Orya, speaking as guest lecturer at the Pan-African University, Lagos, declared that the creative and entertainment industry is a key driver of global growth and can contribute to sustainable global economic recovery.

•L-R, Mr. Roberts Orya (MD, NEXIM Bank), receiving the Distinguished Lecturer Plaque from Prof. Emevwo A. Biakolo(Dean, SMC, Pan-African University), andMr. Peter Bamkole, (Director, EDC, Pan-African University)

During the recession, he said, the and the N3billion grant recently creative economy continued to thrive as announced. people continued to go to the cinemas and museums, listen to music, watch Notwithstanding all these, Orya videos and TV shows and played video pointed out, the industry still faces games. challenges that are militating against the full realisation of its potentials. These Citing the Nollywod experience, Orya include very low production for declared that the Nigerian film industry theatrical releases and cross-border cohas literally upstaged the global movie production arrangements; and world through its innovation, inadequate exhibition/theatrical imaginativeness, and prolific infrastructure. performance. “Specifically, the industry is now globally adjudged as the most The bank's role in the creative arts and prolific with consistent production of entertainment industry consists in more than 2000 titles in the country's 3 funding intervention and capacity major languages rendered every year building. For the former, the bank since 2008. This has placed Nollywood extends loans to eligible companies in as the third in global revenue earnings, all the value-chain within the creative with receipts over the years reported to arts and entertainment industry under range between US$300m the Nigerian Creative Arts and US$800m in the recent Entertainment Industry Specifically, the & past to the extent that the Facility Scheme, says Orya. industry is now practitioners and The MD quoted the total businessmen from globally adjudged funding support to the Hollywood and other Industry by NEXIM at over as the most global equivalents can no N778.5million, with prolific with longer ignore the industry applications for over consistent as is being reflected in N26billion under several collaboration movie production of processing. Towards works,” he said. more than 2000 capacity-building, Mr. Orya Orya spoke on the topic stressed that the bank has titles in the That They May be One: been working towards country's three ensuring that the industry Towards a Greater Synergy Between Nexim and the major languages operates in a structured Creative Industry. An rendered every manner and within global initiative of the School of practices/standards. year since 2008 best Media and Communication “Till date, the bank has in (SMC) through its Mass collaboration with various Media and Writing stakeholders developed draft operating Department, the NEXIM MD took the guidelines to enhance access to loan audience through the business of the facilities with inputs from various bank and Nollywood.Orya revealed stakeholders, including practitioners Nollywood has very high prospects for and regulators; and commissioned a growth and sustainable development study to review the industry and based on a combination of advantages develop/recommend the best financing which include prevalence of high pool programme/instruments for the of creative talents, strong and growing Nigerian Entertainment Industry based domestic entertainment industry, on the Bollywood financing experience, established overseas market demand in among others,” he added.

Africa, UK, USA and the Pacific Islands Mr. Orya drew inferences from the coupled with huge Diaspora bank's current experience in its funding population, among others. Thus intervention, the EXIM India's Report warranting government's attention and on Film Financing Programme and the recognition of the industry as a major Communique of Stakeholders' contributor to employment and foreign Interactive Forum organised by exchange generation and justifying the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), $200m Entertainment Industry Fund stating that to further strengthen and

deepen the industry, there is need for the establishment of an Entertainment Industry Guarantee Fund to strengthen the credit delivery system and facilitate flow of credit to the industry. This, he said, would be akin to the Cultural Industry Guarantee Fund established by Francophone West African countries in conjunction with ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), which was intended to facilitate bank financing of cultural industries in the francophone states.

“Other steps that must be taken to rejig the industry include ensuring a Copyright Enforcement regime and intensification of the Reform System of the Nigerian Copyright System; design and issuance of sector-specific policy instruments by the insurance industry like completion bond, insurance policy, among others,” he stressed.

In conclusion, Orya added that there is a strong need for government to consider the establishment of the National Film Development Fund (NFDF); provision of sector-specific investment/tax incentives regime, especially towards the establishment of digital studios as well as Cinemas/Multiplexes to address the issue of low Cinema screen density; as well as to operationalise the Nigerian Film Institute campus in Lagos to complement the Jos Campus as well as other private sector initiatives to enhance human capital development in the industry.

In his remarks, the Dean of SMC, Prof.

Emevwo Biakolo, stated that the Lecture Series has been set to run on a quarterly basis as an ongoing dialogue between town and gown, the academia and society to inform and educate diverse publics on developmental issues in the media.

NEXIM was established by Act 38 of 1991 as an Export Credit Agency with the broad mandate to promoting the diversification of the Nigerian economy and deepening the external sector, particularly the non-oil through the provision of credit facilities in both local and foreign currencies; risk-bearing facilities through export credit guarantee & export credit insurance; business development and financial advisory services etc.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

AMAA 2013: Nomination list out!

Bongos Ikwue meets Flavour in ‘The First Music Festival’

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RINGING two generation of artistes on one stage, Five Star Music and Golden Tulip Hotel have announced a plan to host a concert tagged The First Music th Festival, come April 20 .

In what has been described as a gathering of some of the country's greatest vintage and young superstars, artistes in the lineup for the show include King Sunny Ade, Onyeka Onwenu, Bongos Ikwue, Tuface Idibia, Flavour Nabania, Kcee, Ice Prince, Olamide, Pasuma Wonder, Addressing a press conference at the hotel premises on Thursday, March 21, General Manager of the Hotel, Shousha Mohsen, said that the event comes with a simple goal to bring the biggest music stars in the country together for the best show in Nigeria, “a show that the world can only see in Golden Tulip, Festac, Lagos.”

The music festival, he said, will provide a platform where old generation musicians will share the stage with the new ones thereby

creating an opportunity for recognition of ground works of these music legends by the new generation artistes President of Five Star Music, Kingsley Okonkwo, aka Kcee of the defunct Kcee Presh fame, said that music fans across Nigeria should look at Festac as the place to be for historical success of what he termed a super festival.

“We are looking forward to a great year with great music.

With upwardly mobile, trendy and corporate individuals in attendance, the glamorous night of fun will bring to life the nostalgic memories of yesterday by honouring these heroes of the showbiz world. The audience, as part of the lineup for this event, will be treated to live performances, award presentation, comedy and red carpet entertainment,” Kcee further revealed

•Bongos

LASU set for film studies —Shola Fosudo

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HE Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, has put in place facilities that will allow the department of theatre art at the Lagos State University (LASU) to offer professional film studies from the next academic session.

This much was revealed by Dr. Shola Fosudo, the school's Director of Communication and veteran Nollywood actor. The True Confession star stated this a few days back when he was a guest on a TV morning programme last •Shola Fosudo

Oge Okoye, Lilian Amah, others at press screening of Contract

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HE Silverbird Cinema, Alausa Ikeja, was recently abuzz with glitz and glamour as movie stars such as Ghanaian actress Yvonne Okoro, Oge Okoye, Lilian Amah and others stormed the press screening of the muchawaited movie, Contract.

Contract is an unsuspecting romantic comedy with unusual twists that expose the flaws in being in control of one's life. The comedy flick from the stable of Sparrow Productions and DesAmour stars South African actor Homla Dandala (Lead actor in TV series Jacob's Cross) and Nigeria's Benjamin Joseph and Yvonne Okoro.

Contract is produced by award-winning actress Yvonne Okoro, the star actress with mixed lineages of Nigerian and Ghanaian.

Speaking on the movie, Yvonne Okoro said, “This is the first movie I ever produced.

It was my desire to compensate my longstanding fans for their love and support that underlined the choice of cast for the movie.

“The movie tells the story of a 40-year-old successful businessman Peter Popolampo, ((Homla Dandala) the ultimate alpha male, rich, and a staunch bachelor. Despite his mother's persistent attempt to find him a woman, Peter sticks to his rule of non-committal casual dates, freedom and controlling his life until a yearning to have a child arises. In his quest to find the woman who will take his money, have his child and disappear, Peter begins a roller coaster, contracted relationship with Abena Boateng, a crude but clever local girl who is anything but impressed with Peter's affluence.

With a clear definitive contract outlining the dos and don'ts of bearing Peter Popolampo's child, these two opposites must exercise every ounce of will power not to kill each other until the child is born.”

The producer of the movie, Yvonne Okoro, won the Ghana Movie Award's Best Actress in 2010 and was nominated for African Movie Academy Awards' Best Actress twice in a row in 2011 and 2012 for her movies Pool Party and Single Six.

Saturday. The former Head of Theatre Arts at the institution praised Nollywood for its tremendous growth before pointing out that the lack of fresh and welltrained young professionals could stall or kill the striving movie industry.

He, however, assured Nigerians that there is hope with the birth of film studies at the Lagos State University. The ebony-skinned thespian thanked Governor Fashola for the love and support he has shown Nollywood while promising that the school will ensure an effective curriculum that will produce thorough-bred professionals that will lead Nollywood and the film industry in Africa.

•Oge

1. AMAA 2013 PRIZE FOR BEST SHORT FILM 1.

Dead River -Namibia 2.

Elegy for A Revolutionary-SA 3.

Yellow Fever-Kenya 4.

Kwaku Ananse- Ghana 5.

Nhamo Zimbabwe 6.

Big Daddy -Nigeria 7.

Release- South Africa 8.

Burnt Forest-Kenya 2. AMAA 2013 PRIZE FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY 1.

Fuelling Poverty Nigeria 2.

Gun to Tape- South Africa 3.

Swimming the ZambeziSouth Africa 4.

Give Me Back My HomeKenya 5.

The African Cypher Fly on the Wall-South Africa 3. AMAA 2013 PRIZE FOR BEST DIASPORA FEATURE 1.

Against the Grain-USA 2.

Between Friends-Trinidad Tobago 3.

Stones in the Sun- Haiti/USA 4. AMAA 2013 PRIZE FOR BEST DIASPORA DOCUMENTARY 1.

Fan Do Brasil-Brasil/Guatamela 2.

My Thiero Boys-USA 3.

Red, White, Black and Blue-USA 5. AMAA 2013 PRIZE FOR BEST DIASPORA (SHORT FILM) We are not considering nominations in this category because the AMAA jury does not feel the entries were representative of the genre.

6. AMAA 2013 PRIZE FOR BEST ANIMATION 1.

Tageni's Dol-Namibia 2.

Adventure of ZambeziaSouth Africa 3.

Mission ImpossibleNigeria 4.

ObaNigeria 5.

Lion of Judah-South Africa 7. AMAA 2013 PRIZE FOR BEST FILM BY AN AFRICANS ABROAD 1.

Turning PointUSA/Nigeria 2.

Assassins PracticeUK/Nigeria 3.

Last Flight to AbujaUK/Nigeria 4.

Bianca USA/Nigeria 5.

Wolwich BoysUK/Nigeria 8. AMAA 2013 PRIZE FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN 1.

Virgin Magarida 2.

Elelwani 3.

The Twin Sword 4.

The Contract 5.

Blood and Henna 6.

Okoro the Prince 9. AMAA 2013 PRIZE FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN 1.

Twin Sword 2.

Elelwani 3.

Virgin Magarida 4.

Blood and Henna 5.

The Meeting 6.

Cobweb 10. AMAA 2013 PRIZE FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKE-UP 1.

The Meeting 2.

Twin Sword 3.

Elelwani 4.

Ninah's Dowry 5.

Okoro the Prince 6.

Uhlanga, the Mark 11. AMAA 2013 PRIZE FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUNDTRACK 1.

Journey to Self 2.

Okoro the Prince 3.

The Last Fishing Boat 4.

Hoodrush 5.

Nairobi Half Life 6.

The Twin Sword 12. AMAA 2013 PRIZE FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS 1.

Okoro the Prince 2.

The Twin Sword 3.

Elelwani 4.

Last Flight to Abuja 5.

Uhlanga, the Mark 6.

Awakening 13. AMAA 2013 PRIZE FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND 1.

Last Flight to Abuja 2.

Streets of Calabar 3.

Hereos and Zeros 4.

Zama Zama 5.

Virgin Magarida 6.

Nairobi Half Life 14. AMAA 2013 PRIZE FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY 1. Virgin Magarida 2. Nairobi Half Life 3. Uhlanga, the Mark 4. Swirl in Bamako 5. The Twin Sword 6. Elelwani 15. AMAA 2013 PRIZE FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING 1. Last Flight to Abuja 2. The Contract 3. Elelwani 4. Nairobi Half Life 5. Uhlanga the Mark 6. Heroes and Zeroes

NOTE A FULL LIST

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

Glamour

43

With women, you can’t rule out temptation y r r a H y l l i W

Willy Nnake Harry is the Managing Director of Heritage Quality Service Consult, HQSC, a company that provides marketing communications consulting and support services to some of the most successful brands in Nigeria including Airtel, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) and Sona Breweries Plc, among others.A graduate of Philosophy, Harry ventured into music but because he was not pleased with the response from his maiden album he quit. And he then veered into advertising, today that choice has paid off. The Cross River State-born advert practitioner tells ADETUTU AUDU that he is a privileged child from the ghetto and he may still release an album before he becomes too old.

Y

OU started out with music, now that you are fully into advertising, have you lost touch with music?

Definitely no. If you look around, you will still see musical instruments. I have a mini studio where we still do things. You may still get one or two albums from me before I become too old and croaking. I studied Philosophy.

After my youth service in Warri where I served in the local government secretariat as the Corps Liaison Officer, I came back to Lagos in 1989. I tried my hands on music; I studied music in part when I was in school. I won a singing competition, I tried to chart music as a career, and I was not very pleased with the result of my album, so I decided to get into proper work.

I later tried my hands on clearing and forwarding business, but I wanted something intellectual which led me to pick a job with The Sunday Magazine, TSM. I joined them as an advert executive in 1991. While in TSM, I realised that I liked the whole concept of advertising, I berthed in an advertising agency, owned by Taiwo AjaiLycett then. From there, I took all the exams needed and got qualified. I was one of the pioneer graduates of the APCON Diploma Course. Since two decades now, I have been consistent in advertising.

What happened between then and now?

In 1999, I moved from SO&U as the Media Manager to Communication Investment Limited which transformed to Globacom of today as Advertising and Production Manager. I was also Head, Corporate Affairs Department of the defunct Devcom Bank and Internal Communication consultant to National Oil, now Conoil.

November 2002, I resigned and started Heritage Quality Service Consult, HQSC, in 2003. It's been topsyturvy; we have had mixed blessings, we have had some of our big times and our challenging periods. It has given different perspectives on how to manage resources and to overcome challenges. This is a business where you sell intellectual properties, and unfortunately for us, intellectual properties are only just being appreciated in this environment. A lot of people come to you for ideas and if you want to put value, sometimes it is difficult to get the kind of value you believe you should get. That is a challenge on our part that we need to work on so that people can begin to pay for ideas. We need to educate ourselves on tools on marketing.

Does advertising really sell?

Advertising definitely sells. It still remains one of the most powerful tools especially in the area of mass market product. You need to build a lot of things through advertising. You look at it through 360 degrees and that the message you are packaging will be appreciated by the audience. It is not only that the message has been received but the appropriate action that elicit will come back to you by way of response. Advertising should not be the first thing; it is what you do after taking care of other things.

Without advertising, most of the big brands we have now will not exist.

What is your take on the development of the industry in Nigeria?

APCON is rising up to the challenge of professionalising the industry, which means some certain basic elements need to be understood. Just like many other industries, we always look up to what is happening in other parts of

the world. But advertising is culture- and environment-related.

That is why you see that international agencies have affiliate local agencies. Even within the Nigerian environment, there are certain cultural things to consider when you are taking a product to different parts of the country because we have cultural differences. We need to understand the social elements which form the society; effective communication is such that you understand the language of those you are talking to. That is why when you do a global press ad, to be able to reach everybody, it becomes a problem because you are not crafting the message well enough. That is why we have people who specialise in certain areas like strategy, creative planning and buying media. It is becoming more serious and we get to the level where our data base becomes reliable, we can do better. Data is one of the major challenges in advertising. In more developed countries, the metre that they use, for instance, if they tell you that a programme reaches one million viewers, plus or minus, it may be doubted by five percent. But here, with the manual way the rating is being organised, there is so much room for wrong conclusion.

Another thing is that there is a lot of friction between ad agencies and media houses.

In your own view, what is a good creative work?

A good creative work is a work that the targets easily understand, gives appropriate response because advertising is meant to sell. Any advertising that does not sell is a failure. And selling does not mean buying with physical money; it means you are buying into the image, benefit of that brand.

What is your source of inspiration?

I draw my inspiration from my desire for knowledge. I read widely. I also watch television a lot so as to deliver creative jobs for my clients.

With this work, work and more work, how do you relax?

I must confess to you that I am not good at relaxing. I only went on leave for the first time in the last 12 years. Thanks to my wife who organised and arranged everything and forced us to go on vacation for just two weeks. But the best time I relax is when I am with my children and taking my wife out. Though I hardly do it often as I like to, I know that family is important. I also wish I could spend more time with my mother. I also have a few friends that we hang out together.

Do you party?

Party is not something I do as a habit. But if I have parties to attend with my friends I go.

There was a time I had a brewery as a client and when they had things doing, I attended. But that was work more or less. I don't just get up go clubbing. But I will like to spend time doing that.

Give us your fond childhood memories I am a child of war. I was born in 1967, by that time, those of us from the East were rushed back home. As a baby, I spent my days in my village, Yakor, Cross River State.

I was later brought back to Lagos; I stayed in Ajegunle. People used to

gather in my house to watch television and I was attending a nursery school, that means I was privileged child in the ghetto. Thereafter, I went to Gaskiya College, and later the University of Lagos.

Money and women attract opposite sex, how have you been managing these aspects?

I have not really had that problem, but we can not rule out temptation. But as a good Christian, if you are committed to a relationship, especially marriage, you keep it sacrosanct and respect the institution. That is the philosophy that guides me.

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Glamour

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Social

ADETUTU AUDU (E-mail: crownkool@yahoo.com, Tel: 08023849036)

Nicole Chikwe celebrates baby shower

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ICOLE Chukwueke, ex model and sweetheart of rap sensation Naeto C, is preparing for the birth of her first child to the Chikwe family. Nicole who is currently in the U.S awaiting the arrival of the tiny tot joined family and friends as they threw baby shower for them in celebrating their joy.

Naeto C, the son of a former Minister of Aviation, Kema Chikwe, tied the knot July 2012 with Nicole, the daughter of Chief Chukwueke, owner of auto company - Germaine Auto Centre. Naeto C's wedding was undoubtedly the most expensive wedding ever in the Nigerian music industry, and the reception met up with this feat, what with the celebrities in attendance, the ambience and the drinks.

Sullivan Chime’s multiple celebrations

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HE Governor of Enugu State, Sullivian Chime, has every reason to be happy. First, he just came back from the valley of death; secondly, his first son, Nnamdi, is tying the nuptial knot; and thirdly, he will be 54 on April 10.

Come next month, April 12th and 13th, Governor Sullivan Chime's son, Nnamdi, will be quitting bachelorhood. The traditional wedding (igbankwu) will hold on April 12th at the bride's hometown of Nnewi, in Anambra State, while their white wedding will hold on Saturday April 13th at the Holy Ghost Cathedral, Ogui Road, Enugu.

Reception follows at Government House. The bride, Nneoma, is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Nnamdi Atueyi

Deji Adeleke’s large heart

A

PART from business, if there is another thing Osun State-born billionaire, Deji Adeleke, is passionate about, it is love and affiliate to the Adventist Church. Sources say the CEO, Pacific Holdings, is a devout Adventist. He recently built a multi-million naira church at the back of Pacific Holdings Office, Oregun. Not only this, he gives bursary to the students of the Adventist School. The founder and Pro Chancellor of Adeleke University, Ede also built an entire department at Babcock University (where he is currently a provost) for Creative Arts.

e l p m e T m u i n Millen finally ready

N

bb ed ck Ca th ed ra l du EW LY -B UI LT Ro s offiat the initial stage wa Millennium Temple nday. cially opened last Su located along ira edifice, which is n The multi-billio na ed essway, was first us the Lekki/Epe Expr en th d an ber 31st for service on Decem e on the Rock us Ho e th r also used fo ul Adefarasin's founder's Pastor Pa ry. Last year, 50th birthday in Janua agog that the rumour mills were ve been batman of God may ha over the sis tling financial cri t meet no d ul project since he co te of da 11 20 ne up with the Ju uec sp er rli ea n the dedicatio it ed nk bu de r sto lated. The pa us beca e and fixed March 2012 one with the project is a huge an d m an y co m pl ex iti es giolo several of the techn eth ca e cal gadgets for th . ted ica dral quite sophist the Adefarasin raised he at wh bar by having ed bin m co ial dubbed a spec at th on m ery ev service once ll Ha po Ex e Th s iou the prestig a at ites of Eko Hotel and Su r pe on princely N8.5 milli en be s ha he d an service y ssl doing this effortle . ep without losing sle

Glamour

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

45

n to g n li r a D n h o J r o f Storm over

ion until the eve Bank. He held the posit nd Bo ct fun de the of was arrested and aging Director Bank Plc. Darlington ye E was the former Man Sk m for to s nk ba said to be part of the with other lion. The money was bil of the bank's merger .16 N1 of t en lm ea graced out of office and conc , who himself was dis un detained for conversion log Ba fa Ta e, lic Po ly this, he now struts r Inspector General of nsulting firm. Not on co a ns ru w funds traced to forme no ief ch . actices. The ex-bank ’s family party recently for massive corrupt pr otted at the Olu Okeowo sp s wa ton ng rli Da . the social space of his ilk

H

Why Hirut Ibru is invisible

C

ONTRARY to the rumour making the rounds that things are beginning to fall apart between fun-loving Obaro Ibru and his Ethiopian wife, Hirut, we can reveal that the couple are still like 5&6.

Informed sources revealed that the mother of three shuttles between her home country and Nigeria and that’s the reason she’s not as visible as her hubby.

Obaro, former director at the defunct Oceanic Bank and now Managing Director at Aero Contractors, was more prominent on the social scene than in the corporate world then. But for obvious reasons, he has chosen a quieter lifestyle and has even cut down the number of his friends.

Wicked rumour trails Aisha Babangida’s marriage

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HE rumour mill is agog that all may not be well in the marriage of Aisha, the first daughter of the former President, Ibrahim Babangida to the former Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Aliyu Shinkafi .

Sources close to Aisha who became the third wife of Shinkafi in 2008 said the union has broken down irrevocably and she reverted to her family's name some months ago.

Aisha divorced her first hubby,Bashir Garba , a nephew of the late Sani Abacha in 2003 and got married to the former Governor at her family's palatial hilltop mansion, Minna in 2008.

Paddy Adenuga’s favourite fun spot

I

T is often said that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. There is no doubt that the Group Executive Director of Globacom, Paddy Adenuga, loves to work and a stickler for doing it properly. But as he works so hard, he also takes time off for leisure. The son of Otunba Mike Adenuga Jnr, sources disclosed, has a favourite spot where he unwinds and takes care of his tummy. Paddy, we gathered, is a regular face at SIP restaurant and lounge on the Island.

Karen Koshoni finds solace in sister

N

OT many will forget so soon the unsavoury break-up of the marriage of popular Lagos big girl, Karen Koshoni, and her estranged husband, Patrick Koshoni (Jnr.). The popular Lagosbased interior designer and the older sister of fashion designer, Lisa Folawiyo of Jewel By Lisa, sources said, now finds pleasure in the company of her sister, though the whirlwind that threatened to sweep her away from the social space has finally calmed down.

Karen in her 40s no longer seems to be sulking over her failed marriage.

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Glamour

m a l g d n a Glitz s ’ o b m u J at Uche e r e i m e r p e movi

&

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

OLUSEGUN RAPHEAL (08033572821) raphseg2003@yahoo.com

finest Nigeria’s f o e n o remiered ks back odriguez, p ife, My R OME wee o b m Jo che y L actresses, U ticipated movie, M as, Yaba, n a m e in ch C u one the m held at Oz f Nollywood stars t n e v e e h Damage. T the high presence o Dikeh, h inus, Tonto Lagos, wit Chinda, Stephanie L , Rita Dominic, k sa nt de Drun io m a like Monali resima, Kli d E ll io t a n d C h e ib F o b a n o Ibin m s e nda, D Rukky Sa . a k u Chukw

S

•Tonto Dikeh

•Ibinabo Fiberesima

•Rukki Sanda

•Uche Jombo and husband, Rodriguez •Rita Dominic

•Chidi Mokeme

•Stephanie Linus Idahosa L-R:Bride's father, Alhaji Bashiru Owolabi Odukale; Groom's mother, Alhaja Kudirat Oluwakemi Okuneye.

Groom, Dr. Taofik Ayoola Okuneye; Bride, Dr. Habibah Abosede Okuneye; Groom's father, Prof. Rafiu Olaoluwa Okuneye and Bride's mother, Alhaja Owolabi Odukale After the walimat Nikkah on Saturday 16th March, 2013 at Dee Rock Hall, Idimu Road, Egbeda. Lagos.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

S

HELF off-take or consumer engagement of any brand is a culmination of so many activities prior.

