The Nation March 27, 2013

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

Senate honours Achebe today

‘I told Jonathan in 2011 no second term for me’ •CBN chief Sanusi ready to go

NEWS

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www.thenationonlineng.net

VOL. 8, NO. 2440 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

•Ngugi wa Thiong’o pays tribute

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

N150.00

Tukur jittery as Jonathan backs Anenih’s peace tour Opponents renew anti-Amaechi battle ahead NGF election

G-20 to Northern leaders: stop Boko Haram

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

From Gbade Ogunwale and Bukola Amusan, Abuja

I

T was designed to bring peace and harmony, but the reconciliation tour in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seems to be opening another battle front.

National Chairman Bamanga Tukur, who has just concluded a peace tour, is said to be jittery over the ongoing tour by Board of Trustees Chairman Tony Anenih.

President Goodluck Jonathan is said to be strongly in favour of Anenih’s mission rather than Tukur’s.

Anenih will today in Minna meet with the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, who has been passionate about the need for the President to respect the one-term pact he allegedly entered into with PDP governors.

Tukur and his strategists are believed to be comfortable with the intervention of Anenih in rebuilding PDP. It was gathered that some Tukur strategists had made him to erroneously believe that Anenih might take over the control of the party, if he succeeded with the rescue mission.

A source, who spoke in confidence said: “There is a sort of cold war between Tukur and Anenih over the peace and reconciliatory moves. The reunification was actually the idea of Anenih, but having been fed wrongly that the BOT chairman might hijack the party machinery, Tukur came up with a crash programme on reconciliation tours.

“But Anenih avoided unnecessary controversy by coming up with a well-tailored work plan on how to woo strategic stakeholders back into the party.

“It is now clear to all leaders of the party that Tukur’s peace moves have failed. InContinued on page 4

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•Anenih

Continued on page 4

Continued on page 4

•Henry Okah in Johannesburg High Court...on February 28 .

PHOTO:AFP

Okah to spend 24 years in jail

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•Tukur

the “highly-corrupt” Nigerian government.

The statement reads: “MEND received with incredulity, the twentyfour year sentence slammed on Henry Okah, after a sham trial in a South African kangaroo court.

“We are disappointed, but not surprised that the South African judi-

ORTH’s leaders got a wake-up call yesterday on the worsening security situation in their domain.

They were urged by the Northern Political Summit Group (also known as G20) to pool resources to end the Boko Haram menace and restore peace to the region.

The call came on a day the International Police Organisation (INTERPOL) reassured the Federal Government of collaboration in the battle against terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering.

It also came on a day 900 corps members sought redeployment from Kano for their mandatory one-year national youth service scheme.

The Prof. Jerry Gana-led G-20 urged genuine and trustworthy Northern leaders to come forward and dialogue with the Federal Government on how to end the Boko Haram insurgency.

The G-20 was unveiling plans to hold its 2nd Northern Economic Summit as from June 6 in Kaduna.

At the session were Senator Barnabas Gemade, Ibrahim Ida, former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Abba Gana, woman-activist, Ene Ede among others Speaking in Abuja at a press conference, Prof.

Gana called on Northern leaders and governors to use all their resources to end the menace and restore desired peace to the North.

He said: “Since the security and the welfare of the people is the primary purpose of government, we

ILITANT leader Henry Okah’s controversial life collapsed yesterday at a South African court.

The leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) got a 24-year jail term.

Mixed reactions trailed the court’s verdict. MEND said it was disappointed but not surprised by the sentence.

The leader of the Niger Delta volunteers’ Force (NDVF), Alhaji Asari Dokubo, hailed the sentence, say-

•MEND: we’re not surprised •My forever guy, says wife From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt and Augustine Avwode

ing “justice has been done”.

He said the verdict was too mild as the court ought to have slammed a death sentence on Okah.

In an online statement by its spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, MEND accused the South African court of allowing itself to be compromised by

•SPORTS P23 •LIFE P25 •MONEY P30 •INVESTORS P34 •POLITICS P43

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

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NEWS CHINUALUMOGU ACHEBE (1930 -2013)

• Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu presenting a gift to the NYSC DirectorGeneral, Brig.Gen. Nnamdi Okere-Afia, who visited him in Minna... yesterday.

The Achebe Ngugi wa Thiong’o, a creative writer and distinguished professor of Comparative Literature and English at the University of California, Irvine, pays tribute to the late Prof. Chinua Achebe.

• Anambra State Deputy Governor Emeka Sibeudu signing the condolence register for the late Achebe at the Government House, Awka.... yesterday.

PHOTO: OBI CLETUS

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•Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi (right) receiving the document on the establishment of the Institute of Governance, Ekiti State University (EKSU) from the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oladipo Aina (left), during the 7th International Conference and General Assembly of the Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP), in Ado-Ekiti... on Monday.

With them arethe Chairman of the occasion, Mallam Yusuf Ali, SAN (right).

•From left: National President, Mortgage Bankers Association of Nigeria (MBAN), Mr Femi Johnson(left), Chairman, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, FMBN, Elder Bisi Ogunjobi, and Managing Director, FMBN Gimba Yau Kumo, during the association’s visit to FMBN headquarters in Abuja... yesterday.

PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE

•Head, Department of Food Science Technology, Bowen University, Prof. Olufemi Taiwo, greeting the Director-General, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Dr Gloria Elemo, at a NISER Research Seminar Series In Ibadan...yesterday.

With them is the Director-General, Nigeria Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Prof. Olusola Akingbala.

FIRST met the late Chinua Achebe in 1961 at Makerere, Kampala. His novel, Things Fall Apart, had come out two years before. I was then a second year student, the author of just one story, “Mugumo”, published in Penpoint, the literary magazine of the English Department. At my request, he looked at the story and made some encouraging remarks.

My next encounter was more dramatic, on my part at least, and would affect my life and literary career profoundly. It was at the now famous 1962 conference of writers of English expression.

Achebe was among a long line of literary luminaries that included Wole Soyinka, J.P. Clark, Eski’a Mphahlele, Lewis Nkosi and Bloke Modisane. The East African contingent consisted of Grace Ogot, Jonathan Kariara, John Nagenda and I. My invitation was on the strength of my short stories published in Penpoint and in Transition.

But what most attracted me was not my being invited there as ‘writer’ but the fact that I would be able to show the late Achebe the manuscript of my second novel, what would later become Weep Not, Child. It was very generous of him to agree to look at it because, as I would learn later, he was working on his novel, Arrow of God. Because of that and his involvement in the conference, he could not read the whole manuscript, but he read enough to give some useful suggestions.

More important, he talked about it to his publisher, William Heinemann, represented at the conference by June Milne, who expressed an interest in the work.

Weep Not, Child would later be published by Heinemann and the paperback by Heinemann Education Publishers, the fourth in the now famous African Writers series of which Achebe was the Editorial Adviser.

I was working with The Nation newspapers when Weep Not, Child came out. It was April 1964, and Kenya was proud to have its first modern novel in English by a Kenyan African.

Or so I thought, for the novel was well published in the Kenyan newspapers, The Sunday Nation even carrying my interview by de Villiers, one of its senior features writers.

I assumed that every educated Kenyan would have heard about the novel. I was woken to reality when I entered a club, the most frequented by the new African elite at the time, who all greeted me as their Kenyan author of Things Fall Apart.

Years later, at the late Achebe’s 70th birthday celebrations at Bard College attended by Toni Morrison and Wole Soyinka among others, I

• The late Prof. Achebe

told this story of how the late Achebe’s name had haunted my life. When Soyinka’s turn to speak came, he said I had taken the story from his mouth: He had been similarly mistaken for the late Achebe.

The fact is the late Achebe became synonymous with the Heinemann African Writers Series and African writing as a whole. There’s hardly any African writer of my generation who has not been mistaken for Achebe.

Senate to •Reps want monument named after author

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HE Senate will today hold a session in honour of the late Prof.

Chinua Achebe, the literary icon who died on March 21 in the United States.

The decision followed a motion on matters of urgent national importance raised on the floor of the Senate by Senator Chris Ngige (ACNAnambra).

Ngige, who described the late Achebe as “his constituent’’, acknowledged that torrents of tribute had been pouring in since the late author’s death.

The House of Representatives urged the Federal Government to name the National Library under construction or any other monument in the country in the honour of late

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

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NEWS CHINUALUMOGU ACHEBE (1930-2013)

I knew, by Ngugi wa Thiong’o Achebe: My complicated literary father

By Chris Abani

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• Anambra State Commissioner for Justice Peter Afuba signing the condolence register for the late Achebe at the Government House, Awka ...yesterday. PHOTO: OBI CLETUS

King’s College to distribute free copies of Things Fall Apart HE King’s College, Lagos, will on Thursday distribute free copies of the novel, ‘’Things Fall Apart’’, in tribute to the author, Prof. Chinua Achebe, who died on March 21.

The principal, Mr Oladele Olapeju, yesterday said the college would give out more than 1,000 copies to its students at its Cultural Day celebration in Lagos.

Olapeju spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

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He said the event would have the theme: “Our Culture, Our Pride’’.

“This year’s Cultural Day of the King’s College, Lagos, has been dedicated to the late Chinua Achebe, Africa’s literary genius.

“We are not only proud of Prof.

Achebe’s incomparable exploits, we are pre-eminently gratified that it was Nigeria that produced him for the world,” he said.

He told NAN that the event would showcase Nigeria’s

cultural heritage, to encourage students to be proud of their country.

He expressed the hope that the distribution of the copies of the novel would promote reading culture among the students and make them to see Achebe as their role model.

The principal said the college would continue to engage in activities that would promote academic excellence.

I have had a few of such encounters.

The last such was in 2010 at the Jomo Kenyatta Airport. Mukoma, the author of Nairobi Heat, and I had been invited for the Kwani festival whose theme was inter-generational dialogue.

As he and I walked towards the immigration desk, a man came towards me. His hands were literally trembling as he identified himself as a professor of literature from Zambia.

“Excuse me Mr Achebe, somebody pointed you out to me. I have long wanted to meet you.”

“No, no I am not the one,” I said, “but here is Mr Achebe,” I added, pointing at my son.

I thought the obvious youth of my

son would tell him that I was being facetious. But no, our professor grabbed Mukoma’s hands grateful that he had at last shaken hands with his hero.

The case of mistaken identity as late as 2010 shows how Achebe had become a mythical figure, and rightly so. He was the single most important figure in the development of modern African literature as writer, editor and quite simply a human being.

His novel, Things Fall Apart, the most widely read novel in the history of African literature since its publication in 1958, became an inspiring model. As the general edi-

tor of the Heinemann African Writers Series, he had a hand in the emergence of many other writers and their publication.

As a person, he embodied wisdom that comes from a commitment to the middle way between extremes and, of course, courage in the face of personal tragedy!

The late Achebe bestrides generations and geographies.

Every country in Africa claims him as their own. Some sayings in his novels are quoted frequently as proverbs that contain universal wisdom. His passing marks the beginning of the end of an epoch.

‘

•Culled from The Nation of Kenya

stand still for Achebe today

‘ ‘

We should learn to identify our heroes when they are alive and not wait until they are dead From Onyedi Ojiabor, Abuja

Achebe.

The motion was moved by Rep.Charles Odedo (ACN Anambra). The motion entitled: “Tribute to Professor Chinua Achebe’’ was adopted in Abuja when put to vote by Speaker Aminu Tambuwal.

Odedo said the late Achebe brought honour to Nigeria with his literary works that included his novel, “Things Fall apart’’.

He said the novel, which was writ-

ten in 1958, had been translated into more than 50 languages, and had sold more than 12 million copies.

Odedo said the late Achebe in 1992 was represented in Everyman’s Library Collection.

Contributing to the debate, Hassan Saleh (PDP-Benue) said the late Achebe was one of the greatest human beings to have emerged from Nigeria.

He said the late Achebe had done so much in his literary works

for “past generation and other generations to come’’.

The legislator urged members to support the motion so that future generations would draw lessons from the late literary icon.

In his tribute to the late Achebe, Toby Ikechukwu (PDP-Enugu) said the writer was a poet and novelist, adding that his works represented various stages of Nigeria’s democracy.

Ali Madaki (PDP-Kano) said Nigerians do not celebrate their heroes until their death.

He said: “We should learn to identify our heroes when they are alive and not wait until they are dead.”

The motion was not opposed and the Speaker, thereafter, referred it to the Committee on Governmental Affairs for further legislative inputs.

GBO culture is comprised of a cosmology, philosophy of self and the world, environmental awareness, symbiotic relationship to the earth and the natural and supernatural world, ritual, social contracts and conduct and so much more, all woven into a language of being that is only nominally transactional, but which instead performs a profound reach into the ineffable. Everything in Igbo is inferential and malleable and ever evolving. In Igbo we call this Omenala and it is transmitted in its entirety in the language. Achebe is easily the greatest novelist of that language and culture and one of his greatest achievements as a writer was in creating an English syntax in his novels that could not only imitate the tonal speech qualities of Igbo, but he also has been able to translate Omenala and give it a life outside its own immediate culture, reaching out to a larger wider world.

Every writer hopes to write the definitive book of their career, but we all secretly hope that it is the last book we write before we pass on. For Chinua Achebe this remained true. For his true fans, those of us who read everything he wrote, “Arrow of God” and “Anthills of the Savannah” remain his best novels, as an essayist he excelled, and the last installment of his memoir was some of his best and most honest work. The unfortunate thing for Achebe is that “Things Fall Apart” eclipsed all his other work in terms of its reception and readership, and in many ways also eclipsed even its writer’s name.

This is both a blessing and a drawback for the creative artist because it means that most readers will never explore the amazing evolution of Achebe’s work.

But he remains beloved and deeply respected by every Nigerian because “Things Fall Apart” marked such a moment of cultural pride for us. Chinua Achebe changed the world’s perception of continental Africa and Africans and gave every African writer who came after him a compass heading to steer forward from.

As a writer I have fought with Achebe. Railed against the anthropological bent of some of his work. Struggled with his complicated positioning of gender. Chaffed against his statements that were often presented as unassailable truths. Tried to push “Things Fall Apart” out of the sun a little so that other writers from Eddie Iroh, Festus Iyayi, Okphewo to the more recent ones can also grasp and command the world’s imagination (and I am grateful Adichie has succeeded in the ways she has in this regard) such that we do not remain a people caught in the beautiful yet anachronistic moment of “Things Fall Apart.” And yet in the end, I have to admit that I did not only admire him, at some level, as a literary son, I loved him. Everything that I have described is the complicated struggle between father and son. And in the same way as it is with fathers and sons, I realise only after his death just how much I loved him.

In Omenala the ending of things is as important as their beginnings. Achebe ended his life like an elder, a man with dignity. In his books we have the collected wisdom of a life well lived, and his books will allow us to visit with him always, even in death.

• Dr. Chris Abani, a professor of creative writing at the University of California, Riverside, wrote this tribute for Wall Street Journal

Achebe’s legacy and more African voices in U.S.-Africa policy dialogues

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HINUA Achebe, the literary giant from Nigeria, passed away last Thursday. In his various writings, Achebe challenged the then Eurocentric perspectives and instead brought an African perspective to the story of colonialism in Nigeria as expounded in his books, Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease. These books showed the clash between the Igbo and the British in Nigeria: first from the perspective of a Nigerian father, and in the second book from the perspective of his European-educated son.

Before Achebe, Amos Tutuola, Camara Laye and other African literary titans, the narrative of the African region and colonialism was handled primarily by the likes of Joseph Conrad, John Locke and Joyce Cary. Of course, these European perspectives are not entirely invalid.

However, they represent only one broad perspective of Africa. As the old saying goes “Until the lion learns to speak, the tales of hunting will always glorify the hunter.” Fortunately, Chinua Achebe’s stories strengthened the African narrative and inspired future writers to realise the possibilities for African literature, as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie says in her Ted Talk, “I realised that people who looked like me could live in books.” Adichie, the author of Half of a Yellow Sun, takes Achebe as a lesson to avoid the “danger of a single story” or a single perspective. She also points out that in some cases the ability to voice a particular perspec-

tive sometimes boils down to how much dominance the story teller has, “How (stories) are told, who tells them, when they’re told, how many stories are told — are really dependent on power.”

In the African policy dialogue in Washington, as in literature, there is a tendency for a single narrative or perspective to dominate otherwise complex and varied perspectives of the continent. For example, The Economist deemed Africa the “hopeless continent” in the early 2000s. This narrative was recently retracted by the magazine and revised as “A hopeful continent”. In policy discussions in Washington, it is not uncommon for think tanks and briefings on Capitol Hill to feature panel discussions on African policy issues with experts sourced entirely from Europe and the U.S. The perspectives advanced in such forums could be well informed, but like the pre-Achebe writings, the narrative ignores the African perspective. As we mourn the passing of this great literary hero, we see our mission at the Brookings Africa Growth Initiative to take Achebe’s message forward by incorporating African voices in the policy dialogue on Africa in Washington. By amplifying and raising African voices in the U.S.Africa policy dialogue, AGI complements the U.S. or European perspectives to facilitate better decision-making and to avoid missing opportunities that could potentially benefit both the African region and the United States.

•Culled from www.brookings.edu

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

NEWS Henry Okah to spend 24 years in Jail Continued from page 1

ciary has allowed itself to be compromised by the highlycorrupt Nigerian government.

•President Goodluck Jonathan (middle); ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Gender, Dr, Adrienne Yande Diop (left), Commissioner for Agric, Environment and Water Resources, Dr, Atouga; Vice President, Dr, Toga Gayewea Mcintosh and former Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Sulaiman Salamatu when ECOWAS commissiners visited the Presidential Villa in Abuja...yesterday.

PHOTO AKIN OLADOKUN

G-20 to Northern leaders: stop Boko Haram Continued from page 1

urge both the federal and state governments to pay greater attention to the resolution of security challenges facing the North. Since our people live in communities, we call for the restoration of community governance and genuine dialogue for peace and harmony.

“As was in the case in the resolution of the Niger Delta crisis, we urge trust-worthy elders to initiate reliable contacts with leaders of militant groups in the North with a view to achieving peace conferences and negotiations with government.

“The emergence of authentic leaders will greatly facilitate meaningful dialogue towards the granting of Amnesty and eventual peace.

“The offers being made for a peaceful resolution through dialogue and amnesty should be taken seriously by government. However, for the proposed dialogue sessions to produce concrete results, trustworthy elders must take bold steps to bring both sides together.”

Restating that amnesty cannot be given to faceless group, the former informa-

Boko Haram: JTF, police in house-to-house search

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OME suspected gunmen were yesterday arrested in Kano State by a combined team of the Joint Task Force (JTF) and the police.

The team launched a house-to-house search for explosives and weapons, following recent killings and rampant gun attacks in Yankaba and Dakata areas of the city by suspected Boko Haram sect members.

Their efforts paid off with the arrest of suspects in the wee-hour raid on Hotoro, Mariri and Zango communities – all identified black spots.

According to an eyewitness account, several gun shots were heard in the neighborhood as early as 5am.

One person was reportedly killed in the crossfire between security operatives and the suspects.

Kano Police Command spokesman Magaji Majiya, who confirmed the incident, identified the lone victim as a tricycle operator.

He said the driver was shot by gunmen

tion minister explained: “Amnesty cannot be given in absentia. There should be transparency so that other groups do not emerge later.

We are in touch with Northern youths and religious leaders, we are constantly in touch with security agencies, peace must return to the

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

on the rail track crossing in Dakata/Yankaba. Majiya informed that the victim’s tricycle was taken away.

The spokesman also confirmed that security operatives have spread their dragnets in the area in search of fleeing gunmen.

It was learnt that the JTF began the houseto-house search in suspected flash points like Hotoro, Mariri, Hausawa. The areas are believed to be harbouring suspected Boko Haram militants.

Dakata/Kawaji area has been under Islamic extremists’ siege, a development that has claimed several lives and ruined businesses.

About 900 National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) members out of the 2413 deployed to Kano State for orientation have been redeployed to other parts of the country. Their redeployment followed the March 18 bomb

North.”

On the forthcoming Economic Summit, Gana said the summit aims to bring together experts, professionals, investors and stakeholders to examine the investment potentials and business opportunities of Northern Nigeria.

Gana gave “Building Stra-

Continued on page 61

tegic Partnership for Peace and Economic Development” as the theme of the summit.

INTERPOL President Mrs. Mireille Ballestrazzi led a team of operatives on a visit to Force Headquarters in Abuja yesterday. She identified terrorism, money launContinued on page 61

“The governments of South Africa and Nigeria should realise that this planned sentencing of Henry Okah would not in any way, shape or form, change our struggle, as we will remain dedicated to our cause, until we achieve full justice and emancipation for the Niger Delta and its people.”

Dokubo told The Nation that the sentence was even too lenient .

He said: “Justice has been done now to a man who chose to take the lives of defenceless people. The sentence is even lenient, he ought to have been sentenced to death.”

The NDVF leader dismissed the possibility of any negative reaction from those sympathetic to the convict, alleging that Okah lacked the wherewithal to rock the boat.

Dokubo said: “There is no single negative reaction to be expected. Since he was detained, did oil production not increase?

He does not have any followership except few criminals who are bent on perpetrating criminal activities. And I can assure you that any acts of criminality

in the guise of being sympathetic to this development will be effectively contained.”

South Gauteng High Court Judge Neels Claassen delivered the sentence in Johannesburg, the South African capital.

Okah was found guilty of 13 counts of terrorism, including a twin-bomb attack that killed 12 people in Eagle Square, Abuja, on October 1, 2010 during the anniversary of Nigeria’s 50th Anniversary Independence.

Spokeswoman for the National Prosecuting Authority Phindi Louw announced the sentence in a phone interview, Bloomberg said.

Okah was found guilty on January 21 of master-minding the 2010 car bomb attacks which occurred in Abuja, three years ago close to where President Goodluck Jonathan was inspecting a guard of honour on Independence Day. South African law allows trials of alleged terrorists arrested or resident in the country - no matter where their acts were committed.

MEND claimed responsibility for the attacks, after President Jonathan had exonerated the Okah-led group from the attack.

He was sentenced to 12 years Continued on page 61

Okah my forever guy, says wife

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ENRY Okah’s wife, Azuka said the convict was her “forever guy” and that she would stand by him despite the jail sentence.

“Henry is a forever guy. No matter what, he is stable and faithful to me and I don’t care what anyone else says,” a visibly emotional Mrs Okah told reporters outside the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.

“We have this forever love,” she said.

Mrs Okah told reporters she was happy their four children were on holiday and that she was thinking of how to tell them.

She said: “The kids are the ones I am worried about... I will get over it, but I need to protect the kids.”

The next step was to appeal, she said, expecting the State to appeal because it had wanted

•Azuka...yesterday

the maximum sentence.

“We have come this far and I just ask for strength going forward,” she said.

As police were about to escort Okah to the court holding cells, he turned and blew kisses to her.

She smiled as she jokingly caught the kisses, before blowing him kisses.

Nineteen police officers were present in court during yesterday’s proceedings.

Tukur jittery as Jonathan backs Anenih’s peace tour Continued from page 1

stead, the party is now more divided than before.

“As Anenih is moving about with BOT leaders, Tukur and some members of the National Working Committee (NWC) are jittery.

“The position of Anenih is that the party is bigger than all members. His plan is to reconcile and reposition the party for Tukur to manage.

He is not competing with anybody.”

Asked why Anenih embarked on reconciliation tours simultaneously with Tukur, the highly-placed party source said: “Most of our governors and leaders have rated Tukur’s tours as mere jamboree and the high rate of boycott was evident.

“There is a big difference between Tukur’s peace plan and that of Anenih. Beyond mouthing reconciliation, Tukur did not offer anything to the aggrieved. He never placed anything on the table, not even in his home state of Adamawa.

More intrigues as Lamido/Amaechi posters show up

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ORE intrigues are being deployed in the battle for the chairmanship of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).

Posters of Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido and Rivers State Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi are being pasted in some states. Neither Lamido nor Amaechi, chairman of the NGF, has indicated interest in the 2015 presidential race.

The NGF election was postponed till May, following the rancorous meeting, which polarised the fold last month.

Amaechi is planning to retain the seat. But the forces against him, who are believed to be enjoying the Presidency’s backing, are plotting to pull the rug from under his feet. It is believed that the anti-Amaechi forces have not mustered the majority support re“On his part, Anenih and his BoT members listen to the aggrieved party faithful and agree with them on solutions which could reunify the party. He has been holding frank talks with concrete offers to assuage frayed

By Emmanuel Oladesu, Political Editor

quired to frustrate his second term bid.

Sources said yesterday that many Northern governors who are opposed to President Goodluck Jonathan are backing Amaechi for the leadership of the forum. Prominent among them are Niger and Jigawa governors Babangida Aliyu and Lamido.

Since the beginning of this week, posters announcing the presidential ambition of Lamido, with Amaechi as his running mate, have flooded some states in the North. The posters, said sources, were pasted to stir up emotions and sentiments against the Jigawa and Rivers states’ governors within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and create disaffection among party followers.

The posters, which were sighted in Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Plateau, Niger, Nasarawa, Bauchi and Benue states, are meant to black-

nerves.

“In most instances, Anenih adapts solutions to the peculiar challenges being faced

by PDP members in each state.”

“Another defect in Tukur’s efforts is not carrying key

mail Amaechi and weaken his popularity among the members of the NGF and the newly inaugurated PDP Governors’ Forum, led by his Akwa Ibom State counterpart, Godswill Akpabio.

The strategy, said the source, seems to be that if his colleagues, including the opposition governors, are convinced that Amaechi is nursing a plan to run in 2015, he will lose their support.

Under Amaechi’s leadership, the NGF has confronted the President over critical issues germane to true federalism. The body objected to the formula for revenue allocation. It also raised eyebrows over the controversial Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF). The forum is in court protesting the lopsided sharing of the national wealth against the Federal Government.

party leaders and all NWC members along. “Anenih is not isolating any leader or group in the party,” the source added.

The Nation learnt that President Goodluck Jonathan is in support of the peace meet-

ings being held by Anenih than those conducted by Tukur.

A Presidency source said: “We have seen evidence of success in Anenih’s efforts than that of the party leadContinued on page 61

•Amaechi

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NEWS

Alleged N14.56m fraud: Court jails NULGE chairman, secretary

A

JUDGE of Taraba State High Court in Jalingo, Justice Filibus Andetur, yesterday jailed a former Chairman of Yorro Local Government Area branch of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) Maigari Bello Ibrahim and Assistant Secretary, Alhaji Sani A. Mazang, for nine years for conspiracy and criminal breach of trust, contrary to Sections 97 and 315 of the Penal Code.

According to a statement by the Head of Media and Publicity of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, the convicts were first arraigned on July 27, 2011.

From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

The statement said: “Their arrest and subsequent arraignment was sequel to a petition by a new generation bank which they allegedly defrauded to the tune of N14.56m.

“The bank, sometime in 2007, allegedly offered the union a loan facility to purchase motorcycles for its members with the agreement that the facility would be repaid through monthly deductions from the beneficiaries’ salaries for a period of 18 months; and the de-

ducted sum remitted to the bank.

“At the expiration of the repayment period the bank discovered that the accused persons had used their official positions to divert some of the deductions to their persona use.

“In his ruling, Justice F. Andetur held that the two accused persons erred in their duties as responsible officials of the council, by misappropriating funds held in trust.

“He therefore found them guilty as charged.

“Although counsel to the

accused persons, Hadi B. Nguroje pleaded for mercy on behalf of his clients, Abubakar Aliyu, prosecution counsel urged the court to do justice as the law demands.

“In sentencing the accused persons, Justice Andetur, said he had taken cognizance of the plea and position of the law.

“He therefore sentenced them to 2 years each on the 1st count and 7 years on count 2 respectively.

Alternatively, they are to pay a fine of N25, 000 and N50, 000 on counts 1 and 2 respectively.”

Jonathan withdraws Oyo INEC commissionernominee From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday withdrew the nomination of Prof Akinola Muritala Salau as a National Electoral Commissioner.

The withdrawal letter on the nomination, dated 21 March, 2013, was read yesterday on the floor of the Senate

by Senate President David Mark.

The President said Salau’s replacement, who would have represented Oyo State in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), would be sent to the Senate.

Entitled, Re: Confirmation of appointment of a National Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the letter reads: “I write with respect to my letter of March 14, 2013, on the above stated subject and wish to notify the Distinguished Senate that emergent circumstances have necessitated the withdrawal of the nomination of Prof Akinola Muritala Salau of Oyo State as a National Electoral Commissioner.

“A replacement nominee will be forwarded to the Senate shortly.”

A

•Nigeria to produce vaccines

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HE National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) has said it would get additional 7.2 million doses of measles’ vaccines in the next two weeks.

The agency has already released 1.5 million doses of vaccines to battle the infectious disease.

The worst hit states – Kano, Katsina and Sokoto – got 500,000, 400,000 and 300,000 doses of the vaccine.

The government would also buy antibiotics and rehydration fluids to support case management of the children affected by the disease across the country.

In a statement yesterday in Abuja by its Executive Director, Dr. Ado Muhammad, NPHCDA explained that while the country awaits the delivery of 7.2million doses of measles’ vaccines, the agency still has 300,000 doses of the vaccine kept at the National Strategic Cold Store in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“The agency has additional reserve of 300,000 doses of measles’ vaccines still kept at the National Strategic Cold Store in Abuja,” the statement said.

It added that the additional vaccines would be delivered to worst hit states during next month’s polio immunisation campaign.

NPHCDA said during the April polio immunisation cam-

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja and Wale Adepopju

paign, Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) would be administered to children under five through a house-to-house method.

The agency also said measles’ vaccines and Vitamin A would be administered to children between six and 59 months at health facilities (fixed posts) and temporary posts.

Also, Nigeria will soon begin local manufacture of vaccines and biologicals, the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr Paul Orhii has said.

The NAFDAC chief spoke yesterday in Lagos at the opening of mentorship of NAFDAC workers by Canadia’s regulatory agency, Health Canada.

Orhii said Canada is training NAFDAC workers in medicine regulation, especially in vaccines and biologicals to ensure that the nation does not experience their shortages again.

The NAFDAC chief noted that vaccines are important to Nigeria because the country has a high disease burden.

He added that the prevalence of diseases would be prevented through appropriate vaccination.

According to him, producing vaccines locally is a step the agency is taking to safeguard public health.

Experts call for end to Tuberculosis

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha and Olatunde Odebiyi

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•Hon. Wale Oshun (left) recieving an award from the Secretary, Southwest branch of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr. Ayo Afolabi, on behalf of Yoruba Academy, on the celebration of Oshun’s 63rd birthday at Ibadan Boys’ High School, Oke-Bola, Ibadan, Oyo State...yesterday Story on Page 8

PHOTO: FEMI ILESANMI

Court dismisses Ogbulafor’s submission on ‘fictitious’ contracts

N Abuja High Court yesterday thwarted an attempt by former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, to stop his ongoing trial by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

The court dismissed the politician’s “No Case” submission which he filed against his arraignment for alleged fictitious contracts.

A “No Case” submission is filed by an accused to prove that the prosecution has not established a prima facie case against him, or that there is a lack sufficient legal ground against him at the close of prosecution.

If the submission succeeds in the court, the trial will be terminated and the accused would be freed.

Fed Govt releases 1.5m doses of measles’ vaccines to states

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

The PDP former chairman alongside Emeka Ebilah and Jude Nwokorie are standing trial on a 17-count charge of conspiracy and award of fictitious N107 million contracts.

Their offence is contrary to and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Act 2000.

In his ruling on the politician’s submission, the trial judge, Justice Ishaq Bello, held that the evidence of the prosecution witnesses showed that there is a prima facie case against the accused.

He averred that the “No Case” submission cannot stand.

According to him, to grant a “No Case” submission, the court must ensure that none of the evidence given had con-

nected the accused with the alleged crime.

Justice Bello said: “The court is not concerned with the credibility of the witness but with whether the evidence given linked the accused with the crime that is alleged to have been committed. The issue of whether the court believes in the evidence given by the witness does not arise at this point.

“The court is under due obligation to discharge the accused, if the prosecution fails to establish a prima facie case against him.

But in this instant case, the prosecution has, through its witnesses, established a prima facie case against the accused, hence the need for the accused to enter his defence.

“It is in my view, based on the totality of evidence brought by the prosecution, that a prima facie case has been established

•Ogbulafor

against the accused. The ‘No Case’ submission hereby fails.”

J. K. Gadzama (SAN), the counsel to Ogbulafor, had maintained that the prosecution did not in any way link his client with the alleged crime.

Opposing the “No Case” application, prosecuting counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), averrd that the court, in the spirit of justice, allowed the accused to present his defence so that the court could consider the weight of the two sides.

MACHINE 88 (JOBS)

EDICAL experts have said Tuberculosis (TB) is curable and its treatment is free in most government hospitals across Nigeria.

They spoke yesterday at this year’s World Tuberculosis Day, organised by the Nigeria Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba, Lagos, and Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS).

The theme of the commemoration was: Stop TB in My Life Time.

The experts, including the former Director General of NIMR, Prof Oni Idigbe, said TB is a public health concern which everybody should prevent and get the treatment for.

Prof Idigbe, a frontline researcher whose works serve as reference points to the disease, noted that people need to be aware of the possibility of cure so that the problem of drug resistance can abate.

NIMR’s Director-General Prof Innocent Ujah said Tuberculosis is a major and escalating public health problem as evidenced by its high incidence and association with the Human-Immuno Deficiency Virus (HIV).

He called attention to the increasing incidence of multi-drug resistance of mycobacterium tuberculosis to the traditional antibacterial drugs.

According to him, such drugs are cheap and, therefore, affordable.

The academic explained that prevention and control of TB are achievable in a life time through awareness creation and tests.

Ujah said Nigeria shares the vision of a Tuberculosis-free world by reducing its incidence through the introduction and expansion of the Directly Observed Treatment Short-Course (DOTS) to enhance compliance to the treatment protocol, the control of MultiDrug Resistance TB and integrated HIV/TB care.

JAAIDS Executive Director Olayide Akanni said there is need for more attention to TB. “Most people are not aware that the disease exists; even the few people who know about it are ignorant, believing it is a demonic or witchcraft attack. It is good to go for proper tests early, and getting the required treatment for TB is crucial to stop the epidemic in our life time,” he said.

Lagos State Commissioner for Health Dr Jide Idris said efforts by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to halt and reverse TB epidemic by 2015 has been achieved in the state.

Idris added: “As new cases of TB are declining, its mortality rate has decreased by 41 percent and the world’s target to achieve 50 percent reduction by 2015 would be achieved.”

The Commissioner who was represented by Dr Omowumi Bakare said, “the Lagos State TB Control Programme has 215 Directly Observed Treatment Short-Course (DOTS) centers and 55 TB microscopy centres which are all over the local government areas in the state and can be found in all levels of health care and in all types of health facilities. The target of the DOTS centres which is only about 25 percent aims to reach 85 percent.”

Dr Dan Onwujekwe, Clinical services, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research said a National TB control programme that are challenged with a high burden should adopt innovative ways to reach more patients with affective treatment, adding that a well managed once a week health worker observation of treatment, backed by strong laboratory component, can produce cure rates as high as DOTs.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

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C ITYBEATS Lagos lifts sanitation day T restriction order LAGOS State Government has lifted the order restricting movement during the monthly environmental sanitation exercise for this month.

This, it said, is to allow free movement of persons who may wish to travel, and for hitch-free celebration of the Easter celebration.

Commissioner for the Environment, Tunji Bello stated this at an interactive session with reporters yesterday.

He said Lagos residents “should now rise up and take the sanitation of their environment seriously as we are gradually approaching the rainy season.”

He urged them to observe the monthly exercise and clean their homes and immediate environment irrespective of the lift on the restriction order.

While wishing Lagosians a happy celebration, Bello admonished them to bag their refuse properly to allow for easy collection and disposal to designated dumpsites by appropriate agencies after the celebrations.