One of such inputs is brand communication or advertising. Depending on set-objectives, an advertising support can drive target market awareness for brand, help proper brand identification from among competing brands, stimulate tactical sales growth, enlighten target market on new developments, announce reward for patronage or loyalty, answer questions or just simply announce a given brand's presence.

Every campaign effort is capable of achieving so much, depending on set objective.

Suffice that every campaign effort is objective driven. As a professional, it is the responsibility tied to a campaign or advertising that excites me. A campaign must deliver on its objective.

So whether a campaign effort is to be evaluated on its effectiveness, efficiency or appropriateness, it all begins by bench-marking its effect against set objective.

Advertising or campaign development - from planning to execution - is a logical sequence of activities, frontally.

Starting from the client who generates the campaign brief, it runs through a careful and professional distillation of the brief, verification of claims, instructional information bothering on hypothesis contained in the brief. Full throttle on the creative process starts only after due and diligent distillation of the client's brief, onward concept generation, creative review, process completion, clients' final check on agency's proposal, before campaign breaks. It is a whole and very long sequence of so many inputs. It is simply termed a process.

One would reason that the process is so long and carefully broken down and methodological because of the endresult. As a matter of fact, the primary and immediate consequence of a badly managed campaign planning and development process is its boomerang. A badly or unprofessionally managed creative process results in a campaign that directly attacks own-brand - be it a product, idea, service, etc. It is easier to develop a bad or self-destructive creative end product than a successful one. So, it is instructive that the creative process and sequence of activities is driven through by professionals.

Again, it seems the process is called a creative process for reasons of its importance, method, sequence, logic and scientific analysis…and so much more.

The consequence of a badly managed creative process is better imagined. We at MC&A DIGEST and some others, who share similar burden, have dedicated ourselves to stating rules of advertising, reminding fellow practitioners of the MUSTS of practice, in order to help guide against bad creative products. Bed creative products are lethal, toxic to brands and destructive to investors. Brands handled by nonprofessionals die, resulting in failed investment and all the ripple effects down the line. Unfortunately, over 80% of brands in the market today suffer from bad creative products of unprofessionally managed development process. Interestingly, the big brands across banks and financial in-

47

Brand communication -The Imperatives for Brand Positioning

stitutions, drinks, telephone services, food & beverages, luxury goods, travel and tours, education, entertainment make up the numbers to a large extent.

Increasingly, these big brands have been so badly managed; their campaigns are now negatively posing a problem to the profession. New entrants to the profession of brands management now think what they see are the ideal, instead of what they really are: case study on how not to manage a brand.

It is for the purpose of correcting this wrong impression we need to properly articulate the ideal situation.

Every brand support effort in form of advertising or marketing communication must "sell" the given brand as a distinct personality and its offer/promise, to the extent of target audience engagement. It could all start from share of TA mind. For the purpose here, we shall have to skip part of the creative process in this analytical piece, to focus on the very critical element of brand differentiation.

Basically, marketing is about differentiation. Differentiation underlines the individuality of brand in their totality, at the market place. A brand represents itself among competition at the market place, representing its individuality, with all its character traits, attribute and offer. This community of brands exists in the presence of broad and peculiar similarities that becloud their individuality, in varying degrees. Among brands in same market segment, the similarities are more pronounced. Because brands can only sell on the strength of their individuality, the most important challenge, therefore, is carv-

ing any given brand's individuality, communicate same for the purpose of (1) creating awareness for the brand and its offer, among its target market, (2) establishing a contact or meeting point between the brand and its target market, (3) effectively tell a persuasive story (including the brand's offer and promise) that will, at least, pull the target market towards trying the brand's offer, believing it will deliver on its promise. These three target objectives are primary and fundamental to every brand. When a marketing campaign or advertising achieves the above, the brand is established and ready for new targets.

Unfortunately, however, brand communication or campaigns common today, do not show evidence of appreciation of these basic marketing communication objectives. As mentioned above, inadequate professionalism and/or lack of it, results in creative products that, at best attempt to create awareness for their brands. Even at that, they create the awareness with the wrong effect.

All kinds of reasons are given for such weak creativity, including size of relatively similar brand offering, nearcommodity posturing of competing brands. Asis commonly said, brands in particular market segments share so many similarities, it is almost impossible to successfully achieve differentiation. Take leisure and tours, snacks, carbonated drink market, body care market and recently, energy drink market. Majority of brands in the markets mentioned above are more often to suffer from improper differentia-

tion.

Consequently, a campaign developed for them neither make concrete promise nor leave the target audience with memorable information that is important for top-of-mind presence, engagement or recall after "initial contact".

But, the task of effective and functional differentiation is primary for every creative process. It only requires deep thinking, proper and articulate understanding of the contending issues, scientific, knowing what questions to ask and where to seek what information, ability to properly articulate available information, scientific analysis of market and consumer insight and a very aggressive, bold and purposeful visual interpretation and execution. We do not think there is any brand that cannot be distinguished from competition and be made to stand alone for its offer, peculiarities, and promise and market position. For every brand communication or advertising campaign, the process must establish the operative strategic thrust, the broad creative platform and the brand's positioning statement. All of these are the creative imperatives that set the focus towards a successful creative execution.

In sequence, the creative imperatives are derived; derived from a proper application of the creative brief forms, examined at a properly constituted creative review session, seen through by a team of experts intellectually equipped enough to logically and scientifically piece the hoard of information presented at such sessions together, to tell a whole story. The job is completed when the story that emerges at the end of the creative process play out good enough to achieve the marketing and communication/advertising objective, as should be contained in the originating document: THE CLIENT'S BRIEF. The missing link and the reason we find majority of ads and campaigns that are empty of substance, ineffective and dangerous, is that this logical sequence is considered too difficult a road to travel, for many people who go about parading themselves as advertising practitioners on the one hand, and those on the clients' side who have also become too lazy to discern who the true professional is, and how to fit in to the creative process. So many so-called brand managers today cannot read a good brief (not to talk of writing one). Most brand managers/marketing managers/corporate affairs on the clients' side are not trained for the responsibilities of their offices. Consequently, they corrupt the system from the start point.

Brands and brands owners must begin to rethink their work system and value preferences, because until the present system changes, casualty in form of failing brands will keep rising at them.

48

Women should not stay in the kitchen

Y

OU run the second largest envelope-manufacturing company in Nigeria. As the only woman at the top of this field, how did you build your brand?

Over 20 years ago, my mother and I were distributors to Wigeen-Steep, a company that produced envelopes at the time.

At the end of the year, they would give us fridges or television sets for being the best distributors.

One day, I felt I had done enough and wanted to own my business. I did some research, bought the machine that was needed and became a manufacturer. I was passionate about it and it has been good for me.

In Nigeria it is normal for men to want to oppress women but since you already have that at the back of your mind, you will need to strive harder to succeed so that you can stand tall among your peers.

Also, I gave it my best every time because if I did not want people to just rank me among the mediocrities.

If you look at my envelopes, you feel how smooth they are and the look very professional. And we ensure that about 80 percent of our materials are gotten locally.

Has putting efforts into running your company profitably affected other areas of your life such as your family?

It has not been easy but thank God my husband is a brother and father. He fills in the gap for me and whenever I am becoming weak, he is there to support me. Plus I have beautiful children who stand by me through

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

Business tycoon, mother and a royal princess from Eko; these are the many hats Princess Funmilayo Bakare Okeowo wears with dignity.

Spurred by a need to break beyond the economic and gender barrier she faced as a young wife, Funmilayo listened to her mother's advice, strived on her own and built a business that rivalled her competitors. Now the second largest producer of envelopes in Nigeria, the Chief Executive Officer of FAE Limited spoke with Rita Ohai on her journey to the top.

thick and thin.

Although my children are all out of the house, I keep in touch with all of them as much as possible. At least one of them calls me every night and we talk for about two hours each time.

One of them works with me as the C h i e f Operating Officer. My baby is in the medical school in Canada while my dau ghter is a lawyer practicing in Calgary.

Plus I try to prepare my husband's favourite dish which is Ikokore. My husband had to teach m e

how to make it because he is an Ijebu man.

What do you not like about being an entrepreneur?

I love everything about owning my business. I feel proud as an industrialist.

In the morning when I enter the factory, this might be sentimental, but there is an internal joy I feel when I hear the machines work. I just get happy.

Sometimes when I am upset, I go to the factory, pick up a chair, sit down and look at what God has done for me.

Who can you say has been the greatest influence in your business life?

My mother! She was a teacher for 35 years and she was tougher than my dad, but she was the best.

Initially I thought she was a bad mum. Along the line, I found out that she had become the closest person to me and I could discuss anything with her. Even while I was at boarding school, I would come home and work for my mum and she would pay me, no matter how small.

When I wanted to be a full-time house wife, it did not go down well with her. It was a real tug of war and she insisted that I must work. At the time, my husband did not want me to work so I was between the devil and the deep blue sea.

She sat me down and told me that it was a beautiful thing to be married but it was m o r e honoura ble for a woman to be able to raise h e r h e a d among her peers.

So I went to work with her while she was selling small stationeries like pencils and rulers at her petty shop. We ran this compa

ny together for a few years before she passed on.

I really loved her. If you want to destabilise me just tell me that you dreamt that my mother told you to ask me to sit down on a chair for two days, I will obey you, no matter who the person is.

As a child, was there any household chore you could not stand doing simply because you disliked it?

I hated washing clothes (she laughs).

I always found a reason to run away from doing the laundry and my mother who was a disciplinarian would be on my case.

Right now, I do not wash clothes any more, thanks to washing machines and drycleaners in this jet age.

Also I would want to advice young women not to stay in the kitchen. Go out and work hard because what a man can do, a woman can also do it. I am not regretting the life I have lived at all. I can talk to the high and mighty. I wine and dine with the people in the corridors of power simply because I am not confined to the kitchen. That is not to say you should shirk your responsibilities, but be smart about it.

If you had to live permanently anywhere outside Nigeria, seeing how tough the economy is, where would you pick?

I am not going anywhere. All I want is for the country to improve because this is home for me.

Let me give you an example, I travelled abroad for three weeks and got this severe cough. When I went to the hospitals there, they gave me all kinds of drugs and it refused to go, but the minute I stepped into Muritala Mohammed Airport, the thing disappeared.

What do you think tears couples apart in marriage?

The lack of friendship. Many of the people who get married these days do not work on being confidants or close friends with their spouses.

When you are not friends, little issues blow up into major ones because there is no understanding between both parties.

If the wife does something, the husband will not know how to handle it so he starts talking to people outside the home who will give him wrong advice, he starts having girlfriends and then trouble grows.

When my daughter was about to get married, I just told her to focus on being friends with her husband, that way you can get away with anything.

Smiling is a visa that can open doors even with your in-laws.

People say mother-in-laws are bad but it is up to the incoming party to warm up to her because she is not bound to like you since you are from different backgrounds and she does not want anyone to displace her in her child's life.

New WOMAN

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

Shopping 101: What to buy for your man

W

OMEN often have a hard time buying the right gifts for the men in their lives.

One of the reasons being that men tend to buy everything they want themselves with great ease. But there are a few tricks to help get the perfect item in as little time as possible.

Accessorise Leather wallets look great and come in lots of shades, so it is one area where a man can be a bit more colourful. Belts are also good to buy, as men do not often spend a lot of money on them. You could give them a really luxurious one.

Finishing touches No man is going to complain if you buy an expensive men's watch. A man wears a watch because he can't wear a Porsche on his wrist. It's the one thing that men feel OK to talk about sartorially. Beaded bracelets are great buys, too. They add a bit of irreverence to a classic outfit.

Appeal to his vanity When it comes to presents for men the best things come in small packages. Tell them the gift will make them look younger and more

handsome and they won't argue most men are open to grooming. But you want a product that looks good in the bathroom alone. Fragrances are

difficult, as they smell different on different people, try finding out the kind of smell he like and you just might have a winner.

A Nigerian girl helps US police catch robbers by being smart D

OYIN Oladipupo was on the phone with a police dispatcher, hiding in a closet when she heard the door open.

Three intruders, who had set off the home security alarm, came into the walk-in closet in her parents' bedroom, apparently looking for items to steal from the Chula Vista, California, home.

The 15-year-old was cowering in a corner next to some shelves. She thought her bright toe nail polish would give her away.

"I was so scared. I could see them,"

with

YETUNDE OLADEINDE

molaralife@yahoo.com

Cruising with a restless ‘buddie’

T

What's trending?

If you want to buy an on-trend outfit for a man, go for a pale-blue button-down shirt with a knitted tie, chinos, a pair of loafers and a doublebreasted knitted cardigan. Stripy tops or a chambray shirt are great if you want to be a little more adventurous, and navy is a particularly flattering colour. But stay clear of anything too fashiony.

If you haven't got much money, just buy the best pair of socks or the best shirt you can, rather than a cheap version of something expensive. He can never have enough shirts. Think about the man's profession and what he already has in his wardrobe, so your purchase is practical.

she told CNN affiliate KGTV. "I thought they would see me."

The 911 operator heard one of the intruders hollering at the others and told the girl, who was home alone, not to talk.

The dispatcher then asked her to tap once on the cordless handset to indicate she understood not to open the closet door.

She remained silent and still, Oladipupo told KGTV, while the intruders came in and took jewelry off a shelf, she said.

Police said in a statement that when officers arrived, the three intruders were loading items from the home into a car on the street. Two of the suspects are 17 years old, and the third is 18.

The car had been stolen a week before the attempted burglary, which happened Tuesday afternoon.

There were items from other burglaries in the car, police said.

"I don't know how I did it, honestly," Oladipupo said. "Because when I think about it now, my heart just starts beating.”

49

HREE jolly good fellows ran into themselves at a restaurant. It was a time to talk about the good times, dreams and some escapades too. As the talked laughing and throwing banters, their voices vanished into murmurings each time they tried to recall some of the 'baddest' deals and how they survived or either ran into troubled waters.

Then Kunle's phone rang and his disposition changed.

What is the matter, someone queried and he replied: “It is this handcuff, the smallest handcuff in the whole world.

Since she wore the wedding band on this hand, I have lost my peace. Each time the phone rings and I realise that she is the one on the other side of the line, I feel like switching off my phone.

Bosun laughs and laughs. “When are you going to grow up? You have to play this game according to your terms.

How can you allow a woman to dictate the pace for you?

You must learn to be in charge and let her know that she either lives with your terms or opt out.”

He goes on and on dishing out emotional tutorials to his friends. Midway into this emotional classroom, his phone also rings and he beckons to his friends to be quiet. “Hello…

It's noisy here. Is this Seye or Bolatito”.

The caller replies, “It's bolatito, don't you know my voice anymore.” Then he goes on. “My dear, I am sorry I haven't sent the money I promised to send to your account number.

I think I misplaced the account number, please resend it so that I can send the money”.

Mischievously, the babe burst in laughter. “See your life, this is not Bolatito. It is Seye and I wanted to test you and I can see that you are a super star.”

A master of the game, Bosun switches almost immediately. “What is your problem? Are you 'winding' me or what? Bolatito is my little cousin and she needs some money for her project. Your voice sounds just like hers and your number is not on this phone because I just changed the handset”.

Settled! He winks as she drops off the line breathing a sigh of relief. His friends applaud this show of smartness and he goes on to tell his own side of the story. “These girls are too many. How many names, faces or voices can you remember? I am just helping them after this entire world would be very dull and boring without guys like us. I don't know what is wrong with our girls, once they see a promising guy like yours truly all they want is how to get you by hook or crook.

He adds that : “At least eight gals are asking for my hand in marriage, don't you think I am too much. Unfortunately for all of them , I am not yet ready. They may just have to look elsewhere for a guy they want to tie down with the wedding band.'

Well, the truth is that Bosun is not alone. There are a number of guys who think this way.This kind of thing certainly stings and so if you have had the unfortunate experience of dating a man only to have him tell you he's "not ready" then you need to ask yourself certain questions.

What are you doing that he does not like and appreciate? Or how can you attract a guy who is honest and committed?

The truth is that a man will have no problem at all throwing away his bachelorhood when he feels certain things with a woman. Is there a particular trick that you must learn or unlearn? Not really, there's actually no magic to this. You can make a man feel these things for you to the point that he can't get you out of his head and doesn't want any other man to take his place.

These things are easy to learn and, once you know what they are, you'll find that dating and relationships actually become fun instead of experiencing just one disappointment after another.

First, you need to understand where the relationship is going. It is also important for you to know how to naturally motivate a man's desire to want to get closer. You need to smoothly and easily form such a rock-solid bond with a man to the extent that he is the one who pushes you for a commitment.

So what you get is Zero resistance from him. You don't even need to stress yourself with the usual convincing, negotiating, or pleading from you.

This tool is all about sending the right cues to a guy. A man craves being with a woman in order to feel and cultivate what he can't feel himself. If you want to be that woman, you have to get into this positive energy space first.

Guys also have a duty when it comes to making this 'tango' work. Yet, it is good understand why guys do what they do and learn how to relate with them in a way that makes it easier for them to get closer to you. All this is going to help increase your chances of finding that amazing guy and creating a great relationship with him. Remember that if you don't meet and connect with the right guy, then nothing else is going to matter.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

50

With Joe Agbro Jr. 08056745268

WORD WHEEL EXCURSION

•Students and teachers of De Gloryland College, Oshodi, Lagos, on excursion to The Nation Newspaper office, Matori, Lagos, recently PHOTO: Medinat Kanabe

How many words of three or more letters, each including the letter at centre of the wheel, can you make from this diagram? We've found 48, including one nineletter words.

SPELLING BEE

TIME LOGIC PUZZLE

Favorite• animal logic puzzle ?????

Four children have different favorite animals. Figure out who likes which one.

Butterfly SUE

Cat

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Horse

Elephant

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BILL

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DIDI

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BEN •L-R Damilola Ayodeji (3rd) and Demilade Ogunbiyi (2nd) both of Childville School, Ogudu, Lagos and Akalue David (1st) of Grace Children School, Gbagada, Lagos: Winners at the state level in the primary school category of the Teammasters Spelling Bee Competition held in Lagos recently

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1. Sue’s favorite animal is smaller than Ben’s.

2. Didi’s favorite animal is bigger than Sue’s.

3. Bill’s favorite animal is bigger than Ben’s.

4. Didi’s favorite animal is smaller than Ben’s.

FOR TEENAGERS Imagine a man who owes money to a bank. If he makes his payments regularly, he’ll earn the bank’s trust and the bank may even extend more credit to him in the future. It is similar at home.

You owe your parents your obedience. If you prove trustworthy - even in small things - your parents are likely to trust you more in the future. Of course, if you continually let your parents down, don’t be surprised if they reduce or even close your ‘line of credit.’

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Young Nation

51

COUNTRY FACTS

The Vatican The Vatican, also known as The Holy See, is the smallest country in the world by both area and population. Vatican City is an enclave within the Italian Republic.

Area – 0.44km2 Capital

- Vatican City

Government - Elective theocracy Sovereign - Pope Francis I Independence from the Kingdom of Italy - 11 February 1929 •A cross section of students at 'Edidot School Family Funday' in Lekki, Lagos

PHOTO: Adegunle Olugbamila

Domenico Ghirlandaio and Botticelli as well as the ceiling and Last Judgment by Michelangelo. Artists who decorated the interiors of the Vatican include Raphael and Fra Angelico.

Population July 2012 estimate 836 Currency

Euro (•)

In July 2007, the Vatican agreed to become the first carbon neutral state. They plan to accomplish this by offsetting carbon dioxide emissions with the creation of a Vatican Climate Forest in Hungary.

WORD SEARCH Carnivores A carnivore is an animal that gets food from killing and eating other animals.

Vatican City has a small transportation system with no airports or highways. There is one heliport and a standard gauge railway connected to Italy’s network at Rome’s Saint Peter’s station by an 852-metre-long spur, only 300 metres of which is within Vatican territory.

Vatican City is home to some of the most famous art in the world.

St. Peter’s Basilica, whose successive architects include Bramante, Michelangelo, Giacomo della Porta, Maderno and Bernini, is a renowned work of Renaissance architecture. The Sistine Chapel is famous for its frescos, which include works by Perugino,

Carnivores generally eat herbivores, but can eat omnivores, and occasionally other carnivores. Animals that eat other animals, like carnivores and omnivores are important to any ecosystem, because they keep other species from getting overpopulated.

Since carnivores have to hunt down and kill other animals they require a large amount of calories.

This means that they have to eat many other animals over the course of the year.

The bigger the carnivore, the more it has to eat. Find some carnivores in the word search below

•Recently elected Pope Francis I

Italy provides military defence to the Vatican City but the Swiss Guard, being a corps of the Holy See responsible for the security of the Pope.

WORD GAME Fill in the spaces to get the correct word using the clue below

L

1. K -

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• Highest Mountain in Africa ALLIGATOR ANACONDA CAT CHEETAH CROCODILE DOLPHIN EAGLE

FOX GULL HAWK HYENA JAGUAR LEOPARD LION

ORCA PENGUIN PUMA SHARK TIGER WHALE WOLF

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•An uncontrolled crave for stealing

3. M

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•Language with the most native speakers in the world

4. -

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•Biggest land animal

5. L

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•The language of the papacy

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•Brazilian football legend

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• The first man to step on the moon

8. P

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•Adults who abuse children

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•A song to show allegiance to country •Mealtime; Lions devouring a Water Buffalo

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

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•Nigeria’s first Nobel laureate

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52

Etcetera

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

SUNNY SIDE

Cartoons

By Olubanwo Fagbemi

POLITICKLE

deewalebf@yahoo.com 08060343214 (SMS only)

Messi or Ronaldo: rivals or equals?

CHEEK BY JOWL

OH, LIFE!

THE GReggs

Messi or Ronaldo? Ronaldo or Messi? Enthralled by the expertise of one and dazed by the dexterity of the other, the writer musters sufficient acumen to weigh in on the eternal debate on either superstar’s perceived superiority.

IF LIONEL Messi is from Mercury, Cristiano Ronaldo must be from Pluto. Okay, that’s exaggerated rhyme. But more grounded individuals than the duo you’ll never find anywhere on Terra Firma. And daily attending their mesmerising footwork across the finest international football pitches are ample doses of humility and focus – rudiments of successful football, nay, sports careers.

Yet the football world once lusted after the skills of Brazil great, Edison Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele, and subsequently the ‘small wonder’ from Argentina, Diego Maradona. The famous duo cast in classic No. 10 mould ignited a nationalistic rivalry that transcended decades and outlasted a succession of world-class forwards culminating in the emergence of the contemporary pair, Messi and Ronaldo. Both campaign for Barcelona and Real Madrid between whom Spanish La Liga bragging rights constantly shift. Last season, the force was with Ronaldo and the Bernabeu crowd. This season, ‘May the Force be with Messi,’ must pray the Camp Nou faithful.

Messi, nicknamed ‘Atomic Flea’ and ‘Messidona’ amongst many, is perhaps the leading light of his generation with over 300 goals in 360 plus appearances and a scoring average of .82 per match so far for Barca, beside a record 91 goals in a single year for club and country. His antecedents dribble comparison, unless your name is C. Ronaldo or, more affectionately, CR7. See, Ronaldo is not without a comparable wealth of accolades with the highlight 2008 Ballon d’Or accompanied by a series of individual and team awards for club and country. But his second place finishes in voting for the 2009, 2011 and 2012 Ballon d’Ors resonate most.

The Portuguese bomber may be considered the less accomplished of the two on account of the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA)’s latest rebuff of his achievements after Messi clinched a fourth successive crown, but not when all is done and dusted.

For one, if the award, as stipulated by FIFA, honours the player ‘considered to have performed best in the previous season by national team coaches and captains as well as journalists around the world’ then cases might be made for midfield dynamos Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta for 2009 and 2010 as well as Ronaldo in 2011 and 2012. The threesome registered more effect with their national teams. While the Spanish duo galvanised Messi at Barcelona and motorised Spain, Ronaldo fired Real Madrid and Portugal on.

So, is Ronaldo level with Messi or even better? In some ways.

Apparently the more complete player, with ambidextrous feet that shoot canons and a ‘lethal’ head that neutralises goalkeepers with ease, Ronaldo functions well on either wing or from the middle without the benefit of exceptional support and, significantly, has proven himself with different clubs and leagues (Sporting in Portugal, Manchester United, England, and lately, Madrid, Spain).

Messi, on the other hand, has never left Camp Nou and may never do so, due, in part, to contract terms and, probably, the challenge of playing in a midfield without Xavi and Iniesta, two of the best passers in football. Barcelona’s fluid, effective system appears constructed for the diminutive man with the deadly left foot. Take him out of the comfort zone and the goals might just trickle. For instance, until Argentina made Messi captain and designed the squad for him, he struggled to transfer club form to the national team and his modest achievements with the Albiceleste surely pale beside Ronaldo’s role of talisman which nearly fetched the southern Europeans the 2004 European Championship crown on the winger’s first attempt.

In a word, tasked with a new team required to win repeatedly, and a pick of the best attacker or wide midfielder to lead, you are better off with Ronaldo. But required to man the top of an established free-flowing system, you couldn’t enjoy a more sumptuous privilege than Messi.

QUOTE The only gift is a portion of thyself.

Jokes Humour The Secret Box A PUBLIC speaker was told by his doctor that he had only a few weeks left to live.

He went home feeling very sad, and when his wife heard the sad news she said, “Honey, if there’s anything I can do to make you happy, tell me.”

The speaker said, “You know, dear, there’s that box in the kitchen cabinet with what you always called “your little secret” in it and you said you never would want me to open it as long as you lived. Now that I’m about to go home to be with the Lord, why don’t you show me what’s in that secret box of yours?”

Obediently, the speaker’s wife got the box out and opened the lid. It contained N100, 000 and three eggs.

“What are those eggs doing in the box?” the speaker asked.

“Well, Honey,” said his wife, “every time your address was really poor I put an egg in the box.”

Now the speaker had spoken for over forty years, and seeing only three eggs in that old shoe box warmed his soul to no end.

“And what about the N100, 000?” he asked.

“Oh, you see,” she said softly, “every time there were a dozen eggs in the box, I … er … sold them … and put a hundred naira in the box.”

Low Self-esteem A HARDWORKING man had been feeling down for so long that he finally decided to see a psychiatrist. He went to the doctor, lay on the couch, spilled his guts and waited for the profound wisdom of the psychiatrist to make him feel better.

The psychiatrist asked a few questions, took some notes and sat thinking in silence for a few minutes with a puzzled look on his face. At once, he looked up with an expression of delight and said, “Um, I think your problem is low selfesteem. It is very common among losers.”

Football Disappointment A NO. 9 walks into a bar and asks the barman for a bottle of beer.

“Sorry I can’t serve you,” the barman said.

“Why not?” asks the No. 9 in an angry voice.

“You’re under 18,” said the barman.

•Adapted from the Internet

H

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

OW to Writer ’s Fountain B r e a k Writer’s Block: Freewriting is truly a Think! gift to writers, as you’ll think of many new Take some time alone, sit down, and just things you’d otherwise never consider think. Think about the things that interest you. Think about a story or article that caught writing down.

No matter whether you’re stuck your mind recently. Think about things that beginning a piece of work, trapped in the always seem to catch your attention but that middle, or struggling to create a great ending, you don’t give much thought to.

Consider your past, or future events. freewriting gives you the chance to think without any sort of boundaries or Think about your secrets. When you think of all these things, write them down, write about restrictions. them. The point is to think about something Space moves: new so that you can take your mind off the •Any free-moving liquid in outer space project you have it set to. Minds need and will form itself into a sphere, because of its enjoy freedom, and sometimes as a writer you surface tension. have to give it that.

•Astronauts become between two and three Take some time and think about inches taller when in space and gradually something other than your story, and before reverse to original height upon return to you know it, you’ll think about the perfect earth. idea that brings you back to your story again.

•Astronauts are not allowed to eat beans Try these suggestions, and see which ones before they go into space because passing help to break your writer’s block. Don’t stress wind in a spacesuit damages them. if your writer’s block doesn’t go away as •American astronaut Neil Armstrong first quickly as you’d like. Give yourself and your stepped on the moon with his left foot. imagination some time. Allow your •Over 360 kilograms of lunar rock were expectations to settle, give your mind some brought back to earth by astronauts and rest, and soon enough the writer’s block will most have not been analysed. be a thing of the past.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

53

‘How I conquered sickle cell anaemia with quail eggs’ —PAGE 68

In the world of bone setters Yetunde Oladeinde and Akinotan Daniel go behind the scene to gauge the lives of traditional healers who without the sophisticated world of technology reset broken bones.

A

BOUT eight months ago, the Lagos State government and some states across the country restricted or banned the use of commercial motorcycles popularly known as okada on the highway. This move was initially resisted by the riders and some members of the public.

However, gradually many people have begun to see the benefits, especially over lives that would have been lost and bones that would have been fractured or broken completely.

“About two years ago, I had an accident which affected my right leg. I was on a bike and instead of waiting for the car, the okada rider moved on and his miscalculation caused me great pain instantly. I was in the hospital for so many months and I spent all my savings in the process.

The okada rider ran away and we could not locate him again. My brother later took me to a bone setter where I was treated.”

Before the ban, statistics from the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) indicated that in Lagos 10,471 accidents involving motorcycles were reported. A great number of victims of fracture are okada riders, their passengers, other motorists as well as other domestic accidents. Those who patronise traditional bone setters (TBS) say it is cheaper.

The traditional option “One cannot compare the hospital with this (traditional) clinic. The bone setters are far better. They do not amputate except the limb is totally dead before getting here. I believe they are better than orthodox hospitals. They have done a lot to save accident victims from amputation,” says Dotun Ajayi, a beneficiary.

On the other hand, the risks accompanying reliance on traditional bone setters are many. They include an unequal length in healed limbs, toes pointing inwards or outwards and dangerous obstruction of blood flow in the course of trying to keep fractured arms or legs still, leading to the death of such limbs.

Experts, however, say that beyond the cost, it is better to assess the crisis created by some of the bone setters.

They also claim that at least 70 per cent of those who go to these bonesetters eventually return to the orthopaedic hospital, while others just accept the imperfect healing from the TBS clinic.

The Nation also decided to explore the world of some bone setters and how

they get their clients. First, we talked with a bone setter who simply identified himself as Doctor Moses. “I grew up in my native home. I inherited this work from my forefathers; they were very popular in their days and I learnt at their feet. Personally, I went into this as a fulltime trade and business about16years ago, precisely in 1996.”

Moses continued: “Then a young

man who rode okada had an accident and it affected his bone. They looked for help in various hospitals but all efforts proved abortive. A friend of mine linked me to the young man who had the accident. My friend knew that this was my area of specialisation while I was young, because we grew up together .The young man therefore gave me the opportunity to show what I had learnt.”

Interestingly, that was his first test and he proved his mettle. “It took me a lot of time to really get it but I was patient with the young man and that really helped me to bring his leg back.

After being able to assist the man with my own knowledge and the help of God, he was able to walk gradually. I was glad that I helped to save •Continue on Page 54

‘It’s sad; I can’t practice with one hand’ Isabella Akinsanya, a victim of an auto crash tells her pathetic story to Yetunde Oladeinde that the vehicle tumbled severally and it skidded off the road. I sat behind the driver and it took a lot of effort to rescue the two of us that survived from a valley that had been created by erosion. I was in coma for 12 days.

“I was in Ife for six months and was readmitted in the Teaching Hospital annex in Sagamu. After that, I was taken from one hospital to another. It is difficult to carry anything with my hands. I am used to people helping me to take my bath.

“I had the accident in 2004 and I was admitted at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital then. I did not settle all my hospital bills by the time I was leaving the hospital. At that time Prof. Roger Majekodunmi was the Chief Medical Director and the chairman of the board was one Mr. Abiodun, they gave us free drugs.”

Bone setter to the rescue Raising funds to take care of herself became very tough and at this point someone advised the family to try alternative medicine.

“I was taken to a trado-medical home

O

NLY a few moments separated Isabella Akinsanya from what would have been a most gruesome death. Sixteen of her friends including her twin sister died in that accident. She was in a coma for 12 days and she went through different operations. When the bills became unbearable, she was taken to a trado-medical home where her bones were worked upon.

Ten years after, the pain is still very fresh and the future appears to be very bleak. Sadly, she goes down memory lane to recount how it happened. “When it happened I was a youth corps member and we were travelling from Maiduguri to Lagos in a J-5 commercial bus.

We chartered the bus and there were 18 corps members on board. Sixteen people perished and my twin sister, Rita Bella, died in that accident. Dr Nkiruka and I were the only survivors. It was Nkiruka’s wedding that we all came to attend in Lagos. The wedding never took place because she ended with a spinal cord injury,” she recalls sadly.

Isabella continued: “All I remember was

• Akinsanya

•Continue on Page 54

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Life •Continued from Page 53

somebody’s life.”

Apart from the knowledge gained from his father, you wonder if he had any formal training, and he replies: “I was trained by my forefathers but I am backing it up with a degree from a University.”

The challenges Is the business lucrative? How often does Moses get customers in a month and how many people walk into his clinic, you ask? “I don’t have any sign board outside or any means to advertise myself or show my intelligence.

However, one thing is that when people receive healing after I have treated them I get referrals from such people. Your handwork naturally would advertise you, and that has been my case.

“They keep coming in their numbers, telling different stories about people whose bones I have restored. Usually, they ask people within their area and people who have benefited from me or know me describe my place for them. As for how many that comes in monthly, I cannot really put a figure to that; it varies. There are times when you have so many people here and there are times when the turn-out is low.”

What are your challenges when you try to set the bone? “The challenges we face are much, but to me it is very hard.

Trying to feel where the dislocation occurred and placing it back to the normal position is not easy but if you are not intelligent then you could make things worse.”

How much would it cost to treat a broken bone? “I can’t say the exact amount because it depends on the case.

Every case is not the same; some are just minor cases while others are really complicated. Apart from that, there are times you actually put yourself in their shoes and you just want to help take away their pain before thinking about the money. It is not that you won’t collect from them but they are little charges. It is also based on the kind of injury sustained by the patient that will determine the fees but it must not be the one that will affect them.”

Moses added that “I must say that with this work, you need to use your senses very well. If not, you are going to aggravate the condition of the patient.

However, we use our little knowledge given to us by God to feel the position of the dislocation. We use ordinary pepper and leaf at times for some terrible fracture and we bandage it so as not to shake. I must confess that most of the patients who sustain fracture these days are usually Marwa drivers, okada riders, as well as people that okada ran into.

What will happen will surely happen. I can’t say maybe they were careless, but my own is to treat them.”

So what do you say about the ban of okada riders on the highway in Lagos and other parts of the country? “There is nothing I can say or do. It is a law made by the government. Who am I to challenge that order? It is good because they want to save lives from all forms of accident or reduce accidents. However, I think that the government should also create another avenue for them to survive because most of the okada riders survive through this means alone, and a majority are bread winners.”

Magic bone setters How has the ban affected his business? “Personally, I don’t think it has affected me because I know that those that are bound to have such problem will surely come.”

Nana Kwame is another bone setter who is smiling to the bank. “One of the cases I have handled that gave me joy is that of a boy who went to pack sand somewhere and a tipper ran over his legs. It was a hopeless case and he was rushed to my place. All his bones were scattered and they had to go and call his mother who was in Ibadan at that time. I had to go to the spot where the accident happened to pick some of the bones. I washed the bones and set them back into the right place.”

Kwame goes down memory lane to

Amazing world of bone setters

•Traditional bone setters attending to patients

Living for the day somewhere in Ikorodu. The man was said to be a good bone-setter. I was there for two years and five months. I had to leave at a point and then I went back again and I was there for a year and nine months. The man was quite good but the damage done was too much.”

She studied Biochemistry for her first degree at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State and also studied Veterinary Medicine at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

“My left hand is iron, you can touch and feel it,” Isabella disclosed. As you feel her arms, she sighs almost in frustration. “I have gone through a lot of operations to correct this hand. At least I can remember going in and out of the theatre six times. At a point, we needed N340, 000 for an operation and when we couldn’t afford it, the prolonged stay in POP (Plaster Of Paris) made it to get worse.

My parents have also tried their best for me, they have been very supportive.

Unfortunately, they are aged and they can’t

do much now.”

Suddenly, a great pain gripped her entire body and she tried to adjust the arm once more.

The strain was so much that her eyes went red.

Tears, tears and more tears. For a few moments, moving her legs and arms was sheer trauma.

Gradually, she got stronger and sadly she tells you this is a routine that she has learnt to live with.

Leaving for the day How does she survive on a daily basis?

“Most times I beg from people. I go to churches and other places. At the moment I have pains in my groin. Look at my right leg and you would see that it is bigger than the other leg. It is swollen and it gives me pains. The accident affected my right leg and left hand more. My right leg was operated on and it has affected the other leg.”

When she graduated she had her fantasies and dreams. Unfortunately, it looks like it is all gone. Her doubts stem from the fact that everything around her is presently distressed.

“Look at me; I can’t even lift my hands. My sister and I wanted to go into animal husbandry.

For now I cannot take care of animals with one hand. I can’t practice what I went to study in the university with one hand. I need another surgery to correct the other hand and remove the iron.

“My parents are based in Sagamu and anytime I need to do something in Lagos, I stay in a friend’s place at Olowora. So accommodation is a major problem. If she is not around I may just have to hang around with traders at Maryland by the filling station till the next morning. So many friends have abandoned me. I lost my handset recently and I can’t afford to buy a new one. I don’t even know where to pick the pieces from.”

She added: “I also lost my older sister, Linda, in Bauchi. She was bitten by a snake and they rushed her to the hospital before they got there the venom was already in her veins. They had to bring her corpse home.”

Her consolation, however, is her children who she had before going to university. “I got married at the age of twenty-one years. I had two set of twins and they are with my parents but my husband abandoned me.”

recount some of the achievements he has recorded, challenges and difficulty faced.

“After treating a man whose legs was cut off by a trailer, he decided to stay back and learn the job with me. A good look at some of the bones and you would find that the bones were no longer good again. But there are certain herbs that you would use to cover the place and it would work. We also have a lot of cases affecting children, especially children who were forcefully pulled out during child birth.”

He continues: “I need more nurses because the demand for our services is getting higher. As soon as you come in here, you get a card. If it is an accident, I will ask you to go to the police and get a report before I start work.”

Happily, he goes on to talk about how

he got into the trade. “I would say that it is God’s gift. My father was an herbalist but he did not deal in bones. When I was a young boy, a car hit my fowl and I cried so much.

That night I couldn’t sleep and they tried to pet me, until I finally slept off. I dreamt and in that dream I got medicine to heal my fowl.

After that encounter, if a person breaks his legs or arms they would bring him to me.

Gradually, the business grew bigger and I started to take care of people with other ailments like stroke and ulcer.”

Some doctors and other medical personnel, however, warned that people should be careful. “The TBS take advantage of adherence to old custom and the ignorance of those who patronised them. 90 per cent of who are illiterates say that if you go to orthodox (hospitals), they will cut off their legs.”

He said while the orthodox hospitals ask

for deposits before treatment, the TBS allow payment in instalments; it is this affordability that explains why so many patients are attracted to their clinics.

According to him, bone-healing is purely the work of nature.

“When a fractured bone is rested and when it is kept in one place it heals. That is why the TBS keeps the person in one place and the bone heals.

“But the orthopaedic surgeons monitor the healing process to ensure that it heals perfectly and they also give other medications and provide the active ingredients or substances that are required for the healing to take place fast and at the most efficient manner to make it as solid as it should be,” he concluded.

However, what is clear is that the patronage of traditional bone setters homes have reduced since the restriction of movements of okada on major Lagos roads.

•Continued from Page 53

THE ARTS

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Nigeria through their eyes Usually readers engage authors at book readings. But at a reading penultimate Saturday, at Patabah Bookshops, Lagos, the authors and readers went beyond and engaged contemporary issues in Nigeria. Joe Agbro Jr. was there and writes

N

IGERIA means a lot of things to many Nigerians. But discussing a book about Nigeria is a challenge few engage in it because it implies either reading the book, or at least having read about the book. And because many Nigerians don’t read outside motivational books and newspapers, this sort of discourse are hardly showstoppers. And Patabah Bookshop, located at the expansive Surulere, Lagos, is one of the latest venues to join the hosting of readings, largely from Nigerian authors.

And penultimate Saturday again, the cosy bookshop hosted Sylva Nze Ifedigbo and Nwachukwu Egbunike, both authors of books on contemporary Nigeria.

As the authors introduced themselves, it was clear that apart from writing on contemporary Nigerian issues, both of them have allied medical backgrounds from the same school, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; while Nze studied veterinary medicine, Egbunike studied Biological Sciences from the same university. They both shared a disdain for the courses they studied as Nze only practiced for a year while Egbunike never practiced, which sparked the conversation.

Egbunike, the author of Dyed Thoughts: A conversation with my country, said he was admitted to study Biological Sciences and would have changed to medicine but a friend advised him to wait till his clinical that he might enjoy.

“The first clinical came and the first few months were enjoyable but I could not just see myself in a hospital laboratory from morning till night,” said Egbunike. “What would I be doing? Analysing sputum and serum?”

And once he graduated, he turned his back on Biological Sciences and worked with Spectrum Books, Ibadan. Completely into publishing now, Egbunike now is a publisher with his imprint, Feathers and Ink, publishing his book.

The book, a collection of the

•Ifedigbo, author of The Funeral Did Not End (R) and Egbunike, author of Dyed Thoughts at Patabah penultimate Saturday

author’s thoughts on diverse aspects of Nigerian life, comprises articles, interviews both on hard and soft issues. Reading from his book a story titled Witches, MASSOB, MOPOL, and My Person of the Year, Egbunike detailed a journey he embarked upon from Ibadan to Enugu. He said, “a lot of things happened on that journey.” From the hustling of the driver shouting that he would not have witches on his bus, to a dexterous pastor using all his skills, to skim passengers, to a lady whose persuasive skills earned pity from passengers who bought her magazine for N200, Egbunike detailed all and even more.

Many of his articles are satiric, rubbing the truths and enormousness of corruption, lack of prioritising, and ease with scams such as he writes in Honeymoon in Obudu for William and Kate? He highlights a proposal to host the prince and his bride to a palatial wedding honeymoon at colossal costs which he says might be numbing for him but very com-

mon to Nigerian leaders. However, not all his stories present a dreary state.

In Climbing Olumirin Water Falls of Erin Ijesha he takes his readers on an adventure to the beautiful waterfalls located in Osun State.

While risky to climb, he awesomely describes the sights, saying, “Olumirin Water Falls ErinIjesha opened my lips to sing to the being that made this Omalicha mmiri (beautiful water) so gorgeous yet spiced with peril.”

Egbunike traced his interest in writing to interactions at the British Council in Enugu. That period, he said, he was more into writing poetry. “After secondary school, we had a little but very interactive group back then in Enugu that we used to meet at British Council.” And according to him, “they helped.”

But, then he was into writing poetry. Writing articles, he said, came to him by accident. “I wrote one or two articles and it was published.” He also traced influ-

“

The first clinical came and the first few months were enjoyable but I could not just see myself in a hospital laboratory from morning till night

”

ence on writing his commentaries to works he read while working at Spectrum Books.

Reacting to the fact that a huge number of Nigerian students study courses they’re hardly interested in, Ifedigbo, who practiced Veterinary Medicine for a year after graduation, said, “there is a fundamental issue in our education system.” According to him, the level of career counselling is very poor. Probably referring to his ilk, he said, “you see people who might be fantastic lawyers, business men, or fantastic writers, because they can study physics very well are in the science class.”

“I know a whole lot of doctors who shouldn’t be practicing, who are bored doing with what they are doing. To leave it is a problem.

There is a challenge leaving that and doing something else.”

A little irked about this, he said, “for me, I feel much more fulfilled when I finish writing a story. Nobody has read it. It has not brought a naira to me. It might never bring.

But, there is that feeling of yes, ‘I’ve done something wonderful. And I don’t think I’ll ever get it by doing another thing.’”

The Funeral Did Not End, Ifedigbo’s second book, is a collection of 20 stories published last year

by Dada Books. Speaking at the session, Ifedigbo, whose fiction captures the essence of everyday livContinued on page 56

PHOTO: JOE AGBRO JR.

56

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Arts/Reviews

It would be difficult to get another Achebe – Anyadike I

T is the surest debt man owes which every man must pay. And when on Friday, Africa's literary giant, Chinua Achebe bowed to death, the world acknowledged the passage of a great man. For this diminutive giant whose journey of life began in November 1930, the end came via a brief illness last Thursday in Boston, USA. He was 82 years old.

With the world, especially, the literati thrown into mourning, a crucial look is once again taken on Achebe. In Nigeria, while members of his Igbo stock will miss him, for the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, his demise has created a void that would never be filled.

Speaking on Friday, Dr. Chima Anyadike, the Head of Department of English, OAU, said few sentences cannot "capture the full weight of Achebe."

According to the don, Achebe "represented what it meant to be aware of the African's man position in the world."

However, while the world mourns, OAU feels dampened. It is on record that the university was the first to honour Achebe with an honourary degree. And according to Anyadike, it was at that event he "delivered one of his seminal address that he is known for all over the world called 'the Truth of Fiction'."

To Anyadike, "He was a man who thought very

By Joe Agbro Jr.

deeply about things and it reflected in his work." Stirred by colonial sentiments, Achebe turned to writing to suppress a negative representation of Africa. He gained fame for writing books such as Things fall Apart, A Man of the People, Arrow of God, Beware Soul Brother, Anthills of the Savannah, Home and Exile, and recently, There was A Country. Achebe, throughout his career was controversial.

And for the 50th anniversary of Things Fall Apart, Anyadike said, "In 2008 when Things fall Apart was celebrated all over the world for being 50 years old, (OAU) Ife, again was the place where I personally convened an international conference which was well- attended. I don't think any other university did that. Well, maybe others tried to do something but not the kind of conference that we convened here in Ife to commemorate Things fall Apart at 50."

As he transits, Achebe is going to be remembered most in Nigeria for his recent book, There Was A Country: A Personal History of Biafra.

When it was published last year, it raised a lot of controversy in the country, where it was seen as touting the Igbo's supremacy and castigating some people of other ethnic region of trying to cleanse the Igbos.

Speaking on the book, Anyadike said, "The book will mean different things to

•Late Achebe

different people. And that is the nature of a controversial book. I said earlier on that Achebe was someone who thought very deeply about things. In that book, he was giving a perspective of the Igbo man who was where it happened. And I think he has a right to do that. I don't think he was speaking for everybody, for every Igboman, for every Nigerian. He gave his perspective on what happened. And people often forget that this man was not giv-

ing a universal truth. He was giving what he saw. And people who weren't there have no right to say the kind of things I've read. I'm not saying Achebe said all there is to say. But, I'm saying that people should try to [put themselves in the position from which he was speaking from. Perhaps, they would have understood him a little better."

Translated into over 45 languages and with over 10 million copies sold, his first

Discussing Nigeria at Patabah Continued from page 55 ing in Nigeria, said he wrote those stories between 1997 and 2000. He also wrote columns at the Next newspaper and Daily Times. His first book, Whispering Aloud, was written while he was in the university.

His book addresses the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of social issues confronting Nigeria. Hence, issues such as corruption, greed, poverty and crime, extra-judicial killings by some security operatives are detailed. However, just like Egbunike’s book, The Funeral Did Not End also offers light-hearted humour.

In On The Hot Seat, one of the stories he read at the event, Ifedigbo takes the reader through a contestant’s trials on the who wants to be a millionaire game-show. Faced with a difficult question, Ben Okafor had been forced to rely on his friend to supply him an answer to a question to win a million naira. Ifedigbo takes the reader through the tension-soaked moments.

What is particularly no-

book, Things Fall Apart which was published in 1958 has been studied all over the world. And his simple prose style is what Anyadike said he would miss. "I know for sure that primary school children read Things Fall Apart and they understand it," he said.

"And this same book is being analysed at different levels up till now by university professors across the world. He is somebody who from his writing has represented a style of writing that we would never see again. I would miss that."

"I'm saying that it would be difficult to get another Achebe in terms of that style of writing. And the way that he used the English language to represent Igbo thought forms. And that we find most of the times in his writing."

Speaking on his personal relationship, Anyadike described his as a pleasant man. "He was one of those privileged in his times," he said. "He got scholarships, and awards, more than most people did. And he saw enough to feel sad about things, about the position of the black man in the world.

So, it sort of saddened him. I'm not making a final statement on this. I'm sure that those who are very close to him in a way that I'm not will see the other side which I don't see."

Albert Chinualumogu Achebe was born on Nov. 16, 1930, in Ogidi, present day Anambra State. a socio-political activist who supported the creation of Biafra, he founded in 1981, the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA). Until his death, he was married to Prof. Christie Achebe (nee Okoli) and survived by four children and numerous grandchildren.

•Particpants at the reading

National Assembly.

Reflecting on his writing pattern, Ifedigbo said, “I thought of a way to say those things that mattered so much about our societies.

Those things we say in big

big grammar, in articles; say them in the language and in a way that makes us better relate to these characters that we know which might be ourselves or people we know, our neigh-

Visit to a garden I took a walk in a juicy jungle, Jungle, jungle, in a juicy jungle I was trapped by its silky bundle, Bundled, bundled, by its silky bundle I bathed in streams of its caressing warmth, Bathed and bathed in its caressing warmth And landed me in clouds of ecstasy, Clouds and clouds of ecstasy Till I died and jumped out limp Died and died and jumped out limp In fulfillment like the journey of the magi Journey, journey, like journey of the magi...

Would you repeat it if you were I? Are you shy Of her delicious laughter Or aroma of her smile And darkness of her arresting quarter?