Council gets one-day chair

By Ochuko Etabe

A pupil of Oshodi Model Primary School in Lagos, 10-year-old Elizabeth Ajala, has emerged a one-day chairman of Oshodi Isolo Local Government. She achieved the feat after she came first in the Spelling Bee competition recently organised by the council.

The competition was keenly contested among various primary schools within the council area.

After being declared winner, little Elizabeth was joined in jubilation by her parents Mr and Mrs Ajala. She was received by the council's chair, who vacated his seat for her to preside over the affairs of the council area for the day.

The council's chief, Hon Bolaji Muse-Ariyoh who received Elizabeth in his office said: "I feel very happy to be part of this event. It is the first in the history of this local government and we are just using this medium to encourage our younger ones and make them know that success can only be achieved through hard work.

I have just learnt a lesson today that there's no position in life that one cannot achieve if one works hard."

Miss Ajala who appreciated MuseAriyoh for the opportunity given her, promised to do the council proud at the state competition. She also encouraged her fellow pupils to work hard to achieve success.

She went round the council on inspection as she made appropriate recommendations to her aides where necessary.

The head-teacher of Oshodi Model School, Mrs Oluwafunmilayo Quadri, urged other pupils to work hard so as to always bring glory to the school.

CAC holds prayer

By Adeola Ogunlade

THE Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Babalola Centre, has concluded plans to hold its four-day marathon prayer from March 28 to 31 between 6pm and 5am at the Covenant Ground, in front of Oba's palace, Ido-Ile, Ekiti State.

According to its organisers, the programme, with the theme, 'Restore My Glory,' will feature healing, blessing, salvation, breakthrough among others.

In a statement, the programme coordinator and revivalist, Prophet T.M.O Adurota, said God is prepared to restore people's glory and perform wonders in their lives as they come with great expectation.

Adurotola said: "People whose glory has been truncated and those whose lives have been turned upside down and those who find it difficult to have breakthroughs in their businesses and all other endeavors will be visited by God who set the captive free."

CITYBEATS LINE: 07059022999

HE Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has deported 57 illegal immigrants from the Republic of Niger over what it calls the "lingering insecurity in the country".

Comptroller of Immigration in charge of its Lagos Command, Mr Rasheed Odupeyin, said the deportees were among the 92 suspected illegal immigrants arrested during raid by the Police in a joint operation with the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental Offences.

Odupeyin, said: "It was the police that handed them over to us. I am sure that they must have screened them and kept those who committed offences in their custody for interrogation.

"They brought them here on Monday. We screened them and sent them back to their countries.

We fed them well so that along the line, they may not take ill."

He said nothing incriminating was found on them, adding that he could not ascertain if they had links with any terrorist group.

Of the 92, he said, 17 were found to be Nigerians, adding that they would be returned to the police for further investigation.

On the suspects’ screening, the NIS boss said: "We normally look out for documents that permit a foreigner to remain in Nigeria. We discovered that most of them were not registered; that is why we call them irregular immigrants. If they had gained access into the country and regularised their stay, we would not have

•The suspects

57 illegal Nigerien immigrants deported

By Jude Isiguzo

problems with them. “We normally have the ECOWAS certificates or their passports inspected, and then register them at the border. We get their addresses and in case anything happens, we know where to pick them up."

The Comptroller also said there were also 18 Malians

among the suspects, adding that they may not be immediately deported because of the war in their country. He, however, said there was no Chadian among them.

The Service, he said, would contact the United Nations Refugees Commission's office in Lagos for necessary action about the status of the Malians.

One of the suspects, Ibrahim

Mohammed, claimed that most of them were from Takai in Kano State, insisting that they had no link with any terrorist group but were in Lagos to work.

He said: "I am a Nigerian; I am from Kano State, precisely from Kaka Local Government Area. I am a labourer in Lagos. I am not a Boko Haram member; I am even afraid of them".

A Malian, simply identified as

I prayed for one, says triplet's father

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HEN his wife, Amaka became pregnant some nine months ago, Prince Chukwueloka Adibe was happy, with the expectation that God was about answering his prayer for one more child. He already had two boys and a girl.

God answered his prayer yesterday. The Adibes got a triplet instead of one. But the couple, though happy, may not roll out the drums at their Nkpor, Idemili North Council area, Anambra State home. Reason: They are now faced with the grim reality of rearing six children under the prevailing economic situation.

Though Amaka expressed joy, she said she did not expect the triplet as she had "no strength to bear them." She conceded that it was God's will, but pleaded for assistance from the government, humanitarian organisations and individuals.

Adibe told reporters: "Already, I have two boys and a girl. So, when my wife became pregnant, I knew

A •The babies ... on delivery. Inset: The couple.

From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

God would give us one more, but in His magnanimity, He gave us three - two girls and a boy."

He added: "My problem now is that we now have six of them - three boys and three girls. Governor Peter Obi and other public-spirited individuals should please come to our rescue."

Adibe works as the Commander, Anambra State Traffic Agency (ASTA) of Onitsha North Council Area.

He added: "I'm done with children now; let God give to those who need them."

The Medical Director, New Mayor Hospital, Ogidi, Idemili North Headquarters where the babies were born, Dr. Boniface Ossai, said they were born about

11.30am yesterday.

He said, the babies were in sound condition, pointing out that it took time to deliver them because "they were coming out one at a time."

"They are in different bags; they are all in their different worlds. It was a professional touch by all the nurses. I thank God for the nurses and quality of care," he said.

The first baby weighed 2.85kg, second, 2.1kg and third, 1.9kg.

Leaders tackle Surulere council crisis

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O end the crisis rocking Surulere Local Government Area of Lagos State, leaders of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the area, yesterday recommended the suspension of the council's vice chair, the nine councilors, two supervisors and Secretary to the Local Government (SLG).

In a letter addressed to the Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, captioned "Re: Resolution of Surulere Local Government Council crisis," and signed by Alhaji L.B. Odunsi, Col. R.O. Ajala (rtd) and Chief D.A. Adenekan, the leaders expressed disappointment over the behaviour of

By Tunde Awe

the politicians, describing their action as the highest level of indiscipline "in our party and we recommend that they be suspended for 90 days without remuneration."

The leaders hinged their resolution on the report of a peace committee comprising some top politicians, headed by Mr. Arole Fancy, constituted to look into the cause(s) of the crisis and proffer solution by reconciling the aggrieved councilors with the chairman, Mr Tajudeen Ajide.

None of the nine councilors, it was

learnt, attended the reconciliation meeting called by the Leaders' Forum Peace Committee. Two of the nine supervisors, the vice chairman and the SLG also reportedly shunned the parley.

The councilors had complained that the chairman had not treated them with respect, and had not embraced them as expected, among other things. They also complained of belated payment of their sitting allowances.

Ajide denied the allegations, explaining that sitting allowance is illegal, but had to pay the councilors to avoid their trouble.

One of the supervisors who spoke under anonymity said those seeking Ajide's removal was being sponsored by a lawmaker from the area at the National Assembly and another in the Lagos House of Assembly, allegedly eyeing some positions in 2015.

Meanwhile, some concerned residents have condemned Ajide's "continued harassment." They urged the ACN leadership, especially in Lagos Central Senatorial District under Prince Tajudeen Olusi, and the party's national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to call the councilors and their masters to order, warning that any further attempt to remove Ajide will result in serious crisis.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

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CITYBEATS LINE: 07059022999

Commissioner’s succour for indigent students

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•Odupeyin

Amadu, claimed that he came into Lagos from Mali through the border town of Kamba in Kebbi State.

The suspect who confessed that he had no document, said he is a water vendor in Surulere, Lagos Mainland.

He added: "I came on my own. I always pass through there because no one will stop you. I sell borehole water to people. I live in Surulere. I do not have passport. I will still find my way back when they throw me out. I am not a Boko Haram member; I am afraid of them."

Another Malian, Musa Abdul, who claimed he is from Segu in Mali, said he came into Nigeria through Cotonou, adding that he has documents.

He said: "They asked me for my passport which I gave them. I sell ice cream in Nigeria. I came into this country with my passport but when police caught me, the passport was not on me.

“I have explained to them that my passport was at home, but they refused to allow me go. I came to Nigeria in 2009 and in 2012, I left to see my family and returned early this year."

AGOS State Commissioner for the Environment, Mr Tunji Bello has awarded scholarships to 72 indigent students in the Mainland and Yaba Council areas.

Bello gave the package to the beneficiaries' parents at Prof.

Ayodele Awojobi Park, Onike, Yaba Lagos, last Friday.

Stalwarts of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) on the Mainland and Yaba, who coordinated the event, Hon. Kayode Aransiola, Alhaji Ibrahim Alao Magida and Alhaja Nimota Morenikeji, charged them to "utilise the money to enhance their capacity", stressing that education is a "vital tool towards building a crime-free society." They promised to make the award a quarterly event.

A parent, Mrs. Lola Primo, commended Bello for the gesture, acknowledged the contributions of ACN National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Gov. Babatunde Raji Fashola

•Tunji towards "bringing back the lost glory of Lagos."

At the event were: Alhaji Lanre Asunramu, a former Vice Chairman, Mainland Local Government; Alhaji Ganiyu Salako, Chairman, Indigenes Forum, Mainland chapter, and Alhaji Tajudeen Tiamiyu, Chairman, Ibile Forum, Lagos.

Lagos tribunal begins on April 4 •10 memoranda submitted

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LL is set for the sitting of the Tribunal of Enquiry on Fire and Explosion Incidents in Lagos.

The tribunal was raised by Governor Babatunde Fashola to probe the banger ex plosions at Jankara Market, Lagos Island, on December 26, last year.

Its chirman, Justice Sunday Ishola (rtd) said in Lagos that the tribunal would hold its inaugural sitting on April 4 at the Lagos City Hall.

Public hearing will begin on April 8.

Speaking when the tribunal visited Lagos Island Local Government Chairman Eshinlokun Sanni, Justice Ishola said 10 memoranda had

been received. The deadline for submission of memoranda expired yesterday.

"We have received 10 memoranda so far. The deadline for submission of memoranda will close on March 26 and we will not extend it because on April 4 we wil be having our inangural sitting and public hearing on April 8", he said.

Sanni pledged his council's support for the tribunal whose sitting, he said, would be beneficial to residents.

He said that was not the first time such explosion would occur in the area, praying that a lasting solution would be found to the problem.

C ITYBEATS 72-year-old docked for 'forgery' A 72-YEAR-OLD MAN, Kunle Sobodu, was arraigned before an Igbosere Magistrate Court in Lagos, yesterday for alleged forgery. He was there to prove his innocence or otherwise, in his alleged involvement in forgery case.

Sobodu, a resident of 4, Shiro Street, Fadeyi, Lagos Mainland, with Alli Idris, 48, of 4, Ladipo Street, Ketu, a Lagos suburb, were arraigned before Magistrate A.F.O. Botoku, on a two-count charge of conspiracy and forgery.

They were arrested following a petition by Olubunmi Sobodu, who is resident in the United Kingdom.

It was learnt that the complainant inherited an estate from his late parents, which he supervises from his London base.

The complainant who said that he does not know the defendants, petitioned the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone 11, last year,

A

By Tunde Awe

the community.

"Our women are happy; they no longer need to go several miles to buy potable water as we now have it here free of charge. No one also thought we could have such decent toilets and bathrooms, but Bayo Fatusin has turned our community to a little London after years of neglect by government,"

• The borehole. Inset: Fatusin

Asogbon added.

The foundation, The Nation learnt, had carried out similar projects across the South-west.

They include: women empowerment project in Ondo town, Takwa Bay, St Dominics Catholic, Yaba; building of classrooms and laboratory at Dominican College, Mafoluku; churches in Ondo, Ogun, Osun

after discovering that the defendants had forged a letter of dismissal purportedly emanating from him.

Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Julius Oyakhilome, said the defendants were charged after investigation, adding that in June 2011, they conspired with others at large and forged a letter of request purportedly written by the complainant, to be dismissed as an administrator Oyakhilome said the defendants committed the crime with the intent that the said letter may be acted upon as genuine to the complainant's prejudice and without his knowledge.

The offence, he said, contravened Sections 409 and 363 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2011. The defendants pleaded not guilty and were granted N200, 000 bail with two sureties each in the like sum. She adjourned the matter till May 2

Obadare, a model, says cleric PROPHET T.O Obadare of the World Soul-Winning Evangelistic Ministry (WOSEM), who died last week, was yesterday described as a model in the Christendom, whose commitment to genuine evangelism should be emulated.

The view was expressed yesterday by a Superintendent of the Motailatu Church (Cherubim and Seraphim) Worldwide, Revd. James Akinadewo, during a chat with The Nation at the church's Lagos District Headquarters on Motailatu Street, Oke-Ira, Ogba, Lagos State.

He said the departed cleric's life was entirely predicated on genuine passion for God's work as demonstrated by the prophets of the old. He urged all Christians to draw a cue from

Foundation’s gifts excite Lagos community non-governmental organisation, Bayo Fatusin Foundation (BFF), has empowered more over 100 needy women in Ilaje community, Bariga area of Lagos State. Amid excitement, the beneficiaries filed out at the weekend to receive cash grants to strengthen their various businesses.

A borehole, bathrooms and toilet facilities provided for people's use by the foundation were also commissioned on the occasion by its founder, Mr Bayo Fatusin.

Fatusin, who lamented the rate of poverty among the masses, noted that the gesture was borne out of his desire to touch the lives of the lessprivileged positively.

"Our aim with this foundation is to bring smiles to the faces of the people, especially the needy in the society. We want to contribute our quota to making life better for the people and ensuring improvement in their standards of living," he said.

He said that the foundation's programmes also include training people in various vocations and supporting them with the necessary tools and materials. "Through this, we will not only be able to make people self-employed, but will also make them employers of labour. What we intend to achieve at the end of the day is to teach people how to fish rather than giving them fish to eat," he added.

Commending the foundation, a community leader, Pa Philip Ikuejamoye Asogbon, noted that Fatusin, through his foundation, had put an end to lack of potable water in

By Precious Igbonwelundu

and Lagos; scholarship awards and payment of hospital bills among others.

Among the dignitaries at the event were: Pastor Johnson Kalejaye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG); Rev. Fr. Gilbert Thesing of St. Dominic Catholic Church, Yaba, and Mrs. Tokunbo Ogunsanya of the New Canterbury Consult Ltd.

•Obadare him and shun materialism which, he said, was taking over the soul of the church.

"This is one thing we preach at Motailatu; we de-emphasise materialism, preach the word and take the welfare of the lessprivileged seriously.

The Prophet lived well and we must learn from him," said Akinadewo, who was recently appointed a Special Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) for his outstanding community service.

Ogun police warn vehicle owners THE Ogun State Police Command has warned owners abandoned vehicles and motorcycles parked at Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), Ogbere and Ibara Divisions to remove them or lose them to the public through auction within two weeks.

The ve hicles are: Toyota Avalon marked, LSD 553 AL; 4Runner Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) marked, MNY 77 AA; Vanagon Bus, XD 117 MUS; unregistered Jetta Vento; Mazda 626, RN 805 AAA; unregistered Mercury Bus , Sienna, CY 430 AAA; Mitsubishi Colt, AE 696 TTD; Toyota Yaris, BDG 33O AQ, Honda car, DW 439 LSD; Honda Accord, BR 489 BEN and Pathfinder, SUV NM 439 AAA. Others are: Toyota Van (unregistered); Volvo car, AP 228 AAA; Volkswagen bus, XE 265 FST; Chevrolet bus, XR 818 EPE; Mazda 323 and Volvo car (both unregistered); Kadett Opel, BU 687 KRD; Mazda 323, LC 969 KJA; Toyota Hiace bus, XL 381 BOG; Honda car, AE 784 KLE; Nissan Primera, GV 724 KJA; Nissan Sunny, AG 530 JJJ; Vallent bus, XB 675 WDE; Racer Daewoo, AR 432 EKY and 36 motocycles.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

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NEWS

We’ll fix Ijebu-Ode road, others, Amosun tells Fed Govt

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GUN State Governor Ibikunle Amosun yesterday said his administration would expand the Ijebu-Ode road and build a bridge there, despite the Federal Ministry of Works’ “attempts” to frustrate the project.

Amosun said the contract for the six-lane road had been awarded and N2 billion paid to the contractor, but the ministry is hindering the take-off of the project.

The governor spoke at the Obas’ Complex in OkeMosan, Abeokuta, the state capital, after the inauguration of the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Adetona, as the Chairman of the Ogun State Council of Obas.

He said the Federal Government claimed it awarded the project to a Chinese firm in 2009, adding that he is facing the problem on the Ogijo-

•’Daniel left N87b debt’ From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

Sagamu road and the Papalanto-Ilaro road.

Amosun said: “We should let our people know that despite of our efforts, some people do not want good things to be done, but we will not be deterred. We will fulfill our promises to our people we.

“We have awarded the contract for the Ijebu-Ode road, but the Federal Ministry of Works said it awarded the contract for the road since 2009/2010. If it has awarded the contract, why did it not fund it or do anything on the road.

“We came up with a bigger specification than theirs because they just wanted to do overlay. We want to do the Ogun Standard road with six

lanes and a fly-over. Imagine paying N2 billion for a road and somebody says he is paying N400,000 to the same contractor for four lanes.

“All of a sudden, they said contract for the road, as well as that of the Papalanto-Ilaro and Ogijo roads had been awarded. Why did they wait until we paid for the roads before speaking out?

“They cannot mess us up.

My people are not federal people and we cannot allow them to suffer. We are going back there with a different contractor to fix that road.”

Thanking the traditional rulers for their support, Amosun said he inherited N87 billion debt from the past administration of Otunba Gbenga Daniel and not the N49.6 billion announced by his predecessor.

He said his administration took a N26 billion loan in December, 2011, and has repaid N10.774 billion (principal and interest inclusive).

The governor said he would approach the state lawmakers on the possibility of taking a N15 billion shortterm loan.

He said: “When they handed over to us on March 31, 2011, the record showed N49.6 billion debt. We were not sworn in until May 29 and our predecessor continued to sign cheques until we were inaugurated. As we speak, so many people said they were given government guarantee and that means in the event of default, we have to pay. When we added all of those, the debt was N87 billion.

“Our people voted for me because they believe I can effect positive change. That was why we overlooked the

past and focused on improving the state. The highest Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) they made from tax was N730 million. In less than two years, we have moved it to N3.2 billion.

“I told myself we had to grow our IGR so that we can borrow and pay back. That is why we are doing the things we are doing; it is not that we have the money.

“We met some loans on ground. We renegotiated with the lenders and majority of them agreed with us.

The only loan this administration has taken is the N26 billion we took in December, 2011.

“That is about 14 months ago and we have paid back N10.774 billion out of it. We have been meeting up with our monthly obligations and that is why our Bankers know we are serious.

“Ogun’s total external debt is N25.8 billion. This does not include internal debt, such as those owed pensioners and

•Amosun

councils. I have not owed anyone since I assumed office.

“When we came in, people were owed between 19 and 29 months pension and we have paid part of it. I believe we have done well in terms of our finances. We are accountants and are mindful of what we are doing. I will not owe anybody. We are not going to the bond market.”

Osun awards N14.7b East bye-pass road contract

T •Lagos State Commissioner for Environment Mr. Tunji Bello (middle); the Permanent Secretary, Office of Environment Services, Mr. Hakeem Ogunbambi (second left); World Bank Consultant for the Lagos State Water Corporation, Ms. Yemisi Ransome-Kuti (left); Secretary of the Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission Mrs. Tanwa Koya (second right) and the Co-ordinator of the Lagos State Waste-Water Management Office, Mr. Olalekan Shodehinde, at the stakeholders’ meeting/sensitisation programme held at the Lagos Island Club ... yesterday.

PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

Fayemi wins three appeals against PDP

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KITI State Governor Kayode Fayemi yesterday won three cases instituted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the Court of Appeal, sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

In the case in which PDP opposed the constitution of the State Independent Electoral Commission (EKSIEC), Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam ordered that the case be retried.

The High Court, presided over by Justice John Adeyeye dissolved the EKSIEC, saying there was evidence that its members

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

were card-carrying members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), as alleged by PDP. Justice Onyemenam faulted the judgment of the lower court, insisting that the plaintiff should have tendered Certified True Copies (CTC) of the credentials of the EKSIEC members, instead of photocopies.

She said the plaintiff failed to explore all possible means to access the CTC of the credentials.

Justice Onyemenam said the letter PDP claimed to

have written to the House of Assembly requesting the release of the CTC, which it said was declined, did not justify tendering secondary evidence before the court.

She said the plaintiff could have subpoenaed the Clerk of the House to present the CTC of the documents and directed that the case be tried afresh at the State High Court.

In the second and third cases concerning the prayers of the former EKSIEC Chairman, Maj.-Gen Kayode Oni and others; and that of the former Chairman of the House of Assembly Service

Commission, Mr. Bunmi Ogunleye, seeking payment for the period they should have spent in office, the court upturned the verdict of the High Court.

The courts said members of the two commissions are not entitled to any financial benefit from the present administration because their appointment lacked “statutory backing”.

Justices Olukayode Bada and Modupe Fasanmi said the appointment of members of the commissions was based on the ex-governor’s preference, with no statutory force.

Mimiko inaugurates Kaadi Igbe Ayo

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NDO State Governor Olusegun Mimiko yesterday inaugurated a Welfare Services Management Smartcard, tagged Kaadi Igbe-Ayo. He said the programme would enable the government know every resident of the state as well as achieve its policies.

The ceremony was held at

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

the Gani Fawehinmi Arcade ground in Akure, the state capital.

Mimiko said N950 million was spent on the project.

He said: “In my inaugural speech at the commencement of my first tenure in 2009, I said I want to know all of you by name. I want to know

where you live and what you do for a living. I want to be able to talk to you one on one. I want to know the exact number seeking employment and their qualifications.

I need to know these and many other things to catalyse the joint processes and mechanism for the realisation of our collective dream.

“The overall functional pur-

pose and relevance of what we have come here to inaugurate today lie in the possibility of using the Kaadi Igbe Ayo as the electronic vehicle to achieve the above stated policy goals. Our gathering today is to formally introduce a universally game-changing concept in the fields of democracy, governance and commitment to service.

Sambo, Abubakar for Ansar-Ur-Deen conference in Osun

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ICE President Namadi Sambo and the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar, are among prominent Islamic leaders expected at the 7th triennial National Conference of the Ansar-Ur-Deen Society of Nigeria slated for Osogbo, the Osun State capital.

The three-day conference,

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

tagged Osogbo 2013, begins on Friday.

In a statement, the Conference Organising Committee Chairman and Osun State Chairman of the Ansar-UrDeen Society of Nigeria, Alhaji Amzat Bello and Secretary Alhaji R.A. Adeyemi, said the National President

of the Ansar-Ur-Deen Society of Nigeria, Alhaji Lateef Femi Okunnu, will lead a high power delegation of Muslims to visit Governor Rauf Aregbesola; the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun, and the President-General of the League of Imams and Alfas, Southwest, Edo and Delta states, Sheikh Mustapha Ajisafe.

HE Osun State Government has awarded the N14.7 billion contract for the construction of the East Bye-pass dual carriage way in Osogbo, the state capital, to Slava Yeditepe Projects Ltd. The Special Adviser to Governor Rauf Aregbesola on Works, Mr. Oladepo Amuda, yesterday signed an agreement with the firm on behalf of the government.

Amuda said the contract covers 18 kilometres, three river bridges ansd traffic signs.

The road will start from a round about on Iwo road and terminate at another round about near Osogbo Township Stadium.

The project is to be completed in 12 months.

Amuda said: “There will be no question of abandonment, as 40 per cent of the contract sum will be paid to the contractor to facilitate speedy and good work.

“There will be no delay in releasing funds to the firm to avoid a shoddy job. People living on the axis have been compensated and measures have been put in place to preserve underground water and electric cables as well as pipelines.”

A representative of the firm, Mr. Tony Aihie, assured the government that the work would be delivered promptly and according to specification.

ARG chair marks 63rd birthday with 600 pupils From Bisi Oladele and Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

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HE Chairman of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), Mr. Olawale Oshun, yesterday returned to the Ibadan Boys High School (IBHS), his alma mater, to celebrate his 63rd birthday with pupils of the school.

Former students of the school, as well as the politician’s associates and family and friends assembled at the school’s hall in Oke Bola to felicitate with him.

The old boys entertained the guests with their escapades in the school many years ago.

Oshun is a member of the Governing Council of the Yoruba Academy. He left the school in 1967.

His friends and associates were led by Otunba Tayo Oyegbade.

The hall was filled with over 600 pupils dressed in full Yoruba attire. Pupils were invited from eight primary schools to promote the Yoruba culture .

The event started with a documentary, where an American lady was seen speaking Yourba fluently in the market.

It was followed by the recitation of poems in Yoruba language. The poems were titled: The profession of my choice and Why I chose to do it. Akinsola Quadri from Ebenezer African Primary School won an award for the best poem.

There was a cultural dance competition among the eight primary schools, which lasted over two hours.

Decked in Kampala with a grey and wine coloured cap, Oshun urged parents to safeguard the cultural values of the Yoruba, warning that it may be face extinction, if parents refused to teach their From Sulaiman Salawudeen, children their language and Ado-Ekiti culture.

KITI State Governor He thanked God for the Kayode Fayemi opportunity to witness anyesterday approved other year and thanked his the appointment of Mr. guests for coming.

Sina Awelewa as the Oshun said: “I am sur- Director-General of the prised with the turn out of State Broadcasting Service people here, since it is not a and Prince Wole Ajakaye as birthday party. I appreciate the Director General of the you all for coming.”

Ekiti Signage Agency.

Ekiti agencies get DGs

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•Sambo

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NEWS

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PAN-Yoruba group, Afenifere, has urged security agencies to probe the mission of the nine suspected terrorists arrested in Ijora-Badia, Lagos.

It also urged the agencies to probe the allegation that the house where the suspects were arrested belongs to the Bayelsa State Government.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, Afenifere said the probe should focus on: the identity of the suspects and their relationship with the Boko Haram sect; why the Bayelsa State Government would maintain an abandoned property in Ijora-Badia of all places in Lagos and the veracity of the claim that the Bayelsa State Government had been approached several times by the community to demolish the house or rent it out to responsible people.

It said a satisfactory expla-

Afenifere seeks probe of terror suspects held in Lagos Southwest governors urged to tighten security

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OUTHWEST governors have been urged to keep terrorists out of Yorubaland. This was contained in a statement issued at the end of the first Annual Yoruba International Convention held in Dubai, the United Arabs Emirate (UAE).

The convention was organised by the Yoruba Global Coalition in the United Kingdom (UK) and hosted by the Yoruba Forum in the UAE. It was presided over by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi 111.

A copy of the statement was given to reporters in Ibadan, the

nation on the above issues would dispel the “conspiracy theory that Boko Haram may have become a franchise under which fifth columnists may be operating

Oyo State capital, by the Alaafin’s media aide, Mr. Fehintola Azeez.

The governors were urged to ensure that Yorubaland remains safe for both residents and investors.

The statement reads: “The six governors in Yorubaland are requested to facilitate the immediate takeoff of the projects proposed by the foreign investors, so as to encourage other foreign investors, who may want to invest in Yorubaland.

“Some foreign investors earlier indicated their desire to start an airline. We urge Southwest governors to collectively approach the Federal Government for an aviation licence

to disrupt the peace of Yorubaland and instigate a national crisis with our land as a possible battle ground”.

The group said: “We would not accept a shoddy

for the proposed Oduduwa Airline.

“We call for an economic cooperation between Yorubaland and the UAE, particularly Dubai, so as to take advantage of the robust informal trade between Nigeria and the region.

“We also call for the opening of Oduduwa Trade Missions in advanced countries. Such outlets would forge an economic cooperation between such countries and Yorubaland. The missions should be jointly promoted by the six Yoruba states and supervised by the Central Association of Yorubas in such countries.

handling of this case as has happened to many of such incidents in recent times, where nothing is heard after suspects are paraded.

“We warn agents of terror to

“Yoruba associations worldwide should set up special economic development bodies in their respective countries of domicile to facilitate development and advise the governors regularly.”

Oba Adeyemi hailed the organisers of the programme and maintained that the Southwest remains one of the safest zones in the country.

He said: “This is one of the reasons we have rapid growth.”

The convention featured presentation of development programmes by Yoruba intellectuals in the Diaspora and foreigners willing to invest in Yorubaland.

stay away from Yorubaland in order not to invoke the wrath of our ancestors. Yoruba people are peace loving and our land is a place where people of all nationalities are at home

without fear of molestation.

Any group or individual that wants to shatter the peace of the region will meet its/his waterloo.

“We call on our people to be vigilant at all times and report suspicious movements to the authorities.”

Fashola: Nigeria has enough leaders to tackle its problems

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AGOS State Governor Babatunde Fashola has said Nigeria has the human capital to deal with its problems.

He said the impression that Nigeria has leadership problem is a myth, adding that the country has produced many exceptional leaders.

The governor spoke on Monday at the Courtesy Call Room of the Lagos House, Ikeja, while receiving the management of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), led by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof.

Osayuki Oshodin.

The governor, an alumnus of UNIBEN, said the university has produced many leaders.

He said: “UNIBEN produced me, Mr. Shodipo, the Attorney-General of Delta State, Obayuwana, Patrick Obahiagbon in Edo State and so many others that have exploded the myth that there is a leadership problem. There isn’t.

“The issue is how the country has been able to deploy its human capacity and how it can keep the production line well oiled.

They key is how well peopled and well funded the production line is.”

Fashola acknowledged UNIBEN’s impact on him, saying the institution is committed to academic, sporting and medical excellence.

He pledged to continue to support his alma mater Oshodin said Fashola’s performance as governor has made UNIBEN proud and thanked him for assisting the institution’s Faculty of Law. He said their visit was to inform the governor of the inauguration of an UNIBEN Endowment Fund slated for April 6.

Others on the UNIBEN team include the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), Prof. Obehi Okojie; the Registrar, Mrs. Gladys Ogbohodo; the Overseer of Ekenwan Campus and Dean of Students’ Affairs, Prof.

Victor Omazuwa as well as the Acting Librarian, Mrs. Grace Sanni.

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NEWS

Governors condemn non-conduct of council polls in states

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HE Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has condemned the non-conduct of local government elections in some states.

The Director-General of its Secretariat, Mr Asisahna Okauru, yesterday in Abuja told reporters that the nonconduct of the elections in some states is an aberration.

He said the issue should be addressed, as stipulated in the Constitution.

The media briefing was organised to intimate reporters with NGF’s State Peer Review Mechanism (SPRM) findings and recommendations in Anambra and Ekiti

Fed Govt committed to growing local industries, says Aganga

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HE Federal Government will ensure the growth and development of local industries through local patronage, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, has said.

A statement yesterday in Abuja by the Senior Special Assistant to the Minister on Corporate Communications, Mrs. Yemi Kolapo, said this corrected the interpretation given to the minister’s absence at the Senate hearing on local patronage on Monday.

The statement said since his assumption of office, Aganga has been pursuing policies and programmes for the growth of the economy through industrialisation and backward integration in support of local industries.

It reads: “The Local Patronage Bill, when passed into law, will go a long way to protect Nigerian manufacturers, boost capacity utilisation of local industries, increase the productivity and export of Made-in-Nigeria goods, create jobs, generate wealth and save foreign exchange for the country.

“It is in this regard that the passage of the Local Patronage Bill, which has passed the second reading at the Senate, becomes very important to the ministry, considering the efforts by the ministry to create enough market for local industries to thrive. The ministry’s low quality representation at the hearing, as observed by the Senate, was due to a communication gap in the ministry, which is highly regretted.”

According to the statement, to fast-track the reorientation of Nigerians to patronise locally made products and also showcase the potential of the country’s local industries, the ministry, through one of its parastatals, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), is working with the private sector to implement its grassrootsbased One-LGA-One-Product (OLOP) initiative.

This, it explained, is to serve as a complementary bottomup multi-stakeholders development and investment platform for the creation of jobs and generation of wealth in the 774 local governments in Nigeria, besides galvanising and harnessing the potential of the informal sector of the economy.

states.

The exercise was concluded recently.

Okauru said civil society groups in Nigeria have a role to play in ensuring that the polls are conducted in the affected states.

He noted that there is need for sustained pressure from the media and civil society groups to check governors of the affected states.

The NGF chief said the forum’s peer review mechanism was a laudable initiative, adding that the media should help the forum to project it as well as its other activities.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NGF peer review mechanism was conceived to assist states’ accelerated development.

It ensures periodic reviews of progress in the implementation of states’ development

policies, plans and programmes.

It is expected that through their participation in the process, governors will learn new innovative and good practices from one another.

Dr Afeikhena Jerome, the National Coordinator of SPRM, urged Anambra and Ekiti governments to urgently conduct council polls.

According to him, this will enthrone good leadership and ensure that true representatives of the people are elected at that tier of government.

Jerome, however, said Anambra State Government was doing well in some aspects, but there was need for the government to reform its budget process.

He said this would require making the state’s budget comprehensive to capture all revenues from its develop-

ment partners and the state’s counterpart contributions and inter-governmental transfer.

Jerome noted that the Anambra Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) base was low, and there was a need for the state government to proffer ways of boosting it.

He said the state Board of Internal Revenue needed to be professionalised and be well funded.

“The government needs to recognise and strengthen its revenue collection machinery, especially the board of internal revenue which is not professionalised and poorly funded,’’ Jerome said.

He, however, added that the state could learn from other states, which have relative fiscal independence.

Jerome decried the deplorable state of federal roads in Anambra.

He urged the government to lobby the Federal Government to refurbish the roads.

The SPRM chief also said the state government could alternatively reach an agreement with the Federal Government on how to undertake the resuscitation of the roads through the State Road Maintenance Agency.

On the findings of the NGF state peer review mechanism in Ekiti, Jerome said there was the need for the government to take steps to address the growing unemployment rate in the state.

“Against the background of growing unemployment, the government is encouraged to pursue with vigour the various strategies and measures geared towards generating employment opportunities,’’ Jerome said.

This, he said, would open up

the state economy, especially in the private sector.

The DFID-State Partnership for Accountability and Capacity was partnering with the NGF to drive the SPRM. Dr Jeo Abah, DFID National Programme Manager, said the SPRM was an honest assessment of states strength, weaknesses, opportunities and treats.

He said the review brought about useful experiences from other governments and the international community to commend states for what they did well, and highlights those things they needed to do better.

He urged governors to focus their efforts on those issues that had been identified in the SPRM report and for development partners to tailor their support to the real needs of states.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

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NEWS CDS won’t quit, says DHQ

EFCC arraigns Atuche, two others for alleged forgery T HE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday arraigned the former Managing Director of Bank PHB (now Keystone Bank), Francis Atuche, for alleged forgery before a Lagos High Court in Ikeja Arraigned with him were two officials of the bank, Joachim Nnosiri and Uguru Onyike, who are attached to the Central Shared Services Centre of Keystone Bank Ltd. They were arraigned before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo on a nine-count charge of forgery, conspiracy and the use of forged board resolutions belonging to Futureview Securities Limited, Tradjeck Limited and Extra Oil Limited into Keystone Bank (formerly Bank PHB).

The commission claimed that the board resolutions were allegedly signed by the Managing Director of the companies, Mrs Elizabeth Ebi and addressed to Keystone Bank.

It said the purpose of the

By Adebisi Onanuga

board resolutions was to request a N10.9 billion credit facility from the bank.

The EFCC said the alleged offence, which was committed on March 4, contravened sections 361 and 409 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State 2011.

When the case was called, EFCC’s counsel Ben Ubi told the court that the commission filed a nine-count charge of forgery.

He urged the court to allow the charges to be read to the defendants so they can make their pleas.

Atuche and the two others pleaded not guilty.

Ubi asked for a trial date and a court order remanding the defendants in custody.

But Atuche’s counsel Tayo Oyetibo (SAN) told the court of a pending bail application on behalf of his client dated

March 25.

He said it has been served on the agency.

Ubi objected to the request, saying he has “not seen the bail summons.

“But I acknowledge that the person, who received the application, is a litigation clerk in the office.”