How many journeys would you take in a while?

By Adjekpagbon Blessed Mudiaga

“

I feel much more fulfilled when I finish writing a story. Nobody has read it. It has not brought a naira to me. It might never bring. But, there is that feeling of yes, ‘I’ve done something wonderful. And I don’t think I’ll ever get it by doing another thing

”

ticed is Ifedigbo’s fluid play with words. He exhibits this in all his stories.

He also read Share of The Money, in which he captures a semblance of what must be going on in the

POETRY

bours, or people in power who we see on TV, people who we read about in newspapers and stuffs like that.

To write in a way that engages people to sit down and read, and at the same time, provides entertainment. And if along the line it passes any moral message or makes you think again about certain things or makes you want to pick up your pen and write yours, or whatever. Anything it propels you to do, then, that is like an added value to me.”

Surely, this generation cannot be accused of not adding their voices to the national discourse being detailed in books. While the veracity of the books may be

contestable, these authors’ books dwelt on contemporary issues affecting Nigeria. And, using beautiful language, both books have contributed to the understanding and reading pleasure of and about Nigeria and Nigerians.

The monthly reading at Patabah Bookshops started a while ago. So far, authors it has hosted include Victor Ehikhamenor, author of Excuse Us, Emmanuel Iduma, author of Farad, and Andrew Oki, author of Bonfires of the gods. Patabah Books’ Director Ore Somolu, speaking after the event, said the monthly readings have been gathering momentum since it began recently.

57

WORSHIP THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

'The church can cripple corruption in 21 days if…'

Rev Ladi Thompson is the founder of Macedonian Initiative, an agency committed to the plights of persecuted Christians. He spoke with Sunday Oguntola on how the church can tackle corruption and why there should be an amnesty programme for corrupt government officials. Excerpts:

•Ladi

C

ALLS for amnesty for members of Islamic sect, Boko Haram, are getting louder. What is your reaction to them?

Those who are calling for the amnesty are in two camps. First, there are those sincerely afraid having seen what lies ahead. They are so afraid that they think because amnesty worked for the Niger Delta, it is the way to go for Boko Haram. This is where they are wrong. In areas where amnesty has been granted in Nigeria, the issues were never based on ideology. They were based on disenfranchisement and human rights issues. The second camp involves sympathisers of Boko Haram. They are in government, in high places and business places.

The sect is growing in popularity because of wrong diagnoses. In the ideology of Boko Haram, negotiation is allowed. This has been prepackaged. But if you approve amnesty, it means

there will be more monies placed in the hands of terrorists and they will of course wreck more havoc. The government has woken up to these realities and that is why the insurgence keeps getting worse.

So, what is the way to go?

We have to first acknowledge that we are at war. I have said that Jonathan is a war-time president. If we are not careful, he may be the last President of Nigeria. So, we must declare a state of emergency, which he is still going to do. But, as usual, it will be too late. We should also strengthen ties with France. That is the only country that is genuinely interested in fighting terrorism.

America is only interested in our oil. Once it is gone or they find alternatives, they will move on. Britain will never commit troops should the situation escalate. They will only offer technical assistance while also supply-

ing arms to the fighting sides.

France seems like the only way to go. So, we should encourage study of French and strengthen ties. Then we must tackle corruption. The biggest force strengthening terrorism in Nigeria is corruption.

What is the connection between terrorism and corruption?

Corruption is what is facilitating the breakdown of Nigeria. It is the catalyst for the insurgence. The spill off of corruption is disloyalty to the Nigerian dream. For corruption to be bought to its knees, I don't think the federal government can spearhead it. Everyone believes this government is not committed to fighting it. Out there, in the international community, our President has a terrible image. He has been cast as a weak, inept, corrupt leader. There are consultants painting this picture of him every day. We have not prosecuted successfully any corrupt official instead we are granting state pardon.

So, how do we fight corruption then?

Truth is the federal government is no longer a credible institution to fight corruption. The only institution left is the religious sector. The Church has to lead the way.

Islam is under pressure from terrorism. The challenge with

the Nigerian Church also is that the endemic corruption in the nation has crept into it. There are Church leaders and institutions benefitting from corruption. We need to find the ministers benefitting from corruption the most and persuade them to have a rethink.

How? We must privately and quietly approach them that while they are benefitting personally from corruption, they are digging the graves of Christianity and the unborn generations in Nigeria.

So, using persuasion, we must make them desist.

Then, we can mount a serious anti-corruption crusade that the devaluation of human lives is unacceptable.

The earliest missionaries succeeded in convincing Britain to give up slave trade.

That was a most terrible form of corruption. If we mount a vigorous anti-corruption campaign, we will put terrorism under pressure. The civil societies should also join us and, of course, the government should support it.

What shape should the campaign take?

I believe a strong anticorruption campaign must involve amnesty for repentant beneficiaries. We need amnesty for corruption, not Boko Haram. In modern Ni-

geria, the government structure encourages corruption.

The civil service operations support it. The moral thermometer of the entire nation fuels corruption. Years ago, we said in Church that those involved in drugs and frauds should not bring tithes. There was a massive dip in attendance and incomes. Of course, we carried on but some of my colleagues said it was a stupid thing to do because these people were the ones funding Church projects. So, you see everyone, by commission or omission, is involved in corruption. There is massive poverty to the point corruption is promoted everywhere.

I tell pastors preaching motivation that it is good only when the moral thermostat of the nation is right. The more you preach motivation, the more you breed greed and destroy contentment among people in a society like Nigeria. There is why you can't find an honest carpenter or artisan anywhere again. The failure of the Church to preach morals has bought us here.

Unless we preach morals, all motivation is an encouragement to crime. If the Church mounts a strong anti-corruption campaign, we will cripple corruption in just 21 days in Nigeria.

So, we need amnesty for corrupt officials?

Certainly most of the

NEWS

Adeboye charges Fashola on healthcare delivery

T

HE General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has appealed to Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, to create more affordable primary health care centres that will cater for the growing medical needs of pregnant women in the rural areas Adeboye made the call at a press briefing ahead of the Special Prayer Session for Pregnant Women and Waiting Mothers scheduled for April 7 at the RCCG, Throne of Grace Parish,

By Adeola Ogunlade

headquarters, Redemption way, Ebute-Metta Lagos.

According to him, the only way to reduce the increasing rate of maternal deaths among pregnant women is the provision of affordable, accessible and qualitative health centres in communities across the country.

Adeboye, who spoke through the Assistant Pastor- in- Charge, Social Responsibility of RCCG Throne of Grace, Pastor Goke Aniiyeloye, said: "Affordable health care should be the right of every citizen which must

be pursued rigorously in the interest of lessprivileged women and children."

Although, he noted that the Lagos State government has been working hard to build health care centres, he said "the government can do more by doubling up the health centres which would help in reducing the long queue in the over bloated centres inimical to the wellbeing of pregnant women."

Adeboye said: "Governor Fashola can do more. Though, he has established several health

centres, they can be doubled to cater for more women who conceive in many areas in Lagos."

He also charged the state government to grant more individuals who have the capacity and know-how to establish maternity centres to complement efforts in providing accessible health care centres.

The cleric appealed to the Church to support the government in creating maternity centres qualitative and affordable for pregnant women and children within their locality.

•Adeboye

corrupt people had no other choice. The moral voice of the nation encourages and promotes it. All of us are guilty of where we are in terms of corruption. Either we did not talk loud enough or we were involved one way or the other. I have heard pastors preaching bribery is right. If we give a policeman something so as not to be late for an appointment or we gave government officials something to get documents out faster, we are guilty. Without corruption, you cannot live a standard life. You cannot get anything out. Things have become that terrible. So there must be amnesty for officials willing to repatriate their loots. If they are willing to give up their loots, we should forgive them and declare a structured amnesty.

There must be a structured development programme into which the repatriated funds should be committed.

This is not an under-the-table kind of amnesty programme we have now. But a programme of light punishment where people can free their consciences. We can then have a commission where people can go to and lay their loots. So, there is a roadmap for the Church to cripple corruption across the breadth of the nation in just 21 days.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

Worship FEATURES

Why more men are leaving churches

A

N Abuja-based Church recently witnessed what insiders described as "a palace coup".

Over 20 members of the men's fellowship walked out during a Sunday service. The pastor, according to eyewitnesses, was preaching on marriage. Most of the women, it was gathered, were hailing the pastor and clapping away for the wonderful insights.

Just at the height of the excitement, the president of the men's fellowship reportedly stood up and signalled to other men. Like a well-rehearsed movie, they all walked to the altar, shook their heads at the bemused preacher and walked away with apparent annoyance. Sources later said

•Akin-John

their action was to protest the female-friendly messages and policies of the Church. They alleged most of their wives have embraced such women empowerment messages,

making them unmanageable at home. None of them, it was gathered, never returned to the Church again.

Such walk-outs may be considered extreme but truth is many men are quietly turning their backs on churches. Men Matters trainer, Dr Francis AkinJohn, said most churches have a ratio of 70/30 in membership with men at the lowest rung. The reason, according to his book The real man in every Church, is because most men are leaving churches in droves.

Churches, he confirmed, are chasing men away unwittingly through obnoxious practices and policies. Some of these

COLUMN expression, among others.

Akin John said: "Most of our churches are femaleoriented. You have women's fellowship, mothers' day, women convention and several outreaches targeted at women. But how many of such exist for men? The impression is many men start feeling out of sort and place.

The women feel more appreciated and recognised while men feel estranged.

They leave in no time."

The church growth expert also revealed many churches deliberately make themselves less attractive to men because of the impression that they cause too many troubles. He explained: "By nature, women are pacifists and conformist but not men. They challenge and query everything. They task leadership and hold them up to accountability. Many pastors and churches are uncomfortable with this stance and therefore work towards having less men with less 'troubles'."

President of the Gospel Baptist Conference of Nigeria

•Atilade

practices include promotion of the culture of feminism, lack of programmes targeted at men, absence of adventures and outreaches, meaningless meetings and absence of rooms for

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The 2-in-1 project involves an advert supplement backed with a profile story on each participant.

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You will be glad you did!

and overseas, Archbishop Magnus Atilade, agrees churches attract more women than men. He blames the

Continued on page 59

Alarming statistic on Christian men •Most churches have a ratio of 70/30 with women at the forefront.

•Most women and kids come to Church without their husbands and fathers.

•Women have more control and visibility in most churches •At least five men leave most churches every month •Most men's fellowships are for church projects, contributions and meetings.

•Most men in Church disdain spiritual things and have no respect for constituted authorities •Most breakaways and rebellions are spearheaded by men •Men are the most problematic for Church leaders •They steal more Church fund Source: The real men in every church by Dr Akin-John

The Prophetic ministry of biblical Prophet Isaiah (7)

I

N our last discussion, we commenced the explanation of some underlined statements, which we will conclude today.

"A virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, And shall call his name Immanuel".

In the state Ahaz king of Judah was, he still refused to tempt God and this refusal encouraged the Creator to reveal through prophet Isaiah, that He would send His only Son into the world through the descendants of David, whose name will be called Immanuel.

This further cemented one fact that, God will never forsake His people, who have put their trust in Him. He will always send helper at the point of need and whenever things look gloomy.

Another important lesson to learn from this is that no matter when it takes, God will always remember His promises. He had promised David of his descendants ruling at all times in Israel, which he has kept, and also ensured the Messiah also came through his descendants (see Matthew 1).

Relationship with contemporary nations Looking at the most important of the statements underlined on chapter 7- 'Israel aligns against its brethren Judah': are we not having brothers selling brothers in the present world? The Koreans (North and South) are still technically at war; the Germans were for many years, had the Berlin wall that divided the East from the West; many have done unbelievable things including betrayals (remember Judas Iscariot) irrespective of the blood relationship. Even Pilate and Herod that have been sworn enemies became friends just for the evil purpose of crucifying Jesus Christ (Luke 23:12). Hence, he who says he is your friend but find it comfortable with those that despise you, will one day sell you to your enemies, because evil and good; light and darkness cannot pretend to be friends. You have abused somebody on the pages of newspapers, wrote stinkers openly about him, revealed the confidential information you were privileged to have about him, and years later, you joined forces with such person you hated with passion in order to bring your blood brothers or friends

down. Just like Israel paid for his romance with Syria against Judah, such people will always receive their deserved punishment from Almighty God. Chapter 8 This chapter deals with the coming invasion of Assyria and a stern warning to Isaiah to think differently from the way others think. It started with the birth of another son for prophet Isaiah named Maher-shalal-Hash-baz, who incidentally is the longest name in the bible. Meanwhile, another one called Jonathelemrechokim is a name given to song in bible dictionary for Psalm 56 (any contrary opinion on this is welcome).

Isaiah was asked to give that name to his second son to reflect that in no too distance time, the people of Damascus (capital city of Syria), and Samaria (capital city of Israel) would be taken away into captivity. Verses 3-4 say 'And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son, then said the Lord to me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hashbaz. For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria'.

The people of Israel were being punished for their unholy alliance with the enemies (Syria) against the people of God who was their brethren (Judah). The scriptures rightly say 'touch not my anointed and do my prophets no harm', for whosoever wage war against God's chosen and anointed ones, would find himself/herself to blame irrespective of the blood relationship. At least, there are lessons to learn from the punishment of Israel for planning against Judah; how God disciplined Miriam and warned Aaron for their utterances against Moses.

The message of God to Isaiah was so decisive that it even went as far as saying if the Israelites like, let them align with other nations, they would still be destroyed for their wrongdoings. This was sternly and expressly said in verses 9-10 that 'Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces;

Superintendent Israel Akinadewo

SANCTUARY MESSAGE And give ear, all ye of far countries: Gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken into pieces; Gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken into pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; Speak thy word, and it shall not stand: For God is with us'.

Warning to prophet Isaiah The carrier of the message (Isaiah) was equally warned not to relate or conform to the ways of such people, who would be saying that the decision of God to punish them was because of conspiracy, and that he should not be afraid of their threats.

Relationship with contemporary nations In this contemporary world, people have been blaming others for their woes; they have never believed they are the architects of their misfortune. If somebody steals, he will quickly point accusing fingers at the person that exposes him, and not his own ungodly attitude of stealing.

When the six Arab nations in 1967 (Yom Kippur war) aligned to fight Israel, they (the Arab nations), and their supporters did not see anything wrong, but when God gave Israel the strength to overcome their adversities, they cried for injustice, after some of them like Egypt, Syria have lost their land in the process.

God has never punished anybody or nation unjustly except of course when such person's or nation's faith is being tested.

Whosoever blame others and not himself can never learn from his mistakes and will always be surrounded by wolves, that will always tell him what he wants to hear, and what will harden his heart to destruction. This is why many leaders especially in Africa have failed, for they do not listen to voice of reasons.

To be continued.

Prayer point Psalm 70:1: 'Make haste, O God, to deliver me, make haste to help me, O Lord'.

For comments and enquiries: +2348060572904; motailatusanctuarychurch@yahoo.com

•Members of the Catholic Women Organisation(CWO) with some awardees at St. Agnes Cathedral Maryland Lagos... recently

Worship

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

NEWS

COLUMNS

Lessons from Obadare Commanding Popular blind preacher, Prophet Timothy Obadare, who died last week at 85 has many lessons current church leaders can learn from, writes Sunday Oguntola

•Obadare

I

T remains the biggest crusade by an indigenous preacher. The year was 1981. Venue was Tafawa Balewa Square Lagos (TBS).

The time was 12noon. Millions made their way to the venue from all parts of Lagos.

Many came from Akure, Ibadan, Abeokuta and other neigbouring cities.

Though the crusade was slated to commence by 6pm, the venue was already jampacked as early as noon. An attendee recalled: “It was unprecedented. Nigeria had never seen a gathering by an indigenous preacher like that before. Remember we are talking of when Nigeria was still buoyant and people hardly go to church. The crowd was something else.

They all came because of the preacher, who was an acknowledged man of God”.

The surging crowd became a big worry to members of the National Assembly whose sittings held then at the TBS. They were either holed up in their offices or simply joined the crusade since there was no way to get out.

One week after the explosive crusade, the Federal Gov-

ernment became concerned.

President Shehu Shagari approved the use of the National Stadium Surulere, Lagos for the remaining days of the crusade.

It was the first time any religious programme will hold at the massive facility.

The preacher, Evangelist Timothy Obadare, who died last Thursday at 85 in an undisclosed private hospital in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, thus became the first to use the facility. Needless to say the crusade witnessed the mighty miracles and healing that characterised the meetings of the leading Nigerian evangelist.

Obadare remained true to evangelism. His commitment to the salvation of sinners was never in doubt. He believed only a saved man has hope of eternity. He was not a motivational preacher or a compromiser bending the rules to drive membership.

The blind preacher had an unusual access into the world of the spirit. He was a terror to witches and wizards wherever he preached. Stories abound of witches openly confessing and repenting at his crusades. He demonstrated the supremacy of

Christ, not just using sugarcoated words to persuade men.

The deceased was also a man of prayers. His prayers bought many of them to their kneels. Associates spoke of how he would pray for hours for the manifestation of the grace and power of God. Little wonder, his ministrations were characterised by wondrous acts.

The Bible was his life.

Though he could not read it physically, his knowledge of the Holy Book was amazing.

He quoted it copiously faster than even those reading it.

Despite his massive followership, Obadare, founder of the World Soul Winning Evangelical Ministry (WOSEM), lived a simple life.

He was never known to be acquisitive or materialistic. He never rode in any ostentatious vehicle or even contemplated state-of-the art automobiles.

Whatever funds he raised went strictly into crusades and evangelistic works.

Obadare was also never controversial. He did not claim to be an expert theologian with the best knowledge of the Bible. He knew salvation is a simple but powerful theme that resonates with all men. He stuck to simply preaching and confronting the works of darkness. He denounced corruption and bad governance, urging men to follow God wholeheartedly. He avoided government officials and their Greek gifts, only sending them words of repentance.

Daring despite his physical disability, Obadare chose to go to places even many angels will fear to tread. His evangelistic outreaches took him to many cities and towns. He traversed the nooks and crannies of the country, fishing for souls. There was no town or village too remote for him to go. He was as much in the villages as he was in the cities.

The media aide to Obadare, Pastor Michael Awe, said he will be sorely missed.

“Baba was a colossus, a man used by God to work signs and wonders. The church will miss his boldness and powerful messages.”

One of the children of the late prophet, Mr. Joseph Obadare, said his father lived a fulfilled life. As the body of Christ celebrates a man full of grace and power, there is so much to learn from his eventful life and ministry.

FEATURES

Why more men are leaving churches Continued from page 58 development on the gender qualities of women.

"Women are naturally lovely, kind and more dependable than men. They trust easily and love the things of God. So, it is normal that they will be more religious and more in churches."

He disagrees the situation is not so much about atmosphere and policies in churches but more about gender differences.

"Men, on the other hand, have issues to confront with.

They have economic pressures and demands contending with them. So, once they have issues, they run away. That is the way it is and why many of them are fewer in churches," he stated.

Because of perceived marginalisation, most men in the church have become rebellious, pointing out every error and fault with the leadership. "An idle hand is the devil's workshop. When you don't engage men, you indirectly ask them to find something else to do. They start creating problems and spearheading breakaways," Akin-John revealed.

He and Atilade agree that every church needs the services and membership of more men. "Without them, we cannot evangelise the world.

Women cannot go as missionaries. Men are also good with physical works.

We need them badly and will have to accommodate them some ways," Atilade said.

But Akin-John places the responsibility on the church.

59

"Thank God for women but we should not build churches around them. Our churches should be masculine to confront evils and dare the devil. We cannot afford sitback members who are not risk-takers. So, we must engage men and address reasons why they are leaving," he began.

On what to do specifically, he said: "Churches must have outreaches and special programmes designed for men. We must create more roles and rooms for men.

Yes, they could be troublesome and difficult to pastor but we must channel their energies to positive use.

That is how to retain them and build homes where men are true leaders and churches where things are stable".

Supernatural Success! (4)

Living Faith

By Dr. David Oyedepo AST week, I taught on the law of divine ideas. Since we began this series, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, we have established a major key which is the foundation of meaningful, lasting and enduring success.

This week, as I conclude this series, let us further explore this all-important key to outstanding success: The Law Of Love.

The law of love empowers us for outstanding and enduring success. It unlocks the world of impossibilities. Love is the most reliable and dependable lifting force on the earth. … Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him (1 Corinthians 2:9). It's not just loving God that works, it's loving Him unreservedly and absolutely.

Recognise that your understanding enlarges your heart for God. Understanding is a function of love. The deeper your love for an individual, the greater your access to his confidentialities. David said: I have more understanding than all my teachers… (Psalms 119:99).

That was a man after God's own heart.

How love empowers us: •Establishment of the believer's marriage with Christ We discover that the Church is ordained to be the Bride of Christ. One of the mysteries of love is that it is the bond of marriage. Marriage is only consummated on the platform of love (Ephesians 5:29-32).

The Church is the Lamb's wife, but only a

L

genuine heart-seated love will empower us to come into that marriage. When your love graduates into marital love with Christ, then you become an enviable success story on the earth (2 Corinthians 11:2).

• Your husband is your advocate You have your husband as your advocate when accused. You have your husband as your lawyer. In a case, everything he knows about law will come out under some serious anointing.

• Your husband is your judge He is not only your advocate; your husband is also your judge. The Bible says: For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. (John 5:22). He is the judge sitting on the bench.

He argues the case and judges the case. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:36).

•Your husband is your blood brother Your husband is also your blood brother. He was not ashamed to call us brethren (Hebrews 2:11).

Everything about you is covered in that marriage.

No matter where the enemy comes from, you are covered.

What is in love?

•Love is your access to walking in the fullness of God God is love. When you are walking in consecrated, anointed and wholesome love, you are walking into the fullness of God (1 John 4:16).

Whosoever has seen you has seen Christ. When you and Christ become one,

‘Christians have unlimited powers’

T

HE Power of Speaking in Tongues written by Segun Oladele, a youth teacher at the Holy Ghost Christian Centre, Matori, has been launched.

Oladele, a graduate of Computer Science from the University of Ilorin, said the book was inspired by a revelation while recuperating from a prolonged illness.

According to him: "I was taking a nap when I got a revelation. In that revelation a woman came into my room with a knife. I was physically disadvantaged and the only thing that occurred to me at that

By Vincent Nzemeke time was to speak in tongues.

"As I began to speak in tongues, the woman mysteriously turned and pierced herself with the knife. I later discovered that God was showing me the power available to Christians through speaking in tongues".

He said Christians have powers provided by God through which they can overcome the world and the devil.

Oladele added that the fourchapter book provides a platform for Christians to overcome the challenges of life through the power of the Holy Spirit.

no door can be shut against you anymore. This way, you dwell in the Lord of Host, and no door can be shut against Him. When your love for God grows into that realm, then you become a breakthrough entity on the earth; nothing can stop you (Psalms 24:710).

•God is in love When our love is perfected, we begin to walk in the resurrected and celestial realm of life. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17).

•Anointed love makes the believer a bride of Christ You walk in His love to an extent that you get to a realm, where you are married to Him. When you are married to Him, you become one flesh with Him (Eph. 5:29-32).

What then does it mean to be married to Christ? It means: •You will be married to His Person This means to be married to His person and not to His acts. When that happens, you are in command of His acts. Before you call, He answers. While you are yet speaking, He performs, because your heart is sown to Him as a seed (Proverbs 23:26).

•You will be married to His Cause He came so that no one should perish, but all should come to repentance.

So, when you are married to Christ, you are married to His Cause. What moves Him is what moves you (John 15:16).

•You will be married to His House You can't be married to Jesus and not be married to His house (Psalms 84:1-2, 4). People who are truly married don't need any admonition to be in His tabernacle. It's the most amiable place for them (Psalms 122:1).

•You will be married to His Word If you love Him, you will love His Word. One of the proofs of true love is your love for His Word, and your commitment to the practice of the Word. David was an addict of God's Word.

When you are a God addict, you will be a Word addict (Psalms 119:97).

Friend, the power to be married to Christ is the preserve of those saved. You get saved by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. If you are set for it, please say this prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. I can't help myself. Forgive me of my sins. Deliver me from sin.

Today, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me!

Now I know, I am born again!

I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with us through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 7747546-8; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

BUSINESS

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•General Electric is investing over $ 1billion in Nigeria

Nigeria’s many challenges attracting foreign direct investment The Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment is at the heart of the overall government strategy to grow Nigeria’s economy. Bukola Afolabi analyses the ministry achievements in the last two years and the challenges ahead General Electric Company of the United States, which recently sealed a $1billion investment deal on the establishment of a new manufacturing and assembly facility in Calabar, said at the time, that the project was at the point of execution.

Yakubu said, “Though it will take a while for the impact of these investments to be felt, it has been established that Nigeria has a renewed image even in the face of challenges. This, I believe, explains why Presidents and trade ministers from Europe, Latin America etc, have continued to visit Nigeria to explore mutually beneficial trade and investment relationships. It also goes to show that there has been some aggressive marketing of Nigeria’s potential, especially by a person they consider trusted in investment matters,” he said.