This made Oyetibo to request that his client be allowed to go home as it appeared that the prosecution is not ready to argue the bail application.

He submitted that the matter before Justice Onigbanjo is an off-shoot of the case before another judge, Justice Lateefa Okunnu, adding that his client came to court from his house.

But Ubi countered the defence and stated that he was not aware that the charge is an offshoot of the matter before another judge.

“I can confirm to the court

that the defendant did not come from home as earlier stated by the SAN. “All the defendants were brought to court by the EFCC.” Justice Onigbanjo fixed the bail hearing for today and issued a caveat that the former bank chief should go home after the proceedings.

He noted that Atuche had never been absent from court for his other cases.

Justice Onigbanjo also fixed today for the bail hearing for the second and third defendant, following the submission of the prosecution that he would need time to respond to the bail applications submitted by their counsel, Clement Onwenwnor and Bamidele Adewunmi.

The judge also allowed the two defendants to go home, pending hearing of their bail application on the strength of the administrative bail earlier granted them by the EFCC. Justice Onigbanjo granted Oyetibo’s prayer for accelerated hearing and fixed Octo-

From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

T •Atuche

ber 10 for trial.

The forgery charge against Atuche is the fourth in the series of charges brought against him by the EFCC since his removal as Bank PHB’s Chief Executive Officer.

The new arraignment came after the prosecution concluded its case in the charge before Justice Lateefa Okunnu and the defence had indicated its intention to file a ‘no-case submission’ against the charge.

NEPAD status embarrassing, says Mark From Onyedi Ojiabor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

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ENATE President David Mark yesterday said the non-legalisation of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) is an embarrassment to the country.

Mark stated this as a Bill for an Act to provide for the establishment of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development Commission (2013) scaled second reading in the Senate.

He said it was embarrassing that 11 years after, NEPAD Nigeria, a body domicilled under the Presidency, is existing without an enabling law.

The Senate President said the body is not functioning properly because it has no legal backing.

He noted that the country was in the forefront of establishing the body but “here there is no legal backing and it is an embarrassment to us.”

Mark said the bill, sponsored by Senator Simeon Ajibola (Kwara South), is “one bill that we should fast-track and make sure that we get it right.”

The Senate President said if it becomes a commission, as proposed, “then we can hold it responsible if it doesn’t perform.”

Also a Bill for an Act to establish the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun and for other related matters 2012 was read a second time.

Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson (right),Deputy Governor Gboribiogha John Jonah (left) and the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice-Admiral Dele Ezeoba when the CNS visited the Government House,Yenagoa.

Ghanaians dominate 2012 WASSCE

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HREE Ghanaian candidates have again claimed the top prizes for outstanding performance in last year’s May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

The exam had almost 80 per cent of the candidates from Nigeria.

The top three positions were once dominated by Nigerians in the 80s and 90s but Ghanaians have been dominating recently.

•79.7 per cent of candidates were Nigerians

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

A statement by Biodun Aduloju, Head, Public Affairs, Department, WAEC Headquarters, Accra, Ghana, yesterday, said the Ghanaians were rewarded at the opening of the 61st Annual Meeting of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) in Banjul, The Gambia, between March 18 and 22.

The trio, honoured with the WAEC International Excellence Award, were Miss Yvette Yeboah-Kordieh (1st Prize), Master Josbert Abaasa Ayambire (2nd Prize) and Master Bright Seyram Tsevi (3rd Prize).

They were the best among the 1,936,728 candidates who wrote the examination in The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

Checks by The Nation

showed that 1,545,004 Nigerians wrote the examination.

Miss Yeboah-Kordieh also won the Augustus Bandele Oyediran Award for the Best Candidate in West Africa.

During the meeting, The Gambia’s Chief Government Nominee on the Council, Baboucarr Bouy, was elected as Vice-Chairman for a year.

He succeeds D. C. Uwaezuoke, a Nigerian.

Six burnt to death

CNS read riot act to naval officers

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THE Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice-Admiral Dele Ezeoba, yesterday, cautioned naval ratings and officers against complicity in illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta.

He called for attitudinal change within the Navy to enable him actualise his new plan.

Ezeoba spoke when he toured naval formations and

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

facilities in Warri, Oghara and Sapele in Delta State.

At the Naval Engineering College in Sapele, the CNS addressed officers and ratings and cautioned them against complicity. He called for a change of attitude.

The Navy chief said a bulk of the bunkering and security problems the navy was

saddled with was from the Bayelsa axis.

His words: “Bayesla State is the ‘corridor’, where the Navy has enormity of the problem.

“We have defined our operational guidelines and established parameters that will help us address the issue.

“We have built platforms, enhanced training objectives that will help and we have

also understood the need for a change of attitude by officers and men so that we can stop complicities that we have found to be part of the problem.

“That is why I’m on this road map so that we can appeal to their conscience; give them positive guidance as to doing what is right so that collectively we can solve this problem.

HE Defence Headquarters has dismissed reports that the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Sa’ad Ola Ibrahim, had indicated his intention to voluntarily retire.

At a briefing yesterday, the Director of Defence Information, Brig-Gen Chris Olukolade, said there was no truth in the report.

Olukolade said: “The Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim, has not, under any circumstances, sought or asked for the permission of the President to voluntarily retire from service as reported by the national newspapers and online reporters.

“These media outfits did not bother to check for facts before embarking on this dangerous sensational report, which is capable of inciting insecurity in the country.

“This is most unfortunate, especially as it went on to paint a scenario that portrays power struggle within the services, apparently to undermine the leadership of the Armed Forces.

“Admiral Ibrahim remains committed to serving the nation to the best of his ability in his capacity as the Chief of Defence Staff of the most vibrant Armed Forces of sub-Sahara Africa.

“For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby clarified that the CDS has not tendered any such notice; neither is he ill as claimed in the spurious reports.”

The spokesman said the CDS was in the United Kingdom last week.

According to him, the Defence Chief is in Cote D’Ivoire on an official assignment.

Olukolade allayed fears over repeated attacks by Boko Haram in the North, saying the sect is on the final stage of the battle.

He said the defeat of the sect is imminent, adding that the threat of the sect’s activities in the Southwest had been curtailed.

“What we are witnessing from Boko Haram is a kind of desperation.

“There is a saying that the battle is hottest when it is about to an end.

“This shows this is the last fight by the Boko Haram.

“From the way they have been working and the expectation from the headquarters, the fight against terrorism is coming to an end.

“Whatever that is happening, the end to terrorism has come in Nigeria.”

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

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IX persons were yesterday burnt to death in an accident on the Benin-Ore-Lagos Road.

The accident involved a trailer, marked XB 455 JRT and a Toyota Hiace bus, marked BEN 308 XB. Victims included five males and one female. Two others were injured in the accident.

Unit Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Ameen Adewale said the bus was carrying newspapers.

Ameen said the bus ran into the trailer and the impact resulted in a fire, which burnt the victims beyond recognition.

He said they have cleared the obstruction on the highway and that the bodies have been deposited at a hospital in Okada.

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FACILITY

INCENTIVES

LOANS

Loan for Sokoto farmers

Aliyu to boost rice production

Amosun’s wife flags off job scheme

Sokoto

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

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Email: news_extra@yahoo.com

Delta oil communities get free health scheme

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•Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan YO State government has taken steps to reduce carnage on the roads.

The ambulance service introduced by the Governor Abiola Ajimobi administration through its Ministry of Health is saving many lives in the state.

Perhaps, the greatest thing about the service is that it is not restricted to towns and cities. Rural dwellers are also benefiting from it.

When the scheme was flagged off in January with 20 ambulances, many people did not think that it could provide the succour needed at this time when road carnage is taking away many road users through untimely death. Several Nigerians are also maimed on daily basis, either on highways or on intra-city roads, where commercial motorcycles-triggered accidents are on the increase.

The governor, through the Ministry of Health, had introduced the free ambulance project with a combination of bus ambulances for the city and highways and tricycle ambulances for remote communities and hard-to-reach parts of towns and villages.

Since the ministry started work late February, not a few lives have been saved on the highways and intra-city roads in Ibadan, the state capital, where it is being currently operated.

The ministry started off with four bus ambulances strategically located under purpose-built sheds at Iwo Road interchange, toll gates along the Ibadan-Lagos expressway, Ojoo and Eleyele areas of the city.

The rationale behind the location, according to the Commissioner for Health, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, was to attend to emergencies on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, Ibadan-Ife expressway, Ibadan-Ojoo expressway as well as the Eleyele-Ologuneru areas. The emergencies include road accidents and childbirth difficulties.

Gbadegesin further explained that a major innovation in the free ambulance service is the introduction of a control room and the use of a dedicated mobile telephone line that distressed people can call

ELTA Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has flagged off the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) free health care scheme.

He reiterated his administration’s commitment to efficient health care delivery system in the state.

While flagging off the scheme at Ashaka in Ndokwa East Local Government Area of the state, he maintained that DESOPADEC as an interventionist agency was set up by the state government to address the needs of oil-bearing commu-

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

nities in the state.

Dr. Uduaghan was represented by the commissioner in charge of DESOPADEC, Mr. Timi Tonye.

He said the free health care was targeted at the rural populace, adding that health care should be taken directly to the people because health is wealth.

The Commissioner representing Ndokwa ethnic group on the board of the DESOPADEC, Chukwudi Eke said the free health care scheme was in line with the human capital de-

velopment agenda of the state government.

He called on the people of the area to access the DESOPADEC free health care scheme so as to address their health challenges.

He said the scheme which will cover free medical treatment for surgery, dental examinations, eyes surgery, provision of glasses, HIV/ AIDS counselling and screening, maternal scan, diabetes screening, ear examination and hearing screening, was aimed at bringing health care closer to the rural populace.

According to him, the scheme

which will cover all the communities in his mandate area will last for one week, adding that a team comprising 26 medical personnel from University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) and Federal Medical Centre, Asaba (FMC) led by Dr. Collins Iyamu would attend to the patients.

In his remarks, the Transition Committee Chairman, Ndokwa East Local Government Area, Alex Aniche commended Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, DESOPADEC and Chukwudi Eke for the free health care scheme.

O

•Medical personnel attend to road accident victims in Oyo

Oyo tackles road carnage Free treatment for accident victims Service extended to rural areas From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

to access the service.

Unlike most other ambulances which only convey patients to the hospital, each Oyo State Free Ambulance boasts a complete team of medical workers headed by a doctor. They comprise four nurses with bias for emergency response. They are also supported by trained YES-O

cadets.

Each ambulance is fully equipped to serve as a treatment room. “They are not just to convey corpses or casualties to hospital. The patients receive treatment and are taken to the nearest hospital for continuation of treatment where necessary. Each ambulance has a telephone, drugs and medical equipment. There is a driver, a stretcher and a midwife,

who most times, handles childbirth in the ambulance if the need arises.

So deliveries can be safely taken in the ambulances.” Gbadegesin said.

Also highlighting the importance of the tricycles ambulances, the commissioner said: “The tricycle is a WHO approved approach to take care of emergencies in rural areas.

•Continued on Page 45

•Governor Abiola Ajimobi

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

18

Yobe employs 3,000 youths

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•Governor Gaidam

O FEWER THAN 3,000 youths, women and vulnerable persons have been engaged under the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) in Yobe State,its co-ordinator in the state, Alhaji Umar El-Gash, has said.

El-Gash said this in Damaturu while on a courtesy visit to the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Babagoni Machina.

He said that 1, 000 of them had been deployed to the 17 local government areas of the state, while the 2, 000 others would soon be deployed.

“We will soon embark on recruitment of another 2, 000 beneficiaries to reach our benchmark of 5, 000 as earmarked for each

Zamfara awards N7b road contracts

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HE Zamfara State government has awarded road contracts valued at over N7 billion as part of efforts to open up the state.

The Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Ibrahim Magaji, told newsmen at the end of the State Executive Council meeting in Gusau that the projects would be completed within 18 months.

He said the contract included the 31.5 km Gusau-Kasuwar Daji road, and the GusauZurmi-Katsina road which were awarded for N2.5 billion.

According to him, the government has also awarded contract for the construction of the 38.3 km Tashar Abu-Kekun Waje-Bingi road at the cost of N1.5 billion.

Other contracts, he said, included the N200 million Gusau GRA link road, and the road linking Gen. Sani Abacha Way to the State

Zamfara Primary Education Board, which would cost N900 million.

Magaji said work on the Gusau PrisonsJauri village road awarded at the cost of N301 million would be completed within a year.

He further said that the the government had approved N1.06 billion as compensation to persons affected by the Gusau township roads project.

The commissioner said the amount was also for those affected under the phase I and II of the Talata Mafara township roads, which were completed last year.

Magaji said the projects were in line with the administration’s desire to enhance economic activities in the state.

We’ve reduced crime, violence, says lawmaker

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EPRESENTATIVE of Mushin 1 Constituency at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Bolaji Yusuf Ayinla has said that the reduction of crime and violence in Mushin is the result of efforts to get the people productively engaged.

Ayinla stated this while responding to reporters questions at the 2nd Village Square meeting he held with his constituents at Itire, Mushin.

According to him, through the efforts of people like Muize Banire, himself and the local government chairman jobs are being provided for many people, thereby keeping them engaged and away from violence and crime.

“I have contributed my quota as a legislator in order to reduce the crime rate and violence that Mushin was identified with before. Today the situation has changed and I am not going to stop because I still have so many things on the pipeline for them”, he said.

Ayinla disclosed that he has facilitated employment for about 27 of his constituents with the Lagos State Inland Revenue Service, 15 each at the Ministry of Sports, Lagos State Waste Management Authority, Lagos Marine Police and Lagos State Residents Registration Authority. He has also provided 50 others with jobs as sweepers while equipping thousands with vocational skills to enable them start something on their own.

“Twenty were recommended for appointment

By Oziegbe Okoeki

into State Civil Service Commission while eight employment opportunities were secured with Central Business District, Lagos”, he said.

He said further:“It is a gradual process and I know that with time, more of my people will be taken out of the unemployment bracket and of course Mushin will be the better for it.”

According to the lawmaker, he is only fulfilling the campaign promises he made to his people during electioneering that he would be responsive, responsible, accountable and proactive through first class representation”.

The Village Square meeting, Ayinla said, is a feedback mechanism for him to hear from his people and also for them to hear from him and for him to give account of his stewardship.

Giving account of his stewardship, Ayinla said, he has provided 13 boreholes in his constituency, influenced procurement of 4 500KVA transformers, provided a utility bus each for Itire Chieftaincy family and United Muslim Council, Mushin etc. He said he has also been active on the floor of the House which in collaboration with his other colleagues has “reflected in the quality of governance that Lagos State is experiencing in all facets”.

• From left: Mrs Christiana Dosumu, Rasaq Amodu, Mrs Yinka Babalola, Hon Rasaq Adeniyi and Hoand Chieftaincy Affairs to Ikoyi/Obalende Local Council Development Area.

Niger to boost rice production

Yobe state of the federation”, he said.

The coordinator urged the state government to appoint a desk officer who would be briefing it on the activities carried out by the programme in the state.

El-Gash sought the cooperation of the government in the effort to fight unemployment and improve the livelihood of the people.

Replying, the SSG assured the scheme of support and requested upward review of participants in the programme.

“Unemployment in Nigeria needs a collaborative effort and I want to assure you of Governor Gaidam administration’s support to this laudable programme for the benefit of our people,” he said.

47

T

HE Niger State government said it had entered into agreement with some commercial banks to inject N17 billion over the next three years in rice cultivation in the state.

The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Ahmed Matane, said this at Kuchin Woro village in Lavun Local Government Area during the disbursement of relief materials to victims of 2012 flood.

He said 200,000 hectares of land would be cultivated with an expectant annual yield of one million tonnes of rice.

Matane said that 100, 000 farmers are expected to participate in the project, with each farmer getting two hectares for rice cultivation.

According to him, each hectare is projected to produce five tonnes as against the current yield of two tonnes.

“The farmers are expected to cultivate the rice all-year-round, thus ensuring that farmers participate in dry season farming too in•Daughter of Chairman, Mosan-Okunola Local Council Development Area, Miss Adesola Mafe presenting stead of depending on rain water for their a gift to Master Makinde Emmanuel, winner of Spelling Bee Competition at the council. With them are the council’s Vice-Chairman, Princess Opeyemi Akindele (left) and Leader of the House, Hon Veronica Olusoga HE Chairman of Oshodi-Isolo Local Government, Hon. Bolaji Muse-Ariyoh has presented the sum of N2.6 billion budget HE Jigawa State government has refor 2013. cruited 500 sanitation workers to enMuse-Ariyoh presented the appropriation bill hance environmental health services line campaign activities and enhance access to the council’s legislative arm at the council’s in the state, Alhaji Isa Nasarawa, the Permasecretariat. to potable water at the grassroots. nent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Reviewing the 2012 budget, the council chair The secretary explained that the measure has said.

Nasarawa said this at the inauguration of a under the newly established State Environ- was part of a comprehensive framework highlighted the various achievements of his adopted by the state to achieve sustainable administration such as, development of hospithree-day capacity building training work- mental Protection Agency (JISEPA).

He added that the state government had also growth in the environment, water and health shop organised by the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria set up Rural Water and Sanitation Desk Of- sectors. fices in the 27 local government areas of the He said that the state government had made (EHORECON), in Dutse. adequate provisions in the 2013 budget to fast He said that the workers were recruited state.

He said the action would help to stream- track the implementation of water, sanitation and environmental health programmes.

“This is part of a giant programme to control desertification, erosion and environmental health issues,” he said.

In his remarks, the Registrar of the council, Mr Augustine Ebisike, said the training was part of its continuing education programme designed to expose the participants to the modern environmental health techniques.

Ebisike also called for adequate funding of environmental health services to reduce health challenges in the country.

The registrar praised the state government for the recruitment of sanitation workers and initiating other environment protection programmes.

T

Jigawa recruits health inspectors T Jigawa

Niger farming.

“Each farmer will be provided high yielding seeds, fertiliser, herbicides, and harvesters among other farming inputs that will guarantee them higher yield, with the assistance of their extension officers.

“The rice consortium project will not only improve the living condition of the farmers but will equally improve on the availability of rice for ordinary Nigerians and even for export to other countries.“ Matane said the farmers would also be trained by experts to ensure compliance with modern farming methods.

He gave the assurance that the state government would provide market outlets for the rice. The commissioner advised farmers to register their names under cooperatives in order to participate.

Matana distributed 500 bags of rice, 1,200

•From left: Dr Dapo Majekodumi, Managing Director, St Nicholas Hospital; Stella Emmanuel, founder, The True Health Foundation and Dr Ebun Bamgboye, Consultant Neurologist/ Clinical Director St Nicholas during a seminar and free screeming organised by the hospital at Freedom Square, Lagos PHOTO: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

T

Customs warns against abuse of HE Nigeria Customs Service, Seme ECOWAS scheme command has warned importers operating along the border areas to stop

abusing the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation

By Oluwakemi Dauda Scheme (ETLS). as against the sum of N6, 243, 649, 157, 90kobo Speaking with Newsextra in his office last that was generated in 2011. week, the Area Controller, Comptroller Abdu The command recorded 480 seizures of variSaleh Othman said the scheme was designed ous goods with duty paid value (DPV) of to encourage trade among West African coun- N227, 035, 726, 00kobo. tries and that it must not be abused by imThe seized items included motor vehicles, porters and their clearing agents. frozen poultry products, used tyres, rice of Othman warned that importers must not use different brands, textile material, and leather the scheme to bring prohibited items into the shoes among others. country.

He said the command is determined to ensure that smuggling and other forms of illegal economic activities along the Seme axis are prevented.

The Comptroller said the efforts of the Comptroller General of Customs, Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi to curb illegal importation and boost economic activities along the border areas must be sustained.

He said prohibited items coming to the country through the border would be seized and that the importer or their clearing agent would be arrested to face the music.

The command’s revenue generation profile showed that the sum of N7, 986, 073, 939. 43kobo was collected last year •Comptroller Othman •Asst. Compt. Ibrahim

THE Royal Olive Ministry of the Chapel of Christ The Light Church has held its conference on mothers and young ladies. The theme was: Mothers as Leaders.

In her opening speech, the founder of the ministry, Rev. Loice Duru, said the aim was to bring children to the old path, saying; “God has given them to us to prepare them for leadership role”.

Rev Duru said leaders are made at home and as good mothers who want their children to be good leaders, they have a vital role to play in nation-building. She said today’s mothers can combine career with moulding leaders for tomorrow.

Also speaking, the Executive Director, Media Concern Initiative, Dr Olufemi Kayode, said that there are more sexual abuse cases now than in the past. She therefore advised mothers, “We must pay attention to the upbringing of our children and try to be their friend, adding “sexual abuse is an attack and the devil uses it against mankind to take them away from God. We do not know what our children do on the internet, television, magazine and the friends they keep. She charged mothers to speak the “language” of their children, be their best friend, know what they do and always have the patience to correct them.

In her contribution, the wife of the Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Ministry and President of Real Woman Foundation, Mrs Nike Adeyemi, said that many times, mothers overlook their responsibility on the children. She urged mothers to see their children as a long time investment, they should nurture them to be good leaders.

She counseled: “We as mothers have to speak the right word to their lives, have the right perspective for your children as you are raising them.”

By Risikat Ramoni

tals and healthcare centres, constant poverty alleviation and human empowerment programme, improvement of the education sector, several road and drain construction as well as renovation of the secretariat and offices.

•From left: The Vice-Chairman, Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area, Hon Dapo Salami, Council Manager, Mrs Tinuola Fowler, Chairman, Hon Kemi Semiu Surakat and a teacher at the presentation of free exercise books to all primary schools in the council.

ASCON holds workshop on governance

T

HE Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, has held a three-day workshop for workers of houses of assembly and state houses of assembly service commission. The aim was to define their roles and attain more harmonious relationship. The talk shop which was held between Monday and Wednesday this week, featured participants from local government councils, state houses of assembly and houses of assembly service commission.

According to ASCON Director-General, Ajibade Peters, the idea behind the workshop is to encourage equality and harmonious relationship among the bodies to make for effective governance for the benefit of the nation.

Ajibade said: “They (participants) are meeting on the roundtable which means on equal basis. We have speakers, parliamentarians, and members of the (House of Assembly) commission; and while exchanging ideas across the states, the discussions become richer. It’s a learning forum- the more you put down your own idea and knowledge you have acquired over the years, the more you also tap from others. We hope in the end, the rules and regulation among them will be sharpened”.

At the flag-off of the workshop on Monday, Peters said, ASCON, rather than stick to the conventional curriculum approach, it adopted a more interactive style for the participants, to encourage cross fertilisation of ideas.

“This methodology is richer than curricu-

bags of cement and 400 bundles of roofing sheets to the flood victims in 26 communities of the local government.

Council presents budget

‘We must train our children well’

By David Adejo

• Governor Babangida

By Adegunle Olugbamila

lum because all stakeholders are here to redefine their roles. So if you encroach on my duty, I should be able to tell you.”

As a foremost management development institute (MDI), Ajibade said aside trainings, ASCON organises from time to time, its ultimate aims is to demystify governance as this is the only way to true nationhood.

•Particpants at the event

He reiterated that the proposed budget will be channeled towards people-oriented projects in tandem with the Local Economic Empowerment Development Strategy Document.

During the budget analysis, he listed various projects earmarked for implementation during the 2013 fiscal year.

Such projects include; road construction, rehabilitation and surfacing, provision of borehole water and solar lights, construction of drains and culverts, purchase of patrol vans and bus, among others.

“The N2.6 billion will be generated through N1.275 billion allocation from the federal and N10 million from state government, while N114 million will be the revenue to be internally generated. N980 million will be generated through Value Added tax (VAT) and a special grant of N225 million is expected to balance the budget,”he said.

He further explained that N467 million will be expended on workers, N312 million on teacher’s salary with an overhead cost of N645 million. “There is about N274 million outstanding on capital, with N71 million as capital expenditure and the loan re-payment on capital is put at N192 million,”he added.

Residents and stakeholders of the council were urged to render their civic responsibilities by paying their rates and fees to facilitate the implementation of the budget.

Easter programme THE Redeemed Christian Church of God Zone 10 Lagos Province 23, Area 10, 41, 50, 51, 53 at 1, Ijagbemi Street, Pedro, Bariga, Lagos is holding its evangelical programme with the theme: Stone is Rolled Away on Good Friday, March 29.

The host, Pator Omotoye Olushola, said the idea is to win souls to the Kingdom of God, saying that other side attractions include free medicare, gifts, food for those that will attend. It will also feature healing, deliverance, blessings and salvation.

Other ministers expected at the programme include Pastor Abiodun Adekoya, Pastor Brown Oyitso and Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

19

COMMENTARY FROM OTHER LANDS

EDITORIALS

Chinua Achebe (1930 – 2013) • A literary icon departs

F

ICTION was his first love, and placed him on a pedestal. But his swansong, a stormy memoir beyond the fictive

realm, threatened to knock him off his perch in the estimation of antagonists who faulted him for alleged inventiveness. Thus, ironically, the very quality that brought him fame, his rich talent for story-telling, became an albatross. Critics of his final work, released late last year, There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra, regarded it as the product of an overactive imagination.

The book was Chinua Achebe’s version of the three-year civil conflict (1967-1970) that nearly accomplished the dismemberment of Nigeria. His narrative romanticised the failed secession of his Igbo ethnic group, and painted the others on the side of unity as genocidal demons. This historical effort triggered an intense war of words across the country, showing remarkable divisions among Nigerians, 43 years after the fighting ceased. The thunder generated by the writing continued to rumble even till the author’s death on March 21, aged 82, in a hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. However, his literary celebrity undeniably outshines the controversy he created in his twilight with this historical bomb.

There is a unified acknowledgement of his creative stardom, and he is generally described as “the father of modern African writing.” It is interesting that the beginning of his writing life also had an element of the controversial. His 1958 debut novel, Things Fall Apart, set out to explode Western myths on African culture, and was conceived as a counter narrative to a specific work by a European writer, Mr Johson by Joyce Cary, which

Achebe considered racist in its treatment of Africans. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness was another European “colonial novel” that influenced Achebe’s African perspective and inspired him to tell the story of Western conquest from the viewpoint of the conquered.

Achebe’s then unprecedented plot of a pre-colonial African people, the Igbo, who lost their pristine condition to Westernisation, catapulted him into the limelight. The novel, which sold over 10 million copies and was translated into some 45 languages in the writer’s lifetime, ranks among the best written in English and, by itself, guarantees Achebe’s place in the pantheon of literary greats. It is probably a disservice to the novelist’s gift that he was apparently defined by the success of his early fiction. For, indeed, he went on to produce other worthy novels, which were overshadowed by Things Fall Apart.

An advocate of “beneficent fiction,” which is the notion that art should not be an end in itself, his oeuvre also accommodated postcolonial themes such as official corruption and abuse of political power. In addition to the novels No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964), A Man of the People (1966), and Anthills of the Savannah (1987), he had short stories, poems and critical essays to his credit, and was a truly inspiring figure in the continent’s literary firmament. A good number of Africa’s distinguished literary voices emerged during his time as editor of Heinemann’s African Writers Series, and he encouraged the flowering of various talents that enriched African literature and made it visible globally. Although he was steeped in realism, his liberal aesthetics gave space even to the avant-garde.

Achebe will be remembered for his political interventions, especially his pungent publication, The Trouble with Nigeria, in which he argued that the country, regrettably, “has been less than fortunate in its leadership.” He demonstrated his disenchantment with the country’s ruling class by rejecting national honours in 2004 and 2011, alleging lack of good governance.

Laurels aplenty marked his eventful life, the most recent before his death being the 2007 Man Booker International Prize and 2010 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize. It is a tribute to his spirit that though he spent the last 22 years of his life in a wheelchair following a car accident in Nigeria, he remained active intellectually and creatively. A native of Ogidi in present-day Anambra State, he studied English at the then University College, Ibadan, and was a professor at Brown University, USA, until his demise.

‘Achebe will be remembered for his political interventions, especially his pungent publication, The Trouble with Nigeria, in which he argued that the country, regrettably, “has been less than fortunate in its leadership.” He demonstrated his disenchantment with the country’s ruling class by rejecting national honours in 2004 and 2011, alleging lack of good governance’

Kanu’s large heart • He is an exemplar of the successful giving back to the society

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T is heartwarming that the Kanu Heart Foundation (KHF) has decided to take its initiative to another level with its plan to establish a Cardiac Hospital in Nigeria. The hospital is to cost $35million (about N5billion). KHF, a charity organisation, was established by the Nigerian international football star, Nwankwo Kanu, on July 21, 2000, with the primary aim of putting smiles back to the faces of Nigerians and African’s blue children/young adults with various heart defects.

It has so far handled 452 open heart surgeries since inception, up from 310 in 2008. This number may look small in 12 years, but it is huge when we consider the fact that heart diseases are usually

‘Kanu has made a difference with his talent. Many of his colleagues who have made it big hardly remember the less privileged. Faced with Kanu’s type of medical challenge, they would have deployed their resources only in the interest of self to overcome the adversity; forgetting the less endowed who are going through the same experience.

We have examples in our rich jetting out of the country to treat minor health challenges’

expensive to remedy, especially since most of the surgeries are carried out abroad. But for the foundation’s intervention, many of the beneficiaries would not have survived to see their fifth birthday, just as many would not have been able to live normal lives without the correctional procedures.

We commend Kanu for this humanitarian initiative, borne out of his personal experience with a heart disease. Shortly after returning from the 1996 Olympics, Kanu had a medical examination which revealed a serious heart defect over which he underwent surgery in November of the same year to replace an aortic valve. In the KHF we have seen in Kanu a practical demonstration of his oft-cited Christian faith in interviews he granted. His religion enjoins its adherents to be their brothers’ keepers; and this is what Kanu has done with his heart foundation. He has proved himself a moral exemplar both on the field of play and outside of it.

Kanu has made a difference with his talent. Many of his colleagues who have made it big hardly remember the less privileged. Faced with Kanu’s type of medical challenge, they would have deployed their resources only in the interest of self to overcome the adversity; forgetting the less endowed who are going through the same experience. We have examples in our rich jetting out of the country to treat minor health challenges.

Incidentally, many of them once occupied public offices through which they could have made a difference on the country’s healthcare system. But in his little way,

Kanu, humanised by his own heart condition, is adding value to the society.

It is particularly noteworthy that despite his educational limitation, Kanu has such qualitative vision. His 13 years experience with his foundation must have informed his decision to establish the Cardiac Hospital in the country. The first two beneficiaries of the foundation’s assistance were operated upon in London in 2000. New partners had to be sought in Israel as a result of exorbitant fees charged by the London hospitals.

The search for more cost-effective price and the same high quality treatment took the foundation to India. The increase in the number of cases requiring the foundation’s attention, coupled with the attendant high cost made it look inwards by bringing The International Children Heart Foundation (Menphis. USA) to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, in 2003. There is significant progress in this area but it cannot be like the organisation having its own facility.

Most of our big men (and women) have to emulate this kind of largeheartedness. Instead of spending their money on frivolities like building of night clubs, buying of exotic cars and or private jets; they can find better uses for their wealth. They should emulate Kanu’s type of philanthropy. They should identify with the cardiac hospital. The Federal Government too should lend its support to the initiative. This is the least we can do to encourage Kanu as well as other people who might be inclined to toe the same humanitarian path.

Why detain nonviolent immigrants?

Republicans have slammed Homeland Security for releasing 2,228 detainees. But the real question is why most of them were being held at all.

I

N recent weeks, Republican lawmakers have slammed the Department of Homeland Security for releasing 2,228 immigrants from detention centers around the country, questioning, among other things, whether murderers, rapists and drug traffickers were among those set free.

But while it is unclear whether Homeland Security’s decision to release the detainees was prompted by the austerity requirements of sequestration or by political theatrics, what is certain is that those who were released didn’t pose an egregious threat to public safety. More than 70% of those detainees have no criminal history, according to federal officials. The rest — with the exception of 10 immigrants — had only misdemeanor convictions, including shoplifting and minor drug possession.

Frankly, instead of trying to score political points by exaggerating the dangers, lawmakers ought to have asked why these nonviolent immigrants were being held in the first place, when cheaper and equally effective alternatives to detention exist.

The immigrant detention system on any given day holds about 34,000 noncitizens awaiting deportation hearings. The Obama administration has repeatedly said that it wants to focus detention and deportation efforts on the “worst of the worst.” Surely, visa overstayers, asylum seekers and shoplifters who are believed to be neither flight risks nor safety risks do not fit that profile.

Moreover, incarcerating nonviolent immigrants who face civil deportation cases is a strikingly inefficient way to spend tax dollars. It costs an average of $122 to $164 a day to detain immigrants in federal custody. In contrast, alternatives such as supervised release or electronic monitoring carry an average price tag of about $14 a day. More than 95% of immigrants in such programs showed up for their final court hearing, according to Human Rights First.

No one disputes that immigrants who commit violent crimes should be detained. But locking up those with no criminal history is a waste of both money and resources.

- Los Angeles Times TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh • Editor Gbenga Omotoso •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Kunle Fagbemi •Editor, Online Lekan Otufodunrin •Managing Editor Northern Operation Yusuf Alli •Managing Editor Waheed Odusile •Deputy Editor Lawal Ogienagbon •Deputy Editor (News) Adeniyi Adesina •Deputy Editor (Nation’s Capital) Yomi Odunuga •Group Political Editor Emmanuel Oladesu •Group Business Editor Ayodele Aminu •Sport Editor Ade Ojeikere •Editorial Page Editor Sanya Oni

• Executive Director (Finance & Administration) Ade Odunewu • Gen. Manager (Training and Development) Soji Omotunde •Chief Internal Auditor Toke Folorunsho •Senior Manager (sales) Akeem Shoge •Advert Manager Robinson Osirike •IT Manager Bolarinwa Meekness •Press Manager Udensi Chikaodi •Manager, Corporate Marketing Hameed Odejayi • Manager (Admin) Folake Adeoye

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

20

CARTOON & LETTERS

S

IR: Ever since the emergence of the Boko Haram Islamists, residents of many northern states have known no peace. It had been harvests of bombs, so much so that the deadly device is fast becoming as common as firecrackers.

This utterly ruthless gang has struck almost at will and each time leave behind burnt and mangled flesh. On March 18, they were at their murderous best again.

In the evening of that day, ordinary Nigerians went about their ordinary affairs at a motor park in Sabon-gari, Kano. Some were set to travel to other parts of the country while others were about to return to their families after another day of hustle. Little did they know that some enemies they neither knew nor done any wrong to have plotted their destruction. When eventually the angels of death struck, they violently dispatched dozens to the great beyond and left many more injured and traumatized. Now, why must these innocent Nigerians die and what do their murderers aim to thereby achieve?

The wanton killing of innocent Nigerians can never be justified; it is completely indefensible. No man has the right to arbitrarily take the life of another, no matter the provocation. No grievance or perceived injustice is enough reason for the killing of innocent people. These killings are even more repugnant as it seems the killers presume that they are thereby doing the work of God. This is the height of blasphemy! How can one claim to be in the service of God while destroying His creature?

Can one love God while hating his fellow man?

That some people should claim to be committing murder in the name of God is insane enough but even utterly insane is the fact that some persons would blow themselves up to achieve this. I just don’t get it. The phenomenon of suicide bombing has been with the world for decades but very few would have believed that such

EDITOR’S MAIL BAG SEND TYPEWRITTEN, DOUBLE SPACED AND SIGNED CONTRIBUTIONS, LETTERS AND REJOINDERS OF NOT MORE THAN 800 WORDS TO THE EDITOR, THE NATION, 27B, FATAI ATERE ROAD, MATORI, LAGOS. E-mail: views@thenationonlineng.net

The senseless murders thing is possible here. The average Nigerian loves his life. So, how did some suddenly become ready, even willing to throw theirs away in the pursuit of a worthless, nay devilish end? How could this be possible?

Those who send others to blow themselves up could only have achieved that through systematic indoctrination; the zombies who march to their deaths could only have been completely brainwashed. And they were able to be brainwashed largely because they failed to make proper use of their minds. This again underscores why I can’t stop harping on the need for men to make more use of their ability to think; it is not for nothing that Almighty God be-

stowed such gift on us. Followers of every religion must cultivate the habit of asking questions, of critically examining whatever doctrine their leaders are preaching. This will go a long way in reducing the number of people that could be used to perpetrate atrocities.

It is not enough to condemn the dastardly act whenever it happens, government must do more than that. There must be concerted effort to discourage or even clamp down on the propagation of intolerant and hateful doctrines. Government must demonstrate resolve in the fight against terrorism and impunity. The security agencies must be more proactive, they must invest more on intelligence gathering so as to stop the merchants of death

before they have a chance to carry out their wicked trade. Citizens must also recognize the dangerous times in which they live and be more security conscious.

Above these measures, however, is the need to preach and sow love.

There is simply too much hate and hateful ideologies in the world today; it is almost choking humanity. A lasting solution to the present dangerous situation lies in love. As light disperses darkness, so does love disperse hate. Men of goodwill must intensify effort in the service of peace and love. This is a matter of utmost and urgent importance if the present dangerous trend is to be reversed.

• Nnoli Chidiebere Aba, Abia State.

Re: Kudos to Ogun State NYSC

S

IR: The series of events culminating in the expulsion of a corps member from the service by the Ogun State camp director is to say the least an unfortunate one. That the well read Dr Kingsley Ike O. could also lend his weight to this illegal and unconstitutional act is more demeaning.

The Service was founded upon sound principles of humility and service to our fatherland. Service in line with national value and orientation is key here. Ike is supposed to understand the reason for the military approach to training these youths. The military and all paramilitary formations have dress codes which were not to offend either sex’s sensibilities and religion.

Take it beyond Nigeria, this same principle applies to all nations.

The corps member in question is saluted for standing tall to defend her faith despite her willingness to serve. She opted for skirt which is permitted in military formations.

What is wrong in this? If the founding fathers at the beginning overlook this all-important aspect of our national life, why don’t we correct it? How many times have the hero director denied sending her out of camp in the night even when all evidences point to it!

Service to fatherland at this time is a personal pride as the inherent value in itself has diminished. Let the fading scheme grants exemption to those who are willing to opt out

without embarrassing them. Those who can compromise their faiths with those who are less concerned are free to continue with it.

A note to our eminent scholar: the place of religion in man is deeper than what mental knowledge can fill. Religion is of the heart and it shapes and rules the total being, your philosophy is of the head and only tilts the mind.

Doc, when others who were permitted have been found to be better ambassadors of the scheme, why are we fraying nerves and losing sleep over this?

Let this be in the interest of fairness and justice.

• Matthew Sunday Ibara Housing Estate, Abeokuta

Subsidy removal is PDP agenda

S

IR: I believe the President does not learn from the past. Most of his actions are unpresidential but he is yet to admit that. Why does the president like to inflict pains on Nigerians deliberately? The subsidy he had promised to remove again is not really responsible for our backwardness but his negligence and nonchalant attitude towards corruption. His decision to remove subsidy again would rather cause unrest.

The president should know that Nigerians are hungry and unhappy with his policies since he came into power. Nigerians voted for him because of the love they have for him and because of the name he bears.

Why is the president now acting conversely to his name? It is surprising that the man who told Nigerians that he had no shoes and Nigerians bought one for him is now the one who pays deaf ears to the cries of the people.

Removal of subsidy is not what is hindering our developmental process but corruption. There is intense corruption in the system. Our President should cleanse the system by bringing corrupt elements to book. Instead of seeking for ways to punish the subsidy cabals, the president is rather seeking for ways to impoverish Nigerians and enrich the PDP because I believe the subsidy removal is a PDP agenda.

The party’s agenda has now become the country’s agenda. Nigerians must now be regretting voting President Jonathan into power.

The promise he made to surprise his critics in 2013 has begun to manifest; it is written on the wall for Nigerians to read. I hope Nigerians won’t be gullible once again in 2015.

Halima Hassana Abdulmalik IBB University, Lapai, Niger State.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

COMMENTS

Achebe: a tsunami of crocodile tears; Wanted: Genius Grants in budgets, books in schools!

C Tony Marinho

H I N U A Achebe whose ‘Things fall apart…..the centre cannot hold’, has given Nigerians and others worldwide, in 50 languages, happy rehearsal times, exciting

copycat wrestling scenes, many jokes, the fruition of a myriad love unions, many pre-examination sleepless nights and a legion of pleasant memories. Thank you, Sir. May you Rest in Perfect Peace. Amen! Note ‘Chinua Achebe’ does not flag red for ‘spell check’ on computers as the name is ‘recognised’-an accolade speaking louder than ‘GCON’ Awards. Achebe studied with a ‘wonderful school library’ and started medicine in the University College, Ibadan, only to change after a year –Nigerian medicine’s loss and world literature’s gain. So many in medicine write seriously - an old ‘disease’ needing a new name–mediliteratitis or mediliteratureitis. You choose! But contrast his literature book access in Umuahia 1944 to our 2013 bookless, libraryless and a nearly illiterate youth and readerless society. What price a book- Achebe’s death?

Weep with those who will cry a ‘tsunami of crocodile tears’ in the corridors of power. Many of those crying loudest championed the truncating of education, practical science and book availability during 1983-2013 and some now actually sit in senate perpetuating mischief! Boko Haram started, surreptitiously, then as Boko Haram Phase 1, with falling standards, federal government anti-reading policies and withdrawal of annual grants for library books and sports. Phase 2 is the bombs, burning and executions. There were probably more literature books in Chinua Achebe’s primary and secondary schools and University College Ibadan in 1944-50 than now – 50 years and $600,000,000,000 later. He nearly died in a Nigerian pothole and moved to the USA where care of the physically challenged is a human right, not a human wrong and a First Lady ‘alanu’ Easter hand-out photo-op. No doubt some government organs and many people who could have,

but did not, provide the needed 17million books, will pay a few millions for a ‘befitting burial’ – the one thing Nigerians are expert at- funeral extravagance and financial waste in the abuse of culture!

Meanwhile the schools will remain bookless as we await another ‘irreplaceable icon’ to die. The Nigerian presidents, blessed with inexplicable longevity, who failed in every sphere including education, are mostly still alive. Is this their punishment- to witness a failed education system in a failing state with failed ‘simple science’ refineries? Do they have any conscience as they spew out ‘obituary sound bites’?

If he, the great Chinua Achebe, could not influence Nigeria to buy books for children during 82 years of an illustrious literary life, what hope have we with our petty articles, like this, in an ignored and vilified press? Literature, culture and the arts are entrepreneurship strategies abroad, creating events and T-shirt and other memorabilia and also wealth.

But do Nigerian banks and corporate Nigeria know that?

Let us weep real rain forest tears for our children’s booklessness even as those with power achieve nothing and weep a tsunami of crocodile tears and advise on education.

What stopped any one of six Presidents and over 100 state governors giving a N5m or N10m Annual Achebe Grant directly to Achebe for ‘anything artistic local or worldwide you like, Sir’ knowing that an economically beneficial work of literary genius would result. But they dish out billions for NASS and political office holders and open our vaults to pardonable thieving governors.

The professional must take back recognition from politicians. Education does not require another billion naira Summit in Ladi Kwali Hall. It requires books, posters, sports and science equipment in Nigeria’s 70,000 schools and 1,500,000 classrooms. Even President Jonathan’s reading project needs many books, Nigeria cannot develop with just a narrow national reading book list. No nation will survive if all pupils read only the ‘famous four or five Nigerian authors’. Nigeria probably has over 5,000 books written by 1,500 Nigerian authors needing a readership. When did a minister, commissioner, principal, teacher, parent or student visit any good bookshop or publisher last? In spite of booklist corruption,

R

EADING through Dele Agekameh’s column of March 20, entitled ‘Not a shouting matter’, what constantly echoed in my ears were the immortal words of the slain Burkinabe charismatic leader, Thomas Sankara, when he tried to define the sacred role of men who bear arms in the service of country.

Without the right political education, according to him, a soldier will probably not be better than a common rogue. But the pen, they say, is even mightier than the sword. To stretch Sankara’s logic further, much more would then be expected of a true writer. Being an intellectual pathfinder, he/she will necessarily possess, as minimum working tool, a sound sense of judgement, to say nothing of clear ethical compass.

On that outing, Agekameh tragically failed this critical test. As a keen student of logic myself, I can tell when a writer chooses to be fair or execute a hatchet job. It is pathetic watching Agekameh struggle, paragraph after paragraph, to dignify what is patently a hatchet job with an elegant intellectual apparel. After a brilliant laundry work, the only thing he perhaps left undone was spraying deodorant on Adoke, his idol.

To be sure, the point at issue was the reported altercation between Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and the Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, two weeks ago at the Council Chambers, Abuja . As members awaited President Goodluck Jonathan’s arrival to commence the

the literature list can be broadened by simple mathematics like buying fewer copies of more books, just as we used the ‘The St Gregory’s book Way’ in St Gregory’s College in 1961. There the literature teacher came to class with six copies of five titles. Each of the five class rows had a different book to read and exchange every two weeks with another row. In 10 weeks every student had read five books and the exam was in week 13 for the price of one book per student. In a year 15 books are read, in three years 45 books were cheaply read by each and every all students between forms 1 and 3. A student who has read 45 books has a different take on life than most.

Anyone seeking to immortalise an already immortalised Chinua Achebe, should allocate budgetary funds for ‘Genius Grants’ for other icons before everyone who is not a politician dies or emigrates. In Nigeria last week, NANS and other youth organisations shamelessly took 10 plus full page colour congratulatory adverts for a young former youth senate president. Where did that approximately N5m come from? What an insult to Nigerians and an abuse of Nigeria’s political learning process. Note that 100 ‘we have lost an icon’ obituary pages@N500,000, totalling N50m will not put books in schools – failing yet again a ‘dying wish’ of Chinua Achebe.

‘The professional must take back recognition from politicians. Education does not require another billion naira Summit in Ladi Kwali Hall. It requires books, posters, sports and science equipment in Nigeria’s 70,000 schools and 1,500,000 classrooms’

Right of reply

Agakameh’s illogic

By John Osaigbovo Council of State meeting, Adoke was said to have moved over magisterially and told the Edo governor off openly that the Edo Attorney General should be blamed for the seeming stalemate in the trial of suspects (two sets!) for the gruesome murder of his Principal Private Secretary, Olaitan Oyerinde, on May 4, 2012.

Agekameh chose to over-dramatise the sense of outrage Oshimhole had expressed over Adoke’s open rudeness and downplay the substance of the original question: the curious dereliction of the AGF in the entire saga. Oshiomhole only asked the simple question: ‘Am I the one who asked the DIG to send the report to you (AGF)?’

But to confuse the conversation, a red herring, a subterfuge had to be fabricated. To Agekameh, in addressing Oshiomhole so impudently, Adoke was only speaking ‘on a lighter note’. Lighter note?

Over a murder case?

For better understanding, perhaps it’s necessary to put things in context by drawing a narrative.

Following President Johanthan’s order last May, the Inspector General of Police detailed the DIG to unravel the murder puzzle. But on

‘Determined to please Adoke, Agekameh chose to dance on Olaitan’s grave by praisesinging a man whose job it is to push the wheel of justice in the right direction but instead elected to profane things by speaking on ‘a lighter note’ at the Council Chamber’

the ‘completion’ of his investigation, the DIG curiously sent the file to the AGF’s office in a case that clearly falls within the jurisdiction of the state.

Confronted with similar murder case involving Senator Teslim Folarin in Ibadan in 2011, the same office of AGF had waded in and clarified that it was a state matter.

So, now that everyone is agreed that the DIG erred by sending the file to Abuja, why for God’s sake did Adoke not refer the file expeditiously back to Edo Attorney General if indeed he is committed to the cause of justice he swore to uphold? But that is to even pretend that there is no other sordid complication here. Just as police flaunt a case file over the murder case on the one hand, the DSS on the other parades another group of suspects on the same matter!

Earlier, a director with the Justice Ministry had offered what seemed a honest explanation before the House Committee which opened a public hearing on the confusion.

Oshiomhole also appeared at the public hearing and restated that all he wants is justice for his PPS who left behind little children and aged parents. That day, the director did not mince words in confessing that the Justice Ministry was confused about what to do in view of the conflicting reports by the SSS and the police. Curiously, a day later, the AGF’s office publicly disowned the poor guy!

Against this backcloth of simulated ‘confusion’, one would have thought the job of a worthy writer or columnist is clearly cut out. The murder of Olaitan is already painful enough; allowing the search for his killers to degenerate to this

cynical bind is to mock the bereaved. A columnist that is truly worth his/her calling should be engaged in bringing some illuminations to the dark tunnel. Rather than vilify the already traumatised here, the least expected of a columnist faithful to his/her vocation is asked why would the president not direct the National Security Adviser to untie the jig-saw puzzle of conflicting reports by DSS and the police to save the nation further international odium.

Really, that is the issue here. But determined to please Adoke, Agekameh chose to dance on Olaitan’s grave by praise-singing a man whose job it is to push the wheel of justice in the right direction but instead elected to profane things by speaking on ‘a lighter note’ at the Council Chamber. By joining Adoke in the circus to make light of Olaitan’s murder, one can only wish Agekameh spare a moment to think of the little children and widow the slain PPS left behind, or his aged parents left with the abominable task of burying their own kid. If he does, then he would realise it is certainly not a laughing matter.

Rather than be vilified, I think Oshiomhole deserves kudos for the uncommon commitment he has thus shown to the cause of his slain disciple in a society where the average boss would be the first to shed crocodile’s tears at the graveside but soon afterwards begins to pay lip-service to the memory of the departed. But Oshiomhole will not abandon a fallen comrade. Again, it is false to accuse the governor of heating things up. On the contrary, but for the exemplary leadership the gov-

Dele Agekameh ernor displayed the day Olaitan was murdered in Benin City , more blood would have flowed. That morning, the whole of Benin was paralysed as angry youths poured onto the streets, chanting war songs.

Given the build-up to the incident, particularly the earlier threat of fire and brimstone by some political actors in the state ahead of the then pending governorship elections, fingers were naturally being pointed. The youths actually embarked on a procession round the city that morning.

Summoning his persuasive skills, Oshiomhole stood before the mob and, barely holding back tears himself, appealed to the youths not to resort to violence but let the security agents fish out the killers. He actually gave the police an ultimatum of 14 days to find the killers.

Now, it is more than 10 months Olaitan was brutally murdered and no one has been brought to justice.

So, does it make any sense for Oshiomhole to now join Adoke in making jokes on Olaitan’s grave?

• Osaigbovo wrote from Abuja .

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

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COMMENTS ‘I would not have had a problem with this Alamieyeseigha pardon but the problem is that he definitely jumped bail in the United Kingdom, even if he did not commit the crime he was arrested for. In other words, he may even be innocent of the money laundering charges against him but he is certainly guilty of jumping bail which is a crime on its own. What message are we sending that we provide refuge for our citizens who run from the law in fellow democratic and friendly nations?’ Anonymous

• Jonathan

For Dele Belgore A ruin of law is what Nigerian leaders understand not rule of law. The law is bigger than individual, you cannot be talking development in a country where rule of law is not respected.

Law is meant to be obeyed, but our leaders do not respect it when they are in power. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa Lagos Dear Dele, I read your piece with great delight, but with some equivocations. While you were right on point about our country which is now the object of global ridicule, you did not dwell on the one single problem of the elite class like you and I. Shamelessness is the biggest factor militating against the rule of law in Nigeria. Why do the so-called political, social, religious and business leaders undermine the law and scatter men and animals alike? Why are the public looters rewarded with chieftaincy titles, knighthood and national awards? It is presence of shame, much above the fear of the law that leads to respect for the rule of law in other climes. How many indicted public officers wait for the law before resigning from office in the rest of the world? Why do some former social critics become greater petty thieves once they arrive the corridors of power in our country? The absence of shame is the real reason. Let us develop the culture of shame by making it count in this society. Let traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil societies and the people lead the way in the ostracisation of the real enemies of our country.

It is only then that our journey to civilisation would begin. For now it is not yet uhuru. God bless. From Hon. West-Idahosa Good write-up sir. We are never short of great write-ups like this but we lack men of honour, character and courage who will translate great write-ups and dreams to reality to free our citizens from poverty, ignorance and abuse from strong individuals. Anonymous Dear Belgore, your comment ‘Where lies the rule of law in Nigeria?’ was nothing but the truth about our country. As we continue to pray for a possible change to this awkward attitude from all and sundry, we will also pray for good people with foresight like you to be blessed with the leadership status of this our great country. From Abdullahi Dunama Revolution is what this funny nation wants, if not, justice will continue to be no-go-area for the masses. For me, it can take place now to all I care. From Joe, Kaduna Learned senior, your write-up makes an interesting reading but it seems you cannot appreciate the disaster we are in. We allowed sentiment and emotion to becloud our sense of analytical judgments in 2011 by voting for one of the most unintelligent presidential candidate, who shielded away from open forum but instead opted to debate with Dbanj. Rule of law? Utopia! Anonymous Yes, Belgore SAN is very much correct. The truth about correcting Nigeria’s inadequacies owes it to the ensured enforcement of the rule of law. That way, not only will we find peace, but the very big monster (corruption), sapping our marrows would be long dead. Deal with those corrupt at the top, and that will go far. Anonymous Open forum. Indeed, the rule of law in Nigeria is in total disarray, it is so unbearable and pathetic that we are still dwindling in trying to get it right. I hope and pray that someday there will be equality and fairness amongst citizenry when seeking for jobs, in traffic jams, during elections,

etc. From Kabiru Ivori Jibril, Okene kogi You really open the problems of our shameless leaders. One hopes they will read this your comment. From Sgt. Ezekiel, Nassarawa Re: Where lies the rule of law in Nigeria? I believe that Nigerians are at fault for the non-existence of the rule of law in Nigeria. When people vote on tribal and ethnic sentiments rather than on the basis of merit, you reap mediocrity and disregard for the rule of law. How do you expect to reap the dividends of democracy from politicians in office who do not even know the essence of governance? Until Nigerians learn to vote on the basis of merit and not tribal and religious sentiments, we will continue to revolve in a cycle of mediocre leadership. From Olumide Soyemi, Bariga Dear Belgore, I took time to read your column and I was convinced that you are very much on track on what Nigerian leaders have turned the law of the country to. God bless you richly. From Richard Sir, in my own view, we do not have the rule of law in Nigeria. What we have in Nigeria is the law of rule because those who rule in Nigeria are the law themselves. From Alex Onukwue Aguleri, Anambra State Your Excellency, the caption of your write-up on the back page of The Nation Newspaper of March 22, 2013 ‘Where lies the rule of law in Nigeria?’ is a well convoluted conscience-awakening question coupled with the perfectly chosen illustrations and instances. All the words are enough to change the lawless misdemeanor of those who are in power, but would they listen?

Only people like you who have the conscience of right and wrong can obey as well as maintain the rule of law in Nigeria. Ironically, Nigerians do not like straightforward leaders and that is the problem. From Kunegha Agbajule God bless you for that beautiful piece on “Where lies the rule of law in Nigeria?” I love the seventh paragraph that pointed out that the violation of the law by government officials and law enforcement agencies make law abiding citizens look stupid or weak. I do hope that our leaders do take time to read such articles and see the need to lead by example. From Obinna Iheukwumere Thanks sir for your write-up on the rule of law in Nigeria on Friday. Please keep it up and may you not be like our current crop of leaders when you get there because you surely will by God’s grace. Regards! From David

For Gbenga Omotoso Your piece on “Post-mortem of a pardon” was well written, the humuor styled analysis added flavour, but beyond the jokes; Nigerians should know that leadership is a call to service which we will give account of someday. From Dave, Makurdi Re: Post-mortem of a pardon. I am impressed by your sense of humour. A beautiful satire indeed! From Ilom Chukwuji, Lagos I just read ‘Post-mortem of a pardon’, I no fit laugh jare!!! Also, I will not be a bit surprised to confirm that the satirical picture you painted is a near representation of the kind of psychopathic atmosphere that pervades ‘brainstorming’ sessions at the top echelons of our leadership...it is a pity. Thanks for the good job! Anonymous As I scant with every beat of interest through your piece, ‘Post-mortem of a pardon’, it dawned on me in a radical way that our leaders have never taken public opinion seriously nor have any remorse in taking wrong decisions, as far as it satisfies their megalomaniac agenda. This president is no different! Well done my brother, you put the reverse beautifully. From Tim, Ibadan Sir, frankly speaking, I laughed as I finished reading your ‘Post-mortem of a pardon’. In the last one week, there had been arguments for and against the pardon of Alamieyeseigha by President Jonathan. Those who feel for him say he deserves the pardon. Those who believe in the rule of law think the President acted wrongly.

What is most alarming is the President’s media spokesman saying the critics of Jonathan’s act of pardon to his boss are suffering from sophisticated ignorance. I am laughing. I do not know

how Baba will feel about this. From Iniobong Umana Sarcasm as a literary tool was part of what I learnt in school and in turn taught when I was a teacher; you have enough of it sir. God will nurture your mind more. Your piece always attests to this remark. I have enamored my mind to myriad of problems in my dear nation. Meanwhile sir, thanks for giving it a sarcastic treatment. From Adebiyi, Abeokuta Many of you read Bible as novel but, do not judge Goodluck as judgment is for God alone period. Anonymous The fact that President Goodluck Jonathan pardoned Alamieyeseigha does not come as a surprise. Given the feeble attempts made by the President to fight corruption, it also shows that the President is paying lip service to the issue of corruption and other serious and vicious crimes plaguing the nation. May God help us in this country. From Ojo A. Ayodele, Emure Ekiti The only option that is left for the President now is to resign because Nigerians are not ready to have a leader who encourages corruption by granting pardon to a corrupt person. This is the worse crime against Nigerians. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Dockyard Lagos Your article is educative and informed. But what I have been observing is that in Nigeria, when you are not in power you politicise all critical decisions taken by the authority. May God bless Naija. From Majemu, Ondo state Re: Post-mortem of a pardon. Whether or not Mr. President did a mix of the clemency, pardon or amnesty of others and Diepre Alamieyeseigha, what is bad remains sour! Mr. President with Alamieyeseigha’s pardon committed social, political and transparency hara-kiri. By now, Obasanjo would be regretting why he failed to ethnicise, trivialise, fraternise with, and free exIG Tafa Balogun. The good image of Nigeria Obasanjo rebuilt is being battered by NCS and Co. When shall we liberate ourselves-Nigeria from corruptive-thoughts? From Lanre Oseni ‘Post-mortern of a pardon’ is all about the existence of a very powerful corrupt fraternity, which is hell bent on protecting members. Not until they are removed from government that we can have a corrupt-free nation. From Alhaj ADEYCorsim, Osodi Lagos Omotosho, on your write-up ‘Post-mortem of a pardon’, you have also been Alamieyeseigha for breaking my ribs. From Ali Muhammed, Abuja I would not have had a problem with this Alamieyeseigha pardon but the problem is that he definitely jumped bail in the United Kingdom, even if he did not commit the crime he was arrested for. In other words, he may even be innocent of the money laundering charges against him but he is certainly guilty of jumping bail which is a crime on its own. What message are we sending that we provide refuge for our citizens who run from the law in fellow democratic and friendly nations? Anonymous Jonathan’s pardon to Alamieyeseigha is a welcomed idea. Alamieyeseigha was setup in London by Obasanjo due to the fact that he rejected his third term ambition. I praised Mr. President for the courage and bravery in taking such a challenging decision. From Michael Okiriko, Abia Dear Sir, your ‘Post-mortem of a pardon’ is concise and point blank with a touch of humour.

I am an optimist but sometimes I also wonder if Nigeria will ever come out of its bowels of corruption and ineptitude. From Joseph Odey, University of Maiduguri

For Dare Olatunji If Jonathan regime is a season of pardoning hard criminals, then I beg him to pardon AlMustapha from the north to complete his agenda. Anonymous The President does things with impunity believing that nobody will ask him. In my last week comment, I said any action the President takes now will either speaks in his favour or against him. Why is the President heating up the polity when the ovation is already louder? He said he is fighting corruption but it is the corruption

• Alamieyeseigha that is fighting him. Pardoning Alams has shown that the President lacks political will to tackle this disease called corruption. Now, those who have it at the back of their mind to steal will steal because they know nothing will happen to them.

Nigeria is in a fix. We have been fixed by our leaders, they have ridiculed us before the whole world. Corruption has become the husband of the President; it controls him morning and night.

Mr. President, please reverse your decision on Alams for you to regain confidence in the minds of Nigerians. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Lagos Your piece ‘Season of absolution’ makes an interesting reading. It is a pity that the council of state has become a rubber stamp body for President Jonathan. These former leaders are busy in their pursuit of contracts for themselves and their cronies despite the fact that they also collect sitting allowances. My only hope is in God as these leaders have once again failed us. Let us pray to God to save Nigeria. From Ojo A. Ayodele, Emure Ekiti Our leaders have ridiculed us before the world.

From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapa Docyard Lagos Sir, remember that presidential pardons are given to criminals which DSP represents now and not for innocent people thanks. Anonymous Though I hold no brief for Alams, if somebody like the former military president is walking free in Nigeria, why not Alams? Prof, there are many serving governors now who have stolen more money than Alamieyeseigha. From Nkereuwem Sir, do you know that Alamieyeseigha did not loot the Federal Government money but Bayelsa State money? As the leader of Ijaw people, where do you expect Alamieyeseigha to get the money to fight the cause of marginalisation meted to the Ijaws by the three ethnic groups, if not from the State pause? You people should leave Jonathan and Alamieyeseigha pardon alone. From Chief Ogori Neingi, Port Harcourt Re: The state as family writ large. Your allusion to a phantom coup is laughable as Diya’s CSO during Oputa panel acknowledged that indeed a coup took place. You are as guilty as Jonathan in your support of your kinsmen. And there lies the problems of Nigerians-ethnicity.

Anonymous ‘In this season of absolution’ is an excellent tale of the government of thieves, by fraud, for the corrupt. Nigeria is a country where members of the corrupt fraternity make the ruling class, they will surely protect any member from shame.

From Alhaj ADEYCorsim, Osodi Lagos I think the President did a very wrong shot on Alamieyeseigha, the Federal Executive messengers also failed in knocking some good sense in the head of Mr. President. However, to save his face, his pardon should extend to other Nigerians who have defaulted and are sorry. Come 2015, I believe if this correction is not put in place, Jonathan will stand no chance of re-election, knowing full well that the like of Atiku are preparing to take over the Aso Villa, which I feel is better for our nation. From Henry Erusiafe, Delta State ‘In this season of absolution’, it is indeed a great write-up, keep it up, our judiciary and all anti-graft agencies should wake up from their slumber. From Rotnen, Jos RE: ‘In this season of absolution’. The Presidential Pardon granted to the recipients has political meanings. We will all understand better by their roles, partisan activities and alliances in the up-coming elections and the new government that will be sworn in 2015. From Ochogwu Abdullahi A., Maiduguri

Sunshine refutes Oboabona's Arsenal trials

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

Life

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CHINUA ACHEBE (1930 - 2013)

•The late Achebe

‘I despair over Nigeria daily ‘I daily’’ – SEE STORY ON PAGE 26

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

26

The Midweek Magazine

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

ACHEBE’S LAST PUBLIC LECTURE IN NIGERIA On September 13, 2011, the late literary giant, Prof Chinua Achebe, sent a keynote address to the yearly Garden City Literary Festival in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. The late Achebe, who spoke on Literature and Politics, could not make it to Port Harcourt because of his health. His address was delivered by his son, Chidi, via video conference. The address reflects the late Achebe’s strong feelings on the relationship between literature and politics. Excerpts:

“T

HE notion of oral performance as serious literature is still received with suspicion or reluctance in many quarters, or at best perceived as a form that ended long ago, perhaps in the age of Homer.

But that is far from the truth. The Somali, a pastoral/nomadic people in the Horn of Africa must be accounted among the world’s most poetic people. Their life is permeated by the composition and recital of poetry ranging from simple domestic discourse about the superiority of the camel over goats and cows to the intense anti-colonial poetry directed against the British; the Italians and the Ethiopians. Sayyid Muhammad Abdille Hasan whom the British called the “Mad Mullah” is revered to this day not only because of his 20 year struggle against three colonial powers, but primarily as the greatest poet in the Somali language. Now this language was first written down as recently as 1972.

It is important that we admit the category of oral literature with respect in this literary festival or else we shall have little to talk about beside already very-well-talkedabout matters. For myself I am taking my bearing from oral literature.

During the European Middle Ages a succession of empires rose and fell in the West African grasslands or the Sahel. One of the most remarkable among these empires was Mali as remarkable as its founder, Sundiatta. Islam had penetrated into this part of Africa for at least one thousand years and had slowly superseded the indigenous African polytheistic religions. The creation story which I will now tell you quite obviously predates the coming of Islam to Mali: At the beginning there was a huge drop of milk.

Then Doondari came and he created the stone.

Then the stone created iron; The iron created fire; And fire created water; And water created air.

Then Doondari descended the second time.

And took the five elements And he shaped them into man.

But man was proud.

Then Doondari created blindness and blindness defeated man.

But when blindness became too proud, Doondari created sleep, and sleep defeated blindness; But when sleep became too proud, Doondari created worry, and worry defeated sleep; But when worry became too proud, Doondari created death, and death defeated worry.

But when death became too proud, Doondari descended for the third time, And he came as Gueno, the eternal one And Gueno defeated death. 1 There are many things one could say about this wonderful story but I will settle for only one – the constant battle the Creator wages, to maintain the integrity of his world in the face of insidious threat from pride. Four times Doondari has to create an agent to defeat pride. And four times it rises and fights again. And it was man’s pride that began it all.

The Fulani people who made this story before the coming of Allah were obviously concerned about pride. The theology behind the story is not concerned about seven deadly sins, but only one.

In the 1950s after one thousand years of Islam, a young Fulani from Senegal who had received the best education the French could give to a brilliant colonial subject wrote a novel about the plight of his people after their defeat and subjugation by French arms and policies.

One of the major characters in the novel has this to say: If it were still only a matter of ourselves, of the conservation of our substance, the problem would have been less complicated: not being able to conquer them, we should have chosen to be wiped out rather than to yield. But we are among the last men on earth to possess God as He veritably is in His Oneness...How are we to save Him? 2 The point being made here may elude anyone who has not read Cheikh Hamidou Kane’s novel: Ambiguous Adventure so I will summarize it: “We the Diallobe people,” it says “would have had no excuse to continue living after our fathers were defeated

by French arms; we would have had every justification in committing suicide. But we are among the few in the world who truly understand God. If we should die what would happen to God then?”

Now that is hardly a declaration of modesty. In fact it is pretty arrogant. It would seem that the pride which the Diallobe people meditated upon is a living problem still with these people in spite of a thousand years of Islam, in spite of a history that has experienced imperial grandeur

•The late Achebe

‘I despair over Nigeria daily’ REFLECTION of their own making as well as the ultimate humiliation of defeat and colonialisation by strangers.

We are thus talking about qualities at the core of a people’s character. Something which survives time and events and can ferry across from oral poetry in an African language to modern fiction written in French. We are not talking about transitory fads and fashions.

I take my second example from my own people – the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria, and a very different kind of creation myth. Unlike the Fulani story which takes place in a remote, ethereal setting, the Igbo story like the Igbo themselves, is very much down to earth.

The crux of this story is that one morning Chukwu, the Creator, looks down and beholds the king of Nri and the King of Adama sitting disconsolate on an anthill surrounded by marshy ground ( It is not clear whether there are two kings or one king with two titles: for simplicity I shall assume only one.) Chukwu asks him what the matter is and the king replies that the soil is too moist to plant the yam which Chukwu had directed him to plant during an earlier discussion. As a result of this failure of the crop, the story tells us that people are wandering through the bush like wild animals. So Chukwu sends Eze Nri to Awka, the town of blacksmiths to invite one of them to blow on his bellows and make the soil dry.

This is an unusual creation story. It is not the drama of

I despair over Nigeria daily. On the missed opportunities of Nigeria: the fact that nobody has had the imagination to say, ‘Look I’m going to transcend all this ethnic pettiness and become the leader of modern Nigeria’ because this is important for Africa, this is important for the world. So, let’s stop all this nonsense about religion, about tribe and so on. Let’s organise Nigeria and make it a working entity so that it can fulfill its mission in the world.

creation that it is concerned with. The world is already made and functioning somehow. But it is not perfect. Man complains to God about this and holds conversations with him to bring about changes and improvements, specifically the tremendous transition of mankind from wanderers in the bush to settled agriculturalists using iron tools.

The Igbo people who made this story are famous (or notorious according to one’s point of view) for their belief in conversation even with God. Unlike their neighbours, they do not care for kings and kingdoms. They were not easy to colonize; the British described them as argumentative. Why the British would consider the Igbo habit of arguing as surprising, is the real surprise. Why would people who argue with the Creator of the world be intimidated by white district officers some of whom were in their 20s? The Igbo did not care for Empires; they preferred small-scale village communities where every adult male was the king of his own household and could take part in decision-making and every adult woman in (admittedly less frequent) women’s decision-making.

I hope you will not expect me to demonstrate in detail how the world of Things Fall Apart and the world of Arrow of God derive their substance and ambience from these primordial conversations between the first Igbo people and their Creator.

When the British colonised Nigeria they had a lot to learn- some of them did, but some of them, unfortunately, did not. It was bad enough that the Igbo had no kings and no horses, but to also demand a hearing was just too much!

What the uninitiated members of Britain’s imperial service did not realise was that the Igbo got away long ago talking back to God Himself. That is a major element of their ethnicity and it will be present in their life and literature.

I want now to address briefly the question posed in what appears like a sub-title to the main subject: To what degree is all literature shaped by the cultural contexts of the authors?

The creative enterprise is a magical space onto itself – the mind in mutual collaboration with the world and its elements to produce something of aesthetic value. Creative writers are like painters, using words to paint a literary tapestry. I think that words have a magic, that human situations- one’s environment, culture, ‘ethnicity’ as we have spent time re-discovering – can be unburdened to join other factors wordsmiths use to create literary magic - that extra dimension that the writer can conjure up by placing ideas about the human condition side by side on paper.

I suppose that cultural contexts is another name for what we have so far been calling the factors of ethnicity. Quite clearly these factors do shape literature. The cultural context within which a writer finds him/herself is relevant in so far as it brings something of literary value -contributes to the world story - and does not claim superiority over, deny, obscure or jaundice, even oppress other perspectives or stories. But having said that let me now admit that there are other factors and not least among them is the genius and free-will of the author.

I left this factor out of account until now, for a purpose.

Good literature, whether oral or written, will bear the marks of the author’s culture as well as his or her own personal signature.

Culture is a shared commodity. It implies community.

The behavior of one person is not called culture; but the action of one person can influence the culture of the group, and even change it.

Western literature played a central role in promoting the ideal of individual autonomy. As Lionel Trilling tells us Western literature has in the last one hundred and fifty years held “ an intense and adverse imagination of the culture in which it has its being.” It has promoted the view of society and of culture as a prison-house from which the individual must escape to find freedom and fulfillment.

If this is so then it seems to me that a real parting of the ways may have occurred between Western literature and its own origins, to say nothing of other literatures.

The father of Western philosophy says: I think, therefore I am. The unknown formulator of the great Bantu assertion says Umuntu, Ngumuntu Ngabantu: a person is a person because of other persons. The Igbo put it proverbially: if a person feels an itch in the back he calls his fellow to scratch him; an animal scratches itself against a tree.

Georges Braque, co-founder of cubism, once described perspective as “a ghastly mistake which it has taken four centuries to redress.” Perspective is important but it is also a one-eyed view which can degenerate into mere draughts-manship. Perhaps the celebration of individualism, another one-eyed view of the world, can now use a little redressing in Western literature.