However, The Nation’s findings show that confidence in the Nigerian economy is fast improving as evidenced by different global investment reports. Just recently, Nigeria was ranked as one of the four major investment destinations and growth areas

in the world.

According to KPMG, one of the world’s foremost audit, financial and tax advisory firms, Nigeria’s newfound status followed the disappointing returns recorded by the BRICS, with the exception of China.

The World Investment Report 2012, subtitled “Towards a New Generation of Investment Policies”, released recently by UNCTAD in Geneva, also placed Nigeria as Africa’s biggest destination for Foreign Direct In-

vestment in 2011, with total FDI inflows of $8.92bn. The report stated that Nigeria received $8.92bn in FDI, thereby placing it as first in Africa, while South Africa was ranked next with total FDI inflows of $5.81bn.

Investment climate reform Going by reports of activities under the Ministry of Trade and Investment’s Investment Climate Reform Programme, a lot of efforts have gone into reforming the Nigerian investment climate and improving the country’s

“

This, according to SME experts, is usually the trend in many countries and is the reason many advanced economies focus more on SMEs as the engine of economic growth. That may explain why the trade and investment ministry has also developed a robust plan to help MSMEs attain the height of driving inclusive economic growth and development in Nigeria

“

HE United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in its 11th June, 2012 Investment Framework Policy report stressed the importance of investments in the face of global economic realities.

“At a time of persistent crises and pressing social and environmental challenges, harnessing economic growth for sustainable and inclusive development is more important than ever. Investment is a primary driver of such growth. Mobilizing it and ensuring that it contributes to sustainable development objectives is important for all countries, especially developing countries,” UNCTAD noted. Against this background, it said, a new generation of investment policies is emerging, pursuing a broader and more intricate development policy agenda, while building or maintaining a generally favourable investment climate’.

In the last 22 months, one ministry that has done so much in the area of economic revitalisation, but whose job may not be easily seen mainly because it does not put up physical structures but creates the environment for good economic structures to stand, is the Ministry of Trade and Investment. That ministry was renamed at the beginning of this administration with so much ‘style’, owing more to the international experience of Olusegun Aganga, the man at the helm of affairs.

But that singular action by President Goodluck Jonathan, is unfolding to be more than a mere name change.

Barely two years after the expansion of the ministry’s mandate, local and international financial experts have continued to roll out positive trade and investment statements/figures on Nigeria. This, experts have said, is apparently the result of the work being done by the Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, working closely with his colleague, the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Dr. Samuel Ortom.

“The duo have been working hard to tackle the major challenges confronting Nigeria’s business environment, even though these efforts may not be immediately visible. But I can say that the significant and verifiable results that we have been seeing in the last six months are the direct results of these efforts,” an economist/financial analyst, Dr. Joel Yakubu, said.

Yakubu adds that: “What we must do now is strategise to make the modest growth inclusive and to ensure that we continue with the ongoing reforms, at the same pace, even after the expiration of this administration’s tenure,” he noted.

Apparently as a result of the aggressive investment drive under the new administration, reports from the Ministry of Trade and Investment state that investment commitments of over N8.5trillion have been generated so far while some of the major investors have actually commenced implementation. For instance,

Doing Business ranking. The Doing Business and Competitiveness and Investor-Care committees have been revived; the One-Stop Investment Centre at the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) has been repositioned and strengthened to achieve efficient coordination of investment facilitation between relevant government agencies and achieve a 48-hour response target for all enquiries, while the board of the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria was recently inaugurated to drive healthy competition in business.

These efforts have, no doubt, yielded measurable gains. For instance, the Global Benchmarking Network ranked Nigeria 115th in its annual Global Competitiveness Reports released in September last year. The country was ranked 127th the previous year, indicating an improvement by 12 points.

The report, published on the website of the World Economic Forum on September 5, identifies and assesses the drivers of the economy of 144 countries and is reputed to be one of the most comprehen-

sive ratings of national competitiveness worldwide. According to the report, Nigeria moved up to the 115th place in the ranking due to improved macroeconomic condition.

Regulations of the Corporate Affairs Commission, a parastatal under the supervision of the Ministry of Trade and Investment, has also been amended paving the way for N1billion potential annual savings to investors. This, according to the Registrar-General, CAC, Alhaji Mahmud Bello, is in addition to the redevelopment of CAC software systems to enable online registration of businesses. He said potential annual savings to investors in this regard was estimated at N2.5billion.

“The Honourable Minister also made it clear to me that I had to deliver 24-hour registration service as a major KPI, and I am happy to say that we have been able to deliver that,” Mahmud said.

In this regard, the total number of new companies registered within 24 hours since the commencement of the 24-hour start-to finish business registration by the CAC, currently stands at 10,723. This information was made public in the CAC’s latest Report titled, “Statistics of New Registration Services

Continued on page 61

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

BUSINESS

Attracting FDI Continued from page 60 for Abuja and Lagos Offices.”

A breakdown of the report showed that the total number of applications for business registration received by the Commission within the last four months was 20,800. Of this number, Abuja Head Office received 19,919 applications, while Oregun and Yaba Offices received 653 and 228 applications respectively. According to the report, the total number of applications processed within 24 hours in CAC’s Abuja Head Office was 10,292; while the Oregun and Yaba, Lagos offices processed 398 and 33 applications respectively.

The R-G noted that it was important, in line with the directive of the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, to let the public know that the 24hour registration service was working and also state common errors that had made some applications fall out of the 24-hour deadline.

Improvement in Trade statistics While briefing journalists at the ministry’s End-ofYear media chat, Aganga said that the ministry had embarked on a first-of-its kind multi-focus trade strategy where growth strategies for domestic, regional and international trade were based on the different challenges in the different areas. It has also succeeded in integrating trade, industrial and investment policies as a way of ensuring coordinated growth.

Unlike in the past when export figures were very poor, trade/export figures have continued to improve.

The Central Bank of Nigeria in its “Nigeria’s External Sector Report “ 2012, indicated that Nigeria’s foreign trade improved sharply in the second quarter of 2012 with $12 billion surplus occasioned by 42 per cent decline in imports.

“Nigeria’s trade balance improved significantly from US$8.62 billion in Q2, 2012 and $1.60 billion in Q3, 2011, respectively, to US$12.37 billion in Q3, 2012. Aggregate exports rose by 8.2 per cent, from US$22.53 billion in Q3, 2011 to US$24.37 billion in Q3, 2012 while aggregate imports (CIF) declined by 42.7 per cent to US$11.99 billion in the review period. The trade balance position improved due to lower imports of goods and services and increased exports earnings,” the apex bank said.

Latest statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics also revealed that total trade fell by 4.4 per cent between 2011 and 2012.

According to Dr. Oluwole Akinwunmi, an economist and financial analyst, the fall in total trade is a positive development for the country because it was as a result of the massive 42.9 per cent decline in import in the review period.

“This shows that the nation is shifting gradually away from being an importdependent nation. Increasing export implies in-

•Aganga

creased domestic production, job creation and wealth generation.

Throughout 2012 for instance, it has been established that no single licence was given for the importation of cement, which has traditionally been a source of heavy drain on our foreign exchange. This may also have substantially contributed to a fall in import.

And all these are invariably correlated to the rigorous implementation of growthenabling policies in the key sectors of the economy,” Akinwunmi said.

The NBS report stated that the value of export increased from N19,440.4 billion in 2011 to N22,446.3 billion in 2012. The increase in the value of exports contributed to the visible trade balance of N16,821.4 billion recorded in 2012, according to the Bureau.

Industrial revolution A lot still needs to be done in the area of industrial revolution even though this is one area the Ministry of Trade and Investment appears to focus so much on. The minister’s favourite quote is: “No nation has moved from being a poor to a rich nation by relying mainly on exporting raw materials without having a vibrant industrial and services sector.’’ Findings by The Nation show that even though the country still has a long way to go with regard to the revolution in the industrial sector, the ministry’s Industrial Revolution Plan, which seeks to increase the contribution of industry to GDP; develop priority sectors to top 1 in Africa and top 10 globally; reduce dependence on imports and create jobs, is on the right track to placing our industries on the front seat of inclusive economic growth and development.

Akinwunmi said, “I am aware that the ministry is rigorously implementing the Backward Integration Policy used in the cement industry in other key sectors. I must tell you, the activities of the ministry, as enormous as they are, have been very beneficial to the economy of the nation.

“The development of the National Sugar Masterplan to aid self sufficiency in sugar production; and the formulation of the Nigerian

Automobile Industry Development Plan, which will provide the environment for the orderly development of the sector , among others, are noble initiatives that have already laid the foundation for ample job opportunities for those in the working group. We only need some more time for the effects to be palpable.”

Statistics released by the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria already point to a brighter near future. Industrial capacity utilisation has risen from 46.44 per cent in 2010 to 48.24 per cent to date.

In particular, capacity utilisation in the textile, apparel and footwear sector has increased from 29.14 per cent to 52.01 per cent.

Aganga said recently, at the Stakeholders Retreat on the Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) sector, that the Federal Government’s intervention in the textile industry had seen to the reopening of hitherto moribund textile mills, saved about 8,070 jobs and created 5,000 new jobs through the disbursement of the N100 billion CTG Intervention Fund. He noted, however, that there was still much work to be done.

The Vice-President, Nigeria Labour Congress and General Secretary, National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, Issa Aremu, also confirmed that 38 textile firms had so far benefitted from the Fund.

Enterprise development The Ministry of Trade and Investment has developed a National MSME policy to be launched in the second quarter of this year.

The policy was developed after the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN) conducted, for the first time, a national survey on MSMEs in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics.

The survey revealed that the total number of persons employed by the MSME sector as at December 2010 stood at 32,414,884 while the total number of MSMEs was estimated at 17,284,671, 96 per cent of the total enterprises in Nigeria.

This, according to SME experts, is usually the trend in many countries and is the reason many advanced economies focus more on SMEs as the engine of eco-

nomic growth. That may explain why the trade and investment ministry has also developed a robust plan to help MSMEs attain the height of driving inclusive economic growth and development in Nigeria.

There have, however, been complaints of non-coordination of the activities of agencies in charge of developing SMEs in Nigeria. But the ministry might have solved that problem and designed a productive course for MSMEs when it kicked off the National Enterprise Development Programme recently. NEDEP is an initiative spearheaded by the Ministry of Trade and Investment and its three parastatals - the Bank of Industry, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria and the Industrial Training Fund.

In an interview with journalists on NEDEP, the minister said, “It is the first time ever that the three major agencies under my ministry - responsible for MSMEs development, finance and industrial skills development - have come together to drive and implement a programme that will revolutionise the growth of the MSME sector in Nigeria.

While SMEDAN will provide business training and support, ITF will provide the skills required for specific or specialized businesses and BOI will provide the funding.

“The development of NEDEP was guided by similar enterprise development models in Asia, Africa and the One Local Government One Product (OLOP) pilot projects in Kano and Niger states. Our objective is that within the next two years of implementing NEDEP, the programme will generate 3.5 million jobs and an estimated five million direct and indirect jobs.”

So far, the ministry, through BOI, has deepened access of MSMEs to credit by lending to cooperatives and establishing “matching funds” with state governments and pro-MSME private sector organisations.

“There was a stronger performance in 2012 as the bank (BOI) increased its focus on MSMEs to 85 per cent of its commitments in total. In the last year, there has been a 30 per cent increase in the number of cumulative loans approved, 67 per cent increase in cumulative value of loans and 161 per cent increase in jobs created,” the Bank of Industry said.

An SME expert and Principal Partner, Carson Capital Limited, Mr. Olatunde Akande, noted that the ministry was doing a lot of good work in the area of SME development. But he said focus should be more on SME financing. “BOI alone can’t meet the demands,” he said.

The journey ahead All hands are on deck now to see that economic growth is enhanced and that the growth is inclusive. Though many experts believe that the approach to trade and investment in the country today is workable and should eventually foster sustainable, inclusive economic growth and development in the country, there is the fear that the momentum may be hard to sustain. This, definitely, is a challenge for the ministers in charge of trade and investment.

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ITF denies allegation of protest by 1000 youths

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HE Industrial Training Fund (ITF) last week denied that nobody protested out of the 1000 youths trained by it under the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP) for non payment of their allowances.

Area Manager, ITF Awka, Mrs Linda Egbuonu, in a telephone discussion with The Nation reminded that after the passing-out session at J. Jumac Hotels Ltd Awka that they stayed behind and paid every participant.

She expressed shock by reportage of a national daily that the youths protested after the closing session adding that grievances or complaints of an insignificant few which she later addressed personally at the venue, should not be seen as protest rather than complaints.

She said she was shocked and amazed at the reportage.

She went further to say that the event was quite peaceful and successful both in organisation and attendance.

She said nothing was promised anybody anywhere since the training began and that they did not go outside their brief on the training.

She said the ITF paid all

From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

the trainers all their stipulated stipends of N5000 per month for three months and provided them with all materials, tools and equipment for the assignment. She added that the state government led by Peter Obi, represented by the Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Dr Edozie Aroh, monitored the programme alongside other supervisors within and outside ITF. Mrs Mgbuonu further informed that the skill acquisition component was handled by the ITF , the Entrepreneurship component handled by SMEDAN and Financial/ Credit facility component by BOI. She said the NISDP was implemented fully exactly as covered by its terms of reference as a critical factor in the Transformational efforts of the Federal Government.

It was reported that the Course Captain of the Tilling, Okafor Arthur Ikenna lamented that the equipment for empowerment promised them were not giving to them and that March allowances were not given them as well as large chunk of money for empowerment as promised.

•L-R: Mr. John Ugbe, Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria; Mrs. Olubunmi Fayokun, Partner, Aluko Oyebode & Co; and Consular General, South Africa High Commission, Mr. Mokgethi Monaisa during the breakfast meeting of the Nigeria South Africa Chamber of Commerce, sponsored by MultiChoice Nigeria recently in Lagos

FG to create 3.5 million jobs from agric mechanisation

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HE Federal Government will create 3.5 million jobs through its agricultural mechanisation scheme between now and 2015.

This is to add 20 million metric tonnes of food to the domestic supply by 2015, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, disclosed.

Adesina also unveiled plans to establish 60 private sector-driven Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprises (AEHE) in priority sites across the country.

He said the move became imperative such that farmers can have access to farm mechanisation services in the 2013 season and to improve right to affordable mechanised services.

He disclosed this at the commissioning of the newly completed projects and equipment commercialisation programme organised by the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation (NCAM) at the weekend in Ilorin.

From Olugbenga Adanikin, Abuja and Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

Adesina said: “A private sector-driven equipment hiring scheme tailored is being introduced to improve the access of farmers to affordable mechanised services.

“This mechanisation service delivery will be all-inclusive: covering land development (trees removal, stump removal, and de-stoning) land preparation, tillage operation, harvesting, transportation, construction of rural roads, tractor rehabilitation, threshing, processing, value addition, etc.

“To ensure that farmers have access to farm mechanisation services in the 2013 season, agric ministry will establish 60 private sector-driven AEHE in priority sites across the country.

“The enterprise will be equipped with 300 units of tractors and 1590 planting, harvest and post harvest agricultural equipment to provide immediate mechanisation service support to farmers in this areas.”

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

BUSINESS

Aero Contractors in the eye of the storm

Beyond Talent

By Adetayo Okusanya Email: adetayookusanya@hotmail.com

Who stole my mojo?

A

•Aero airline

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HE crisis between management of Aero Contractors and staff is worsening and there seems to be no solution in sight at the moment.

The company is yet to recall the workers sacked.

From the records Aero currently employs about 1000 staff but it sacked over 600.

So, what really went wrong? Interestingly, Aero hasn’t given reasons for the mass sack that may earn it huge legal tussles over labour abuse. But a top Aero management staff, who pleaded anonymity, said Aero isn’t worried about legal issues as labour laws are hardly enforced in Nigeria.

The sack letters were signed by the acting Managing Director of the company, Obaro Ibru. It reads: “I regretfully confirmed that you are hereby dismissed from your employment with Aero Contractors Company of Nigeria Limited with immediate effect.” The sacked staff were ordered to handover all the company’s documents, assets and other items in their possession to the company’s human resource department while details of their outstanding indebtedness to the company will be communicated to them as applicable.

Aero crisis dates back to last year when the airline was taken over by Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) over huge unserviced debts in excess of N32 billion.

According to the Acting General Secretary of the National Union of Air Transport Employee (NUATE), Abdulkadir Motaju, the action of the airline amounted to a breach of trust.

“I want to say that what Aero is doing currently in the last four to five days is criminal, it is against the law. Aero Contractors went to court asking the court to grant an injunction against the unions so that they would not disrupt its activities based on some parameters it put across.”

On its part, AMCON spokesperson notes that : “It cannot be accurate to say that there have been financial problems in Aero

• Obi

By Bukola Afolabi

since AMCON converted some debts to equity. Aero is with AMCON because there were financial problems there for years and it could not pay its debts to its bankers. Consequently, its non-performing loans (NPLs) were sold to AMCON so that the bank could continue with the business of lending.”As you are aware, AMCON is charged with resolving such problems and that is what AMCON is doing now.

“AMCON has, therefore, been holding a series

of meetings with both Aero’s management and union with a view to resolving the perceived problems so that the airline can safely and quickly return to business, which is the safe transportation of people on its routes. AMCON is also involved in the formation of an enhanced board of directors poised to provide the airline with much needed direction and backup.

Aero spokesperson also said that AMCON owns 60% of Aero due to debt over-hang, and that’s why the management of Aero is

“It cannot be accurate to say that there have been financial problems in Aero since AMCON converted some debt to equity. Aero is with AMCON because there were financial problems there for years and it could not pay its debts to its bankers. Consequently, its non-performing loans (NPLs) were sold to AMCON so that the bank could continue with the business of lending”

embarking on a restructuring exercise aimed at cutting costs - reducing over heads and all other areas of wastage.

Aero rushed to court and got an injunction restraining the workers from disrupting the operations of the airline. This came after more than two weeks of failed negotiations with the workers. The workers had insisted, amongst other issues, that the human resources manager must be removed because of her “ anti workers activities.“ Addressing the workers at the secretariat of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) at the Murtala Mohammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, the National President of Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Comrade Benjamin Okewu, advised all the workers to resume to go back to work .

Okewu enjoined the workers to go about their duties lawfully without resorting to violence, warning that if they were restrained from resuming, the unions would then take the matter up.

However, the Industrial Court has warned that Aero cannot sack its workers this way. The court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos said that since the case was still before it, it would be wrong for the management to issue sack letters to the striking workers.

It, therefore, ordered that both parties should maintain the status quo pending when the court sits on the matter again. The court adjourned the case till 8th May, 2013.

Incidentally, the court’s order came on a day the airline was supposed to resume flight operations after the Minister of Labour mediated and brokered a truce to enable the workers go back to work and continue negotiations with the management.

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority had said that the airline would have to go through recertification to resume flight operations.

This is the standard practice in aviation when an airline fails to fly for more than a week.

LL the world is a stage, and all the men and women merely actors. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts. – William Shakespeare I remember watching a movie years ago, and in the movie an amateur actor walks over to his director and poses the question, “What is my motivation?” The young actor was having difficulty with the character he was playing, the root cause, he believed, was the fact that he could not understand his character’s motivation for doing and saying the things that he did.

Many acting professionals say that it is difficult to deliver a realistic and captivating performance that brings depth and complexity to a character being played, without first understanding what drives the character.

Think about it.

If an actor cannot successfully play a character without understanding the inner urges that drive that character’s actions. How much more, can you successfully “PLAY” your best “YOU” on this stage called “The World”, in this dramatic play called “LIFE”, without asking “What’s my motivation?”

Motivation. The driving force behind actions and words. The “Why” behind the “What, When, Where and How”. MOTIVATION is the MOTIVE that sets you in MOTION. It is the unconscious or conscious inner urge that prompts you to move i.e. take action.

Motivation is what causes you to act in a meaningful way.Ambition is a strong desire to achieve a future state, however on its own it will remain nothing but wishful thinking until it transforms itself into motivation, a present impetus that pushes you to act in ways that support your desired end.

Without motivation it is often difficult to take focused action. I remember a day in October 2010 when I woke up in the morning and could not get out of bed.

There was nothing physically wrong with me, but mentally I was a mess. In my mind’s eye, I tried to peer into my future hoping to see what lay ahead and perhaps I would inspired to get out of bed and head to work. I saw nothing but dark clouds in my horizon and my limbs refused to move because, at that moment, there was nothing to look forward to. Something was wrong with me, and I knew I had to fix it fast. To do so, I had to get to the root cause, so I asked myself “WHY?” I had lost my motivation. I had lost my reason for getting out of bed. That was the morning I made the life changing decision to quit my job and try my hands at being an entrepreneur.Five minutes after coming to that decision, I was out of my bed and getting ready for work.

The dark clouds were gone and the world looked like a much better place to live. That morning I reconnected with my “North Star” and my “MOJO” returned to me.

Fast-forward to March 2013. I have been running my start up for 16 months and my mojo is still very much with me. How can I know this for sure? For one, the hours between the time I wake up and the time I go to sleep are spent executing tasks that support my success as an entrepreneur. I have a compelling reason to get out of bed every morning and I do it mostly with a spring in my steps. I work very hard every day and come home sometimes exhausted, but at least I am happy and fulfilled. Now, I actually look forward to Monday mornings because that is when I get back on my ship, put on my captain’s cap and continue sailing towards my meaningful objectives.

The first quarter of 2013 is drawing to an end. This year, you have spent approximately 2000 hours on this “world” stage playing YOU. What is powering the actions you take every day?Why do you get out bed every morning?Are you happy to get out of bed every morning? Many will tell you that motivation is not something that can be taught. It can only be inspired. If you are someone who gets depressed on Sunday night and wish you could be anywhere but at your work on Monday morning, you may just be suffering from an extreme case of Mojo-Deficiency; and that is no way to live your life. Be proactive and do not wait for the dark clouds to gather before asking yourself “WHAT IS MY MOTIVATION?” • Okusanya is CEO of ReadinessEdge

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

BUSINESS 63

‘The secret behind MTN’s growth’ Q

UALITY of service in the telecom sector has been a hot button issue since 2001. Why is the problem so intractable?

I think the issues around quality of service borders on two things: one, there isn’t enough capacity; and secondly the availability of that capacity. The issue of capacity essentially lies in the hands of the operators. It is for us as operators to get a good understanding of the demand and put in the capacity to meet that demand. The good news is that operators have the resources to install the required capacity but the reality is that it is extremely difficult to put infrastructure in the ground in our environment. The same sorts of infrastruture challenges that have bedevilled the power industry also affect the telecomunications industry. Telecoms infrastructure cannot exist in vacumm and there has to be parallel growth in other sectors for the full realisation of the benefit of increased rollout.Beyond that, when we are even able to put the infrastructure in the ground, the challenge then becomes making it available to carry traffic. The litmus test is then to ask if that additional capacity is available to relieve the congestion in the network.

We are finding ourselves in a situation where operators are building base stations, integrating them into our networks, but because of circumstances beyond our control, that infrastructure is not carrying traffic. And if that infrastructure is not carrying traffic, it is not relieving congestion. Then we begin to see the challenges in terms of quality of service. Definitely, customers’ experience will be very sub-optimal.

When you say they are not carrying traffic, what exactly do you mean? Why are they not carrying traffic?

When you are building a network, you need to make that network available to carry traffic. It needs to be integrated; it needs to be carrying traffic, and subsequently relieving congestion. We find ourselves in a situation where, because of a lot of extraneous circumstances, a lot of infrastructures are not carrying traffic for no fault of the operators. If you look at the NorthEast, we have about 200 base stations that are not available to carry traffic today because of the problem of insurgency, and the attacks on our base stations. We also have a lot of base stations that are sealed up by different agencies of government. Again, this is contributing to lack of capacity.

Then, you have the day-to-day problems like community lock outs, area boys’ agitations, etc. All those things are also negatively impacting networks. I would say in a nutshell, those are the two major factors impacting quality of service, and we need all stakeholders to resolve those issues.

Looking at MTN specifically, what are the major challenges hampering your efforts to achieve your set goals in the area of quality of service?

It’s a challenging environment, but I dare say that to whom much is given, much is expected. As the biggest operator in Nigeria today, in fact, the biggest operator in Africa

Bukola Afolabi recently had an encounter with Wale Goodluck, Executive Director, MTN Nigeria, where the telecoms expert talked about the challenges the sector has experienced with infrastructure development, achieving set goals and network modernisation INTERVIEW today in terms of subscriber number, there are a lot of expectations from our subscribers, our regulator, legislators, our friends in the media and other stakeholders about the quality of service. Nigerians are tired of excuses, and they want good quality. Asides from the things I spoke about earlier on, we’ve seen in this market in the last 18 months, a significant reduction in tariffs. This, coupled with all sorts of promotions, has led to a greater demand for our services. So we have seen minutes of use go up as a result of tariffs coming down. People are talking a lot more and it means that we require a lot more capacity to deal with that. I think that perhaps some of the competition has been a little exuberant and there is need for the industry to selfregulate and ensure that as the industry chases subscriber number, we do not mortgage quality. So we find that the way prices have come down in the last 18 months has also led to greater demand and as such we are having to play catch-up all the time.There is work for everybody, including the regulator, to ensure that the business environment or the competitive environment is a lot saner so that we can preserve the long term sustainability of our industry.