The story of Nigeria is one steeped in ethnic and religious tensions and complexity. ‘Ethnicity’ in the Nigerian context has not evolved, through ‘a post-primordial

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ACHEBE’S COUNTRY HOME AT OGIDI

ACHEBE’S LAST PUBLIC LECTURE IN NIGERIA

‘I despair over Nigeria daily’ •Continued from page 26 civic nationalism’ 33 Alexandre S. Wilner “The Swiss-ification of Ethnic Conflict: Historical Lessons in Nation building into a blissful, common national identity, as seen in say Switzerland. Until the day “the Swissification of ethnic conflict” arrives, Nigerians, particularly its writers, should not be satisfied with sweeping the matter ‘under the rug.’

For those who are not proficient in Nigeria’s recent political history it might be useful to point out that the word ethnic was not always ‘the ugly girl that many took to bed at night, but denied during the daytime.’ My generation remembers a Nigeria that was once a land of great hope and progress, a nation of immense resources at its disposal – natural resources, but even more so human resources. Nigeria possesses a great diversity of vibrant peoples who have not always been on the best of terms, but those of us who are old enough remember periods in our history when collaborations across ethnic and religious divides produced great results.

The Nigeria-Biafra war changed the course of Nigeria.

One can summarize the conflict as one precipitated by the bile of ethnic hatred. It was such a cataclysmic experience that for me it virtually changed the history of Africa and the history of Nigeria. Everything I had known before, all the optimism had to be rethought. For me, this traumatic event changed my writing for a time, which found expression in a different genre - poetry.

Since the war, Nigerians have been subjected to a clique of military and civilian adventurers and a political class that have exploited the ethnic divisions in Nigeria. This group, unfortunately, has been completely corrupted – spearheading the enormous transfer of the country’s wealth into private bank accounts, a wholesale theft of the national resources needed for all kinds of things – for health, for education, for roads. The result has been that the nation’s infrastructure was left to disintegrate unleashing untold suffering on millions of innocent people.

This development has been made easy by Nigerian academics who have presided over the liquidation of the university system and the rise of a culture of anti-intellectualism in Nigeria. One of the ways we have done it is our obsession for office. Twenty-five years ago, university professors were held in very high esteem. Today, I don’t think anybody thinks very much of them, and quite frankly, I think it is our own making. What happens when a university Vice-Chancellor in Nigeria is about to leave office?

You ought to see the trips made up and down to government houses in Abuja, begging for cabinet positions.

What upsets me is that this entire mess Nigeria finds itself in was quite avoidable. The leadership appears not to really care for the welfare of the country and its people. If a political class—including intellectuals, university professors, and people like that, who have read all the books and know how the world works—if they had based their actions on principle rather than on opportunity, Nigeria would not be in this predicament. But Nigerian leaders, beginning with the military dictators, looked around and saw that they could buy intellectuals. Anybody who called himself president would immediately find everyone lining up outside his home or his office to be made minister of this or that. And this is what they have exploited—they have exploited the divisions, the ethnic and religious sectionalisation in the country. You have leaders who see nothing wrong in inciting religious conflict between Christians and Muslims. It’s all simply to retain power. So you find now a different kind of alienation.

In the past in Igbo land, if something kept happening and happening, or if somebody kept failing and failing, the people would go and consult an oracle. They call it Iju Ase. In the modern world, the systems that cause these failures are examined. But frankly, I would suggest that Nigeria has decided to put merit aside and bring up whatever considerations, and that is one of the things that happened to us. And the modern world has not been created on considerations outside of merit.

I despair over Nigeria daily. On the missed opportunities of Nigeria: the fact that nobody has had the imagination to say, ‘Look I’m going to transcend all this ethnic pettiness and become the leader of modern Nigeria’ because this is important for Africa, this is important for the world. So, let’s stop all this nonsense about religion, about tribe and so on. Let’s organise Nigeria and make it a working entity so that it can fulfill its mission in the world.

There is a great deal of work for the Nigerian writerindeed all writers. If the society is healthy, the writer’s job is limited – which is not the situation in Nigeria. On the other hand, if a society is ill the writer has a responsibility to point it out even if it produces headaches in the halls of power!

The role of the writer in a society such as ours besieged with many pathologies -ethnic bigotry, political ineptitude, corruption, and the cult of mediocrity - is not an easy or rigid one. Nigerian writers can choose to turn away from the reality of Nigeria’s intimidating complexity or conquer its mystery by battling with it. I hope we all choose the latter.”

•A library named after the late Achebe

•The primary school attended by the late Achebe at Ogidi.

PHOTOS: EVELYN OSAGIE

He was Africa’s true son, says Agada

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HE death of ace novelist and essayist, Prof Chinua Achebe has thrown Nigeria and indeed the writers’ community into a sober mood. As expected, it has come with an avalanche of tributes from writers, scholars, colleagues, friends and fans. Some called him hero, intellectual icon and more.

On the part of former Minister of State for Education and past Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) President, Dr Jerry Agada, Achebe is “a true son of Africa”, who even in death remains the “Ogidigban of our time”.

He said: “It is with heavy heart that I received the news of the death of the literary icon Prof Chinua Achebe. The death only marks the end of his physical existence but I am delighted that he has lived a fulfilled life in the sense that his creative works will outlive him forever and ever.

He set the Nigerian literary scene aglow by establishing the ANA and serving as its first National President in 1981. His death would spell a sense of reawakening for Nigerian literature. He had done everything for Nigerian literature.

“He has won uncountable laurels from across the world and had written not just Nigeria but Africa as a continent to fame.

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TRIBUTE

By Evelyn Osagie

So for Nigeria literature, his death is a clarion call for Nigerian writers of all generations to keep the flag flying so as not to disappoint him. He has only gone home to rest from where he would watch with keen interest the progress and development of Nigerian literature.”

Achebe can never for a moment cease to exist – ANA Lagos

failing of the Nigeria- state, how the country is a betrayal of all of its possible potentials in the hands of an unending failure at governance by the ruling elites ... most disappointing for all of us ..is that the ruling elites have chosen not to learn anything from the tragedy of the Biafra/Nigeria civil war of 1967 to 1970... given the fact its very conduct at maladministration edges us to another tragedy... the title of the book describes Biafra in past tense, all vein also speak to Nigeria, that is not yet a country, and has not even begin to grapple with the process of becoming a country.

“It was this sense that Achebe… predicts his own end in the character of Okonkwo... in that great classic THINGS FALL APART... to die hang out of the very soil of his dear motherland.... Achebe lives the fact of his existence after his own fiction, like Okonkwo he would not have anything to do with the Whiteman, Achebe rejects the CFR award, from Obasanjo in 2004 and when Jonathan commits the error or aping after Obasanjo… thinking he would be treated any differently... Achebe roars “...Nigeria’s condition today under your watch is, however, too dangerous for silence. I must register my disappointment and protest by declining to accept the high

The Lagos State chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) has joined their voices to the tributes to the late Achebe. According to the Chairman, ANA Lagos, Dagga Tolar, in a statement, Achebe is immortalised in the hearts of his fans.

It reads thus: “Chinua Achebe is one person… who with his writings has shown us all how Africans are and are human beings on account of their own experiences, refuting the Hamitic theory, Africans without any outside influence succeeded in building a civilisation for themselves.

“His last offering to all of us ‘THERE WAS A COUNTRY’... laments the continuous •Continued on page 28

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1001 masqueraders for Achebe’s funeral •Community calls for renaming of Zik’s Avenue after frontline novelist

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HE residence of the late Prof Chinua Achebe at Ogidi in Anambara State is a mansion in its own right. For over 30 minutes, this reporter was knocking at the palatial gate shouting the name of John, the security man but there was no response. A peep into the premises, showed a PHCN transformer and three Ubili trees that are as tall as a coconut tree. The gate bore marks of stones used to draw the attention of whoever was inside the building.

All these were pointers to the preparedness of the community, its youths, the Old boys and a the Anambra State government to give the late literary icon a befitting burial.

“The late Achebe’s burial at Ogidi,” is the refrain in Ogidi; nobody is thinking of burying Achebe in the US. The late Achebe was involved in a motor accident that paralysed him when he was President-General of Ogidi in 1986.

His brother’s wife, Virginia Achebe, said her concern and that of other indigenes of Ogidi is that Achebe’s body is being awaited at home.

Achebe’s sister in law, Mrs Nonyelum Okoli claimed his ghost is alive and around the compound.

“Achebe would have been happier if Ogidi had gotten an Igwe before his death because since Igwe Walter Amobi died 15 years ago, Ogidi has not gotten an Igwe,” she said. This, to her, would not hinder the plans of the community to honour their hero.

Barring any last minute changes, the Ikenga village and Ogidi community in general are planning a huge cultural fiesta and masquerade regatta for the burial of the iconic late Prof Chinua Achebe. National President Ikenga Ogidi Family Union, Hon Amaechi Ekuma said this in an exclusive chat with the The Nation newspaper in his country home, Ogidi.

Ekuma, a former chairman of Idemmili North local government area said Achebe is synonymous with Ogidi in general and Ikenga Ogidi in particular. He was a true Anambra man and distinguished himself in his life endeavour.

He said that numerous age grades and masqueraders in Ogidi and the entire Idemmili would showcase for Achebe, his burial would

From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

FUNERAL be a kind of masqueraders’ regatta and cultural fiesta never seen before. He noted that it would only be comparable to the burial of Late Dim Odumegu Ojukwu, Ikemba Nnewi.

“Various age grades will showcase for Achebe, and in Ogidi our age grade system is by every three years. Then, the best of masqueraders will be on parade and one thousand and one (1001) species of masqueraders are expected to perform at the burial not only from Ogidi but across Anambra and Igbo land in general. “But in Ogidi we have Awunechenyi, Ijele, Ochu Agu, Ochu Mmili, Atu ,Ogolo, Achikwu, Izaga to mention but a few. And for the entire burial period, these masqueraders and age grades with their cultural troupes will be performing.

“Achebe is synonymous with Ogidi and the community will immortalise him even the Anambra State government has started the immortalisation by naming Ugwu Nwasike Ogidi road that passed through his house to Oraukwu after him. And I heard somebody muting the idea that former Zik Avenue be named after him but you don’t say the suggestion is being carried. ‘’Definitely Ogidi will do something and Idemmili North and South will do something because he is our Iroko. But as far as Ogidi is concerned the burial arrangements will start after April 2nd during the election into the Town Union and the incoming executive. Together with Achebe’s family and the local government as well as the Anambra State government we will discuss how the burial will be. The present executive led by Dr Eric Obiakor is preparing for election. ‘’We are definitely missing his person right from day one because his type does not come twice in a life time of a people. And we can’t get a person like him again soonest or in a long time. And because he is from Ikenga Ogidi he has given us a big pride of place because you will like to mention him at any slightest opportunity,” he said.

Ekuma added that Ogidi is saddened that Achebe left them now that his wealth of experi-

•Obianagha

ence is highly needed and when his senior like Mandela who are older than him are still alive. ‘’We are going to participate in all ways possible to give him a befitting burial,’ Ekuma said.

Aspirant to the President-General of Ogidi and former National President of Ikenga Ogidi family union, Pastor Emmanuel Obianagha said the late Achebe was the last Ikenga man to be President-General of Ogidi in 1986.

“Achebe is a titled man and he is an international figure, so the whole world will be in Ogidi for his burial but I am appealing to the state government to give him a state burial having done the state proud. He wrote Things fall Apart in 1958 when I was born. His burial will be a carnival and all kinds of people will try to showcase their love for the great Iroko of our time.

Rev. Dr Emmanuel Obianagha, who is a cousin to the late Prof Achebe disclosed that their kinsmen are working round the clock to commence preparation for the official announcement of Achebe’s death and funeral arrangement to the public by Easter after the town union election in line with Ogidi tradition.

Rev Obianagha who lives very close to Achebes’ country home at Ogidi, also appealed to the Federal Government to give Achebe a state burial for his roles in bringing Nigeria to limelight globally.

“The red cap chiefs, our regent, the PresidentGeneral, Ogidi Town Union and other prominent indigenes of the town are rallying round to plan for the burial arrangement. Between now and Easter, I am sure there will be announcement on the burial arrangement”, he said.

According to him, Achebe was a man of the people who inspired our indigenes to go to

school. He lived an exemplary life, and was a man who started from the scratch to achieve greatness.

He said Achebe was former President-General, Ogidi Town Union, a titled chief ‘Ugo belu n’ Oji’ (the Eagle that perches on Iroko tree), and that the community witnessed ample peace and as well felt the impact of his leadership.

The cleric who lamented that his death has left Ogidi community devastated, added, “we have lost a precious gift from God. You cannot discuss Nigeria without mentioning Achebe. He left a very big vacuum that will take a lot to be filled”.

Dr. Obiakor added that the community would be waiting for an official announcement of the demise of Prof Achebe from his family members and until that time, the community though in mourning mood will continue to be like if nothing has happened.

He said that in Ogidi tradition in the olden days, when a man of Chinua Achebe’s status died, the great Ikoro (traditional gong) placed at the village square would sound and once that is done, the entire community would know that a hero has departed.

The President-General said that the community calls it (Igbo Mgba), which he said is a traditional way of announcing the demise of a great man noting that though civilization and westernization of Igbo culture have eroded the practice, the community would always know how to announce the death of their great departed hero. ”In those days, when a great man of Prof Achebe’s standing died, the Igbo Mgba is done to signal the demise of such great hero in Ogidi community but I am not sure if it is still pronounced today because of civilization. In those days, the community would be informed of the death of the hero and the elders and Ndi Ichies would commence preparation for his burial,” he added.

Dr. Obiakor also noted that when the entire community is briefed officially of the death of their illustrious son, the community would sit down to commence preparations for his burial as well tell the entire world about the programme for the funeral. In his remarks, the Regent of Ogidi community, said he is yet to be officially briefed of the death of the literary icon, saying that until the community is officially briefed, the whole thing will remain as if nothing has happened.

He said that the late Prof Achebe as a traditional title holder in the community has attained some level of height and respect in the community and would be buried as a great man.

“When we receive the information officially, we will rally round and collect information concerning his death and then the community would discuss the modality for his burial because such a great man should be buried with honour,” he declared.

He was a true son of Africa, says Agada •Continued from page 27 honour awarded me in the 2004 Honors List.

“Rather than submit to... the humiliation of the continued despoiling of the land, Okonkwo chose to opt out, Achebe didn’t even have the option to choose, he was forced out... this is one death late of the 1990' car accident... You can imagine how many since then have gone the way of the beyond... by the same route all thanks to Vagabonds In Power ... who award road contracts and fritter away with over 60 percent ... leaving contracts with no choice than bail away with the rest...

“When it comes to politics, Achebe offers writers one type of mix, that is calling out on others to follow after, his joining the People Redemption Party in the second Republic is far away from the mingling and romancing with the PDP and the ACN, formations of the ruling elites that are a gang of “the same the same” ... who are all in the midst of the heart of ‘neoliberalism’...

“This left leaning politics is largely missing with writers today, who would rather seek all subtle ways and means even in direct opposition to their literature to get into friendly terms with those at the corridors of power... Achebe teaches us all how we stay true to the heart of our literature of protest, by going beyond the ink and the reading of printed pages into real life ... I wonder how many writers out there in January 2012, during the fuel price increase protest, never saw it as compulsory to be out in the street... this is completely ‘unAchebish’.

“Achebe can never for a moment cease to exist, despite his physical exit from us... all of his works would continue to speak to us, indeed THINGS FALL APART remains a text that we all have to consult and learn from ..in taking up

TRIBUTE the task of African cultural Renaissance... Of course this task cannot commence without first rooti```````````````g out the present crop of ruling elites and their governing philosophy of putting profit and business first and for most, while declaring that governance as nothing to do with business, thereby guaranteeing a loot spree for the ruling elites … as the wealth of society is pocketed by the very few at the corridors of power, while the rest of all of us must suffer the pangs of living in deprivation as the basic needs of existence as priced into the sky where the pocket of the common man can have no muscle strong enough in the leg to walk up into the sky...

“And writers have a role to play, while Achebe was able to envision for us our past, there is the need for writers to take up the task of envisioning the future.... A future where society would be organise in a way and manners that the basic needs of all would be provided for , and ones status or background would not be a factor for denying anyone his/her due. Writers must create characters of such mould that would in fiction take up the task of making a revolution…inspire all of us to rise into the arena of struggle to free society the clutch hold of private profiteers.”

Achebe is dead! Grant state pardon to Vatsa, Saro-Wiwa African Writers Forum (AfWF) has called for state pardon for the late writers Mamman Jiya Vatsa and Mr. Kennule Saro-Wiwa. According to a statement by AfWF Secretary, Hyacinth Obunseh, the forum has called the Federal Government to grant State Pardon to the two writ-

ers, “in the spirit of national reconciliation” as it puts it.

The statement read: “Achebe, Africa’s, nay, the black world’s biggest and most celebrated novelist has passed on. He was one of the finest minds of his generation. He will be greatly missed by his family friends and the literary world.

In his life time, he was humble, self-effacing, and lived the life he preached. He loved and believed in his people and Nigeria.

“For so many years he lived abroad as a result of a fatal accident he sustained several decades ago. Had he stayed back home in Nigeria, chances are that he would not have lived long enough to make the contributions he made to world literature since then, till his demise, of our poor health and medical facilities, which has led influential members of this and previous administrations as well as the rich to go abroad for medical reasons.

“We call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to declare a State of Emergency in the health sector to arrest the situation and save Nigerians.

“We seize this opportunity to call on the Federal Government to grant State Pardon on the late General Vatsa and Mr. Saro-Wiwa, in the spirit of national reconciliation.Their contributions to Nigerian and African literature and environmental struggle cannot be over emphasised.

Issues concerning their deaths at best remain complicated and inconclusive. Government and indeed this government have in the very recent past granted State “Pardon to state terrorists and other persons convicted of crimes against the state. Granting Vatsa and Saro-Wiwa State Pardon at this time will go a long way to show the governments seriousness in its said

‘not wanting people to suffer for too long’ for whatever crimes they may have committed against the state.

“The families, friends and associates of Vatsa and Saro-Wiwa have suffered so much these past years, and we believe the government should dry their tears and end their sufferings at this time by pardoning them officially for whatever crimes they were accused of committing.

“Forgiving ills of the past is not in any way a sign of weakness but a show of strength and character.”

Rainbow Book Club mourns Organisers of the Garden City Literary Festival, the Rainbow Book Club mourns Professor Chinua Achebe, who died in the United States last Thursday at the age of 82. In a tribute to the literary giant on its website, the club said Achebe, an honourary member of the Rainbow Book Club, was the keynote speaker at the 2011 Garden City Literary Festival with the theme ‘Literature and Politics’. It added: “Due to ill health the Professor could not make it to Port Harcourt but his address was delivered by his son, Dr. Chidi Achebe.

“Early in life Achebe became dissatisfied with the portrayal of Africa and Africans in mainstream literature primarily by Europeans.

His desire to change this motivated him to write his first and bestselling novel, Things Fall Apart (1958). A distinguished and accomplished academic, author and social critic, Achebe was the recipient of over 20 honourary doctorates and winner of the Man Booker Prize.

His latest novel, There Was a Country (2012), his personal account of the Nigerian Civil War, was the Rainbow Book Club book of the month

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

29

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

Forecasts Niger Insurance Gross Premium - N2.73b Profit after tax - N212.95m Mutual Benefits Gross Premium - N2b Profit - N885.633m Regency Alliance Gross Premium – N812.596m Profit after tax – N256.437m Learn Africa Turnover - N1.06b Profit after tax - N58.336m Total Nigeria Turnover - N46.676 b Profit after tax - N942.1m MRS Oil Nigeria Turnover - N51.20b Profit after tax - N712 m Eterna Turnover - N27.64b Profit after tax - N563.834m Okomu Oil Palm Turnover - N2.667b Profit after tax - N1.044b Stanbic/IBTC Bank Net operating income N16.805b Profit after tax - N2.737b ASL Turnover - N1.084b Profit after tax - N101.355m GT Assurance Gross Premium - N3.892b Profit after tax - N710.62m Cornerstone Insurance Gross Premium - N1.223b Profit after tax - N80.01m Oasis Insurance Gross Premium N562.500m Profit after tax - N79.868m African Alliance INS Gross Premium - N1.215b Profit after tax - N107.213m Berger Paints Turnover - N976.303m Profit after tax - N88.258m SCOA Nigeria Turnover - N835.0m Profit after tax - N18.200m Dangote Sugar Refinery Turnover - N38.251b Profit after tax - N3.49b Studio Press Nig. Turnover - N3.375b Profit after tax - N20.422m Julius Berger Nig. Turnover - N80.125b Profit after tax - N2.55b Intercontinental Wapic Ins Gross Premium - N1.41b Profit after tax - N250.450m Equity Assurance Gross Premium - N2.45b Profit after tax - N287.283m Standard Alliance Insurance Gross Premium - N2.142b Profit after tax - N475.964m Continental Reinsurance Gross Premium - N6.917b Profit after tax - N805m PRESCO Turnover - N2.60b Profit after tax - N800.9m RT Briscoe Turnover - N4.553b

NLNG is one of the biggest success stories in our country. From what I am told, the company has invested $13 billion so far since inception, and has become a pacesetter in terms of revenue generation for the government.

-Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga

CBN’s IFRS audit delays banks’ results

R

EGULATORY approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is responsible for the delay in submission of audited reports and accounts of banks to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for onward report to the public.

Banks said they had submitted their audited reports and accounts to the apex bank for them to release their earnings report, but the results are yet to be released by the later.

Director, Communications, CBN, Mr Ugochukwu Okoroafor, confirmed that the banks’ results are with the apex bank. He said the reports are undergoing regulatory approval process.

He said the seeming delay was due to apex bank’s rig-

Govt okays council for freight forwarders

By Taofik Salako

orous vetting process to ensure that banks duly comply with IFRS provisions.

He, however, assured that the banking watchdog has made much progress in the approval process, assuring that the results would be released soon.

He said: “We want to thoroughly examine the reports to make sure that banks do the right thing. But I can assure you that the reports will soon be out.”

Post-listing rules at the NSE require that quoted companies should submit their reports not later than three months after the expiration of the period.

Most quoted companies, including banks, major manufacturers, oil and gas companies, breweries and cement companies use the 12month Gregorian calendar year as their business year.

The business year thus terminates on December 31.

NSE’s regulatory filing calendar indicates that the deadline for submission of yearly reports for companies with Gregorian calendar business year is March 31.

However, the NSE provides that where a filing due date falls on a weekend or holiday, the filing will fall due on the next business day.

March 31 falls on Sunday while April 1 is a public holiday in commemoration of Easter Monday. Thus, the due date for the deadline will be Tuesday, April 2, 2013.

NSE tags and applies fines on companies that fail to meet earnings reports’ deadline. About threequarters of banks are directly or indirectly quoted on the NSE. Two working days to the April 2 deadline, no bank has

submitted its earnings’ report, a development that has generated anxiety among investors.

Several banks,including Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and FirstBank of Nigeria, have been among earliest companies to submit earnings reports in previous years.

Banks said they could not hold their final board meetings since the annual reports that should form basis for such meetings and deliberations had not been approved by the apex bank.

The sources said banks had complied with extant Nigerian rules and the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) and they were confident the apex bank would soon approve the reports.

Market sources, however, indicated that where the de-

lay persists, banks may persuade the apex bank to allow them to adopt a twostep reporting system where they could announce their dividend recommendations and then follow these with full earnings reports. The NSE accepts such reporting format.

Although banks could request for extension of the deadline by the NSE, their compliance level would shift downward to awaiting regulatory approval, a sublime note that variously implies several reasons for delay in regulator’s approval.

Under the corporate governance and rules compliance assessment report known as X-Compliance Report, NSE identified four different kinds of tags or symbols to alert investors about the status of each quoted company.

By Oluwakemi Dauda

T

HE Federal Government has approved the composition of an Interim Governing Council for the crisis-ridden Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) Despite their agitations, sources said none of the members of the association was nominated by the government to serve the new body.

Members of the council, it was gathered, would be constituted before the week runs out.

Sources at the Federal Ministry of Transport, told The Nation that the seven-member Interim Governing Council were drawn from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Federal Ministry of Transport, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), and the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).

The representative of the Federal Ministry of Transport, it was gathered, would be appointed to serve as the Secretary of the Council, while a senior official of NPA would be named as the chairman of the body during the inauguration.

The Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, sources added, objected to the nomination of any freight forwarders into the council following the resignation of the President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANCLA), Alhaji Olayiwola Shittu, when the CRFFN crisis started last year.

Banks seek acquirer licences for e-payment

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•From left: Goredema Charlton, Vice President& Area Business Head, Southern Africa &Indian Ocean Islands, MasterCard Worldwide receiving the award of Best Security and Authentication Programme from Adeyinka Adeyemi, MD, Intermarc Consulting Limited, at the just-concluded Card and ePayment Africa Awards organised by Intermarc Consulting Nigeria in Johannesburg.

American, European firms to invest $5b in agric

A

GROUP of investors from the United States and Europe are discussing how to invest $5billion in Nigeria’s agricultural sector, a member of the Federal Government’s delegations to the recentlyconcluded World Economic Summit in Switzerland, Mr Emmanuel Ijewere, has said.

Speaking to The Nation, Ijewere said the development follows the government’s presentations at the summit, which had in attendance top government

By Akinola Ajibade

functionaries from different parts of the world.

He said after the event the investors have started trooping into the country to talk to relevant government institutions on how to tap into investment opportunities in the agricultural industry.

He said: “At the summit, we drew the attention of the world to the investment opportunities in Nigeria. We told them about the need for

Mobile money firms mull mergers and acquisitions - P31

foreign investments in the agricultural sector, abundance of manpower, expanse of arable land, among others. The fall out of the meeting was the discussion being made to invest substantially in the farm plantation, cassava, soya beans among others. They are investing $5billion.”

He said the government’s involvement in the summit was borne out of the need to project the nation’s economy to the outside world and increase inflow of

foreign investments into the country.

Ijewere, who is also the Managing Director, Best Foods Limited, said the country’s agricultural industry holds huge potential for local and foreign investors who are ready to make use of them.

He said the sector’s capacity to contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) cannot be under-estimated, adding that this informed the government’s decision to promote the industry.

213 operators have expired fidelity bond, says SEC

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

MONEY

Banks seek acquirer licences for e-payment T

O participate in the e-payment market, banks have initiated moves to get acquirer licences. They are to get the licences from card association like Mastercard, Visa and others.

An acquiring bank (or acquirer) processes credit and or debit card payments for products or services for a merchant.

The licence enables the lender to accept or acquire credit card payment from card associations such as Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club, Japan Credit Bureau, Attijariwafa Bank, and China UnionPay, among others.

Speaking at the BT Africa conference in Lagos, Head Electronic and Personal Banking Sales, United Bank for Africa, Henry Obike, said Merchant Service Charge (MSC) must to be reduced from six per cent per transaction charged by some card associations to encourage a wider use of cards by bank customers and travellers.

He said: “The charges are really an issue that needs to be addressed. But as a bank, we always

Stories by Collins Nweze

ensure that we create value and that is why I am confident that before June, this year, we would secure an acquirer licence. This will boost competition and drop charges.”

Visa Country Manager, West Africa, Ade Ashaye, said banks should let customers know what value they are getting by using their cards instead of cash. He said there should be a cost for cash and an incentive for using e-payment tools.

He said Visa, a global electronic payments company, has reiterated its commitment to unlocking business potential within the Sub-Saharan Africa. “Visa plays an active role in travel and tourism and its research in the tourism industry provides key insights into the trends. We believe that continued engagement in the industry is important,” he said.

Ashaye said Visa is committed to consolidating its position in the travel industry throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. He said the company has been instrumental in reshaping the payment landscape in West Africa with the introduction of several products, including the Visa Corporate card, for enabling secure and convenient cashless transactions within the region.

“As Nigeria moves towards a cashless economy, we are looking to share the benefits of electronic payments with the travel industry. There were a number of interesting and lively panel discussions during the conference that affect the industry,” said Ashaye.

He said Visa is committed to consolidating its position in the businesses arena throughout SubSaharan Africa. He said the company has been instrumental in reshaping the payment landscape in

• From left: Managing Director, Euro Global Food, Mr Arjan Mirchandani; Founder, Elumelu Foundation, Mr Tony Elumelu and Minister, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, at a lecture in honour of Mr Elumelu in Ikoyi, Lagos.

‘$49b reserves will provide 13-month import cover’ N

IGERIA’S external reserves, which stand at $49 billion, is healthy for the economy and will cover 13 months of imports and payments, Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company, Bismarck Rewane, has said.

In a report obtained by The Nation, Rewane said hot money in the economy was unofficially estimated at $11 billion, adding that capital inflows have been trickling in after the late 2012 gush.

He said the decline in inflation from 12.9 to nine per cent in January before climbing to 9.5 per cent was due to base year effects even though the core inflation rate declined in February.

“The major threat to price stability remains the fear of fiscal dominance and high powered money. The possibility of a sup-

plementary budget and electioneering spending in a politically polarised environment is a clear and pre-sent danger to the explicitly stated objective of keeping inflation below 10 per cent,” he said.

The markets, he said, had discounted the interest rate as a nominal anchor, rendering it as an impotent benchmark.

“The treasury bill auction rates have declined down to 9.2 per cent per annum. The Bond yields have gone the same way.

This disconnection between the market and the benchmark is partly because of the impact of T/Bill maturities and the huge Federal Government disbursement of N888 billion and N400

billion capital votes last week.

We expect the market to continue the trend of interest rates declining slowly until the next meeting in May,” he said.

Rewane said the naira would remain relatively stable. It had appreciated against most currencies of Nigeria’s trading partners even though weakening marginally against the dollar.

Borrowing costs on the 16.39 per cent domestic bonds due January 2022 increased 17 basis points to 11.44 per cent, according to March 15 data compiled on the Financial Markets Dealers Association website. The interbank dollar-naira has shifted up as foreign portfolio flows slowed somewhat, which reduced the availability of dollars in the market.

West Africa with the introduction of several products, including the Visa Corporate card, for enabling secure and convenient cashless transactions within the region.

He said Visa’s approach is to minimise fraud in the payment system by building policies, tools and technologies that will help prevent fraud before it happens.

Such technology he added, also protects vulnerable card data wherever it is stored, processed or transmitted throughout the payment system. It also monitors and manages fraud to ensure prompt response to issues. It also minimises impact to stakeholders, which include, cardholders.

“This conference serves as a great opportunity for all those with a vested interest in West Af-

•CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido

rican business travel to come together under one roof,” said Dylan Rogers, of BT Africa.

CBN to release microfinance development strategy in Q2

T

HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will release the NationalMicrofinance Development Strategy in the second quarter of the year.

The document is expected to outline modalities for developing the subsector and rules for operators to improve their performances.

The CBN is also consolidating its achievements in the development of microfinance banks (MfBs). It has strengthened the regulatory framework and other guidelines. These include the formation of the National Microfinance Development Strategy with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the recent signing of a major agreement with the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

Besides, the CBN is considering the establishment of a Microfinance Development Fund (MDF) to deepen the financial market. The MDF would assist in addressing the challenges of underfunding for microfinance institutions.

It will also complement past and current efforts aimed at strengthening the sub-sector, im-

prove financial inclusion and improve the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate significantly, the statement indicated.

Many of the MfBs liquidated by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) ran into trouble when their debtors refused to pay back their loans, over 80 per cent of which were unsecured. Besides, some of them took excessive risks, branching out too quickly swithout considering resources at their disposal and whether utilised funds were short or long term obligations.

A unit of MfB is authorised to operate in one location without branches/cash centres and is required to have a minimum paid up capital of N20 million; and state, of N100 million.

It is equally allowed to open branches within the same state or the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). But the national MfB is authorised to operate in more than one state, including the FCT. It is required to have a minimum paid up capital of N2 billion and is allowed to open branches in all states and the FCT, although subject to prior written approval by the CBN.

‘Africa’s stock markets should unite to attract investors’

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FRICA’S 24 stock markets should work together if they are to attract high investors’ interest, Nicky NewtonKing, Chief Executive Officer, Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), has said.

The leader of Africa’s biggest securities exchange told AFP that global investors have eye in Africa and the continent’s stock market leaders should seize the opportunity.

“The appetite for Africa is very, very high. I think everybody is trying to find their way, to participate meaningfully in that. All of us who are privileged enough to run exchanges, need to figure out that these waves of investor appetite aren’t yours by right.

Once they come, you have to be able to ride them properly. We should not be taking this as business as usual, this is a business opportunity,” she said.

Newton-King said allowing South Africans to more easily place orders into Nigerian stock markets, or by allowing Kenyans

to invest in joint-listed South African stock in KES shillings, would attract more foreign investors.

She added that there are benefits from cross-listing, as the JSE learned when its leading shares moved to London. “When AngloAmerican cross-listed in London, the amount of trades in AngloAmerican increased. South Africa’s percentage of trade in AngloAmerican decreased, but the decreased percentage was worth more. In those cases you have to think quite bravely,” she said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts the aggregate economy of sub-Saharan Africa will grow at 5.7 per cent this year, also presents a giant opportunity for the continent.

Newton-King said one way to channel the investor interest through African markets would be to make it easier to invest across borders and to improve liquidity in small markets so that assets can be bought and sold quickly.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

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MONEY

Mobile money firms mull mergers and acquisitions T

HE 20 Mobile Money Opera tors (MMOs) licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) two years ago are contemplating merging, The Nation has learnt.

Some of the companies include Stanbic/IBTC Plc, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Fortis Moble Money, UBA/ Afripay, Guaranty Trust Bank/ MTN and First Bank Plc. Others are Pagatech, Paycom, M-Kudi, Chams, Eartholeum, E-Tranzact, Parkway, Monitise, FST, and Corporate.

It was gathered that some of the firms may merge because they could not muscle financial resources to overcome infrastructural, financial and agents’ network challenges among others.

The Business Development Manager, Fortis Mobile Money, Mr Kunle Ogunmola said the firms were considering mergers and acquisitions because of their lean financial status.

He said: “I’m sure there are moves being made by the operators to consolidate their businesses. The moves, for obvious reasons, might not be known to the public now.

The mobile money scheme is still in its early stage, and operators would like to take their time be-

Stories by Akinola Ajibade

fore making their positions known to the public on some vital issues,” Ogunmola said mobile money operation was capital intensive, stressing that the operators need to pull their resources together.

“The big players in the ecosystem are having financial problems.

How much more the small players in that are carrying out mobile payment transactions. From all indications, the merger will be between the banks and the smaller firms,” he said.

Ogunmola said mobile money initiatives requires a lot of money to ensure wider penetration, adding that it is only when they coalesce to strengthen their operations that they can get such funds.

The Chief Executive Officer, Mobile Money Africa, Mr Emmanuel Okwogale, said mergers and acquisitions was inevitable if the subsector is to achieve its goals.

Noting that the awareness level about mobile money is low, he said operators must also contend with infrastructural gaps.

He said the sub-sector has the potential to provide transactions worth billions of naira within a month, adding that it will be difficult to achieve this if there is no

business combination among operators.

Besides, he said the shortage of agents is posing a threat to the success of mobile payment transactions, stressing that the firms will grow when they are using aggregated agents network for their operations.

Similarly, the Managing Partner of One Network, Mr Sola Bikersteth, said mergers and collaboration initiatives are necessary in the face of poor agent network operators have to contend with.

He said it is difficult for an individual mobile operator to build a large agent network, adding that it would be a lot easier if they coalesce to build the network for their operations.

In a related development, the Mobility Head, Accenture Nigeria, Mrs Henrietta Bankole-Olusina, said mergers would be necessary for effective performance of the operators. She said a consolidation of existing licensed players as a result of the competition is expected in the near future.

The mobile market, she explained, will be driven by competition from external players, adding that this can only be made possible when the operators come under a single and vibrant umbrella.

‘Bankers need BASEL 111’

T

HE immediate past Chairman, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Lagos Chapter, Mr Bayo Olugbemi, has said banks need to become BASEL 11 and 111 compliant to foster growth.

Speaking in a recent stakeholders’meeting in Lagos on the backdrop of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)‘s decision to make banks BASEL 11 and 111 compliant next year, Olugbemi said development would engender confidence in the industry.

He said the state chapter had last February, organised a conference in United Arab Emirates to improve the skills of bankers in risk management. He said risk management is crucial to the growth of the industry, adding that efforts must not be spared in making bankers get the required knowledge on the issue.

He advised bankers to make knowledge acquisition their priority, adding that they do not need to be complacent in issues relating to banking practice. He said courses are organised locally and abroad on banking and allied matters, advising bankers to make use of those opportunities.

Olugbemi said past and successive leadership of the chapter has not relented in promoting professional practice. This, he said, is evident in the various programmes lined up to train bankers in the country.

BoA, Sokoto partner on agric funding

T

HE Bank of Agriculture (BoA) and the Sokoto State government have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will see the bank disbursing N1 billion loans to farmers in the state.

Under the collaboration, BoA will provide N250,000 to each individual across the 23 local governments of the state.

The bank, in a statement, said 5000 farmers were expected to benefit from the initiative.

BoA Managing Director Dr. Mohammed K. Santuraki, praised the state government for the transformation in the state, especially in infrastructural development. Santuraki said Sokoto was blessed with immense water resources and dams which could be harnessed for the good of the masses.

He thanked the government for giving agriculture the highest priority, adding that both parties would benefit from the collaboration. He said the loan would be repaid within two years, Also, the Governor, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko, said the collaboration marked his administration’s first direct relationship with the bank. He was represented at the signing of the agreement by the Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Arzika Tureta. Wamako promised to work with the bank to provide more money for farmers. He said the government would leverage the bank’s growth to improve the lot of farmers.

Research key to e-payment development, says expert

T

• From left: Solutions Executive, DELL Technology, Segun Aina; Client Product Marketing Manager (Anglophone East & West Africa), Annie Odo-Effiong; Business Development Manager, Microsoft, Temofe Ugbona and Channel Account Manager, Samuel Ifejoku, at the DELL/Microsoft Client Compete Roadshow in Lagos.

Single digit Inflation will foster growth, say experts T

HE ability to keep inflation at a single digit of nine per cent for three months will help in fostering macro-economic growth, experts have said.

The yearly inflationary rate, which was 9.7 per cent on January, dropped to nine per cent in March, indicating that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) aggressive mopping up of funds via issuance of Treasury Bills among other instruments has paid off.

CBN’s former Director of Research, Mr Titus Okunronmu, said the economy would benefit in the long run if the trend is sustained.

He said various sectors of the economy would benefit on account of the drop in inflation to nine per cent.

Okunronmu said: “Though it is expected that the rate would further reduce to seven per cent in line with CBN’s stance on the is-

sue, the nine per cent will help in stimulating growth of some sectors of the economy. Manufacturers are hard hit in an environment with high inflation and interest rates.This implies that they are not only go battle with huge cost of production, but would find it difficult to get enough sales. But with inflation coming down, it is a good development for real sector operators.”

He urged CBN to reduce the benchmark interest rate of 12 per cent, arguing that maintaining it for the six consecutive periods is not good enough for Nigerian economy where there is an impeded access to funds.

“I think a remarkable drop in major macroeconomic rates would be better. The MPR, inflationary

rate, among others must be reduced to grow the economy,” he added.

An economist with the Lagos Business School, Dr Austin Nweze hailed CBN’s decision to focus on the maintenance of a favourable macroeconomic outlook.

“It is obvious that the economy is not moving now. Activities are very low due to hindered access to funds. While the apex bank is curtailing the rate of inflation, it must not lose sight of the fact that the economy needs credit to grow.

This can be made possible by a reduction in the monetary policy rate,” he said.

FBN Capital Limited, had in a report entitled: Inflation still single digit, projected that the headline inflation rate will fall to 7.5 per cent by the end of 2013, while that the core –inflation rate will drop to 6.6 per cent.

HE rapid growth of electronic payment across the continent is driven by innovative products occasioned by huge investments in research and development, Managing Consultant Intermac Consulting, Mr Adeyinka Adeyemi, has said.

Speaking at the maiden edition of the Card and e-Payment Africa Awards (CePAA) in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Intermac boss said: “There is just nobody noticing the huge investments going into research and development to bring about new technologies and new solutions. Sometimes these solutions succeed, sometimes they fail and when they fail what most stakeholders tend to do is go back to the drawing board, spending double and sometimes triple until they get to the market.

“Now once they get to the market with a fantastic product like Mpesa for instance, nobody recognises that effort, even though they are making money, they are selling services and we believe that we must come to terms with the fact that there are people that are doing a lot of work to get the products to the shelves, to get technologies that will work to the table and to the shelves. And that is why we came up with the concept of Cards and E-payment Africa Awards (CePAA).”

Corroborating Adeyemi, Charlton Goredema, the Vice President and Area Business Head for Southern Africa and Indian Ocean Islands of Mastercard Worldwide, while receiving the award for Best Security and Authentication Programme, said card use and acceptance in Africa has become phenomenal, especially given the volume and value of transactions recorded daily for ecommerce.

He said the financial institutions and payment system providers who are making this convenience and security happen should be recognised for their efforts and investment in innovative products and services.

The event featured 12 categories of awards with Diamond Bank, and the Congo subsidiary of Access Bank, emerging among the winners. Diamond Bank won the Best Credit Card Product of the Year and the Best Co-

branded Card Programme while Access Bank Congo won the Best Debit Card Product of the Year award.

The Best Mobile Payment Product award was won by Fundamo (PTY) South Africa, while DrawCard, South Africa won the Best Alternative Payments Programme award. Master Card emerged as the winner of the Best Security and Authentication Programme, while the Best Card Benefits Programme of the Year award went to Absa Bank of South Africa.

Other awards were: Best Card Processor of the Year won by HPS Worldwide, Morocco; Best POS Integrator of the Year won by Transaction Payment System (TPS) Zimbabwe; and Industry Personality of the Year won

by Mr. Jose G. Matos, Chief Executive Officer, Emis Angola.

Speaking while receiving the Personality of the Year award, Jose de Matos, Managing Director of Empresa Interbancaria de Servicos (EMIS), commended Intermarc Consulting for its leadership, passion and commitment in organising the award.

Receiving the Best Card Benefit Programme of the Year award on behalf of Absa Bank South Africa, Juanita Matelakengisa, the Chief of Staff - Card and Consumer Finance, noted that since similar awards are being held in Europe, Asia and America for those continents, developments in the card space across Africa need to be recognised and success stories celebrated.

On his part, Lincoln Boweni, a Director with eTranzact Global South Africa (Pty) Limited, who received the Best Mobile Payment Initiative of the Year for his company, praised the organisers for a successful event and encouraged key stakeholders in the epayment industry across Africa to celebrate success stories as the African electronic transaction industry has come of age.

The Executive Director, Diamond Bank Nigeria Plc, Uzoma Dozie, while receiving the Best Credit Card Product of the Year and Best CoBranded Card Product of the Year, said Diamond Bank was happy to receive the awards, which will further encourage the bank to focus on providing excellent customer experience across electronic channels.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

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THE NATION INVESTORS

213 operators have expired fidelity T bond, says SEC

HE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has indicated that 213 capital market operators, including several highbrow law firms, reporting accountants and banks, are operating with expired fidelity bond. This development is posing potential risks to the system.

A review by The Nation on the condition of capital market operators under the newly introduced Capital Market Operator Search (CMOS) of SEC showed that some 213 capital market operators pose risks to capital market operations by not

Stories by Taofik Salako

providing fidelity bond against internal malpractices. The CMOS is a new special link on the homepage of the apex capital market regulator.

A fidelity bond is essentially is a form of insurance against internal fraud, malpractices and willful professional negligence. It provides cushion for various losses that might arise from employee’s dishonesty. In line with international best practices, the Nigerian capital market regulation requires operators to possess subsisting fi-

delity bond.

The expiration of their fidelity bonds makes the functional registration of the companies and individuals as capital market operators incomplete.

According to SEC, about 46 per cent of operators with expired fidelity bond, are solicitors including high-brow Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) law firms. At least, 97 law firms registered as solicitors have expired fidelity bonds.

Accounting firms are the second largest group of culprits with several well-known accounting firms, with registration as reporting accountants, operating with expired fidelity bonds.

At least four banks, which were registered as issuing house or investment adviser, were listed among the defaulters while several fund managers, registrars and brokers were also listed in the search.

The Nation gathered that the operators with deficient fidelity bond might not be allowed by SEC to handle transactions.

The source said what the default-

ing operators do is to rush to renew such deficiency whenever they have capital market transaction for regulatory approval. He cautioned investors, issuers and other users of capital market services to request for evidence of full clearance and subsisting complete registration before engaging the service of any operator.

The list of operators with expired fidelity bond came in the wake of the alarm by SEC that many illegal fund managers have been exploiting unsuspecting investors.

According to SEC, most of the fund managers are concentrated in the Eastern region, especially Anambra State where some 11 illegal operators have been identified.

Omatek MD wins award

M

ANAGING Director, Omatek Plc, Florence Seriki, an engineer, has been conferred with a honorary distinguished Gold Medal Award by the Centre for Democratic Governance in Africa.

At the awards held at the corporate headquarters of Omatek, Director-General, Centre for Democratic Governance in Africa, Dr. Dafe Akpocha, who led other members of the board, said the Omatek boss was recognised for the giant strides she has achieved in the ICT sector in the last few decades.

According to Akpocha, the board and management of the centre deemed it fit to bestow the award on Seriki in recognition of her laudable achievements in the ICT sec-

tor.

“Through dint of hard work and perseverance you have been able to make a mark in the sector,” Akpocha said.

In her acceptance speech, Seriki said she was not only humbled by the award, but that the recognition came from such an eminent body would further spur her to greater heights.

Omatek, which is the first indigenous computer assembling plant, has recorded many firsts, including investing in solar power, among other innovative products.

The highpoint of the occasion was the presentation of the award medal and certificate of recognition to the recipient.

WAUTI holds confab •From left: Managing Director, Unilever Nigeria, Mr. Thabo Mabe; Brand Building Director, Unilever, Mr David Okeme; Manufacturing Director, Mr Doyin Ashiru and Human Resources Director, Mrs. Tolulope Agiri, during the launch of Close-up new variant in Lagos ... at the weekend.

PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

T

HE West Africa Union of Tax Institutes (WAUTI) yearly tax conference holding in Lagos today and tomorrow will centre on harmonisation of tax

CIS urges NSE to review data licensing policy

S

TOCKBROKERS have urged the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to reconsider its decision to impose fees on brokers and other professional users and distributors of the Exchange’s data in the interest of the development of the capital market.

But NSE defended its action, saying the proposed fee is the normal practice for global stock exchanges.

President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr Ariyo Olushekun, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said the proposed fees was counter-productive to efforts by brokers and other operators to improve investors’ education and widen awareness and participation in the Nigerian capital market.

He outlined that the NSE needs to reconsider the decision against the background of several reasons including the nascent nature and low level of participation in the Nigerian capital market, the nature of operations of stockbrokers, which thrive on investors’ education, the primary and basic nature of these data and the public availability of such data.

According to him, with less than five per cent of Nigeria’s estimated 170 million population participating in the capital market, there is need to encourage massive information dissemination rather than restricting dissemination of even basic data such as price and trading data.

He noted that the information the NSE wanted to charge for are

•Exchange defends action basic public information, which newspapers give out, pointing out that if the data licensing policy was based on specialised services such as live streaming of data and linking of website to NSE’s website, it would have been understandable.

“The move is counter-productive, people need information; basic information about share prices and transactions. Why do we want to blackout ourselves? The NSE should encourage brokers to give out these figures to encourage investors rather than impeding flow of information,” Olushekun said.

The CIS chief pointed out that the NSE is the main beneficiary of the information dissemination and marketing efforts of brokers as the Exchange has specific charges on all transactions, which brokers had incurred to initiate, market and conclude their transactions.

He said that operators and regulators should avoid bickering that could undermine the recovery of the market, urging all stakeholders to work together to support the development of the market.

“This move will drive investors away from the market. What has happened since the announcement of this licensing policy is that brokers have stopped sending market reports to investors. We are urging them to rescind this decision,” Olushekun said.

He reiterated the supports of stockbrokers as the main body of operators in the stock market for

all genuine efforts to develop the capital market.

Meanwhile, the Exchange has said that the proposed fee would be used to cover some of the huge cost incurred in generating, storing and disseminating the data, which incidentally is also a key element of their intellectual property rights.

The NSE stated that market data sales account for a sizeable portion of the income of many global Exchanges. It said: “We have however, offered a discounted fee for our broker/dealer firms and the domestic professional end of the market, to facilitate improved access and priced the service competitively in comparison to other Stock Exchanges. We have also taken steps to ensure that the retail end of the market can continue to access some of the key market data information at no cost via our web and electronic mail services using the above links.”

The Exchange, in a statement by its management reassured the investing community and wider market stakeholders of its commitment to the provision of quality and timely market data access to them and will continue to take steps to ensure that this commitment is maintained at all times.

It noted that its market dada is a strong proponent of prolific data access, accurate and timely dissemination to the investing community and wider stakeholders of

the market. Besides, the NSE said its data facilitates market transparency, better investment decision making and improved access to the capital market.

The NSE pointed out that in the light of its commitment to timely information; it had initiated several initiatives to provide free access to data for the market stakeholders including provision of a near real-time ticker on its website and provision of a number of end of day and historical data on the Exchange’s website.

“In order to further the objectives of providing a quality and timely market data dissemination service, the Exchange took direct control of its Market Data business in October 2012 from EDS and some of our market data vendors, which include reputable global market data distributors such as Reuters, Bloomberg, SIX Telekurs, DirectFN, Interactive Data and I-NET Bridge, it noted.

All these initiatives according to the Exchange, have improved service levels.

For the professional end of the market, index creators and data distributors, the norm is according to the Exchange is for them to pay for data access and any subsequent distribution to support their professional use. Data distributors it explained, cover any organisation (including broker/ dealer firms) receiving The Exchange’s data and forwarding these to other market stakeholders for both professional and non-professional use.

practice in the ECOWAS subregion.

Speaking ahead of the conference, its Publicity Secretary, Chukwuemeka Eze, said confirmation of attendance has been received from delegates in Ghana, Liberia, Cote d’lvoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Togo, and Benin.

The conference theme is: the role of taxation in good governance with sub themes namely, Harmonisation of tax systems in the ECOWAS region: Prospects and challenges; and Voluntary tax compliance: A key to sustainable good governance.

The lead paper of the conference will be delivered by Mr Jiri Nekovar, President of the Confederation Fiscale Europeenne (CFE), a body of tax advisers in Europe. Other speakers at the conference include the Director of Customs of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), Mr. Salifou Tiemtore and a famous tax practitioner in Dakar, Senegal, Mr Aziz Dieye of Cabinet Aziz Diey.

Nigeria, others to benefit from AfDB’s platform

I

NVESTORS in the capital market are set to benefit from a new era of transparency and accountability arising from enhanced information flow and dissemination of relevant data under the Open Data Platforms initiative recently launched by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

Nigeria is one of 20 African countries selected for coverage by the Open Data Platform.

According to AfDB, the “Open Data Platform” programme is part of the AfDB’s recently launched Africa information highway initiative aimed at ‘improving data management and dissemination in Africa’.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

35

THE NATION INVESTORS Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc has shown stronger resistance than most of the cement manufacturing stocks. Trading around its highest price in recent years, market consideration appears to have paused for the firm's latest earnings report, writes TAOFIK SALAKO

Any more headroom for Lafarge Wapco?

Timeline:Opening position 25-03-13

L

AFARGE Wapco opened this week on demand with a year-to-date return of about 30 per cent, some 11 percentage points above stock market's average return of 19.2 per cent. At a price of N76 per share, the cement stock has traded around its high of N76.79.

The return complemented full year return of 34.9 per cent in 2012. It had closed 2012 at N58.53 per share. The general pricing trend had gathered momentum in recent years, trading within a high and low of N46.17 and N29.55 before closing at N40.70 in 2010. In 2011, the price peaked at N48.05 and finally closed at N43.25.

Its year-to-date return of 22.8 per cent also signaled resurgence above the market average, bucking the trend in the previous year when it fell below market's average return of 35.4 per cent.

Against the lull and downtrend that had pervaded the market this month, Lafarge Wapco has shown stronger resistance than most cement stocks. At market’s opening position, Lafarge Wapco recorded the highest capital gains of 12.6 per cent as against increase of 6.1 per cent by Dangote Cement. Ashaka Cement, also a member of Lafarge Group, opened with lowest gain of 3.96 per cent. Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), the lowestpriced stock in the segment, was high on positive sentiments with a return of 9.4 per cent.

The performance of Lafarge Wapco and CCNN became even more significant in the light of the cautious market milieu that has characterised this earnings month. The All Share Index (ASI), the common value-based index that tracks prices of all equities, opened this week with a marginal month-to-date return of -1.31 per cent, underlining the caution and optimism that have moderated market forces as investors await most annual reports and dividend recommendations for the immediate past year.

net profit after tax jumped to N10.82 billion in 2012 as against N7.02 billion recorded in comparable period of 2011. Profit before tax had doubled from N8.57 billion to N16.34 billion.

Turnover also improved considerably from N44.55 billion to N69.84 billion. Earnings per share for third quarter 2012 stood at N3.61 as against N1.06 in comparable period of 2011.

Already, the 2012 third-quarter performance has surpassed the full-year performance for 2011. And 2011 had equally seen significant increase in overall performance. On the back of growths in sales and profit in 2011, the board of Lafarge Wapco increased gross dividend from N750 million for 2010 to N2.25 billion for 2011.

This represented increase in dividend per share from 25 kobo to 75 kobo. Some 26.5 per cent of net earnings were distributed to shareholders as cash payouts for the 2011 business year as against 15.3 per cent paid out in previous year.

Audited report and accounts for 2011 had shown that total turnover rose from N43.84 billion in 2010 to N62.50 billion. Gross profit grew by 47 per cent from N13.31 billion to N19.6 billion.

Though profit before tax was pressured by midline costs, it managed a 21 per cent growth to close 2011 at N10.22 billion as against N8.46 billion in 2010. Profit after tax also rode on the back of significant reduction in tax provisions to N8.51 billion in 2011, an increase of 74 per cent on N4.88 billion posted in 2010. Basic net earnings per share correspondingly increased from N1.63 to N2.83. But beyond outward figures, the intrinsic profit-making capacity of the company had remained under pressures. While gross profit margin improved marginally from 30.4 per cent in 2010 to 31.4 per cent in 2011, the more-decisive pre-tax profit margin slipped from 19.3 per cent in 2010 to 16.3 per cent. Also, while return on equity, bolstered

by the tax gains, improved from 10.1 per cent to 15.2 per cent, return on total assets dropped from 7.1 per cent to 6.7 per cent.

Outlook The recent third-quarter report showed stronger underlying fundamental strength.

Pre-tax profit margin stood at 23.4 per cent by September 2012 as against 19.2 per cent recorded in corresponding period of 2011 and 16.3 per cent recorded for the full year ended December 2011. Both the hardcore outward and underlying figures and sundry issues of dividend policy and sustainable growth favour increase in dividends. Substantial increase in dividend payout alongside strong fundamentals would strengthen the assumption of sustainable growth and increasing benefits of the company's recent expansionary investments.

The industry outlook remains as robust as ever. With the recent announcement of an increase in tariff on imported cement by the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, domestic cement manufacturing companies would further consolidate their market shares. Lafarge Wapco is reasonably well-positioned in this regard, with its increased capacity and its two cement manufacturing plants located within the fastest growing hub of cement users. Besides, the reactivation of railway services, which Lafarge Wapco has signed on to, opens opportunity for cheaper and wider up-market distribution. Economy of scale, international partnership and global link as member of world's largest cement group, experience and corporate stability should enable Lafarge Wapco to compete better than many other competitors; and thus be able to repel threat pose by shrinking national barriers and leverage its market share.

Waiting for the earnings But the next few days would determine the immediate and short to medium term pricing trend for Lafarge Wapco. The board of Lafarge Wapco met last week to deliberate on the audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2012. Directors, at the meeting, considered probable dividend that would be paid to shareholders. Though the shareholders at the general meeting have the overriding power to approve or reject board's dividend recommendation, the general meeting hardly overrides the board. The market is expectedly anxious to hear the board decisions.

Market pundits and investors appeared to have factored recent earnings reports into Lafarge Wapco's pricing trend. Recent audited reports and interim reports have shown gradual improvements in the fundamentals of the cement company. There is almost unanimity of expectations of dividend increase, giving recent earnings reports. Interim report and accounts for the third quarter ended September showed that

Timeline:Opening position 25-03-13

•MD, Lafarge Wapco Cement Nig, Mr. Joe Hudson

Besides, investors would particularly look out for a growth trend that suggests improved benefits from the recent strategic investments. With the coming on stream of its 2.2 million metric tonnes new cement plant, which raised the company's total capacity to 4.4 million metric tonnes per annum, Lafarge Wapco is expected to further consolidate its performance in the years ahead. Investments in power generation and utilisation- a major cost element in cement production, are also expected to provide stable platform for the realisation of the growth potential. But these revolve around the directors' handling of the company's leveraged financing structure. These would be the underlying variables shaping the cement stock's price discovery in the period ahead.

36

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENUERSHIP

Rearing quails for profit

Q

UAIL rearing is picking up. It is said to be more profitable than chicken rearing. Chief Executive Officer, Jovana Farms, Prince Arinze Onebunne, to whom grass cutter, rabbit, snail, guinea pig and antelope raising has become second nature, said quails grow very fast and a farmer can make profits within two months.

Quail rearing is not a popular business but he said quail meat, the main ingredient for herbal soup, is very popular among herbal products consumers.

The demand for good quality quail and quail eggs has been increasing yearly because of the growing awareness of their nutritional benefits, especially among health-conscious people.

He said the production of quails gives small farmers a chance to increase their income and health and offers an alternative means of livelihood to urban and rural farmers.This is why Onebunne launched an initiative to promote quail

Stories by Daniel Essiet

farming as an occupation that can enhance food security, wealth, health and employment creation.

According to him, quail farming is a productive enterprise since it can be reared in a small floor space and it lays an egg per day.

He said quails are very poor feeders, but good layers and all one needed was to maintain a clean environment around them. In terms of nutritional value addition, he said quail meat and egg are tastier than chicken and has less fat and cholesterol content. Some entrepreneurs are making money from ‘restoring’ men’s vitality via sale of quail eggs.

Consequently, he said the business of quail farming in Nigeria is growing at a feverish pitch, attracting entrepreneurs who are considering it either as a complementary business proposition or as a main and sustainable revenue stream.

According to him, local demand for quail meat and egg is increasing as the peo-

ple become more health conscious by avoiding the consumption of red meat and chicken egg that are loaded with cholesterol.

The high rate of returns and low cost of investment as well as rearing them are some of the reasons many farmers are fast resorting to quail farming. A mature chicken-hen consumes an average of 150 grammes of food per day and requires a regular administration of drugs, while a quail eats 20grammes of food daily and hardly requires any drugs.

Additionally, while a kilogramme of chicken meat goes for N600 on average in Nigeria, quail which hardly weighs half– a–kilogrammes at maturity, attracts N700.

A female quail lays an egg daily, which cost between N20 and N30 and demand is so high that is not being met today.

Quails take about five to six weeks to mature and their meat is highly recommended for people keen on

•Eggs (Insert: Quail birds)

boosting their immunity against many diseases.

Their egg is a wonderful super-food that can treat various ailments. It is by far more profitable to keep quails as they are less demanding than chicken. His venture into quail farming was motivated by low input and maintenance cost required.

He said one can get

Plantain farming for the upwardly mobile

T

O Adetifa Olufemi, plantain farming should be an avenue for the Federal Government to get Nigerians, especially the youth, out of poverty.

This is because many Nigerians eat plantain and its prices are on the rise. The business is attractive due to low labour cost requirement for production compared to maize, rice and yam.

Modern breeding has produced high yielding varieties.

Olufemi, who owns a plantain farm off Papa Lanto (on Ilaro/Sagamu) on the old Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, said plantain farming was lucrative. He plants plantain for profit and makes good cash from it yearly.

He has identified breeds that are more productive, high-yielding and pest-resistant for more profits.

At the beginning of the planting season, he bought 1,000 suckers at N120 each, which totals N120,000.

When he harvested, he got 1,000 bunches of plantain which sold for at least N1400 each. So, he made about N1.4 million from the sale.

He said after expenses, one could still make 400 per cent profit.

To improve the quality of his plantains, Olufemi receives improved suckers from the International In-

•Olufemi at his farm.

stitute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan. Prospective investors need to have at least N350,000. This will cover lease of the land, purchase of suckers, labour and other costs.

He said with an investment of N350,000, one can make more than N1 million in turnover and more than 400 per cent in profit. The profit depends on the quantity of bunches that can be harvested per acre/hectare multiplied by the selling price per bunch of plantain.

Olufemi said plantain growing has changed the livelihoods of people.

He helps the entrepreneurs secure a land, prepare it and

get good suckers. Plantain is an all-year round market. It provides monthly income year round.

He said prospective investors can start with an acre of land, which can contain 800 to 1000 suckers. The market is guaranteed as plantain is consumed by Nigerians.

There is also a market to process raw plantains into the ever popular plantain chips for sale in schools and markets. This has proved to be a lucrative enterprise that is raising incomes of entrepreneurs as they improve the market value of their plantains.

Plantain plantation can last for a very long time if it is

well maintained. According to him, constant weeding is the key to reaping big harvest and good quality crops.

He received instruction on new planting techniques, pest control, and improved post-harvest practices. The impact on production was remarkable. Though these production improvements have been impressive, one must compete in the marketplace to sell the produce.

Olufemi is an agricultural entrepreneur looking to the future with enthusiasm and optimism. He aims to increase access to sustainable livelihood pathways for targeted youth through plantain farming.

A typical expenditure /profit analysis for two acres Expenditure for first month analysis

Amount

Leasing of land – two areas for a year Suckers -1,000 suckers at N120 per sucker Clearing, land preparation/planting Transportation of suckers to farm

N26,000 N120,000 N70,000 N10,000

Third Month Description Security at the farm Weeding (five times in a year)

N5,000 N15,000

Fifth month description Fertiliser Weeding

N5000 N15,000

Seventh month description Weeding

N15,000

Ninth month Weeding Fertiliser

N15,000 N5000

11th month description (1) Weeding

N15,000

12th month description Harvest and transport to the market Total expenditure Turnover

N25,000 N341,000 N900,000

started with N18,000. This is the cost of purchasing six males and 24 females depending on the age and specie. They can be reared in cages and small floor space.

Onebunne helps people to set up farms for quail, grasscutter, snail, rabbit, etc.

He has for sale fast growing species of these animals, in-

cluding large quantity of quail eggs.

Jovana Farms organises nationwide training on the practical ways of making it through small scale animal farming.

Onebunne can be reached at www.jovanafarm.com or www.facebook.com/ jovanafarm.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

37

The Midweek Magazine E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

How to tackle corruption, by Aliyu, Akinyemi

F

ORMER External Affairs Minister , Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, has said corruption is the bane of Nigeria‘s development and unity.

He said: “It is the invidious and insidious virus afflicting the country”.

Prof. Akinyemi spoke at the Minna discourse on corruption jointly hosted by the Niger State Government and the National Planning Commission in the Niger State capital, Minna, where he was the lead speaker.

The seminar, which was centred on Confronting trends of corruption, indiscipline and disregard to rules and regulations in Nigeria, sought new ways to tackle corruption in the country.

He traced the genesis of corruption to 1962 when the concept of the good of region was replaced with the good of the individuals who made up the party in power. Prior to this time, he noted that: “the political elite in power in each region believed in the existence and survival of the region, developing the region, respecting the rules and the system and ensuring that the region derived maximum benefits from the resources of government. Given this scenario, he opined that “there was stability of expectation and Leadership”.

It sought to articulate the gaping concerns of all Nigerians about the unbridled dimension of this stasis and to chart a course of action.

The seminar, which was tagged Minna Discourse on Corruption was jointly hosted by the Niger State Government and the National Planning Commission. According to the organisers, so much has already been said about corruption and its manifestation, but what is needed now is a proactive way forward.

The grim corruption situation in Ni-

•Akinyemi

•Aliyu From Shehu Usman

RESIDENCY geria was captured in graphic details and data. Prof Akinyemi pointed out that between 1960 and last year, about $500 billion was stolen and frieghted out of Nigeria thereby contributing to the low ranking of Nigeria as the 156 out of 186 on the 2011 Human Development Index Report of the United Nation. Consequently, apart from impinging on physical infrastructural development efforts in the country, corruption has made 84 per cent of Nigerians poor and has also fuelled lack of faith in the survival of Nigeria as a united nation.

Nigeria’s corruption index has resulted in weak institutions, decadent infrastructures, blatant disregard to rules and regulations, incompetent and insensitive leadership and erosion of ethical values, according to him.

Niger State Governor, Dr Mua’zu

Babangida Aliyu, in his remarks pointed to domestic corruption and official recklessness as other dimensions of corruption and indiscipline. According to him, most times corruption takes place through the collusion of public officers. Hence, he noted that, for instance, whenever a minister stole two million naira the permanent secretary in that ministry might have stolen four million naira. And that to him the height of official recklessness was when a public officer like the Chief of Staff to the Governor or President assumed too much power as to be more powerful than the boss.

The Minister of National Planning, Dr Shamsudeen Usman, said the way out of the corruption quagmire is by exemplary leadership, capacity building and utilisation of anti-corruption institutions like the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC); and the involvement of the civil society

Senate bemoans poor funding of arts

C

HAIRMAN, Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism, Senator Hassan Barata, has bemoaned the state of facilities and funding of the arts sector. He urged more public and private investment in the arts as the creative industry remains the most viable sector that would lift the country out of an almost sole dependence on crude oil.

The lawmaker spoke when the national executive of the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) paid the committee courtesy visit.

Leader of the delegation and National President of the association, Mr Oliver Enwonwu, told Senator Barata and his committee members that the visual art community is keen to work with the legislature and other arms of government to achieve the country’s goal of radical economic and social transformation.

“We are here to communicate the warm greetings and good wishes of members of Nigerian visual art community to the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism,” Mr Enwonwu said.

According to him, artists are behind the Federal Government of President Goodluck Johnathan “for its visionary and timely transformation agenda and the Senate for providing the vital oversight legislative impetus for the advancement of the country and the maturity of our democracy.”

He told the Senate that the SNA, established since 1963, supports the laudable national advancement recorded through the legislative activities of the lawmakers who currently represent the people of our country in the National Assembly.

The SNA helmsman said the national umbrella body of visual artists has since its establishment been not only a nongovernmental body, but “worked as an effective connecting organ between art practitioners and government. So far, it has played its role well in maintaining a very warm relationship between the state and artists even in periods when the nation faces social challenges.”

Continuing, Enwonwu said: “In our efforts to keep playing that role of connecting all members of the Nigerian art community with the pulsation of state at all times we dedicate our 50th year anniversary, which is holding this year, to issues of core importance to the current national agenda. Hence part of our mission here today is to intimate you, distinguished senators and leading representatives of all Nigeria of the golden jubilee celebration of SNA, titled: The Role of Art in Nigeria’s Transformation. The commemoration is all through this year with programmes set to hold across the country.

“With this thrust, the SNA seeks to highlight and appraise ways through which the visual arts can contribute economically, socially, politically, intellectually and diplomatically in

•Enwonwu

AGENDA shaping our great country. The celebration will feature in several platforms such as intellectual conferences/webfrences; topical art exhibitions; book publication and an art tour within and beyond Nigeria. All state chapters of SNA are also staging relevant events under the same theme.”

He disclosed how his current team have progressed in their duty since accepting the reins. “We are here to also intimate you of our recent activities, since inception of the new executive: “SNA has began a thorough reappraisal of the art curriculum in all categories of art schools in Nigeria. To this effect, the body has held several corporate interactions with such relevant bodies as the National Universities Commission (NUC); the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE); as well as the organs for overseeing colleges of education, secondary and primary schools. The major thrust of all the meeting has been the need to re-articulate the programmes of art study in Nigeria so as to meet standard 21st century practices. We are happy to inform you that in all the organisations they were enthusiastic about inculcating SNA’s views in the new editions of their art study curriculum.

“We have also opened windows of contact with relevant global bodies for visual arts practitioners and associations such as the International Association of Artists and the world intellectual property organisation.

groups and the private sectors in the strengthening of ethical values and value orientation which the Federal Government is hard-pressed to bring about.

He wondered why Nigeria should be held down by corruption when even emerging economies like China, India, Russia, Brazil with instances of corruption still record optimal growth in their economies.

Nonetheless, the reason as adduced by representatives of the civil society groups and other discussants may not be far from the blatant sacrifice of truth. To speakers like Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, Shehu Sani, Dr. Kabiru Mato, Segun Adeniyi, and Dino Melaye, insincerity of the leadership, greed and electoral fraud were identified as major fuel for corruption and bad governance.

While Dino Melaye denounced the perpetuation of the government of the greed by the greed for the greed and called for change, both Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed and Shehu Sani while noting that the stealing of votes is the greatest corruption also warned against any attempt at rigging the 2015 elections by the comatose PDP. Dr. Kabiru Mato described the fraudulent pardon granted to DSP Alamaseyha as the height of irresponsibility and corruption by the present government.

At the end of the session,it wasagreed that the way forward must encompass exemplary leadership, independence of judiciary; strict application of penalties for those found guilty of corruption and fearless adherence to rule of law; the refusal to grant bail or fraudulent state pardon to corrupt people; and the truth should be made the guiding principle in political and public life, among other recommendations.

• Usman is a social critic

According to Enwonwu SNA’s affiliation with some bodies got stalled since the 1970s. And “these international organisations are enthusiastic about Nigeria’s return to their fold.”

He disclosed that the society is keen on winning young converts to the arts through a new project it tagged the catchthem-young art workshop programmes. The project is for secondary and primary schools. One of such programmes was concluded in the first week of March in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

Enwonwu told the legislators: “We are here to appreciate the efforts of the National Assembly in energising the economic advancement of Nigeria through the repositioning of the arts sector. This is evident in on-going legislative work on bills to democratically strenghten the constitutional duties of MDAs in the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation such as the National Gallery of Art (NGA) Bill which, as at the last time in it’s process, it was during it’s First Reading in November 2010 at the floor of the House of Representatives, and at the behest of the then House Committee on Culture andTourism headed by Hon. K.G.B. Oguakwa Esq. all stakeholders, comprising SNA, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, NGA and the clerk of the committee arrived at a harmonised document.

But ever since, we have not heard of any dvelopment on the bill. We kindly want the National Assembly to help us know the latest on the bill so that we can aptly inform the curious arts community whether the the proposed bill died with the end of the sixth legislature or continued life in this seventh legislature.”

He added that Nigerian artists also crave to know if it is still the harmonised document for the NGA Bill that the stakeholders endorsed that is still in the National Assembly’s study or any other. “They are interested in the extent of progress of the proposed bills for the National Museum, National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) and other federal government cultural agencies. In all these, we urge that our elected legislators continue in their quest to ensure that the policies yeild better fortunes to the practitioners, engender global standards, and bring more exposure of the Nigerian creative industry to the outside world not create windows for exploitation of the already struggling practitioners.

“We are here for the continuation of the harmonious relationship between the Nigerian artists and the National Assembly.”

Earlier, the SNA team paid a visit to the Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China in Abuja where the two parties discussed platforms of collaboration to strengthen cultural ties between Nigeria and China. The embassy, through its cultural attachee, and SNA also sought ways of partnership in art residencies and the on-going SNA @ 50 year-long-celebration.