Let’s go back to the issue of non-availability of infrastructure. Can we put a figure to the facilities not currently engaged in the MTN network?

The effect of the attacks we suffered in the north is two-fold. One, there were sites that were directly attacked and destroyed. And then, some of those sites have dependent sites. So if it is a hub site that has gone down for instance, it means that all the other sites relying on that for their microwave transmission will also go down. They will be blind to the network. They will be unavailable to carry traffic.

You will not be able to terminate traffic into the communities they serve. Off the top of my head, I can tell you that at the peak of the insurgency attacks, we probably had up to 450 or 500 base stations that were thrown out of the network. Now, this has a major impact on the quality of service. And also, because people are investing resources and those resources are not generating any revenue, it puts your business model in jeopardy.

It also means that one, people are cut off from the network. And then there are people who are also trying to reach them, who keep trying and then contribute to further congestion. So it’s a double blow.

Let’s look at the network modernisation project that MTN is implementing. How is it going?

I’d say it’s going quite well. Of course like any other major project, it has run into a few hitches here and there.

•Goodluck We set out to do about 5,500 base stations. I would say that today, we have close to 4,700 that have been modernised and upgraded. We are in the last quarter of the project now. We envisage that we will be done in a couple of months, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

You announced that about $1.3 billion would be spent on the MTN network last year. How much of this has been spent?

I am happy to report that we were able to capitalise that entire budget. It was unprecedented in the history of telecommunications in Nigeria for anybody to take that amount of investment and put it in the ground. You are seeing it in the ground in terms of new base stations, in fibre roll-out and a lot of other things. In addition to our budget in 2012, we also had a carryover from 2011, which was about 300million dollars. We were also able to capitalise that. So, looking at 2012, I can say that our capitalisation was close to about $1.65 billion.

What is MTN looking at spending this year?

We will be spending $1.583 billion in 2013. We are going to be building a lot more base stations than we have ever done in the history of this organisation. The numbers are verifiable. We are keeping our regulator updated. We are sharing information as soon as the sites are up with the regulator.

We are not a company that counts sites that are in build.

We count sites that have been integrated and are carrying traffic. So, it’s fact and figures.

What is MTN doing about local content?

The reality is that nobody can operate in an environment without using local resources.

For us as a business, we have

also gone beyond patronising people just for the sake of patronising them. We believe that there is significant value-add by using local contractors. They are very competent and able Nigerians. We have worked with a few partners, and as our business has grown, their own businesses have grown tremendously. We see them in different areas of our businessin the areas of network build, information systems, marketing, sales and distribution. We are working with Nigerian partners. Recently, there has been a lot of clamour for more Nigerian participation and local content. I can share with you that while a lot of our competitors have handed over their entire network build to foreign OEMs, (we have also handed over a considerable part to the OEMs, which in this market are typically the Ericssons, Huaweis and ZTE). But what we’ve also done is that a significant amount of the build for 2013 will be done by local contractors, by companies beneficially owned by Nigerians. So there is a lot of value-add in that space. And if you look at a lot of our partners, in the IS space for instance, Computer Warehouse Limited is a company that has grown its business, and I dare say with every sense of responsibility, because of its relationship with MTN Nigeria. Computer Warehouse is now recognised as an African powerhouse in the IS space.

These are the sort of things that give us a lot of pleasure.

Do you agree that promotions compound service quality issues?

I would say that in an industry where we don’t have enough capacity, there is a need for us to be a bit more responsible on the kinds of promotions that operators are undertaking. We need to be reasonable and not mortgage quality of service for subscriber acqui-

sition. It’s important that we do not destroy value in the industry. If not, we will end up where the operators in Europe are, or where the operators in India are; whereby a lot of the businesses are on the brink of collapse, or their fundamentals are very weak. And the reality is that when trouble starts in the telecom industry in any part of the world, it has a ripple effect on all the operators; it will impact your vendor cost, it will impact your financing, etc. These are the things that one has to be concerned about.

Yes, it is important that operators compete rationally and prevent network degradation.

To solve the problem of sub-par quality of service, what advice do you have for critical stakeholders, especially the government, community residents, industry regulator and customers.

If you look at the challenges that this industry is going through now, and the contributions to the economy, I mean it is imperative for the federal government of Nigeria to take measures to protect the telecommunications industry.

One area that jumps to mind is to continue to give the necessary assurance as per the sanctity of investment. We are glad to report that Nigeria is one of the top four destinations for investment now according to KPMG. People are beginning to talk about the MINT countries which are Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey. It is a testimony to the growing recognition of Nigeria and the federal government must continue to provide the necessary assurances to investors that your investments will be protected and contractual obligations will be respected.

What is the status of WACS now?

WACS is live and carrying traffic for MTN and a lot of other operators. A lot of people have both live and redundant capacity on WACS. WACS has delivered on expectations.

The Bandwidth pipe coming into Nigeria has increased.

Why has there not been any dramatic difference in Internet experience?

Your bottleneck is not at the WACS end. Your bottleneck is between where WACS terminates on the beach and where you are using Internet service.

If we had a situation where all my backhaul was done by fibre and all the base stations were connected by fibre, and then connected to the base station controllers (BSC) by fibre and then to the switch by fibre, the speed would be awesome.

Although we are able to land the speed at the beach, to distribute it inland as effectively as we would like remains a challenge.

Given this situation, what would you be saying to the NCC and other stakeholders?

For us to achieve what we are all trying to in the area of broadband, we need a lot of fibre in the ground. We need a concerted effort; NCC to support the operator, to support the private sector to roll out this fibre. We need the involvement of the state and lo-

cal governments. We need to take away the hand-cuffs and chains impeding roll out of fibre, such as prohibitive rightof-way costs, etc. We need the cost for right-of-way in Lagos or in Kano or any other city in Nigeria not to be more expensive than the cost for the right of way in New York. We need to have affordable fibre in the ground. That will translate to affordable bandwidth and a much better experience.

Would you say Nigeria is enjoying latest technology in the mobile world?

In our industry, yes. In fact, we are probably always at the cutting edge. Because of our volumes here, and the large appetite demonstrated by operators in Nigeria, we are typically being offered best-inclass technology and we are always given top priority in terms of queuing for the latest equipment. What we need to put on top of that is to ensure that we have an environment that can receive the infrastructure, so that we can see the benefit of the latest technology that the operators in Nigeria are deploying.

Some operators have fallen by the wayside, while some are struggling. What would you say is responsible for MTN’s success in Nigeria’s challenging business environment?

I wish I could tell you everything we are doing, but I would be helping the competition. I think the bottom-line is that we took a decision to invest and reinvest, and we haven’t stopped investing.

When a lot of people were scared and sceptical about Nigeria, we took the bull by the horns. When some of our competitors were changing ownership regularly, we stayed the course. We are seeing the benefits of the investments that we have made. Today, we have the biggest subscribers, serving in excess of 45 million Nigerians. With that amount of scale, your business will be big. We are also a very frugal and prudent organisation. In the first five years of MTN Nigeria, we took a decision not to externalise any dividend. So no shareholder got any dividend for five years. Instead, we put all the money back into the system and they are now beginning to reap the fruit of their labour.

What will be the focus of MTNF this year?

For us, our focus remains education, health and economic empowerment. What we have also done in the Foundation is that we have introduced competition among the three major portfolios. We have also added a sort of special intervention portfolio which deals with pressing national issues and emergencies around flooding, displaced persons and other national interest interventions. We shall see smarter projects, greater benefits and better use of our resources in 2013.

Any new projects?

Most definitely. There are a lot of exciting projects that we are going to be starting very soon. I’m particularly excited about the Eyesight Restoration Intervention Scheme (EyeRIS).

It’s an eyesight restoration project by the MTN Foundation. We have selected partners and we will be carrying out 12,000 cataract operations to be paid for by MTN Foundation.

There will be both pre- and post-surgery support. We are working with six state governments and we hope this will be a very successful project.

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News

‘Alamieyeseigha’s pardon in order’ From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

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HE Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) Cross Rivers state chapter has decried the outrage that greeted the pardon granted former governor of Bayelsa state, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, as unnecessary.

It said the action is in order since the President was acting within the confines of the constitution.

Its chairman, Bishop Emmah Isong, told reporters in Calabar: “If we give Mr. President the power to pardon anybody he so wishes, I am wondering why we are questioning him who he should pardon.

“It is like serving me a plate of food on my birthday and telling me ‘eat meat, don’t eat fish.’ You cannot give me the yam and the knife and tell me not to cut and serve myself.”

He added: “Let us say we are all wrong to give him that, but if the power according to the constitution is legally given to him then why are we protesting over what we gave him power?

“He has decided to pardon Alamieyeseigha.

What is our business who to pardon? So if we don’t want him to pardon Alamieyeseigha, take away from him the power.”

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

5 killed, several injured in Rivers State cult clash

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O fewer than five people were killed yesterday in a supremacy battle between Debam and Dewell cult groups in Ikwerre local government area of Rivers State.

Among the dead were two indigenes of Omademe community and three others from Omuawa and Ozuaha communities.

It was gathered that the cult battles have been raging for more than two days in the area.

Yesterday’s gun battle at Ozuoha community left one person dead and about four persons injured.

Last Friday, an open shooting at Omademe claimed the lives of two persons and dozens injured.

From Precious Dikewoha, Port Harcourt

Some indigenes of Omedeme and Ozuaha communities, who have relocated to Omagwa, a neighbouring community recounted their ordeals to our correspondent.

An indigene of Omedeme community, Mr. Nnandi Ordu, said, “The unknown gunmen entered our community in the night and went to a store where some youths were drinking and opened fire on them. Two persons died instantly, while many others were injured. We had to relocate because we heard some young men discussing reprisal attack.”

Mr. Christopher Onu of Ozuaha community said

yesterday’s shooting was a reprisal attack by a rival cult group over the killing of their members in Omuawa community two days ago.

He said: “They took everybody by surprise and succeeded in killing one person with many other innocent persons injured.”

Mr. Kevin Amadi, an indigene of Omuawa community, revealed, “The fight between the two cult groups started two days ago, creating tension and anxiety. So far, about nine persons are seriously injured while two cult members lost their lives.”

One of the leaders of Degbam cult group, who simply gave his name as Philip (a.k.a. Naked Wire), told The

Nation on phone that his group was only trying to maintain the existing structure in those communities.”

He added: “There is no problem in Omuawa, Omedeme and Ozuaha Communities; those who said there is problem are enemies who don’t want us to maintain our structure in the communities.

“It is not a bad news if the people in the communities are running for safety. You are a journalist, just tell the government there is peace.”

When contacted, Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, Ben Ugwuebulam, promised to get back as soon as he had more details on the crisis. But he did not get back as at press time.

‘Fiogret not in receivership’

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IOGRET Limited has debunked reports that its operations have been placed under receivership.

The firm, in a statement, said: “The truth is that one Kunle Ogunba (SAN) procured a receivership position from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) based on a Deed of Mortgage Debenture.

“The said Deed was never a collateral requirement with us in any dealing with Equatorial Trust Bank (ETB) or any bank for that matter.”

On claims that the company has not redeemed its debts, the statement said: “Our answer is that only debts that are genuine or reasonable are payable.

“An interest of 176 years catapulted from N100 million to N3.5 billion in four years is only payable by fraudsters.

“We are not fraudsters; we are a genuine business with a net worth of over N4billion.”

Stating that the company is still financially solvent with a net worth of N4.5billion, with a cash deposit of about N200million in banks and fixed assets of about N600million, the statement revealed that AMCON recently adjusted the debts allegedly owed by Fiogret Limited from the initial N6.1 billion to N650 million.

• L-R Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga; Deputy Governor of CBN, Tunde Lemo; Wife of the Governor of Ogun State, Mrs Olufunso Amosun and Governor Ibikunle Amosun at the funeral service of Madam Olabisi Olayinka Philips in Lagos... yesterday

Students protest kidnap of lecturer

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TUDENTS of the College of Education Ekiadolor in Edo State over the weekend took to the streets of Benin City to protest the kidnap of one of the lecturers identified as John Ehigie.

The students said the kid-

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

napped lecturer was one of the best in the school.

They said they were demanding the unconditional release of their lecturers because other lecturers refused to come to classes.

It was gathered the victim was abducted at his residence after the armed men killed his two dogs.

President of the student union body, Igbinomwanhia Eric, challenged the Commissioner of Police and other security agencies to secure the

release of Ehigie.

Academic activities have been paralysed at the institution as a lecturer, Edokpolor Nosayaba, said they would not return to classes until the kidnappers release their colleague.

The lecturer was yet to be released as at press time.

Ajibola to FG: Dialogue with Boko Haram

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ORMER President of the World Court, Prince Bola Ajibola (SAN), has advised President Goodluck Jonathan to dialogue with the Boko Haram sect to stop the ongoing attacks on innocent Nigerians.

Ajibola, a former Attorney General of the Federation, also

By Adebisi Onanuga

advocated separation of the office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Justice for effective justice administration in the country.

He spoke at the launching of a book, The Attorney General: Chronicles and Perspectives, to mark his 79th

birthday and presentation of law e-products by Law Pavilion in Lagos yesterday.

Ajibola stated dialogue is the way out of the killing of innocent Nigerians.

According to him: “I have always advocated for dialogue. Even when a war is fought, at the end of the war, the winner will still need to

Dickson pleased with council poll

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AYELSA State governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson, yesterday expressed satisfaction with the peaceful conduct of the first local government polls under his administration.

Dickson spoke with newsmen shortly after casting his vote alongside his wife, Rachael, at Ward 2 unit 005 of

his country home, Toru Orua in Sagbama local government area.

He said: “We appreciate the difficulties and massive logistic problems that have always hampered the smooth conduct of elections here largely due to the deltaic nature of the state.

“Despite this obvious problem, the security agencies

and BYSIEC have done a good job. It may not be perfect yet but we only hope that it will get better next time.”

The governor also appealed to all the contestants to accept the outcome of the polls in the true spirit of sportsmanship.

He said true democratic practices have come to stay in the state.

discuss with the loser to find solution to the whole dispute.

“I think there is still need for the government to come together with Boko Haram to get them to understand that enough is enough.”

He went on: “If they refuse to grant amnesty to them, they will come back and continue to do it again and again and it would not help the nation.”

Ajibola assured amnesty will ensure the sect put an end to renewed onslaught on innocent Nigerians.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, who was represented by Justice Ibrahim Tako Mohammed, stated Ajibola has engrossed his name in gold in the development of law in Nigeria and around the world.

PHCN workers go spiritual over non-payment of entitlement From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

ORKERS of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in Osun State have gone spiritual to make the company’s management yield to calls for the payment of their terminal entitlement.

The workers in their hundreds yesterday converged on the main gate of the National Control Centre of the PHCN along Ikirun road to protest the non-payment of their terminal entitlement.

They said the entitlement stood at N500 billion against the management’s estimated N384 billion They organised a prayer session led by some Christian clerics and begged God to “touch the heart of the people in authority to consider us with favour and pay us our dues.”

The vice president, Association of Electricity And Allied Companies, Comrade Jacob Olaniran, said the protest had become necessary because “the PHCN’s management is colluding with the federal government to misrepresent our legitimate demands.”

He alleged that the federal government had succeeded in pitching members of the public against the PHCN’s workers.

He lamented that an average Nigerian only sees them as saboteurs, who would not want things to get better in the power sector.

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Appeal Court reserves judgment on Ondo Election petition From Damisi Ojo,Akure

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HE Court of Appeal sitting in Akure has reserved judgment in the appeal brought before it by one of the candidates in last year’s governorship election, Mr. James Ojo. The appeal argued by counsel to Ojo of Accord Party, including Micheal Lana, Folashade Aladeniyi, Titiloye Charles, Victor Olatoyegun and Bola Alabi, prayed the Court of Appeal to reverse the decision of the Election Petition Tribunal, which heard the petition and dismissed it without looking at the merit of the petition.

The appellant complained that Justice Kakan-led tribunal sitting in Akure had disregarded the notice of discountenance filed in respect of the case before the Federal High Court, Akure and ruled that the petition before him is an abuse of court processes and dismissed the petition.

The trial tribunal had also refused to enter judgment in favour of the appellant despite the admission of INEC that it excluded Accord Party candidate from October 20th governorship election in Ondo State.

The court after hearing counsel adopting their brief of argument reserved judgment to a date to be communicated to parties.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013

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Boko Haram: CAN faults calls for amnesty

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HE Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) South East region has kicked against amnesty for members of the Boko Haram sect.

It also declared it can no longer condone the killings of its people in the north.

Describing the calls for amnesty as hypocritical and deceptive, the body wondered how people can talk about amnesty for a faceless sect with dirty agenda.

In a statement yesterday by its secretary, Dr Joseph Ajujungwa, CAN said, it was fed up with the development.

It said: “CAN South East zone has condemned the Sunday bombing attack in Kano where about seven buses were reduced to ashes and over 68 persons lost their lives.

“We call on the Federal Government to do their best to stop any further attack, else it may be out of control and some people may react to the detriment of the peace of Nigeria.”

ABCON gets acting president

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HE Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has chosen Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe as its new acting president.

Until his elevation, Gwadabe was the second Vicepresident of the association.

A graduate of Bayero University Kano, Gwadabe holds BSC Economics and MBA in Financial Management.

The choice of an acting President for ABCON followed a CBN directive of January 14, 2013 which led to the revocation of some licences.

The development led to ad hoc leadership changes in the association of bureaux de change operators of Nigeria as a result of the revocation.

•L-R: The Chairman, Senate committee on INEC, Andy Uba, Chief Ralph Obioha and Chairman/CEO Innoson Group, Chief Innocent Chukwuma at the Senate stakeholders’ forum in Enugu…at the weekend PHOTO: OBI CLETUS

Book for launch in Lagos Obey, Animasawun for OU are born to win, a the CEO of Goshen, Mr. Sola mission concert today book written by Rev. Awoleye, while the chairman •Gwadabe

On the 21st of February 2013, the National Executive Council mandated Muhammed Aminu Gwadabe to be acting as the president and Mr. Azuibike Igbokwe as the acting vice president respectively.

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Lekan Adeleke, will be launched on March 31 by 12:30pm.

The Editor-in-Chief/MD of Vintage Press Limited, publishers of The Nation, Mr. Victor Ifijeh, will be the chairman of the occasion.

The chief launcher will be

TRIBUTE

For Veronica, 10 years after

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HALL THERE BE ANOTHER LIVING? Living pays no need to our joy or sadness. Oblivious to all things good or bad, living just moves on in perpetuity. It is this endless motion and its callous speed that makes me to raise the above existential question. Apart from this our present living experience, could there be another?

None is my definitive response. There never will be another living experience that is separate from this our present and terminal stanza. Our journey now is the only experience of living that we ever shall endure. But after the humiliation, despair and misery of this world comes the very grand living experience of joyful eternity in God’s paradise. This stanza of immense majesty is different, special and retains everlasting bliss.

But this life itself is abundantly sweet and beautiful. Alas, it is also the world of misrule and injustice that we must hurriedly leave, get away from, and swiftly depart one day! Our exit is inevitable because God ordained it. That point of finality is unknown but it carries a dimple of certainty.

Therefore, be always prepared for your exit by your ceaseless doing of good deeds.

Always remember, doing good is the only thing that God requested of us in this world. Listen to what God said, “Go ye and do all the good that you can, to all the peoples that you can serve, in all directions, and for all purposes, each day of your life’s sojourn”.

Have you complied with this golden rule? Or are you an uncaring oppressor who see no use

By Adewale A. Adeeyo

in your co-travellers in this world except to suck the nectar of their lives and then quickly toss them in the dust bin of confusion and the turbulent seas of the earth. Do you do good deeds that sprout compassion, amity and the love of one another? Are you a user or a giver like Veronica? Whatever is your answer, God cannot be deceived and you will receive your due reward.

Today, God’s angels organized a celebration for Veronica.

It is delusional for us to assume that we made it possible. Our Lord God offered this honour to a woman of great goodness and infinite grace. May our lives too find this kind of favour from God. An anonymous Indian Poet reasoned thus, “In the glance of the speechless animal there is a discourse that only the soul of the wise can really understand.”

The “speechless animal” that this great poet talked about is akin to the life of a deceased person for whom we have grieved and is no more but whose aliveness of spirit is eternal. It is Veronica’s power of love and giving that brought us together today. The provocative virtues of Veronica, once more, has cast a spell on all of us! It is not possible to have encountered Veronica and then just forget all about who she was because she had a sense of duty which ever encourages her to set self aside and thus forever selflessly help others. Who has not remembered Veronica many times and more, in these past 10 years? It seems the angels connived with her spirit to bring

back her splendid graces to our midst today!

No one has faith more than Veronica. Faith, my dear friends, is a sacred incarnation of a smile.

Faith opens up the joy in us like the pretty petals of a beautiful flower in the orchard that strike the human heart with flawless delight. Faith is a sigh that dries the tears. Faith is the sweet spirit of love that dwells in the soul, whose nourishment is belief in God the Almighty, and whose wine is endless and unbiased affection. Faith that comes without these definitions is false and faulty. May faith from the blissful heavens of eternity ever watch over each of us.

May love enlighten us. May faith also make us humble. May the good that we do everyday of our living make soft and merry the motions of our lives.

May the good that we do harvest God’s everlasting peace and His fullest blessings.

Our weaknesses and our errors including our blunders shall never matter because God will give us immeasurable contentment and His complete forgiveness. God shall lead us all, plus all the seeds of our bodies, born and unborn, to life’s loveliest destination. The God that we praise and serve shall forever keep us in wellness of body, mind, spirit and fullness of pocket.

God lend to us all His mercy so that each of us may merit the fragranced space of blissful eternity where Veronica has lived these past 10 glorious years. May God touch us with His love and the seal of His protection. I thank you all for the love of coming and for the joy of partaking in our celebration of the time and life of Veronica Imade Adeleke.

of Misty Kay Ventures Limited, Architect Dayo Adegbite, will be the special guest of honour.

The author, who was coordinator of New Covenant Churches in Ghana, is an associate pastor at Ikeja Lagos headquarters of Shepherd’s Flock International Church.

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UJU maestro, Evangelist Ebenezer Obey, and exApola king, Rev. Idowu Animasawun, will share the stage today at the African Mission concert holding in Ibadan.

The concert, which will also feature veteran gospel musician, Funmi Aragbaiye,

kicks off by 4pm at Oke-Ado Baptist Church, Liberty Road Ibadan, capital of Oyo State.

A statement by Animasawun said the event is geared towards increasing awareness for mission works and mobilise N100million for educational and medical care outreaches in African countries.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

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EBERE WABARA

WORDSWORTH 08055001948

ewabara@yahoo.com

What’s ‘general public’?

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HISDAY, THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER of March17 offered its readers multifarious solecisms: “Despite the challenge of insecurity that Kano, a city well known for its trade and commerce, have (has) had to grapple with in recent times….”

“A book unveiling Lagos as a city of imagination…was presented to the general public at Muson Centre recently.” Yank off ‘general,’ which belongs to the archival civil service lexicon and a testament to commercialese! “…Esuene who currently represents Akwa Ibom South senatorial district in the Senate….” Delete ‘currently’ as it has no function here. Cicero interview: who represented—represents—will represent…so, ‘currently’ is otiose in the context.

Esuene who represents….

“Ondo Election Tribunal: Same song, different dancers” Politics: The same tune, different dancers Now The Guardian Editorial of March 19: “Thus the proposal is an affront on (to) the sensibility of Nigerians….”

From the editorial to a full-page advertorial by PSN: “The NEC and Council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria announces the inauguration of it’s (sic) president” As men of honour we join hands: its president.

“On a day he is not in the courtroom, he would be in his office, attending to myriad (a myriad) of visitors and clients with almost an equal warmth and kindness.” Remove ‘an’ if you have a passion for language purity.

Lastly from the Back Page of The Guardian under review: “Issues like this have made us suffer….” This way: Issues like these or an issue like this!

THISDAY of March 18 did not abide by truth and reason which it professes: “Prosperity doesn’t come in a day as I have (had) indicated earlier….”

“Some entrepreneurs often make mistake of not having detailed plans.”

The ubiquity of an error: a mistake.

Now THISDAY EDITORIAL of March 18: “…the measles vaccine were (was) not in sufficient quantity at the pri-

mary health care centre where they are (were) mostly needed.” “…parents to show concern in having their children immunized as at when due (take off ‘as at’ and make it simply when due).

The Guardian of March 19 right from its front page committed some infractions: “Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd) (retd)….”