The 50th anniversary events of SNA (Golden Jubilee) kicked off on March 5, with the Abuja Children’s Art Workshop held with ExxonMobil Plc. The celebration will hold in several platforms such as intellectual conferences/webfrences; topical art exhibitions; a book publication and an art tour within and beyond Nigeria.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

38

The Midweek Magazine

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

S

EVERAL years after his transition to eternity, the ideas of Abdul Rahman Babu, the eminent socialist theoretician, Marxist ideologue, revolutionary, politician and statesman remain as relevant as ever. I first came across Babu’s magnum opus, ‘African socialism or Socialist Africa’, during my youth service. That book became a veritable Bible for many of us who were trying to understand Africa’s persistent underdevelopment and thinking of ways to transcend this unhealthy situation. Of course, I had earlier come across the name of Babu who wrote the post script to Walter Rodney’s famous work ‘How Europe Underdeveloped Africa’. Babu never believed that underdevelopment in Africa is a natural condition or that it is a reflection of some deficiency in the makeup of the African. In his postscript to Rodney’s work, Babu agrees that most of the continent’s woes can be traced to the slave trade and colonialism; a period that saw the continent brutally savaged, ravaged and exploited for over four centuries. Writing about his native Tanzania, for instance, Babu contends that “The colonial state was not intended to develop the people but to undermine their selfrespect so as to make it easier to rule them…to transform the state into a real people’s state, the one we had inherited had to be “smashed” as a first priority. The second priority was to do away with the colonial economy and in its place develop an independent national economy whose first prospects was to provide for the basic needs of the people, namely, food, clothing and shelter, and to continuously raise their standards… What all this means in practice is a serious restructuring of the state and economy on a correct appraisal of the concrete situation on ground”.

These words of Babu remain ever so relevant today especially in the context of the crisis confronting contemporary neo liberal capitalism across the globe. The apostles of neo liberal economic policies that have only deepened underdevelopment in Africa would do well to read the works of Babu.

The duo of Salman Babu and Amrit Wilson have done us all a lot of good by combining the various writings of Abdul Rahman Babu into a single volume titled ‘The Future that Works’. The approximately 400-page book is divided into eight sub-divisions that reflect the wide ranging interests and prodi-

Segun Ayobolu sms to 07032777778 segunayobolu2@yahoo.com

A. M. Babu : The future that works gious genius of Abdul Rahman Babau. These include Economic Policies and Development; Pan Africanism, Imperialism, Democracy; National Liberation in the era of Neo-colonialism, Marxist theory and The Africa we need.

Most of the essays published in this book are articles that first appeared in such periodicals and magazine as African Concord, African contemporary Record, Africa events and African World Review to mention a few.

Vigorously challenging the externally determined economic policies being pursued across Africa, Babu argues that “an economy must have internal material basis for it to develop and then, only then, can external causes create conditions for such development…like an egg, it must have an internal basis before the incubator can turn it into a chicken. No

amount of external conditions can transform a stone into a chicken…It is this topsy-turvy way of looking at things that we must combat if we are to utilise our resources to our maximum advantage. No amount of UN resolutions can achieve that for us. The solution is within our own reach”. That is A.M Babu for you. He never tries to obscure issues or to write in inaccessible language just to sound academic. For Babu, then, perpetually begging for foreign aid or foreign investment cannot be the path to Africa’s redemption from the curse of underdevelopment.

If one’s reading of Babu is limited only to ‘African Socialism or Socialist Africa’ it will be all too easy to perceive Babu as being too rigid and doctrinaire in his application of Marxist theory to the analysis of society. Yet,

‘An economy must have internal material basis for it to develop and then, only then, can external causes create conditions for such development…like an egg, it must have an internal basis before the incubator can turn it into a chicken. No amount of external conditions can transform a stone into a chicken…It is this topsy-turvy way of looking at things that we must combat if we are to utilise our resources to our maximum advantage’

Ooni of Ife praises Olowo

N10m bounty for less-privileged

By Miriam Ekene-Okoro

G

T

HE Olowo of Owo, Oba David Victor Folagbade Olateru Olagbegi III, has explained why he wrote his autobiography, In The Wilderness of Life. He said the book was a means of fulfilling his mandate as his town’s traditional rulers.

The monarch said: ”I consider the writing of the book as simply a means of fulfilling my mandate as the Olowo of Owo at this crucial bend of our contemporary history.

Laced with an irresistible zeal, the idea came at a critical moment in my life and in the historical unfolding of Owo kingdom.

“As painful as it may seem, I am sure many of you know that Owo Kingdom underwent a defining phase.

It’s history shortly, before and during my ascension to the throne of my forefathers.That so called defining phase was marked by the near -total obliteration of our age long bond of unity and smothering of our enviable, rich, cultural heritage.

Olowo spoke at Owo last Saturday during the public presentation of his book, which was first launched at the Nigeria Law School, Victoria Island, Lagos. But, due to public demand by the Ondo indigenes and to honour them, he relaunched it.

He explained that to say that the stormy tempest raged ferociously is an understatement. According to him, ‘we lost as individuals and as a whole family both in cash and in kind. To the glory of our merciful God, we survived the siege, and to-

nothing could be more mistaken. For instance, one of my favourite pieces in this book is Babu’s open letter to Prime Minister Robert Mugabe in 1980 published in the New African. In this piece, Babu does not engage in any starry eyed revolutionary rhetoric. His advice to Mugabe was essentially that he had to look at social forces on the ground and move pragmatically and carefully to build a vibrant economy and systematically correct age old injustices. For instance, on the vexed issue of large scale farms owned by whites in Zimbabwe, Babu’s advice to Mugabe was realistic and pungent. According to Babu “It is a painful historical fact that in Zimbabwe such large farms are owned by white settlers some of whom are liberal and others incorrigibly reactionary. To expropriate them will amount to economic disaster, at least in the short run. To allow them to continue as before will amount to perpetuating a national injustice…To an outsider it will seem possible to avoid both of these undesirable consequences by (1) where possible, surrounding all these settler farms by producer agricultural cooperatives and (2) making it obligatory for the settler farms as a condition for their existence to share their facilities (farm implements, expertise, marketing, dispensary services etc.) with the newly established cooperatives”. It is unfortunate that Mugabe did not take Babu’s advice and his country’s economy has virtually collapsed today.

In his analysis of Zimbabwe’s economy, Babu indicates what he believes is the path to Africa’s liberation from dependency and underdevelopment. In his words “Zimbabwe has a fairly solid industrial base most of which was made possible thanks to the “sanctions” which forced the country to look inward…Looking Back, one wishes that sanctions had been imposed against all African countries soon after independence. What a happy people we would have been! It was “aid” that proved to be the kiss of death”.

Babu’s perspective is corroborated by the Biafran experience during the Nigerian civil war. Pushed to the wall and blockaded from all sides, the Igbos manufactured bombs, refined fuel, built tanks and performed other technological marvels. It is so sad that we did not as a country take advantage of that crisis to build on the Igbo experience and break the technological dependency that is one of the root causes of underdevelopment in Africa today.

•From left: Olowo and Ooni

By Taiwo Abidoun

LAUNCH day we are out of the woods. We are proud to say affirmatively that Owo has successfully regained its pride of place among the Yoruba kingdom’ The Ondo State governor, Dr Rahman Olusegun Mimiko was the Special guest of the day, while Major General Femi Olutoye (rtd), was the chairman and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, the Olubuse II was the royal father of the day.

Alayeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuade Olubuse II the Ooni of Ife showered encomiums on the Olowo as he described him as a great man .

The Ooni said: “Alayeluwa Oba Olateru - Olagbegi is a correct and proud Yoruba monarch. He is always in the forefront of any move that shall contribute to the development of the social, economic, political and historical status of this country and of Yoruba race in particular. He en-

joys lifting the image of the Yoruba anywhere he goes it is no wonder then that I, the Ooni of Ife consider it a filial duty to be here today as royal father of this occasion”.

The Ooni of Ife described the book as not only the personal memories of Olowo but, ‘it is also about historical documentation, reminiscence, graphic details of the history of Owo and fundamental umbilical cord between Owo and Ile Ife, the source’. Major General Olutoye (rtd) eulogised the monarch as he spoke about his humility, honesty and his dedication to God, and compared him with the Biblical David who is after God’s heart.

Among those present at the book launch were royal fathers such as the Olufon of Ifon, Oba Kofoworola Oladoyinbo, the Ojomoluda of Ijebu -Owo, Honourable Niran Sule (Ondo state Commisioner for Special Duties), Engineer and Dr (Mrs) Akin Aragbaiye, Jide Tububo, Barrister Banji Alabi, among others.

LOBAL Harvest Church, Ikeja, Lagos has speant N10 million to provide food, clothing and other materials for the less-privileged.

Senior Pastor Victor Adeyemi said the gesture tagged ‘Shop for free’, is a social impact activity, geared towards bringing smiles on the faces of the poor during festive periods.

He said: “The poor are at the very heart of our Lord. He fed them and provided their daily needs, but our nation has been on the verge of social challenges which have resulted in unemployment, insecurity and high rise of poverty across the country.”

He described the gesture as the church little contribution to complement effort of the government and tackle societal challenges.

Adeyemi said food items, clothing and other materials will be purchased with the money, while individuals partnering with the church will also support with their various provision which will be displayed at the various stores erected within the church premises where the beneficiaries can come in and shop for what they need.

He added that each beneficiary will receive a payment vouchers that will enable them shop for what they need at the stores.

To ensure that the targeted people benefit from the gestures, the pastor said registration for volunteer workers commenced on March 24 while the Shop For free will hold on Good Friday, March 29.

He said church members have already been mobilised to bring the less privilege in their area to come benefit from the free shopping gesture.

The pastor said a total of 3,000 people are targeted to benefit from Lagos while a similar programme will run concurrently in Ibadan and Ogun state within the church premises.

“There is need to bring relief to people, especially the have not.

39

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

The Midweek Magazine Walking over troubles U S A L V I

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

I

T R A

T’S a fact we all shy away from. We all like to believe it does not exist. We prefer to assume it is untrue. But it is an inevitable reality of life. As long as we live, there will always be troubles.

Nothing can vitiate or nullify this reality.

This is the very truth Rev. Lekan Adeleke seeks to establish in his book titled you are born to win. The author asserts the fact that troubles are part and parcel of life. Troubles are inevitable in life. No one is immune from them. Troubles, he writes, are bound to assail every man, whether strong or weak.

The author believes even upright and spiritual men are not insulated from troubles.

Troubles cannot be prayed or wished away.

The fact that one stands right before God, he states, is no guarantee that one is saved from troubles.

The associate pastor at Shepherd’s Flock International Church Lagos reaffirms troubles are bound to show up in every man’s life sooner or later. But when troubles show up, the author encourages readers not to take the natural course of fear or panic.

The time of troubles is the time to search a word of God that addresses the situations.

The next step, he writes, is to call upon God. Callers have the ears of God, he maintains.

Whoever calls upon Him in times of troubles will be saved.

“The time of trouble is not a time to panic or fear, but a time to call. Now, always bear in mind, there is a word from the Lord for every situation of life that seeks to trouble you,” Adeleke states.

The author enunciates on the many biblical characters that called upon God. None of them, he asserts, was left undelivered. Each of them came away with boundless testimonies. To convince readers God does such things much more in contemporary days,

BOOK REVIEW Title: Author: Reviewer:

Born to win Lekan Adeleke Sunday Oguntola

the author reels out cases of people with superlative testimonies in these days and times.

He goes on to advise troubled souls to dare to take the step of faith once they have called upon God. This, he explains, is because God will always give them specific instructions that they must heed. He pleads how matter

the instructions sounds or appears, troubled souls must take to them because therein lies their deliverance.

The highly inspirational writer states: “No matter how grievous, bad or hopeless it looks, there is no trouble that can intimidate God or make Him shake. He has the solution before the trouble ever appears.”

He adds: “God never promised us a life without troubles. But if you have come to take refuge in the Lord, you can never be left alone in any trouble.”

Troubles, he writes on, are actually divine orchestration for miraculous manifestation.

He argues God thrives in showing up during troubled days. “Each occasion of trouble is an opportunity for God to prove His faithfulness, and trust Him, He won’t miss such opportunity,” he stresses.

Adeleke also seeks to change attitude of readers to challenges. Rather than see them as destructive elements, he argues troubles actually enrich living. According to him: “Challenges, no matter how terrible, make life exciting, and make you know, what a faithful God we serve!” He maintains life will be stiff boring without one trouble or the other from time to time.

The book divided into 10 chapters reveals the deep and innate desire of Adeleke to help the troubled. He writes as a life coach determined to help travellers navigate the course of life. He draws from his rich repertoire of personal experiences encourage the troubled.

Adeleke’s style is simple and deep. It is easy-to-read and comprehensible. Except for few typographical errors, readers will have a smooth voyage with this highly inspirational and motivational book backed up with scriptural references.

This book is strongly recommended for those going through one trouble or the other.

In it, they will find contemporary and scriptural wisdom to swim through life unscathed. They will realise they are neither alone nor forsaken while going through the patches of life. More importantly, they will discover gems that will take them to the top.

‘I lost a brother, father, confidant’

F

OR several weeks, I was full of excitement and anxieties. It was a strange mixture. Who would not? As a pre-teen, I was billed to leave my village environment, Omido, in Kwara State. My destination was to be in Bauchi in the far North.

The first time I would be so doing. So, it was a marriage of strange bedfellows. That was my experience. Excitement and anxieties fiercely competing for space in my mind. At one time, I would have sweet and wonderful dreams of where I was going. At another breadth, it would be nightmares all through.

I would wonder, how would I cope without my peers? How would I survive without playing football (Toronto) with them after school? How about the loneliness and the unkown faces awaiting me in Bauchi? It would be like a fish out of water.

It was a big challenge even at that tender age. At a point, it became a dilemma. I had to bring my mother into the picture. And it paid off handsomely. She gave me the encouragement I seriously needed at that time. She told me to fix my mind on where I was going.

I was reluctant. I did not want to leave that rusty village, where nature is at its best. Yet, I wanted to explore the North, through Bauchi, in the then North Eastern State, the present day capital of Bauchi State.

Still, I could not easily wish away the thought of leaving the known for the unknown. Thoughts of “abandoning” my parents, peers and familiar faces. I was scared yet excited. I was excited because I had become a “superstar.” Even before leaving, my mates and siblings had already seen me as a local champion. That I had moved on.

They were even painting the picture of how my new destination would be.

My mind was running up-and-down; forward and backward. It continued like this until the Dday. And everything came to a climax. There was no going back. I had no choice at this stage.

So? My excitement peaked. It overlapped and buried my anxieties. Then the strength and courage came from nowhere. Strangely, I just wished away all the anxieties. They became things of the past. And I looked forward to Bauchi.

Dateline: December 25, 1969. Some 43 eventful years ago. I was Bauchi-bound with my brother, Timothy Olatunji Adeoti, an engineer and his wife.

It was a turning point. A turn around of sort.

The bloody Nigerian 30-month civil war was still very much around. But that couldn’t have dampened my morale. It rather boosted it. It was

By Femi Adeoti

TRIBUTE a great excitement. You could see it all over me.

I did not even mind that we were departing on a Christmas Day. Our first port of call was Ilorin.

Also, my first time of being in my state capital. I started my exploration from there. I can still recollect vividly that day. Nothing is lost, nothing is missing.

At about 11.30pm, we boarded a Jos-bound train.

We got to Bauchi on the third day. Bauchi was such a big and innocent town then. It was extremely peaceful, the civil war notwithstanding.

It was a pleasant harmattan period.

The people were accommodating. There was no Boko Haram, no Maitasine, no religious or whatever crisis. There was just one taxi plying the whole town. It was well known.

My caring brother bought a bike for me to ride to school. I did between eight and 10 miles a day.

The school was St. Paul’s (Transferred) Anglican Primary School. It was near the entrance gate. A distance of five miles to the Railway Quarters, where we lived. My brother’s office was even farther. He rode a motorbike until he bought a black Peugeot 404 later in the year.

We moved to Kano in 1971. We had earlier spent nearly three months in Kaduna. That was where he had his first child, Yemi. He is now a pastor of Rhema Chapel. He is in charge of the Agbowo Church, in Ibadan, Oyo State.

I loved Kano. I loved its people and environment. I would ride my bike right from the Nasarawa GRA to the inner old city (Birnin) itself, unmolested, unrestrained.

During sallah, I would follow the entourage of the Emir, Alhaji Ado Bayero. He would ride on horse back through the length and breath of the city in a Durbah-like. I enjoyed it so much. I never missed any while in Kano.

That was then. That was the old good Kano. It is no more. Boko Haram and its predecessor, Maitasine have turned it upside down. Great pity!

My brother was transferred to Ibadan in 1974 or thereabout. Our father died in 1975. I was in secondary school then. He naturally stepped into his shoes. He was about 42 years.

This man influenced me in so many ways. He saw me through my education. He so much cared for us all. He literally covered our lapses. He made up for us. He held the larger family very dear to his heart. Always supportive. He was a pillar to us and those who crossed his path.

This is my testimony. This is the very little out

NCC, Customs seize pirated DVDs

By Evelyn Osagie

N

IGERIAN Copyright Commission (NCC) has warned pirates of intellectual properties that it would no longer be business as usual.

The commission gave the warning after the consfiscation of a 40-foot container with 612,000 copies of suspected pirated DVDs and 45,900 units of DVD jackets estimated at N300 million at the Apapa Seaport, Lagos. They were seized in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

According to NCC, upon a tip-off to the Customs by the commission, the container marked MRKU4366990 was intercepted on the verge of leaving the port.

It isaid a vehicle with Registration No. XU 814 BDG, which freighted the container, was turned back at the exit gate of the port for antipiracy inspection at the Enforcement Department of the NCS. “A joint inspection team made up of officers of the NCS drawn from its various units and the NCC officers conducted inspection on the container on March 7,” it stated.

According to a statement signed by Vincent Oyefeso, NCC Public Relations Officer, “The inspection revealed that the container contains 600 cartons with each carton containing 1,020 copies (612,000 copies in all) of cinematographic DVDs and 45,900 units of empty jackets. The estimated market value of the contents of the container is put at about N300 million”.

It stated that investigation was ongoing, adding that the container would soon be handed over to the Commission by the Customs.

Last year, the commission and Customs , recorded an unprecedented confiscation of a total of 13 containers of 3.6 billion (3,613,315) units of pirated products, valued at N4.75 billion at different seaports in the country. Whereas, 11 of the containers were stacked with pirated books of Nigerian and foreign authors, the remaining two were loaded with pirated musical and film works of local and foreign titles. This brings to 14 the total number of containers of suspected pirated copyright works impounded so far at a cumulative total estimated cost of five billion and fifty million Naira (N5.05 billion).

Meanwhile, the Director-General, NCC, Mr Afam Ezekude, has reassured stakeholders in the copyright industries of the Commission’s commitment to a proactive execution of its statutory regulatory and enforcement mandate on all copyright matters across the country.

Ezekude said the renewed enforcement drive of the commission in collaboration with the Customs and sister enforcement agencies was an indication of its determination in the realisation of NCC’s zero-tolerance policy on copyright piracy.

Apostolic Church President to mark 80th birthday

By Joseph Jibueze

•The late Adeoti of what I know about Timothy Olatunji Alabi Adeoti. He became a father-figure to me at a very tender age.

Together with his wife of more than 43 years, Rachel Funmiso Awele, they moulded my life. I am eternally grateful. They took over my life at the time it mattered most.

Just imagine! The man who did this in my life is no more. Yes, he lost the battle on February 5, 2013. But we thank God for his life and times.

Very inspirational. We know it is God’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.

Let me appreciate Mrs. Kemi Arogunmati.

Though a daughter in-law, she has become an intimate member of the family. She is always there for us.

She was by his deathbed. In fact, she was the last to see him alive. She took him to the hospital in the last minutes Only God can appreciate her satisfactorily. On our part, we are very grateful.

He was born 71 years ago in Omido to my parents, Chief Ezekiel Ogundare and Madam Lydia Abolare Adeoti. He attended Offa Grammar School, Offa, Kwara State. He obtained his Higher School Certificate (HSC), equivalent of ‘A’ Level Certificate, at the then Federal School of Science, Ikoyi, Lagos.

He taught briefly at Otan-Ayegbaju, now in Osun State, before proceeding to the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. He read Civil Engineering. He joined the good old Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) in 1967.

• Adeoti is of The Sun Newspaper

T

HE National President of The Apostolic Church of Nigeria (TACN), Pastor Gabriel Olutola, will mark his 80th birthday on April 6 with a thanksgiving service.The service will hold at the TACN National Temple on the Oworonsoki Expressway, Olorunda, Ketu, Lagos.

It will be followed by a reception at the same venue. A statement by the Planning Committee said Pastor Olutola would dedicate/hand over The Apostolic Church Mission House, Oke-Ibode, on April 1.

On April 2 and 3, he will visit the Motherless Baby’s Home and widows at Oke Ibode, as well as the Ikoyi Prisons. On April 4, Olutola’s biography and the OladeleOlanrewaju Foundation will be launched.

On April 5, a lecture will be delivered by former Lagos State Attorney-General And Commissioner for Justice, Prof Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs(NIIA), V i c t o r i a Island, by 11 am.

It is entitled: Bridging the gap between our spiritual life and our secular behaviour: A tool for good •Pastor Olutola governance.

40

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCHY 27, 2013

The Midweek Magazine

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

How not to convey your load...

PHOTO: NAN

Utilising documentary to solve social problems

P

ROFESSOR of Film Studies, University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Prof Femi Shaka has said the value of documentary lies in teaching and that it could be used to tell any kind of story. He spoke in Lagos at the weekend while delivering a paper on Documentary Film and African Spirituality and Politics at the iREP film festival held at Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos.

He gave insight on the origin of first documentary, history of documentary format, types of documentary practice and type of documentary used by the British when they were in charge of Nigeria.

According to Shaka, documentary film usually persuades and the first set of filmmakers were documentarians. “How a documentary film can be used to propagate African cultural identity; documentary format can be utilised in solving any social problem militating against performance development in any society, and the state of Africa cannot be different’’ he said. He, however, challenged Femi Odugbemi, the iREP executive director and his crew to seek sponsorship from banks and oil industries and be prepared to train unemployed youths, teach them the trade of documentary practice. He also urged the team to start a workshop programme for training of youths in documentary film making. He challenged the owners of broadcast media that they have a role to play in turning around the

By Seun Adeyemo and Olushola Orebajo

FESTIVAL documentary format and taking it to the next frontier.

“The broadcast media both the radio and TV need to create an alternative market for documentary production,” he added.

He concluded that documentary format could be exploited to project the African cultural identity to the rest of the world in the same manner that ‘we are currently doing through Nollywood to propagate our cultural value in the global market place.’

Some of the guests present were veteran film editor and television administrator, Alhaji Adegboyega Arulogun; film maker, Mr. Tam Fiofori; photographer and art advocate, Frieder Schlaich from Germany who spoke on Project Presentation and Distribution.

Odugbemi observed that there are several television stations that are willing to produce more documentary films. He noted that this was not the case few years ago. “This clearly shows the documentary film genre, with IREP at the helm, is growing and is attracting the right kind of attention from other relevant organisations,” he added.

The festival has Reconnections: Africa in Self Conservation as theme. Over 30 popular and award winning documentaries sourced from notable and new film makers around Africa and its Diaspora, Europe and the United

States were screened. They include United States of Hoodoo by Oliver Hardt, Orisa by Kunle Afolayan, Ifa of the Yoruba people by Tunde Kelani, Urban Prayers by Sabrina Dittus, Fatai Rolling Dollars: A Legend Unplugged by Femi Odugbemi, Crackles of Our Times by Sibylle Dahrendorf amongst others.

The films essentially treat themes that concern developments and realities around Africa and it people. The films deal with issues such as spirituality, religion, politics, culture, conflict, gender discrimination and affirmations etc. The four-day event featured keynote address by Professor Awam Amkpa; paper presentation by Prof Femi Shaka and Prof Niyi Coker, training/workshops, film screening, networking, cocktail evening, music, dance and drama night. iREPRESENT is an international Documentary Film Festival initiated with the objective of promoting independent documentary features in Nigeria and on the continent of Africa. The Festival places emphasis on training and skill development to the benefit of the young, aspiring and practicing film makers in Nigeria especially for those with flair for documentary films. The film festival is held annually and is dedicated to promoting awareness about the power of documentary films to serve as a means of deepening and sharing social and cultural education as well as encouraging participatory democracy in Africa societies.

‘Security is everybody’s concern ’

By Olushola Orebajo

T

HE Managing Director of Security Ex clusive magazine, Mr. Folu Koyi has praised the management of International Institute of Professional Security (IIPS) for its support.

Koyi spoke at the launch of a new magazine, Security Exclusive. The former project editor for Punch newspapers and Champion newspapers, said the magazine would be a nationwide publication that would transgress beyond Nigeria to other African countries. He explained that the maiden edition of the magazine was just a foretaste of brighter things, adding that the magazine would be published every two month.”But ultimately, the regularity will be increased to monthly and possibly weekly and is available for subscription.’

According to him, the focus of the magazine cuts across various segments of security. “Security is tied to only the armed forces, but I tell you, it is beyond that,” he said, adding that security goes beyond armed forces and weaponry, because there is also security for cars, house, emotion and even marriage.

He disclosed that the magazine would be adding new titles to its publication which its readers will find irresistible. The magazine, which has as its motto; The Relaxation Magazine For The Mature Mind is another dimension to discussing security issues and it will be featuring adventure, interviews, romance, agony and jokes.

43

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur assumed office a year ago. In this report, Assistant Editor AUGUSTINE AVWODE beams a seachlight on his score card.

What has Tukur achieved in one year?

T

HE glitz and glamour of being the national chairman of the largest party in Africa are quite alluring. The ruling party has had the fortune of producing the President, since the return to democratic governance about 14 years ago. Besides, not less than 20 of the 36 state governors are in office, courtesy of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It is certainly an enviable feat.

However, leading such a party, an amalgam of the good, the bad and the ugly, is akin to navigating a treacherous riverine course. The challenges are many. They are daunting in nature and can easily overwhelm the lilylivered. In the main, they are crises of factionalisation, indiscipline and lack of internal democracy.

All the men who had travelled the course before had bruises and tales of woes to show for their efforts as national chairman of the PDP. Yet, on March 23, 2012, former governor of old Gongola State and consummate businessman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur emerged as the seventh national chairman of the party.

It is one year now since he took over the reins of the party. How far has he been able to deal with the problems plaguing the party which symbol, the Umbrella, is too often depicted in tatters and at the mercy of chaotic wind by cartoonists across the country?

Expectedly, the opinions of party loyalists and faithful have been as divided and varied as the general tenor that has dogged the party even before he took over its leadership.

To the chairman of the Ogun State chapter of the party, Chief Adebayo Dayo, Tukur is on the right tract. He commended his efforts at rebuilding the party based on the principles of internal democracy and rule of law.

For the record, the state chapter is one of the most factionalised in the country and it took the pronouncement of the courts of law and the efforts of the national body to recognize one as the legal PDP. According to him, the size of the party make quarrelling and disagreements inevitable. He emphasized that what Tukur leadership of the party has done is moving the party in the right direction in his bid to restore not just peace and unity but also discipline.

“The first thing I want you to know is that the job is a very difficult one. It is so because of the size of the party. It is the largest in Africa and all people come into it to realize their political ambition. As a result there are bound to be misunderstandings and bickering.

“So, his first job is to settle quarrels.

He has been doing that very well. You see the recent reconciliatory moves across the country. And very importantly, he has ensured that achieving peace and unity in the party, which everybody wants, are not sacrificed on the table of indiscipline and lawlessness.

“What he is doing is to at the same time entrench internal democracy and the rule of law. He wants to return the party to the good old days when the party is supreme. He is doing well and I want us to encourage him. If we encourage him, the party has nothing to fear from the opposition. In fact, very soon people will be defecting from other parties to the PDP. He has done well and he will do better”, Dayo said.

In like manner the Southwest Zonal Youth Leader Mr Bolaji Jeje said Tukur has shown an untiring zeal to deal

We are watching and waiting, but the last one year has not been marked by excellent performance.

The 12 months have been wasted months. We thought that here was an opportunity to really rebuild the party, but unfortunately, there have been more controversies and it is not good for the PDP in the face of an emerging formidable opposition • Tukur

with the problems of factions and indiscipline in the party. He argued that his passion to reposition the party and make it a solid united family, instill discipline and loyalty among members are efforts that must be applauded.

He said it is not true that the chairman is acting out a script written for him by anybody.

“The national chairman comes across as a father figure to all of us. And no father will allow his house to be disorganized and be in disarray as a result of fighting among siblings. His efforts at resolving all the challenges posed by misunderstanding can be seen by everybody.

“Since last week Saturday, he started the Town Hall meetings in the different zonal regions beginning with the Southwest and you could see that it is a good development. We are working to consolidate the efforts and results of the meeting, especially in the Southwest and I can tell you that things are going to be alright. It will be very dangerous for anybody to write off the party in the Southwest because the reconciliation process is on and we are all supporting it.

“With him, we are on the right tract.

And if all the party members are united as the national chairman is saying and urging all to forget the past, I see no reason why the party should not bounce back in a big way come 2015.

“As my personal opinion, I don’t think the national chairman is acting any script to favour anybody. He is our father and no father favours one child at the detriment of the other. His passion for the continued success of the party is visible and all we need to do is to support him. In the last one year, therefore, I can say he is on course and he will take us to a higher realm”, Bolaji said Yet, the opinion from Tukur’s backyard is not as savoury as those from afar. Perhaps, it is a case of a prophet who lacks honour and respect at home. A PDP chieftain from Adamawa State, who spoke on condi-

tion of anonymity, has harsh words for the chairman. He actually described the past 12 months of Tukur as the chairman of the party as “wasted and bred more controversies”. He argued that the chairman may end up doing more harm to the party than he met it except he changes his style and side with the masses.

“We all agree that he is our brother, but being our brother is not what is important in this matter. The party is big, the interests varied, and the ambition of individuals are very tall. He has not been able to show that he could be non-partisan. Ask anybody what led to the big problem that almost consumed the party and even him in Adamawa State not long ago? If not for the intervention of the governors of the party, the Adamawa chapter of the PDP could have been completely destroyed by now.

“Then, look at the way the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has been polarized by the establishment of the PDP Governors Forum (PGF). If all other parties form their governors’ forum, what will become of the national body? And of course, you know what the insinuations have been, why the party formed the governors’ forum. Take a look at the way the issue of the national secretary of the party was handled. There seems to be more of personal vendetta in the whole issue than just mere desire to ensure that the rule of law is followed.

“There is no problem that does not have a political solution. When you insist that the verdict from the court must be obeyed to the letter, it is good, but after obeying it, did you do anything else to close the gap and heal the wounds? What you are doing is creating more problems. Even when he came here few days ago, you can see the turnout; those that matter did not attend the so called Town Hall meeting for reconciliation.

“We are watching and waiting, but the last one year has not been marked by excellent performance. The 12 months have been wasted months.

We thought that here was an oppor-

tunity to really re-build the party, but unfortunately, there have been more controversies and it is not good for the PDP in the face of an emerging formidable opposition, “ the source said.

From day one, when he muted the idea of leading the party, signs that he was in for a rough ride emerged. His famed business acumen, age and political accomplishment counted for nothing as he came face to face with stiff opposition from the home front.

So vicious was the opposition that it took the uncompromising intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan for Tukur to eventually emerge as national chairman. Barely three days to the convention, Tukur was roundly rejected at the party’s North East zonal Congress in Bauchi. The party in the zone preferred Dr. Musa Babayo who secured 14 votes to defeat Tukur who got only two. It was a symbolic decision. But the party over ruled the zonal congress on the ground that it did not conform to “stipulations by the PDP constitution”.

As the “anointed candidate” by the presidency, Tukur overcame all the intrigues to stop him. After series of meetings, the deal was sealed. At the convention ground, Alhaji Shettima Mustapha announced the withdrawal of all the other 10 aspirants contesting the party’s chairmanship position, leaving only Tukur in the race. And with only a voice vote by the delegates in the Eagles Square, they affirmed the choice of Tukur for the top job.

Tukur started off with new, but controversial steps. On assumption of office as chairman, he appointed aides and in the process created some offices attached to the chairman of the party that were hitherto unknown to the party. He named the former pioneer National Chairman of the National Democratic Party (NDP) Alhaji Habu Fari, as his Chief of Staff while the former Inspector General of Police Mike Okiro was appointed the Special Adviser on Security Matters.

He also appointed Senator Saidu Umar as Special Adviser on Indepen-

dent National Electoral Commission and Electoral Matters, while Abduallhi Gumel was named Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters. Besides, his salary, alleged to be N2million monthly, became a talk of town. Insiders say no chairman before him earned salaries other than sitting allowances.

Fari’s title later changed from Chief of Staff to the National Chairman to Principal Secretary when the National Working Committee (NWC) members protested that such an office was unknown to the party’s constitution.

Tukur made reconciliation of all aggrieved old member of the party his campaign slogan and he had pursued that with much zest. As part of the plan to realize his vision, he selected some chieftains of the party and constituted them into what he called “advisory committee”. The committee, he claimed, would assist him in running the party.

When he inaugurated the committee on Wednesday, May 30, it was obvious that the chairman never had the support of members of the NWC. They stayed away on the ground that it was an illegal body, unknown to the constitution of the party.

The committee has former Vice-President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme as chairman.

Even two members of the NWC were listed on the committee, Deputy National Chairman Sam Jaja and former National Secretary Olagunsoye Oyinlola did not honour the inauguration too.

Early June last year, it became obvious that all was not well with the party hierarchy. The former national secretary wrote a stinker to Tukur declaring the activities and actions of his aides illegal, particularly, Fari. The face-off between the two party administrators worsened with Fari challenging Oyinlola’s authority to query him and his actions. Perhaps to satisfy Oyinlola, Tukur fired Fari, few days later.

Then there was the crisis of the Adamawa State chapter. But for the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan who was said to have launched several moves to douse the fire, it could have consumed the chairman.

The manner in which the Southwest zonal crisis was resolved has also left some open sores yearning for attention. There is no doubt that the desire to be seen as allowing the rule of law to run its course has also come with a heavy cost of jettisoning political solutions. When the zonal Town Hall meeting held in Ibadan recently, the big names were expectedly absent. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the former National vice chairman Segun Oni and former scribe Olagunsoye Oyinlola were among the big names that failed to turn up at the meeting.

The one that held in Bauchi last week also witnessed prominent party stakeholders from the Northeast geo-political zone shunning the reconciliation meeting.

Today, though on the surface there is healing and reconciliation going on, but the fault lines are still visible within the party. And until Tukur establishes a system that can ensure a wholesale healing of the party within and without, the job is not yet done. He still has two years before 2015 to effect the total healing the party so badly craves. But for now, it would be a farce to say Tukur has realized his campaign manifesto of rallying the party together by reconciling warring factions and ensuring unity and oneness of all stakeholders.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

POLITICS House of Representatives member Mrs. Adeola Ajaja is from the Ibadan Northeast/Southeast, Oyo State. In this interview with VICTOR OLUWASEGUN and DELE ANOFI, the lawmaker speaks on her activities as a legislator.

‘Women are still lagging behind in politics’ ‘The women in parliaA ment are trying. There S part of the oppositionin the House, would you say the oppo sition is playing its roles in democ-

racy?

We are doing our best. In fact, people are accusing the House leadership of pandering to the whims of the minority.

Don’t forget that the opposition played a crucial role in the emergence of the House leadership. He is our Speaker and leader.

So, in anything he does, he always ensures that he doesn’t disappoint and let the opposition or what you will call the minority down.

All he wants is to do the right and, if he does what is right, we can’t go against him. And if he finds that the members are doing what is not right, he tries to call them to order. He has been a listening Speaker. Besides, he has been fulfilling his promises. In other words, he has not gone against his promises as far as we’re concerned.

How would you score the House in the last one year?

I’ll give the House a pass mark because, whatever the House is, that’s what the leadership is. You’ve seen how the Speaker of the of the House, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, is standing up for the truth. What else can we say? Whatever others have been thinking is immaterial.

So, I will give the House a pass mark.

What are your plans for your constituency?