“President Goodluck Jonathan who is apparently still smarting from global scathing criticisms of a recent presidential pardon for some yesteryears’ men will face….”

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth: yesteryear’s men because ‘yesteryear’ is non-count.

“NEMA alerts on (to) imminent flood” “NEMA flood relief (flood-relief) efforts gulp N1.3bn in 2012” “In spite of government declarations and promises, the plight of pensioners are (is) deteriorating.”

FEEDBACK Please, do remember that a teacher is a student.

I’m a student of the language. In fact, I’m good at languages, having studied Latin, English and German. Besides, nobody is too old to learn. I’m pushing 75 years now!

Please, tell my good old friend, Stanley Nduagu (08062925996), to get his act together. “Vice president”, like vice admiral, vice chairman, vice chancellor, vice consul, vice presidency, vice principal, vice regent, vice secretary, is NOT hyphenated, only “vice presidentelect” and “vice-presidential” are hyphenated. I refer you to Merriam Webster Dictionary, page 583 and THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STYLE BOOK, PAGE 209.

Another note on usage: “In 1789, John Adams (1797-1801) was elected as the nation’s first vice president (1789- 1797). When George Washington (1789- 1797) refused to run for a third term, Adams was elected president, with his arch enemy Thomas Jefferson as his vice president,”—from THE BOOK OF PRESIDENTS”, Page 13.

“The vice president, Nelson Rockefeller, declined to run again. President Washington, Vice Presidents John Jones and William Smith” are formal titles.

Furthermore (informal context), it is VICE (vice president) in British English and VISE (vise president) in American English.

“Vice pres” is sometimes used as the abbreviation for VICE PRESIDENT. And from the chairman, ACADEMY LTD came this letter: “Good day” (Good afternoon) Mr. Ebere Wabara. I show my appreciation once again. Please let Mr. Oguntunase know that “presently” connotes “soon” when it comes at the end of a sentence.

Once it starts a sentence, it means “at the moment.”—Charles Iyoha.

My response: Ebere, please tell chairman Iyoha that “good day” is very old-fashioned even in Britain! Besides, the word is becoming extinct. Hence, we correctly say or write: good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good night.

PRESENTLY: some people object to the increasingly frequent use of the adverb “presently” in place of “currently/at present”, or “NOW” E.g.

Mr. Neil Kinnock, presently leader of the opposition. The company presently manufactures components for the electronics industry.

Truth to tell, the principal meaning of “presently” in British English is “SOON”. E.g. we walked on a little further and presently we reached the hotel. I will phone him presently.

From GOOD WORD GUIDE, page 231: “Presently” means (1) after a short time, e.g. presently we left the table and sat in the garden room (Evelyn Waugh). (2) At present, currently, now, e.g. the praise presently being heaped upon him (is well deserved). – THE ECONOMIST – THE OXFORD GUIDE TO ENGLISH USAGE (page 124).

I repeat, “at present” means” currently “or “now”, while “presently” means “soon”. Remember, “Nothing is final in language or usage, and there is no ultimate authority or academy. We can only recommend, not prescribe,” asserts Margot Butt, author of “A Dictionary of English USAGE”. Ebere, there are many problems in paradise; one of them is the English language.

Please, work harder!

Bayo Oguntunase aderobaba@yahoo.com 08056180046

OLID minerals are found in every nook and cranny of Nigeria’s territories. The potentialities of these solid minerals, if harnessed properly, can propel Nigeria’s economy faster than crude oil which has become the nation’s economic mainstay.

The failure of successive governments and indeed the citizenry to tap into other sectors of the economy, apart from oil, has been blamed for Nigeria’s economic woes.

President Goodluck Jonathan-run government is not resting on its oars to diversify Nigeria’s economy through harnessing the country’s abundant solid mineral resources. Against this backdrop, the Nigerian Export Import Bank, NEXIM, has articulated and sustained a blueprint to enhance the development of Nigeria’s solid minerals through financial interventions. As at 2011, NEXIM has identified the subsectors in the solid minerals to include ferrous and non-ferrous metals, stones and gems and energy minerals. These subsectors have been identified as being highly capital intensive, characterised by heavy government presence as well as policy inconsistency. This sector is also largely untapped. Its projected growth was estimated at 8.96% as at 2009.

NEXIM Bank’s framework from 2010 to 2015 targets making this sector to significantly contribute towards creating an internationally competitive and attractive destination for capital for the profitability of the nation’s mineral resources, provide 16.1% (about N9bn) of the solid mineral sector’s financing requirement, account for 0.82% of the sector’s GDP, and create and sustain 2, 885 jobs within the solid minerals sector through project finance activities.

With the visionary and proactive leadership of Mr. Roberts Orya in NEXIM Bank, there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Orya’s giant strides have repositioned NEXIM on its fundamental mandates.

NEXIM Bank’s blueprint is aimed at propelling the non-oil sectors of Nigeria’s economy to a grand-level. The bank’s key areas of concentration are manufacturing, agriculture, solid minerals and services. The goal is to become the leading export development bank in Africa.

The objectives of developing these non-oil sectors are to have a clear market focus and become a major contributor to non-oil exports, build a world-class institution which imbibes best-in class corporate governance and risk management practices; be a relevant player in the export market and significantly influence government trade policies; build a profitable institution with a robust balance sheet size with a highly skilled and motivated workforce.

Findings indicate that NEXIM Bank has so far committed about nine per cent of its total investment development portfolio, about N2.5 billion, to the development of the country’s solid mineral sector since August 2009. Its MD/ CEO, Roberts Orya, revealed this when he played host to the Patrons of the Miners’ As-

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NEXIM Bank and solid mineral development

•Orya

sociation of Nigeria. He disclosed to the joy of his visitors that the bank was ready to support the solid minerals as a cardinal sector under its MASS (manufacturing, agroprocessing, solid minerals and services) agenda.

Echoing him, “This commitment does not scratch the surface of the sector’s requirement if Nigeria is to take advantage and benefit from the huge mineral deposits which God has blessed the country.

Solid minerals mining is a highly capital intensive area, and requires strong government intervention to unlock its huge revenue and job creation benefits for the country.”

He made a clarion call on the association to produce its strategic framework to better structure and attract sustainable investments to the sector.

He said the agenda focused on issues of mutual cooperation with NEXIM and the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development towards the development of the sector.

He also revealed that Nigeria is endowed with more than 33 commercially viable solid minerals that could be exploited for the country’s economic benefit. These include gold, lead-zinc ore (Galena), iron ore, columbite, ilmenite, cassiterite, uranium, copper, molybdenite, manganese, wolframite, rutile and diorite, bauxite, gypsum, talc, bentonite and barite, rock salt, gem stones, and kaolin.

Using the statistics from the Mining Cadastre Office and the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency factsheet, Mr. Orya said the picture of the benefits would be appreciated more when it is considered that some of these minerals are in very dense deposits. According to him, minerals like talc has been identified as having deposits in excess of 40 million tonnes in locations such as Niger, Osun, Kogi, Ogun and Kaduna states; iron ore, with over 3 billion metric tonnes of deposits in Kogi, Enugu and Niger states as well as the Federal Capital Territory; and lead/zinc veins, about 10 million tonnes of deposits spread over eight states.

Others include bitumen about 42 billion tonnes deposits, which almost twice the existing crude oil reserves, making Nigeria one of the world’s most bituminous

destinations owing to its low sulphur and ash content and the most environmentfriendly; and coal, nearly three billion tonnes of reserves in 17 identified fields and over 600 million tonnes of proven reserves.

Sources at the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, indicate that the solid minerals sector contributes less than one per cent to the country Gross Domestic Product, GDP, as against nine per cent of South Africa’s GDP in 2011.

“For NEXIM, the critical issues range from how to get the government and other stakeholders to properly structure the mining sector, increase funding, and attract much needed investment capital; infrastructural development for the industry, especially the establishment of internationally certified laboratories and setting up of internationally recognized and endorsed mining calendar for Nigeria as prevalent in other regimes with dedicated attention to solid mineral exploitation,” Mr. Orya said.

The president, Miners’ Association of Nigeria, Sani Shehu, had at the event thanked the NEXIM Bank management for its commitment and support to its members in the quest to open up the solid mineral sector. He said the group is overwhelmed by the passion of the bank to support the players towards the growth of the mining industry in Nigeria.

As a capital-intensive industry, which requires longterm investments before its potential could be fully realised, Mr. Shehu cited the experience in India, which is less endowed with solid minerals than Nigeria, but is currently earning about $75 billion (about N11.3 trillion) annually from solid minerals.

“It took South Africa more than 15 years of steady investment to get there and the country now earns over $30 billion (about N4.5 trillion) annually from the sub-sector,” he said.

With the commitment of NEXIM Bank towards revitalising Nigeria’s solid mineral sector, it is hoped that it will bring a new dawn on the country’s economy which has been branded all sorts of name because of its oil-based nature and lack of innovations. All hands must be on deck to attain this goal.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

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Your HEALTH THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

‘How I conquered sickle cell anaemia with quail eggs’

Having a sickle cell patient among their children is like a hole in the head for many families. But Hafeez Adeyemi, a 27-year-old sickle cell patient says with quail eggs, there is no cause for alarm. The budding film maker tells the story of how he has been able to shake off the burden. He shares his experiences with Assistant Editor, Gbade Ogunwale

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relaxed Hafeez Adeyemi saunters into the newsroom with a boyish smile and apparently accustomed sangfroid.

There are no yellowish eye balls or swollen joints often associated with a typical sickle cell patient. His casual dressing and well trimmed goatee accentuate his artistic endeavour.

He introduces himself with a granite grip handshake as he settles into a seat across the correspondent. He is on a mission to demystify the much dreaded sickle cell anaemia and allay the fears of millions of families plagued by the congenital affliction.

"In my own case, my parents fought a big battle for my survival when I was diagnosed a sickle cell patient at the age of two. “It disrupted a lot of things; particularly my education at the early stage but my parents soldiered on. On my part, I was growing up with the determination to be strong.

“I made up my mind that I was going to overcome the daunting challenges", Adeyemi stated.

According to him, growing up in Nigeria as a sickle cell patient can be very challenging. The hospitals, he said, don't have the right equipment and lacked the required expertise to manage the ailment.

"I was being taken to the hospital every two weeks either for admission or for check up as a result of reoccurring low PCD. I had to get blood transfusion once in a while to keep me going".

But the crisis abated when he gained admission into the National Film Institute, Jos, Plateau State in 2004 . "Due to the cold weather in Jos and absence of mosquitoes, I was crisis free for two years.

“The crisis returned when I left Jos, forcing me to take inject able painkillers to suppress it".

Having observed the changes in his health status while in the temperate climate of Jos, the parents decided to send him to the United Kingdom for further education.

"That was how I proceeded to the London Southbank University in 2009 where I studied Digital Film and Video.”

Adeyemi said he experienced crisis only once throughout his stay in London and that it was a mild one. He described the available medical facilities over there as effective and the personnel very

efficient.

The crisis, however, started rearing its head when he returned to Nigeria after his studies.

Adeyemi, who is currently observing the mandatory National Youth Service in Abuja, said while he was in London, his parents were busy making research on alternative approach to managing the sickle cell anaemia.

According to him, they came up with the quail egg.

The quail is a small tropical migratory gallinaceous game bird.

The egg comes in thumb size with tiny black spots all over the shell.

“My father introduced me to the quail eggs which I have been taking on a daily basis. I take four par day.

“One can eat the boiled ones or take them raw, mixed with orange juice. But I prefer boiling it. The eggs enhance the immune system because they contain iron, vitamin D and o t h e r v i t a l nourishments.

“The number of the eggs one takes however depends on the age of the patient.

Younger patients are advised to take fewer number of the eggs at a time. I have been taking the eggs for about a year now and I have had crisis just once, which kept me in hospital for only four days, instead of staying in hospital for weeks or months as it used to be.

“Quail eggs are also good for diabetics".

Adeyemi says he is now capable of undertaking strenuous routines just like any normal person.

For instance, he goes on locations to shoot films for days without crisis.

Sickle cell is a way of life. It is your determination and your resolve to live a fulfilled life that keeps you going.

More often than not, it is despair and anxiety that often trigger crisis in sickle cell patients. This should be avoided

According to him, whenever he is stressed, he only gets mild cold and catarrh, which he knocks off with quail eggs.

He also takes pain killers once in a while instead of Paludrin and Folic Acid that sickle cell patients live on.

Married with a daughter, Adeyemi said unlike other sickle cell patients, he has never been a burden to his wife in terms of medical emergencies associated with sickle cell crisis.

“I now go on locations and spend over 24 hours without crisis. I take my quail eggs when I come back. I have become a spokesperson of sorts for millions of fellow sickle cell patients across the country. I want them to know that the sky is the limit in the pursuit of their life ambitions. I have been spreading the message that sickle cell is not a death sentence and my fellow patients have been getting result.

“Sickle cell is a way of life. It is your determination and your resolve to live a fulfilled life that keeps you going. More

often than not, it is despair and anxiety that often trigger crisis in sickle cell patients. This should be avoided.”

Adeyemi runs a private film and video outfit side by side his NYSC primary assignment. His outfit, Ephyzee Global Services, he said, is currently working on six different artistes from Lagos, Abuja and Jos. Together with his three employees, Adeyemi is working on record label for some of the artists and he expects to conclude work on them in the months ahead. To encourage fellow sickle cell patients, Adeyemi did a documentary which he called "The Fighter".

According to him, the documentary was his final year project at London Southbank University. He has released the documentary on YouTube as inspiration for his fellow sickle cell patients.

Describing sickle cell anaemia as an avoidable affliction, Adeyemi enjoined young men and women to undergo genotype compatibility tests before they get married.

This, he said, will save families a great deal of agony and distress that come with having sickle cell children in families. But having found himself in the situation, the young man says he is going to fight the affliction to the finish.

“I am a fighter and I call on fellow sickle cell patients to enlist in this fight for survival. For me, the sky is the limit, sickle cell or no sickle cell", he declared triumphantly.

CONSUMER WATCH With

JILL OKEKE

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jillokeke@yahoo.com, 07069429757

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MARCH 24,2013

Etisalat partners Total to increase retail footprint

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Consumers skeptical over new metering scheme

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OUBTS and skepticism trail the newly introduced Credit Advance Payment for Metre Installation (CAPMI) even as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) chairman, Dr Sam Amadi, tries to reassure consumers.

In an interview with Consumer Watch, he insisted that the fact that the previous scheme of free-metreing introduced by the commission in June last year did not yield the expected result does not mean that CAPMI will not succeed.

“If something failed in the past, must it happen again? We are working hard to assure success, the process is credible and effective,” he stressed.

CAPMI is an alternative scheme designed by NERC to allow willing customers advance money to their distribution company in exchange for the installation of meters. Under the new scheme, once meters have been installed customers are then refunded for the cost of the meter by way of monthly reductions on the fixed charge element of their electricity bills over time.

This scheme is optional and will not be imposed on customers; only those who are willing to advance money for meter may partake in the scheme.

In June last year, NERC had announced that customers were no longer required to pay for electricity metre because the new tariff at the time had incorporated the cost of the meter in the fixed charge component of the bill.

This unfortunately has not worked as well as the commission had expected and nine months after the announcement an unacceptable number of Nigerians still remain without the meter.

But a majority of the consumers interviewed said there was no guarantee that this new scheme will ensure that everyone will get pre-paid meter and curtail the menace of crazy billing from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

Engineer Ejike Ibeazu, the chief executive officer of Index Engineering Services located at Awolowo Road Ikoyi, said that the only way out is for the full privatisation of electricity supply and distribution, which will enable competition among the investors.

Explaining, he said it will allow the companies selling the energy to consumers make meters available for customers either on cash payment or payment by instalment as the investors

will be eager to sell and make profits.

A former staff of PHCN, Mushin zonal office, Engr. Foluso Adebayo, said that anything short of full privatisation of PHCN will not produce any meaningful result. “When consumers were paying for electricity meter, it was not available; is it now that you are asking them to make advance payment which will be refunded back to them that meter will materialise?” he questioned.

The managing director of Reunion Investments located at Alausa, Ikeja, Chief Texas Akuluno, said he paid N55,000 for a three-phase pre-paid metre since January last year “but I am yet to get the meter, so what is the guarantee that this new scheme will work?”

Cautioning consumers to apply restraint on their emotions till CAPMI takes off, Mr. Pekun Adeyanju, assistant general manager of Public Affairs, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, said he sees no reason why the new scheme will not succeed as NERC has developed guidelines for the procurement and installation of the meter by accredited vendors and installers.

Assuaging consumers under Ikeja PHCN zone who paid for meters but are yet to receive them, he said the entire PHCN has been given a three-month mandate by NERC to clear the back log of customers awaiting the meter.

“As such, any consumer who comes with proof of payment will be issued with an electricity meter within one week,” promised Mr. Adeyanju.

He said, “Before June 2012, PHCN was collecting money for meteer but since the free meter scheme was introduced in June, we asked consumers to stop paying for their meters and embarked on refunding bank drafts to consumers who paid out of ignorance.”

Right now, said the PHCN assistant general manager (Public Affairs), “our challenge is to meet the deadline given to us by NERC by issuing all consumers, with proof of payment, with meters before the end of May this year.”

On when the CAPMI will fully take off, the chief executive officer of NERC said it would likely be in mid-April, adding that “the exact date and all the details will be published in national dailies within the next three weeks.”

He added that: “Bank account details and processes of the application for the meter will all be published for interested consumers to avoid paying into the wrong account,” while emphasising that the commission has developed processes to ensure that the advance payment will be secure, and made in a transparent manner to dedicated bank accounts in selected banks.

A statement from NERC said that one of the top priorities of the commission is ensuring that the huge number of unmetred customers is reduced as rapidly as possible and within the shortest time possible.

According to the statement, this was what prompted the commission to act quickly by introducing CAPMI which is a customer-centred alternative.

S part of its drive to bring its unique products and services closer to its subscribers across the country, Nigeria's highly innovative and fastest growing telecommunications company, Etisalat Nigeria, on March 6, unveiled its state-of-the-art Mini Experience Centres at Total Nigeria's Sura Service Station on Lagos Island.

The Mini Experience Centre which is one of 45 launched by the leading telecommunication network is the result of a partnership deal between Etisalat Nigeria and Total Nigeria Plc. The two companies had in June 2012 formally signed a Master Lease Agreement to establish retail sales outlets in select Total service stations nationwide. The Master Lease Agreement was signed in Lagos between the Chairman of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Hakeem Bello-Osagie, and a team of Total Nigeria staff, led by its managing director, Mr. Francois Boussagol Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, chief executive officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Steven Evans, said that the mini experience centre concept has further reinforced that the customer is at the heart of everything the company does. “For us at Etisalat, customer focus simply means putting customers at the centre of all business decisions, ensuring that our customers can access our products easily and can easily deal with any issues that they have experienced with our service.”

“It has always been our strategic objective to deliver world-class telecommunications services that are relevant and aligned to the needs and lifestyles of our respective customers. It is for this reason that Etisalat has decided to partner with a global and reputable organisation like Total with the relevant expertise and experience in delivering world-class products and services. Choosing the right partner is important, and we feel that both brands represent quality and will reinforce each other's values,” he said.

The partnership, he said, has further increased the company's retail footprint and customer touch points across Nigeria. Before now, the company had 90 stateof-the-art Experience Centres around the country. The mini experience centres would be availing customers and prospects of all Etisalat's offerings, ranging from data to voice and would be manned by well-trained personnel to ensure customers' delight. “The new experience centres are built in our signature state-ofthe-art designs to excite and provide our customers with the latest products and services in the market as well as offering them an unparalleled retail experience,” Evans said.

Speaking also, the managing director, Total Petroleum Nigeria, Mr. Francois Boussagol, who was represented at the occasion by the company's general manager, Marketing, Mr. Yahaya Yunusa, said his company couldn't have chosen a better telecom partner for such an initiative. According to him, apart from being the fastest growing telecom operator in Nigeria, Etisalat has so far displayed dynamism, ambition and customer focus in the course of its relatively short time in the country Describing the partnership as a win-win situation for both parties, Boussagol said: “Our partnership with Etisalat is to further enhance our customers' experience.

We strive to build and sustain trust, so our passion for quality is unyielding, and we could not resist the chance to partner with Nigeria's fastest growing and most innovative telecommunications network to further enhance our customers' experience.”

Through this partnership, Etisalat plans to grow the mini customer experience centres to 90 across Nigeria before the end of the year.

Nokia appoints Nick Imudia as Managing Director for West and Central Africa

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OKIA has announced the appointment of Nick Imudia as Managing Director for its West and Central Africa operations. Covering a territory that includes Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Liberia, Chad, Niger, Benin and Togo, Imudia will be based in the Nokia office in Lagos.

Nick Imudia joined Nokia in 1998 and has held several senior positions within the organisation over the past 15 years, including Senior Manager for Retail IT Products and Systems, based out of Singapore; Director of Consumer and Marketing Solutions and Head of Sales and Marketing Solutions. Prior to his move to West Africa, Imudia was based in Finland as Director for the Sales and Marketing Capability Unit, a role in which he held global responsibility for all of the processes,

tools and systems for the Nokia Sales and Marketing function.

In his new role, Imudia will assume overall responsibility for driving the Nokia business in West and Central Africa, managing the local team to deliver on sales, marketing, customer care, logistics, retail execution and developer engagement. In line with the global Nokia strategy, Imudia will focus on delivering great mobile products and services to our customers and consumers.

“Nokia is the market leader in West and Central Africa, with a recognised and respected brand,” says Imudia. “My goal is to retain our high brand preference by serving the needs of our valued consumers. This will be achieved by working closely with our partners, operators, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers across the area to build a profitable business together. I will

also build on the solid foundation we have established through our work with government agencies, local organisations and developers to enable a vibrant local ecosystem and relevant content, both across West Central Africa and in Nigeria as a focus market.”

Born in Nigeria, Imudia left for overseas studies on scholarship immediately after his high school education. He has since lived and studied in the USA, Scandinavia and Singapore, completing several degrees including an MBA from Haaga-Helia University, Finland; Master of Engineering in Oil and Gas Technology from Ålborg University, Denmark and Bachelor of Engineering in Industrial Management from Mikkeli Institute of Technology, Finland. He has now returned to Nigeria and is based in Lagos.

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THE NATION SPORT SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

SPORT EXTRA

Yaya Toure may join Russian big spenders

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NZHI Makhachkala are considering their options over a move for unsettled Manchester City midfielder, Yaya Toure, according to the Daily Mail.

These rumours emerge after longterm contract talks have repeatedly stalled, as the Ivoirian's agent looks to force through a decision soon or else his client will move on.

The ambitious, oil-rich Russian outfit have been alerted to news that the 29year-old will be willing to move in the summer if negotiations are not swiftly resolved.

They have emerged as favourites to sign Toure due to their ability to pay the £25 million asking price. Crucially, Anzhi's capacity to match and improve his £250,000 weekly wage sets them above potential competitors Real Madrid and Chelsea.

However, the club founded just 22 years ago will not be held to ransom over a potential move, as manager Guus Hiddink has recently indicated that they will not pay over the odds for new signings despite their wealth.

An alarming, strongly-worded interview with the Ivoirian's representative Dimitri Seluk in the Sun detailing Toure's troubles at the Etihad has ramped up transfer speculation.

Seluk issued an ultimatum over a new contract: “If he signs a contract in the next three or four days, OK. If not, we will not wait any longer and will start negotiations with different clubs.”

Hockey: Edo Queens set pace in NHF/SHI Indoor 5-Aside

BY TAIWO ALIMI DO Queens Hockey team has set the pace in the female event of the Nigeria Hockey Federation season's opener by winning all their three games so far in the two-day SHI Indoor 5-Aside in Ilorin-Kwara State.

Edo Queen demolished the University of Ilorin team 12-0 on Friday, Day One of the tournament and finished with a slim 2-1 win over Kwara Hockey team same evening.

Yesterday, which is Day 2 and final day of the tournament saw Edo Queens completing the routing of their opponents by beating Kwara Team B 4-0.

Their male counterparts; Edo Flickers also started well beating Kutigi Hockey team 5-2 while Union Bank Hockey Team defeated Yobe Warriors 3-1. Yobe Warriors had beaten Kwara Flickers 5-0 in the opening men's game on Friday.

Sponsored by the Chief Insight Officer of SHI (a non profit organisation), Rotarian Mike Omotosho, who also hails from Ilorin, the tournament is expected to help propagate the principles of sound healthcare among Nigerians and promote the new hockey initiative; Indoor 5-Aside.

According to SHI CEO, Rotarian Omotosho, the support and sponsorship was borne out of his love for the game and the need to bring back the good old days of hockey to Ilorin.

Shedding more light into the new brand of hockey, which was introduced to Nigeria last November by a top FIH instructor, NHF President; Patrick Ukah informed that the game is played by two teams of eight players each with five players and three substitutes and is played in almost same space used for indoor handball. “Indoor hockey brings out the beauty of the game and helps players perfect their skill, most importantly their short game. Since last November when the game was introduced in Port Harcourt, it has been played in Asaba, Ibadan and Lagos and hockey players and followers love it,” declared Ukah.

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WORLD CUP QUALIFIER

Super Eagles snatch point after Kenyan scare

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UPER Eagles salvaged a point in the Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifier against Kenya after rallying to finish 1-1 in Calabar.

Substitute Nnamdi Oduamadi who replaced 2013 AFCON star Sunday Mba in the 75th minute was the Super Eagles hero as he powered a volley four minutes into time added-on of the 90 minutes to see the game end 1-1.

Kenya were looking good to end their search for victory over Nigeria when Francis Kahata curled a 20-yard free-kick in for the goal in the 38th minute after Elderson Echijiele had brought down Victor Wanyama.

The Super Eagles efforts to score goals in first half were thwarted by the bravery of Armold Origi in goal.

Mikel Obi had an 8th minute freeckick saved by Origi who also stopped Victor Moses in 45th minute.

Nigeria dominated the game, but the determination of Kenya’s defensive line as well as Origi in goal frustrated the Super Eagles efforts.

Coach Stephen Keshi threw in Ahmed Musa for Obafemi Martins in 60th minute to add some bite to the Super Eagles attack before the masterstroke addition of Oduamadi for Mba with fifteen minutes left on the clock.

The Super Eagles stay top of Group F but are tied on five points from three games with Malawi

Samba scores in Congo win

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ONGO have maintained their 100 percent record in their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying Group E with a 1-0 home win over Gabon on Saturday.

The decisive goal of the game was scored by Christopher Samba midway through the second half to give the home side another three points.

Gabon will find it very difficult to finish top of the pool now and their dreams of reaching the World Cup in Brazil look over.

The home side deserved their win and have now opened up a six point lead at the top of the table.

If Burkina Faso defeat Niger tomorrow as expected, they will maintain that advantage.

Samba

Nigerian Super Eagles led by its captain, Vincent Anyeama, openly expressing their gratitude to Cross River State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke for support shortly after the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier match with Harambee Stars of Kenya which ended 1 -1 at the U J Esuene Stadium, Calabar, yesterday

Malawi take points from Windhoek

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alawi have boosted their chances of reaching the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil with a 1-0 victory over Namibia in Windhoek on Saturday.

The only goal of the game was scored by Gabadin Mhango 20 minutes from time to give The Flames their first victory in the pool and leave them level with Nigeria

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half.

Malawi began to exert some dominance after the break, and it was no surprise when Mhango forced the ball home.

Namibia pushed forward in search of an equaliser, but were frustrated by the stubborn visitors, who held on for a precious win.

But less than five minutes later, Maman Gafar outran Benoît Angbwa on the right flank for Dove Womé, who beat Itandje to equalise for his team.

The two outfits headed back to the cloakrooms at the break on an equal footing, but one which did not fairly reflect Cameroon's dominance.

The Lions continued their attack on goal led by Tchagouni in the second half, and in the 52nd minute, following a fine run by Samuel Eto'o in the penalty area, Jean II Makoun found his attempt stopped by the Togolese goalkeeper.

The Cameroon captain had another chance just after the hour mark on a free kick after a foul on Stéphane Mbia, but the Anzhi Makhachkala striker's shot brushed Tchagouni's left post.

Eto'o grabs brace in Cameroon win

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brace by Samuel Eto'o on Saturday against Togo allowed Cameroon to take the lead in Group I of the World Cup 2014 qualifiers.

Cameroon took control of the clash from kick-off and in the sixth minute, a free kick by Samuel Eto'o was headed by Léonard Kwekeu, but met the post of Togolese 'keeper Baba Tchagouni.

The Indomitable Lions continued to press, and on the quarter hour mark, it took Tchagouni two attempts to control a powerful strike by Jean II Makoun.

The Sparrowhawks could have opened the score against the run of play ten minutes later, but Dove Womé lost his duel with Charles Itandje.

Jean-Paul Akono's men managed to unblock the situation in the 41st minute when, at the end of an action well led by Benoît Assou-Ekotto and Achille Emana, Kwekeu found himself destabilised in the penalty area.

The Indomitable Lions captain saw to his responsibilities at the penalty spot and gave the locals a deserved lead.

Newcastle to offer Ameobi new contract EWCASTLE United are set to hand Nigerian striker Shola Ameobi a new contract that will extend his stay at St James' Park.

The Nigerian forward is going into the last year of his current contract at the end of the season and Coach Alan Pardew is keen to extend his stay.

Pardew is hoping to keep him at Newcastle into his peak years as it has been the case at Manchester United with established stars like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes with Ferguson tending to top up contracts on a yearly basis.

“He's still got another year here with us. And I don't see a problem extending that. We'll see.

on five points.

Both Southern Afircan sides fielded expected line-ups, with 15 of the 22 players that started having either played or are currently plying their trade in the South African PSL. It gave a familiarity to the fixture and there was little to choose between the sides in the opening

“I think the bottom line with Shola will be how long he wants to stay at one club, because he's been here his entire career.

“I hope he wants to stay, but that'll be his decision. Pardew said as quoted on chroniclelive.co.uk.

Ameobi is officially the Premier League's most used substitute in history with 122 appearances from the bench and feelers have it that he may consider a stint elsewhere in order to gain regular first team football. The Nigerian could move beyond Alan Shearer to 50 European appearances in the upcoming two legged clash with Benfica. He has 76 goals for the Magpies with 15 of his goals coming during his 49 games in European competition.

World Cup qualifier results

Congo 1 0 Gabon Namibia 0 1 Malawi Nigeria 1 1 Kenya Cameroon 3 1 Togo Cote d’Ivoire 3 0 Gambia Congo 1 0 Gabon

Argentina, Colombia pull clear

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HERE were emphatic wins for Argentina and Colombia on Matchday 11 of the South American qualifying competition for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.

Separated by four points, the duo are now clear at the top of the table, with Ecuador, who were not in action on Friday, comfortably positioned in third.

Turning in another impressive performance in all departments, Colombia brushed aside Bolivia to move into second place and take another significant step towards their first appearance in the world finals since France 1998. Los Cafeteros, who have now gone 277 minutes without conceding a goal at their Barranquilla stronghold, showed their full range of attacking options as five different players got on the scoresheet.

Wing-back Juan Cuadrado impressed for the home side, as did goalscorers Torres and Armero, who also conjured up an assist each to help condemn Xavier Azkargorta's side to their heaviest defeat of the campaign.

The Bolivians now lie eighth in the table, five points adrift of the qualification places.

Argentina stayed right on course for Brazil 2014 as they eased to a 3-0 win over Venezuela in Buenos Aires.

Playing his 100th game for his country at all levels, Lionel Messi made another decisive contribution, teeing up Gonzalo Higuain for the home side's first and third goals and stroking home their second from the penalty spot. Alejandro Sabella's men have now struck three or more goals in their last four home games and are unbeaten in eight matches, having drawn two and won six of them.

Over in Montevideo, meanwhile, Uruguay and Paraguay shared the spoils in an absorbing 1-1 draw that left neither side satisfied. La Celeste seemed to have the three points in their grasp when Luis Suarez opened the scoring late on with a stunning right-footed volley.

Just moments later, however, Edgard Benitez found himself with time and space in the Uruguay box and slotted home to condemn Oscar Tabarez's side to a fifth consecutive game without a win.

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THE NATION SPORT SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013

SPORT EXTRA

Cantona salutes Mourinho

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ANCHESTER United legend Eric Cantona has voiced his admiration for Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, revealing the Portuguese's presence is one of the reasons why he follows the Santiago Bernabeu side.

The former France international has admitted he is not a fan of Mourinho's pragmatic approach, but is full of praise for the way the former Chelsea boss manages his team.

"Barcelona are one of the few teams that interest me and of course Manchester United. And then there's Real Madrid, because they have a coach like Mourinho," Cantona told Le Matin.

"I'm not a fan of his style of play, but he has an amazing personality. He is very intelligent, has incredible charisma and a rather special way of managing things. He says that a coach needs to be an actor and I agree with him.

"It's important not to always show your emotions when you're surrounded by your players. It's all about what the players need to see and need to hear.

"Will it benefit the team or not when their coach enters the dressing room frustrated and throws around teacups?

It all depends on the situation and Mourinho knows exactly how to behave in every situation.

Ferdinand expects to feature for England

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IO Ferdinand claims Roy Hodgson will still consider him for selection despite withdrawing from the England squad on Monday.

Ferdinand, 34, looked set to end a two-year wait for international football when he was called up by Hodgson for England's World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro.

The Manchester United veteran then withdrew from the squad, citing a need to follow a detailed pre-planned training programme to maintain his fragile fitness.

Ferdinand's decision provoked criticism from many observers, particularly when it was revealed he would be travelling to Qatar during the international break to appear on a television programme broadcasting the game against San Marino.

Hodgson has expressed his "disappointment" at Ferdinand's withdrawal, but the defender has insisted it will not count against him for future England matches.

El Shaarawy tips Balotelli for greatness

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TEPHAN El Shaarawy believes AC Milan and Italy team-mate Mario Balotelli is improving rapidly and could blossom into one of the world's best players.

The 22-year-old has been in fine form since moving to San Siro from Manchester City in January, and his strike partner for both club and country feels he could go all the way to the top, having matured.

"Mario is improving rapidly. I'm happy for him. He can become one of the top three players in the world," he told a press conference.

"I'm glad that is growing, as a player and as a man. I can see [that he is] much more mature.

"Mario and I represent a young, new Italy. Investing in youth is the most important thing. I'm glad we're doing well, but we still have lots of room for improvement, to make Italy even better." The 20-year-old was deployed on the left wing for the friendly draw with Brazil on Thursday and says he is happier in that role.

"Playing on the left in a 4-3-3 is the role that I prefer, because I play there for Milan. [Cesare] Prandelli asks the same things of me as Allegri.”

AFRICA YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP

Nigeria beat DR Congo to reach semi-finals

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EFENDING African Youth Champions (U-20) Flying Eagles of Nigeria made light work of DR Congo winning 3-1 to advance to the semifinals of the 2013 Orange CAF U-20 Championship during the final group B match played at Ahmed Zabana stadium in Oran. The holders will now face Egypt on Tuesday in Ain Temouchent.

Flying Eagles captain Abduljeleel Ajagun opened the scoring from the penalty spot on 32nd minute after striker in the after Edbedi Edafe was impeded as he ran onto a return ball inside the box from Abdullahi Shehu. Ajagun who also scored from the pot kick in the last match against Gabon sent Landu Bakala the wrong way.

Six minutes later Congolese defenders stood-by appealing for offside and paid for it when Aminu Umar played to the whistle and side footed past Bakala from close range to make it two nil to Nigeria DR Congo who up until the two goals had been playing some attacking positive football looked shell shocked and were struggling to contain the Nigerians. The half time break didn't seem to have helped the Congolese as they continued to allow the runs into

their box go unchallenged. The Nigerians were exchanging short passes in-front a deep Congolese defence and on 47th minute Umar shook off Nekadio Luyindama before lobbing over advancing Bakala for his second and Nigeria's third.

From then on it was pretty much Nigeria dominating and Congo trying to recover and minimize the damage. As Nigerians created chance after chance but without really adding to the score line, Congolese coach, Lofoba Baudouim made some changes bring in Kubanza Ushindi and Chris Makengo. The substitutions breathed some new life into DR Congo and they were duly rewarded for their pressure when on 72nd minute Mukanisa Pembele hooked a left shot into the top left hand corner of Nigerian goal minder, Jonah Usman as the Congolese self- belief returned. It was however a charge made too late and Nigeria saw off the match to give coach John Obuh the late birthday present he asked for before the match. Obuh turned 53 on Thursday and had said the best present would be to lead his charges to the semis finals.

Egypt beat Benin for clean sweep

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GYPT U-20 side completed a clean sweep of their group games with a comfortable 1-0 win over Benin during Group A match of the 2013 Orange CAF Championship played at Ahmed Zabana Stadium in Oran. Egypt will now be joined from Group A in the semi-finals by Ghana who beat hosts, Algeria 2-0 in the other match played simultaneously at Ain Temouchent Striker Mahmoud Monem benefitted from some unconvincing defending ghosting in behind defender Koffi Kassa to shot home from 5 meters out for the opening goal.

Egypt looked comfortable and hardly troubled by Benin for the greater part of the game. Benin worked hard and never gave up and made up lack of quality with sheer determination and commitment. In the second half , the West Africans saw more of the ball and had a period they camped in the Egyptian half but their work in the final third let them down, as did their accuracy in front of goal.

The hard work was epitomized by captain Kamarou Koukpere who anchored the backline but so often would venture on runs into the opposition half trying to find his forwards with passes. Another Benin player involved in some of their good play was Agossa Bonou who had some bruising battles with Egyptian midfielder Hossam Mohamed.

After the interval Benin upped

their game and could have equalized from a well worked out move involving Ulrich Quenum and Kola Raimi but the overhead kick from Gbenga Lanignan missed the goal by centimeters.

Benin was working hard for their first goal but it wasn't to come and Egypt weathered the later charge to hold on to their third win in as many match.

WORLD CUP QUALIFIER

Gyan boosts Ghana against Sudan

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HANA captain Asamoah Gyan has been passed fit to play in the crucial 2014 World Cup qualifier against Sudan.

The Al Ain striker was withdrawn as a precautionary measure after complaining of thigh

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pains in the Black Stars' friendly win over second tier Deportivo on Thursday.

Further examination of the feared injury Friday however showed no damage in the thigh.

This means the 27-year-old is back in contention for a place in

Ghana's starting line-up for today's game at the Baba Yara Stadium.

The ex Sunderland hit man is now expected to take part in the team's final training session on Saturday evening at the venue of the game to further prove his fitness.

Ajimobi to flag-off 5th Splash FM/ICPC Integrity Marathon

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HE executive governor of Oyo, Senator Abiola Ajimobi will today flagoff the Splash FM/ICPC Integrity Marathon with minister of Sports and chairman, National Sports Commission, Hon. Bolaji Abudllahi at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium Ibadan.

The one day athletics competition organised by the Southwest zone one of National

Zaha vows to silence critics

ILFRIED Zaha has vowed to silence his critics who are questioning why Sir Alex Ferguson purchased the 20-yearold.

The Premier League side immediately loaned the England Under-21 international back to Crystal Palace as part of the deal, but Zaha said that he is determined to justify his transfer fee when he joins up with the Red Devils.

"It means a lot to me because, for all the good stuff I hear about me, people saying I'm a good player, there are many that say I'm overrated, said Zaha, who was signed

by United for 15 million pounds in January,

Ajagun

"So this is a great chance for me to show what I'm all about and why I have got to where I am now.

"It will be more practice for me this summer for when I go into preseason training with Manchester United. "It's a chance for me to better myself in different ways and to go out and prove myself on a big stage. I'm not sure I will ever get used to it. I'm going to have to try and get used to it and go and play my own game."

Zaha, who scored his first goal for the England Under-21 team on Thursday, added: "I do feel the pressure and the hardest thing about being a footballer is to cope with it.

"I just get my head down and tell myself I'm there for a reason. Every time I go on the pitch I have to prove myself.”

Sports Commission, (NSC) in conjunction with Splash FM & Independent Corrupt Practice Commission (ICPC) will come up on Sunday 24th March, 2013 at 7:00am prompt will draw participants from all the states of the federation.

The 42km yearly Marathon race, will start at the formerly Liberty Stadium now known as Obafemi Awolowo Stadium and will take athletes through the following areas of the state; High Court road, Mobile/Town Planning, Akinyemi, Iyaganku, Aleshionloye, Eleyele, Sango, U.I., Ojoo, Iwo road, Gate, Molete and Challenge before returning to back to the Stadium.

While explaining rationale behind his continual funding of the event, the Ibadan high Chief and Chairman Splash FM Chief Adebayo Akande has said he will not relent until the sole aim behind the sporting event yield positive impact in our society.

“Integrity marathon race is for g o o d g o v e r n a n c e , accountability and transparency in governance, all and sundry should join in fighting corruptions in our society”, the

Agba Akin of Ibadan noted.

Also speaking, The Zonal coordinator, Dr. Steve Olarinoye said a total of two Million Naira (#2,000,000) will be shared among the athletes.

He implored all intending participants to submit their completed forms, accompanied with certificates of medical fitness from recognized hospital to the southwest zone one of National Sports Commission Oke-Ado, Ibadan before 20th March, 2013.

Dr. Olarinoye enjoined the public to bear with the Commission as the routes for the race will be temporarily closed while the race lasted, assuring the athletes that adequate security will be provided as security and medical personnel will be on ground to provide necessary assistance.

Other dignitaries expected at the race include chairman ICPC, Barrister Ekpo Nta, Chairman Splash 105.5FM Chief Adebayo Akande, Commissioners, General Managers/Directors of sports, and Permanent Secretaries in the Ministry of Sports.

QUOTABLE "As a citizen, I will not vote for him. I did not vote for him the last time; I will not vote for him tomorrow. I don't think he has the capacity to move Nigeria to where it should be going. With complete respect for him, as a person, he doesn't have the capacity… I doubt his competence, and I am not sure about the character and I worry about the commitment."

SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2013 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL. 7, NO. 2440

— Political economist & politician, Professor Pat Utomi expressing doubts about President Goodluck Jonathan's ability to administer Nigeria.

I

SEE Chinua Achebe differently from how others see him. Some see him rightly as the grandfather of African fiction, and others simply but also accurately see him as the father of African literature. Yet others remember him as the hard-hitting literary critic that in 1975 disembowelled Joseph Conrad for his book, Heart of Darkness. But most people, whether critics or plain connoisseurs of great books, remember him as the delightful author of Things Fall Apart, an incomparable book that has sold more than 10 million copies and has been translated into more than 50 languages. Chinua Achebe (1930-2013) lived well and died at a ripe old age after bidding his country goodbye with a rousing, controversial book, There Was a Country. In a literary career spanning more than 50 years, Achebe churned out scores of works in nearly all areas of literature.

Achebe’s death on Friday morning is of course bound to elicit great obituaries from gifted editorial writers, many of them enchanted by the literary giant’s life and times.

The death will also unleash a cornucopia of reviews and criticisms of his works, complete with projections of how relevant he would be in the decades and centuries to come. Most of the reviews will of course focus on his five novels, some of his essays, and his controversial non-fiction memoir on the Nigerian civil war viewed from the Biafran perspective. A few may attempt comparisons with contemporary writers, and others will unearth salient themes from his works to enrich future generations and provide cultural and political anodynes for a country in distress. Of course, too, most of the analyses and tributes will attempt a balanced examination of the writer, his on the one hand weighed against his on the other hand. Indeed, barely hours after his departure, tons of essays on the legend, many of them probably prepared beforehand, have been broadcast or published.

Shortly before There Was a Country was released, I had written a short but questioning review of the controversial book. The review was limited, as it concentrated on a small aspect of the book released by the publishers to tease the public. It turned out in the end that that teaser was central to considerations of the book’s strengths and weaknesses. In my limited review, I was careful not to use it as a measure of Achebe’s literary endowment, whether that endowment is constricted or expansive, or use it as an indication of his life and times.

That would have been most inappropriate, for a man of such copious output and prodigious talent could not be sensibly dismissed or characterised by one book, let alone a section of that book. I am not also going to pretend to use all or nearly all his works to define his essence, for that would also be a presumptuous endeavour. Nor would I attempt to compare one of his books with another, say, the gentle accessibility and simplicity of Things Fall Apart with the brilliance and complexity of Arrow of God. Whatever anyone may say of Achebe’s learning and worldview, whether he was deep or needed to be deeper, or whether he was thematically narrow in range or breathtaking, or whether he was controversial and disagreeable as a person or open-minded, gregarious, agreeable and universalist as an author, the important thing for me is that he had character and, needless to say, a curious and familiarly exciting point of view. There is no point trying to examine his literary competence. By every yardstick, he was an exquisite and exceptional writer, and he contributed immeasurably in birthing and giving fillip to the African perspective of literature. There are many fine writers the world has forgotten, or with time will forget. But there are a few who, regardless of the classicalness or mundaneness of their works, will be remembered for a long time. Like politicians and conquering generals, there are always a few additional and indescribable intangibles that qualify a man for greatness.

Once these intangibles are absent, there is no amount of genius that can redeem the

Achebe departs in a blaze of controversy

•Chinua Achebe through the years

situation. And once they are present, there is no amount of ordinariness or lesser qualification that can attenuate it.

Achebe’s character can thus be viewed from two perspectives. One is in terms of his character as a person, and the other is in terms of his character as a writer. What I find impressive about Achebe is how passionately he exuded both characters, as a person and as a writer, shorn of contrivances. Indeed, it seems to me that the leitmotif of his life and work could not be divorced from his Igbo identity. However, embracing that identity

was a matter of choice for him, not compulsion. It coloured some of his works, just as his politics could not transcend it. It may be too early to determine what influence that identity would have on his legacy now or in the future, but it made Achebe the enigmatic and mercurial person he was. It didn’t matter to him that critics pointed out the dissonance between his lofty image as a great writer and the limiting parochialism of some of his pet views; all that mattered was that he summoned the fortitude to stick to his views. He had

“He belonged to the old school of great writers who despised taking refuge behind harmless, defanged words and imageries. His criticism of Conrad, for instance, was strident and, in some parts, downright abusive. In the same manner, his characterisation of some of the key political players during the Nigerian civil war was sweeping, exuberant and pugnacious. You may not agree with him, but you could not ignore him, for he had a poignant way of conveying his views. You may disagree vehemently with him, but you had a sense of his presence, his convictions, and his character. After all, I disagree with the American poet and critic, Ezra Pound’s impressionable theory of economics, and find his admiration for fascism shocking, but who could deny or resist the exquisiteness and brilliance of his poetry, particularly the Pisan Cantos, notwithstanding the circumstances in which the poem was penned shortly after World War II?”

an unquenchable zeal to be himself, and he had the talent to nurture and sustain that zeal.

As a writer, he cared even less what reservations anyone might have about the messages he furnished in his works or how trenchantly he projected his point of view.

He belonged to the old school of great writers who despised taking refuge behind harmless, defanged words and imageries.

His criticism of Conrad, for instance, was strident and, in some parts, downright abusive. In the same manner, his characterisation of some of the key political players during the Nigerian civil war was sweeping, exuberant and pugnacious. You may not agree with him, but you could not ignore him, for he had a poignant way of conveying his views. You may disagree vehemently with him, but you had a sense of his presence, his convictions, and his character.

After all, I disagree with the American poet and critic, Ezra Pound’s impressionable theory of economics, and find his admiration for fascism shocking, but who could deny or resist the exquisiteness and brilliance of his poetry, particularly the Pisan Cantos, notwithstanding the circumstances in which the poem was penned shortly after World War II? Achebe was a pathfinder, and, as I indicated in this place when I wrote a short review of his latest work, his reputation as a writer is secure, notwithstanding the multiple indiscretions of indulging in historical fallacies. As much as the inimitable Mark Twain tried to philosophise in some of his works, notably The Mysterious Stranger, and as classical and supremely engaging as many of his works were, such as Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, Old Times on The Mississippi, and Innocents Abroad, he never rose to the level of a philosopher of any appreciable talent. Achebe, too, never quite made it as an original thinker, nor perhaps ever tried. But he achieved greatness as a writer of immense ability, as the general editor of the Heinemann African Writers Series, and as a mentor, literature teacher and trailblazer.

His books did not win as many prizes as he probably coveted or merited. But those books are with us for all of eternity to help sustain his huge legacy. His aspirations for Nigeria were left unfulfilled, and he even spurned the half-hearted attempt by the Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan governments to honour him, but he departed these shores with the consolation that he repudiated his country’s maladies as vigorously as he could manage and as cathartically as he felt he needed to mitigate the injury occasioned in his mind by widespread leadership incompetence.

It is no mean achievement that Achebe departed at 82, the second of the famous literary quartet God bestowed on Nigeria, Christopher Okigbo having achieved immortality ahead of the rest. As the many panegyrics written in honour of Okigbo have proved, absence really does make the heart grow fonder. From now on, many panegyrics will be written to the departed Achebe.

Britain may no longer have its Dickenses, nor Russia its Dostoyevskys, nor France its Molieres, nor Ireland its Shaws, for the world has become a parched or at best middling literary landscape, but at least we still have our Wole Soyinka and J.P Clark, the two surviving members of the quartet.

What we do with them is up to us.

Achebe’s life and death symbolise the continuing mockery of our inexistent national identity. There is no poet’s corner in Abuja to bury the legend, or any other legend for that matter, for neither do we have a national identity to subdue individual ethnic identities, nor do we have leaders with a sense of history to conjure symbols that could underscore that identity. Achebe will probably be buried in his hometown, the final act in his repudiation of a country that has neither proved itself worthy of its great sons nor risen to an enviable height by the cumulative and stirring effects of the accomplishments of its great daughters.

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ISSN: 115-5302 E-mail: sunday@thenationonlineng.net Editor: FESTUS ERIYE