There are so many plans meant to give them the dividends of democracy. I have started and I will still continue. I’m sponsoring some students in their education because, being an educationist, I cherish education so much. And my feeling is that when you have education, it gives you a broader mind. I have been able to give to students, who actually want to further their education but are poor, some assistance. I started by paying for the National Examination Council (NECO)’s examination for students, giving money to students in the higher institutions that can’t afford the payment, empowering women

is the general impression that Nigerian men want to take everything, but I don’t think that is true. There was a Bill that came up recently on the floor of the House, that has to with gender equality. We had to tell the men that it has nothing to do with disrespect for men and all that’ • Mrs Ajaja

by giving them financial support so that they can have something doing. I have also empowered many youths by distributing materials like grinding machines, generators and so on for technicians and women that need them. I have also provided boreholes in areas where they need them.

I have been able to repair and plaster some of our markets like the popular big market in Ibadan. I helped them to plaster where they sit so as to make it comfortable for them. I’ve been able to provide some transformers to areas where they need them. I must say that we ahve done pretty much but it is not possible to remember all right now.

Before I forget, we have also started to train some women in bead making, tailoring, hair dressing, Adire (clothing) etc.

And when they finish, I try to provide them with whatever they need to start up the business.

What is your future ambition?

After four years? Well, I tell people that the future belongs to the Lord but anyway, we all have desires. The Bible tells me that the desire of the righteous will actually be granted. My desire is to come back to this House after four years to continue the good work because I am sure my people want me to continue and to finish what I’ve started. So there’s no doubt about that.

What would be your advice for women that are aspiring to come into politics?

We should continue to strive hard. We should not rest on our oars. In fact, I contested with somebody that is so formidable, a PDP male contestant, who has

been in politics for so many years. He has been the chairman of a local government twice, and he is very close to the former Head of State and President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

So, when people heard about my intention to contest they went to inform Senator Ladoja that I cannot face the man.

But I told Ladoja that it’s got nothing to do with power or anything, that he should leave me. If its money that he has to spend, he’ll meet me there. If it’s thuggery, I don’t have. We’ll meet God. And whatever he believes in, I have a capable God. My Senator then supported me by telling my critics that, if you people agree to contest with this man, are you the one to face the man? But the people did not agree. But to the glory of God, I can say that they’re not disappointed that i was chosen as their representative.

What is your view on the 35 per cent affirmative action for women in politics?

Last year, I was opportuned to attend the UN conference in New York. Nigeria is yet to come up. When you see what is happening in other developed countries of the world, where they have like 78-80 women in governance, you will wonder what Nigeria is waiting for. By the time we are in the conference, I was just asking myself where Nigeria as a nation should start.

The women in parliament are trying.

There is the general impression that Nigerian men want to take everything, but I don’t think that is true.

There was a Bill that came up recently on the floor of the House, that has to with gender equality. We had to tell the men that it has nothing to do with disrespect for men and all that. And though the Bill did not pass, I am optimistic that, with more lobbying and enlightenment, things will change.

The 35 percent affirmative action project can survive in Nigeria. Nigeria is still in transition because certain cultures stifle the voice of women. But it will change, its a matter of time.

A medical practitioner, Dr. Patrick Nwike, is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State. The 54 year-old younger brother of former Deputy Governor Chudi Nwike has declared his governorship ambition. He spoke with JEREMIAH OKE in Lagos on his plans for the state. aspiration to govern the state from next year.

Why I want to govern Anambra State, by Nwike

• Nwike

W

HY are you in the gover norship race?

The best way to turn a negative into a positive is to do something about it. There are many things that the people of Anambra State deserve that we are being deprived of. In order to place our demands and needs, we need to put Anambra State back to the map of progress through a proper welfare package that would propel every Anambrarian to an optimum quality level.

Anambra State always seems to lack something; an altruistic individual that actually cares, rather than one that wishes to grab a little bit of power. Anambra State deserves someone that believes in the people and someone that is not scared to stand up and point out a wrong.

So, the challenges facing

Anambra State today require a new approach and drastic change process. The new Anambra State that we dream of has a vision for a change; a change for a good cause and a change that will bring about visible and enduring prosperity for our people. The government we shall put in place will stand up to these challenges with all honesty and deep sense of commitment. I guess, for the first time, I am presenting myselff as a candidate who strongly believes in the people and in myself and this belief in the people can only make me a very strong representative the people. Let us all join hands together to chart a new course to meet these challenges. Indeed, the time is now.

What is your vision for Anambra State?

My mission and vision for the state is to build a visible social, political and economic environment in which a middle class thrives. We also want to impact on the people, the true dividends of democratic governance through consultative and interactive forum for communal participation and thus leave a legacy that will remain the benchmark for assessing the performance of any future government.

In addition to that, our hallmark would be honesty and purposefulness and we shall work in the fear of God without fear or favour. Our

‘Anambra State is the most cosmopolitan in the Southeast region and boasts of having one of the most resourceful man power in the country. Yet, our state ranks as one with the lowest level of poverty indices in the Southeast. Indeed, given these endowments, Anambra State has absolutely no reason to be ranked as one with the lowest level of poverty indices’ administration shall be highly people oriented such that the people of Anambra will have a collective say on how they want to be led and governed. We shall work to do things that the people of Anambra will like. Our stand point shall be people’s preferences and we shall work for it to happen.

Could you shed light on the manifestos that will assist you in tranlating this vision into reality?

I have just a five-point agenda for the state. They are, superb healthcare delivery, sound education policy, agricultural and road development, social and youth development and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME).

The small and medium scale enterprises (SME) play very important roles in triggering and sustaining the economic growth and development of many economies. SMEs have also proved to be the most viable economic groups with tremendous potentials. Anambra State shall support the development of SMEs and make them the vehicle of de-

velopment in the State.

What are other priority areas requiring attention?

The thrust of our state development objective would be to reduce the indices of poverty in the state and alleviate the sufferings of the people. Therefore, our administration shall not embark on any project that it shall not complete or venture into any project that will not impact on the lives of the people directly and alleviate their poverty.

Our administration shall not impose any project on any local government.

Since our administration will be primarily people oriented, we plan to develop the “Anambra State Accelerated Economic Development Strategy (ASAECCODES) document. This will serve as the State development Master Plan. The document will be packaged from the various discussions that will emanate through consultative and interactive fora to be held at agreed strategic locations across the three senatorial zones.

The

ASAECCODES will identify and define the core needs of the State Government as well as the strategies to meet the needs. It is expected to be ready within the first six months of the administration being in place. The document will also build on development core elements contained in the State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategies (SEEDS) documents already existing in the State.

Anambra State is the most cosmopolitan in the Southeast region and boasts of having one of the most resourceful man power in the country. Yet, our state ranks as one with the lowest level of poverty indices in the Southeast. Indeed, given these endowments, Anambra State has absolutely no reason to be ranked as one with the lowest level of poverty indices. We can make the change and that will be possible if only we join hands together to make that change.

What is your chance at the primaries?

My chance is very bright. Mark my words: there would be a big surprise at the primary. I am confident I will pick the party’s ticket and become the next governor of Anambra State. I can also assure you that PDP will win the coming governorship election in the state.

So, help us God.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

45

Why I sell books, by Corps member

A

WARE of the scarcity of white collar jobs, some graduates, especially members of the National Youth Service Corps, are taking to self-employment.

One of such graduates is Saduden Moshood Abiola, who graduated from the Lagos State University (LASU).

Moshood, who studied Biology Education, is currently serving in Ondo State. A Batch ‘A’ Corps member, he is on his primary assignment at Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo.

Not satisfied with the paltry monthly allowance given to Corps members, he decided to pick up another job to complement the monthly allowance he receives.

Apart from running private lessons for secondary school students, he also sells books.

Moshood markets all kinds of books, especially inspirational ones. Such books as 48 Laws of Power; The Secret of Success; Talent is not Enough, among other collections are always on display at his book stand.

Newsextra encountered him at the convocation ceremony of Adeyemi College of Education.

Decked in his NYSC uniform, Moshood, a native of Ilorin in Kwara State, humbled himself at his book stand attending to customers who had come for the convocation ceremony unmindful of the discomfort from the scorching sun.

For him, the event was an opportunity to make quick money as he claimed that he sold more than 200 books during the week-long occasion.

According to him, he has always loved to be self-reliant; which informed his decision to further his education after graduating from Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education where he studied Integrated Science.

•Continued from Page 17 It is aimed at making healthcare accessible and affordable to rural dwellers. It was found that most rural dwellers do not access healthcare because they don’t find it accessible and affordable especially at nights.”

Gbadegesin also disclosed that patients enjoy free treatment for the first 48 hours of emergency, hence they are taken to only nearest government hospitals.

The ambulances currently work from 8 am to 6 pm with plans to ex-

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

He said: “After graduating from the college of education, I pondered over what the future holds in store for me. After a critical reflection on the economic situation in the country, I concluded that there was need to further my education. I must acquire more knowledge if I would be successful in life.

“Although it was rough and tough, I had to go for more qualifications. This is so because in our present society, one must have good qualification in order to get good job.”

With the current situation in the country, Moshood believes that getting white collar job may be difficult. The way graduates search for job has continued to give him sleepless nights.

“It has always given me serious concern the way our graduates search for job. It is sad that we have found ourselves in this situation where you have to search for job endlessly.

“I have seen a situation where about 20,000 people applied for just 20 job vacancies. How is it possible for a sizeable number of applicants to get job in such situation?

Nigeria has become a country where merit does not count any more. It has become a situation where who you know counts in getting a job.

“If you don’t know any highly placed individual in the society, you may not get a job no matter how good your grade is,” he lamented This uncomplimentary situation might have spurred Moshood to venture into book selling. As a married man, he knows it is his responsibility to fend for his immediate and extended families which the monthly allowance he receives will not be enough to take care of.

“I realised that I can no longer survive on my allowance. So, I had

to look for a way to survive. Apart from running a private home lesson with a friend, I also sell books to make ends meet.

“As somebody who is conversant with Lagos, I go there to buy books at wholesale rate and comedown to Ondo to sell them on different occasions. The gain I make on the sales is more than what I earn as allowance from the Federal Government and the management of Adeyemi College of Education.

“In Nigeria, you have to think fast and be ready to diversify.

If I get job after the NYSC year, I will be happy. But if there is no job, I will continue to sell books to take care of my family. I am not ashamed that as a graduate I hawk books around,” he said.

Moshood said he plans to own a large bookshop in no distant time. All he needs, he said, is N500, 000.

Although he has •Moshood at his book stand been saving part of his allowances and the proceeds his colleagues who are still waitfrom the sale of books, he believes ing to get white collar jobs. He opening a book store will assist opined that youths should endeavhim in realising his dreams. our to learn one trade or the other He said: “I need good amount of in addition to their educational money to expand this business. If I qualifications. can get up to N500, 000 to invest in “It is true that most youths want this business, I will become a milto have lucrative jobs. They want lionaire within one year.” to work in oil companies and Moshood has words of advice for banks. But in the face of the high

Oyo tackles road carnage tend working hours after more medical workers are employed and teething problems fully overcome. “We want to progress steadily. That is why we do not want to go all out at the initial stage. This is a project we really want to sustain. So it needs to be carefully managed. But we will soon extend the time of our services until we operate round the clock.”

The commissioner said.

So far, the Control Room, located

at the Ministry of Health, receives an average of 10 distress calls per day. They immediately connect the nearest ambulance to the place of emergency for quick response.

No fewer than 30 major cases have been handled with the highest number coming from accidents on Lagos-Ibadan expressway and Ibadan-Ife expressway.

The programme has a working relationship with the Federal Road

Safety Commission (FRSC) whose officers are involved in attending to road accidents. Whenever the FRSC men receive a call, they inform the ambulance which follows them to the scene of accidents.

The commissioner further revealed that the ministry was working with the University College Hospital (UCH) to train members of the ambulance team on trauma management.

The next set of ambulances is to be distributed to local governments to enable them ownership of them for the purpose of maintenance and ef-

rate of unemployment, they need to change their attitude and be selfreliant.

“They need to make use of their brains and God-given talents to survive. There are other skills to acquire like tailoring and welding. If one is good in these trades in addition to one’s educational qualification, one will surely excel,” he said. fective operation.

Aside road accidents, the ambulances have been called upon severally by residents for different types of health issues wherever they arise.

For instance, one of the ambulances was called upon to attend to a child convulsing at a motor park in Eleyele area recently. The commissioner added that such issues come up regularly to which the ambulance team respond quickly.

The toll-free mobile phone which the public reaches the ambulance or the Control Room is 08139858585.

With the new innovation, the Governor Abiola Ajimobi administration is once again, taking the state onto a higher pedestal.

No fewer than 30 major cases have been handled, with the highest number coming from accidents on Lagos-Ibadan expressway and Ibadan-Ife expressway

•Chairman, Ikeja Local Governement, Hon Wale Odunlami inspecting some on-going projects in the local government area

46

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

•Students, teachers and parents at the school on its Cultural Day

T

HE proprietor of High Grade Schools, Akowonjo Lagos, Daebi Oki has urged parents to bring up their children in a manner that pleases God rather than clinging to cultural beliefs that displease Him. He said this at the Yoruba Cultural Day celebration held at the institution.

He said: “Over the years, there were certain things that our forefathers did that were not pleasing to God. Today, we’ve known God. We have to do away with

Parents advised on child upbringing

By Olusoji Olukayode

those things that are not right in His sight.

“There are certain aspects of our culture that should not, in any way, be passed on to our children. For example, things like idolatry and consumption of alcohol should not be encour-

aged among them. Also speaking at the event, the coordinator of the Yoruba Day celebration, Bukola Afuye advised parents to converse with their children in their native languages.

She said: “Some of our children don’t even know how to speak their dialect. With the experience gathered here today, I believe they will go home and

start practising how to speak with their parents in their native languages. My advice to parents is that they should try as much as possible to speak their language to their children.”

In a similar manner, Oluwasesan Babatope, who commended parents who attended the event, said children should be encouraged to speak

the Yoruba language more.

“I thank God that some of them witnessed the event. Parents should encourage their children to speak the Yoruba language,” he said.

Highlights of the event included the exhibition of different Yoruba dishes and activities such as debate, news casting, and songs that were carried out in Yoruba.

Loan for Sokoto farmers

F

•Mrs. Oyeleke sandwiched by representatives of NANS

T

HE National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has presented its certificate of excellence to Oyeleke Memorial College, Offa in Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State after selecting the institution as the “Best Productive College in Nigeria in 2012.”

While presenting the award to the Proprietress of the college, NANS Senate President Kolade Olaoluwa said the award was given to the school because of its sound moral and academic record.

Represented by the chairman of the association’s award committee Salaudeen A. Luqman, the NANS chief said: “It is NANS’ culture to encourage those who have passion for the development of education in this country. NANS is also determined to stem the tide of cultism and other anti-social behaviours in our pri-

College gets NANS award From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

mary and secondary schools. We have started investigating some primary and secondary schools in the country because these are where students’ characters are formed.

“That informed this award. We commend primary and secondary schools that have good moral and academic upbringing for their wards. The choice of Oyeleke Memorial College resulted from the outstanding moral and academic performance of its products who are members of NANS. “The recent performance of the college in the Senior Secondary

School Certificate Examination made the college stand out. Therefore, NANS is honouring the school as the best productive in Nigeria.

“The award used to given to colleges of education, polytechnics and universities. The honour is to spur the college for greater achievements.

It should not rest on its oars for the betterment of Nigerian educational system.”

Responding, the Proprietress of the school, Mrs. Ayodele Oyeleke thanked the NANS for recognising her school.

She assured that the school would not rest on its oars, adding that the “honour is due to hard work which I have always been preaching.”

ARMERS in Sokoto State have been assured of adequate support by the Aliyu Wamakko administration, but only genuine growers will get that support.

Hon. Mani Maishinku Katami, chairman, Silame Local Government Area of the state said the council will ensure that only practicing dry-season farmers will benefit from the N50 million tripartite agriculture loan by the state government.

He said the disbursement will be fair and transparent to genuine farmers in order to meet the objective for which it was initiated.

Speaking to reporters in Sokoto, Alhaji Katami said the council has inaugurated a sub-committee to go round communities and villages with a view to identifying genuine farmers for the disbursement.

Governor Wamakko inaugurated committees across the 23 councils to facilitate the disbursement of N2 billion agriculture loans to dry-season farmers in the state.

•Governor Aliyu Wamakko From Adamu Suleiman, Sokoto

Wamakko at the inauguration warned against politicing the exercise which is aimed at fast-tracking socio-economic transformation of the state agriculture sector by encouraging dry-season farming.

The chairman explained that his council will ensure that the loans will be repaid.

“The essence is aimed at boosting food production and security”, he said.

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

The scheme is meant to support the economic empowerment of women and discourage them from high-risk behaviours. It is a way of developing savings and micro-credit opportunities to support the empowerment of women. We are giving our women the opportunity to acquire interest-free micro-loans

S

INCE the inception of the current administration in Ogun State, wife of the state governor Mrs. Olufunso Amosun has been a committed crusader for socio-economic empowerment of women of the state.

In order to achieve her objectives, she has evolved several programmes that have impacted positively on the women, especially those at the grassroots. Most of these programmes are geared towards helping them to realise their potential.

Recently, she embarked on a mission to rebuild Ogun State; a programme through which women gather themselves together for economic good.

Therefore, on March 12, 2013, she flagged off an empowerment scheme for women of the state as part of the week-long activities marking the 2013 International Women’s Day celebration. The scheme was tagged Mission to Rebuild Ogun State (MITROS) Empowerment Initiative.

The initiative boasts one of the largest groups of women in the state. It comprises over 10,000 members from all the 20 local government areas. It is a voluntary organisation responsible for propagating the ideas of the new dawn and maintenance of Ogun standard which the current administration is known for. The body was constituted by well-meaning citizens of the state in January 2012.

Since then, they have been relentlessly supporting the administration of Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

The objective of the initiative was to provide interest-free loan and commercial items for women to enable them to enhance their businesses. They are to repay the loan over a stipulated period of time.

With the support of organisations like Dangote Group, Airtel Nigeria, WEMPCO, Lafarge Ce-

•Mrs. Olufunso Amosun waving the MITROS flag at the commemoration of the 2013 International Women’s Day celebration

Amosun’s wife flags off jobs scheme ment, May & Baker, Multitrex Nigeria Limited, Nigeria Bottling Company, and Glaxo SmithKline among others, Mrs Amosun was able to get sponsorship to the tune of N20 million.

The women who are members of the MITROS were provided the opportunity to borrow money on interest-free rate payable within a stipulated time. This is aimed at

making other women benefit from the loan facility to start up smallscale businesses.

Mrs. Amosun described women as the bedrock of any successful society, adding that womenfolk should not be relegated to the background in the scheme of things.

She pointed out that MITROS had become a formidable force to reckon with in the state, even as she added that the MITROS Em-

powerment Initiative was aimed at boosting the economic power of the beneficiaries and to uplift them in a bid to enable them to be selfsufficient and achieve their full potential, thereby increasing their skills and contributions towards economic success.

She said: “We are using MITROS as a pilot body to empower women by providing them with a range of services and benefits. The scheme

is meant to support the economic empowerment of women and discourage them from high-risk behaviours. It is a way of developing savings and micro-credit opportunities to support the empowerment of women. We are giving our women the opportunity to acquire micro-loans and build their own businesses devoid of any interest rate. This allows them to attain greater economic independence.”

Insure yourselves, ICAN urges members in Jos T

•Some of the items distributed

HE Jos District Society of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has urged its members to join the intitute’s life and accident insurance policy. It revealed that the district would bear 50 per cent premium of the policy as a welfare package for them.

The district also encouraged its members to constantly visit its websites where opportunities that could better their lot abound.

Speaking in Jos at the 2013 annual general meeting (AGM), Mr. Clement Suhunshak who was reelected chairman of the group, decried the insignificant improvement which was recorded during his first tenure. This he attributed to the recurring problems the state experienced in the past. He assured that with the return of peace, the district would achieve success in the various activities lined up for the year.

Suhunshak further stated that sensitisation and creation of awareness which are cardinal goals of the district society were low. But as the district enters a new year, he said, a committee would be set up to face the challenge head-on in order to ensure that people, especially students in higher institutions in the state, align themselves with the society to make an impact in the accounting profession.

He also lamented the district’s inability to extensively organise workshops and seminars, even as he promised that there would be wide consultations to address the situation.

He said: “As signs of end-time, there was little or no improvement from the recent past years. The security situation was unabated; the prolonged strike of members of staff of the local government and tertiary institutions in the state affected the economic activities in no small measure, so much so that the Central Bank of Nigeria in Jos commented that the clearing house had its share of it.

“The sociological and psychological trauma rendered Jos in particu-

lar and Plateau State in general a no-go area for economic and educational events. These affected our activities in many areas.

“The incorporation of the thrift society in 2008 which was intended to empower members has really not achieved the purpose due to very low membership and noncommitment to remittance of monthly dues.”

On the insurance policy, he added: “It is still my candid advice that all members join the policy whose 50 per cent premium is borne by the district.”

High point of the event was the election of members of the new executive who would oversee the affairs of the society.

The incorporation of the thrift society in 2008 which was intended to empower members has really not achieved the purpose due to very low membership and non-commitment to remittance of monthly dues

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

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NEWS

•Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu with Secretary to the Lagos State Government (SSG), Dr Idiat Oluranti Adebule, at the opening of Lagos Mainland Local Government Secretariat. With them is Lagos State Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Ademorin Kuye,

•Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi (middle); his wife Folashade and foreign investors: Mr. Sun Seek Cho (left); Mr. Lamar Nathan and Dr. Sidi Larbi Cherif, at a Yoruba International Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirate... last weekend.

•Plateau State Governor Jang (right) receiving a birthday card from a Firstbank officials on his 69th birthday

•Minister of State for Education Ezenwo Nyesom Wike (third left) with members of the Niger Delta Young Professionals, after the presentation of an Excellence Award to the minister.

•Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Ayotunde Philips (second right); Justice Olutoyin Ipaye (right); Justice Olaide Olayinka and Justice Yetunde Idowu, at the beginning of the Health week at the Lagos High Court, Igbosere...yesterday.

PHOTO: NNEKA NWANERI •L-R: Deputy Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Ahmed Ibeto; Pakistan Ambassador to Nigeria, Lt.-Gen. Mohammed Ashraf Saleem (rtd); representative of the Chairman of the ocassion, Col Habibu Shuaibu; Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Amb. Martin Uhiomoibhi and former Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Ibrahim Shekarau at the 74th National Day and 47th Defence Day of Pakistan in Abuja... last weekend.

•L-R: Media Consultant, Ekulo Group, Mr. Ingram Osigwe, Head, Marketing and Sales (ICCTrade Fair Branch), Miss Pamela Nweke, General Manager, Mr. Joseph Okonkwo and Head, Sales and Marketing, Mr. Pawan Mudgil, at the re-launch of Baron De Valls wine in Lagos... yesterday.

PHOTO: MUYIWA HASSAN

•Tutor General/ Permanent Secretary, Education District III, Lagos State, Mrs Wonuola Idris assisting Prince Tajudeen Oluyole Olusi (right) to cut a tape to inaugurate Elegbata Junior High School, Lagos. With them are Chairman, Lagos Island Local Government, Hon Wasiu Eshilokun Sanni (left) andformer Minister of State for Defence, Prince Demola Seriki.

•L-R: Former Minister for Health, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Olumide Akintayo, Chairman of the occasion, Foluso Philips and Director, National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Ohii at the inauguration and investiture of Akintayo as PSN President at MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos... last weekend.

PHOTO: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

•Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigeria’s Online Megastore, Konga.com, Mr Sim Shagaya (second left); Head, Customer Explorer, Mrs Ruby Chuku (second right); Head of Marketing, Mr Onyeka Akumah and Vice President, Purchasing, Mr Olalekan Olakanmi (left), at the company’s news conference in Lagos... yesterday.

PHOTO NIYI ADENIRAN

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

NEWS

VVF services are life changing, says US Consul-General

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RS Mabelus Ubi is a house wife from Ikom in Cross River State.

She had Vesico Vagina Fistula (VVF), following complications during delivery. She is one of the 42 women who have had their VVF repaired at the National Fistula Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, free of charge.

When asked how she came down with fistula, she said it was during her last pregnancy. “I was in labour for four days at a private hospital in Ikom before I was referred to another hospital where I was told my baby had died in my womb.”

Mrs Ubi is consoled by the fact that she can still procreate, given by the doctors at the National Fistula Hospital, Abakiliki, Ebonyi State, as part of the health education programme of the hospital.

She said: “They told me I can still have as many children as I like, they said to protect myself I must adopt family planning to enable me space my children and that when I want to deliver I should go to hospital and that my delivery will be by caesarean operation.”

Mrs Ubi, who spoke during the visit of the Consul General of the United States Embassy in Nigeria, Jeffrey Hawkins to the National Fistula Hospital, Abakaliki, thanked the hospital and Mr Hawkins for the visit.

She said she had been treated like a queen by the hospital since her admission.

“They have been very nice to me and other women who have also been operated on. I want to thank God for them, for the good work they are doing here.” “I am from Cross River State but they have made me feel at

•Clients at the post Operation ward of the National Fistula hospital Abakaliki welcoming Hawkins, with a song

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

home here, aside that, other clients and I under treatment are given toiletries, beddings and even fed at no cost for the duration of the treatment.

She said 42 clients were admitted at the hospital but the Chief Medical Director, Dr Sunday Adeoye, said the number was low. “By our standards it is not high because often times we do have up to 84 patients at a time” he noted.

Adeoye said: “Recently we have introduced a community based approach to family planning, which takes our staff to communities to pro-

vide services as well as education. Physicians and staff of the hospital are trained to offer ‘holistic’ services to clients, “we also try to manage them even after treatment.”

He told the visiting Consul General that treatment and other services offered at the hospital are free. “The clients do not pay anything, once they come in we provide them with all they need, this is why we often do not encourage relatives of clients receiving treatment to stay back to care for them.

“But this policy has changed gradually with time because of the needs of nursing mothers under treat-

Group urges prevention of tooth decay, gum diseases

Home care for senior citizens N organisation, WellCare Home Medicals has come up with an innovation of home care for the elderly.

According to its Managing Director, Dr Jumoke Odunsi, lack of state provision for the care of the elder in Nigeria requires the family to provide the needs for the survival of the older people.

Odunsi said the present economic realities, gradual disintegration of the extended family system, unemployment, increasing female employment and urbanisation are contributory factors to the noticeable decline in the level of eldercare.

“Hence, a sizeable percentage of elderly people experience some form of maltreatment at home which can lead to serious physical injuries and long term psychological consequences. This is predicted to increase as many countries are experiencing rapidly aging populations, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).”

And WHO has indicated that the world’s population of people 60 years of age and older has doubled since 1980 and is forecast to reach two billion by 2050. And that is why, in “In 2005, Wellcare Home Medicals Limited was incorporated in 2005 and launched in 2007.”

According to Dr Odunsi, her organisation provides a variety of services that allows older people live long and independently while enjoying the dignity of life to the very end.

“We provide medical and nonmedical home support services to the old and frail, chronically ill, and persons returning to the country after major medical interventions abroad. Our services generally fall under three categories: Care Assistants/Personal Aides; Nursing Care and Palliative Care/Hospice.

Our caregivers are trained with the UK Care Modules to assist Clients with all activities of daily living, which are personal in nature.

A

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

“These include helping with bathing, toileting, incontinence issues and grooming; contributing to a positive living environment to enhance the client’s quality of life; reporting any significant changes in a client’s needs or living conditions and performing other reasonable duties as assigned.

“The nursing services are provided by qualified registered nurses to clients with chronic medical challenges like stroke after hospital discharge. They work with the client’s personal physician to ensure that all prescribed medications and procedures are carried out accordingly. And the Palliative Care/Hospice Services are provided by a team of personnel to assist the patient and family cope with the challenge of the inevitable.

This comprises of doctors, nurses, pain therapists, clergy and others as might be required. All with sole aim of promptly managing complications and ensuring adequate pain control. The palliative care services have provided the much needed succour for several families over the years,” she stated.”

ment. We discovered that with such women you need to have a caregiver around to take care of the baby while the mother receives treatment,” he said.

Dr Adeoye said clients are usually admitted and treated within the first three days of their arrival at the hospital, but waiting time after operation is between 21 and 23 days but it Sally Davies can be more depending on individual case profile.

“If it is a normal case of fistula it takes about three days from the day of her arrival to surgery, unless the case comes with other complications like high blood pressure and sugar;

when that is the case we normally would stabilise the situation before surgery, this can take between one week and one month before surgery can be carried out” he said.

Adeoye said the hospital is not about treatment alone. “We also do a lot in terms of preventive services, our prevention services are equally as important, because fistula is a condition, “that should not happen in the first place”.

He said one of the cardinal points of the prevention services of the hospital is that fistula can happen to any woman anywhere in the country for as long as there is pregnancy. “We let people know that it is wrong to say that fistula is a problem of one part of the country. Majority of the women that have been repaired at this hospital are from the southern part of the country. Fistula does not have age limit and can occur at any time in a woman’s procreative years.

“If a woman is not pregnant, she will not come down with fistula, it becomes really sad when she comes down with in her fourth or fifth pregnancy,” he said.

The solution, he said, is in increased uptake of family planning services by women in the country.

“Family planning is also a very important part of what we do, I am happy to say we have also received a lot of support from USAID in providing family planning services to our clients.”

Responding, the Consul General said the US government spends about $500 million eria through the Federal Ministry of health, especially in the area of HIV. Hawkins assured fistula clients of the continued support of the United States government.

By Wale Adepoju

•Olojede

T

OOTH decay and gum diseases have been identified by the Nigerian Dental Association (NDA) as some of the common diseases affecting oral health.

Its President, Dr Olurotimi Olojede said there was need to prevent these diseases by brushing twice daily with a medium texture toothbrush for about two minutes and seeing the dentist once every six months to stop any

new development.

Olojede spoke on the occasion of World Oral Health Day (WOHD) in Lagos, entitled Healthy teeth for healthy life.

He said healthy teeth gums and mouth play an important role in people’s ability to work or study without constant nagging and painful toothache.

Describing tooth decay, he said: “This is when acids in the mouth dissolve the outer layer of the mouth.”

Chairperson, Product Committee of NDA, Dr Dunni Ogundana, said people develop tooth problems because a lot of people don’t brush their teeth while those who don’t brush properly and at the right frequency.

She said people should brush in the morning and night before they go to bed, stressing that the mouth is an important part of the body because it is the gateway into it.

She said there was need for

awareness that taking care of one’s teeth is not just for the mouth alone but for the general wellbeing of their health.

“Prevention is better and by far cheaper than curative therapies.

So when people prevent tooth problems they won’t have to spend money on treatment. It is cheaper to go for dental checkup than treatment.

“When you visit your dentist once every six months, he may be able to pick up any problem that has started developing in your mouth and he can nip it in the bud.”

Ogundana said people should check with their dentists to know which toothpaste is good for their teeth because some people’s gums react to some toothpaste, especially herbal or other recommended tooth pastes. “But it doesn’t mean everybody’s gums will react to it. In herbal toothpaste, most of the constituents may be too much, which is why the NDA tries to ensure that they are in the right proportions, she added.

NGO empowers women on healthy life

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NON-GOVERNMENTAL Organisation (NGO), Life Impact Foundation International (LIFI) has empowered women to be healthy.

Its Executive Director, Yemisi Joel-Osebor said the NGO targeted women because they believe women play a very important role in the society.

She spoke during a one-day free medical care / HIV/AIDS testing for market women at the Ojodu Berger Market.

The women were given tips on healthy lifestyle inspite of their busy schedule, free HIV and AIDS counselling and the test was con-

By Medinat Kanabe

ducted, free blood sugar level test, blood pressure test, body Mass Index test was also conducted.

They were also given free medical consultation with free drugs.

Joel-Osebor said: “Women play reproductive roles, economic roles and social role and they cannot act effectively if they don’t have good health.”

She said it is important that women eat and rest well, adding that the NGO is willing to help any of the women found positive to the level of recommending her to a specialist where she will be well

taken care of.

She further stated that women in the market are very busy having no time to go for health check-up.

This, she said, is because when they are not in the market they are taking care of the children.

Mrs joel-Osebor said their general well-being is very important because if they are unhealthy, they won’t have the right attitude towards their work.

She added that a healthy woman is a healthy mother and a healthy mother builds a healthy home which is the bedrock of a healthy nation.

One of the market women who

spoke to The Nation, Mrs FolashadeAjayi, said she had never done such a test before.

“I don’t go to the hospital because I don’t fall sick so I have never done such a test before. I like the idea.

Many of us do not have the time to go for proper check-ups,” she said.

Another woman, Mrs Halimat Bashorun said she is grateful to LIFI for the opportunity given to her.

She said she does not have the time to go to the hospital to check herself. “I am always busy, where will I get the time to go to the hospital when if I am not in the market I am at home taking care of the family.”

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NEWS

I told Jonathan no second term for me, says Sanusi

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S the issue of whether the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi would vie for second term in office or not continues to reverberate, the apex bank’s boss yesterday shed more light on the issue.

Sanusi said he had intimated President Goodluck Jonathan since 2011 that he would not be interested in seeking second term on the expiration of his tenure in June, next year.

“I informed the president going back to 2011 that I would not be interested in serving for two terms,’’ Sanusi

• CBN boss defends 12% interest rate •Disowns claims on social media

By Collins Nweze

told Bloomberg in Lagos, according to a statement from the apex bank yesterday.

The apex bank governor, who re-echoed his stance on second term, stated that he would not seek renewal of tenure as he considers a single term enough to make a lasting positive impact in the financial system and the economy.

On the retention of the 12 per cent Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the

benchmark for interest rate, Sanusi noted: ”My own inclination is to just hold and just continue doing what we’re doing, because it has worked very well. But I’m only one vote in the Monetary Policy Committee and as you can see, the votes to ease are beginning to increase. More MPC members may follow by voting for rate cuts,” Sanusi said.

He also cautioned on the quest for low interest rate.

“The impact of interest rates below inflation could be ‘hor-

rendous’ for economic stability, so in the short term the country has to live with high rates. Our own forecasts don’t show us getting back to the kind of 12 to 13 per cent levels we saw last year. Inflation is where we’d like it to be, exchange rates are stable, reserves are heading towards and will soon cross $50 billion,” he said.

The 12-member MPC, led

by Sanusi, left the key rate at a record high of 12 per cent for a ninth meeting last week to help bolster the naira and

‘States, local govts lose revenue due to unexplored taxes’

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HE Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) yesterday stated that a lot of revenue are being lost by states and local governments as a result of unexplored taxes.

Its Assistant Director, Chief Ikechukwu Onyeji, who represented the organisation at the National Revenue Summit organised

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

by the Centre for Economic Research and Development (CERD) in Abuja, urged the two tiers of government to make serious efforts through their revenue authorities to ensure that taxes are harnessed to increase their revenue profile.

He noted that states and local government continue

to shirk the responsibility of tax collection because of the huge distributions of revenue from the Federation Account to the three tiers of government.

According to him, states and local government use consultants who may not be vast in tax administration to collect some of the taxes.

The FIRS representative also noted that the consult-

ants are tempted to concentrate on few taxes that give them high yield to the neglect of others they may not have the capacity to collect.

While enumerating avenues for revenue generation, he said naming of street and street registration in the state capital, right of occupancy fee and market taxes are huge sources of revenue.

keep inflation below 10 per cent. Three members voted for a reduction, up from two in January to support the economy. Policy makers have so far rejected calls from businesses and the government to lower borrowing costs.

Inflation in Nigeria accelerated to 9.5 per cent in February from nine per cent in the previous month. At the same time, the naira has dropped by 1.3 per cent against the dollar this year, making imports more expensive.

Meanwhile, the CBN said its attention had been drawn to various postings on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and so on), purported to have been made by its Governor.

A statement from CBN’s Director of Communication, Ugochukwu Okoroafor, said Sanusi has neither a Facebook nor a Twitter account. He said any such account, purported to belong to him is fake.

He also said any such statement or posting, purported to have been made by the CBN

Governor is false.

The CBN spokesman said in the last six months, there have been efforts by unknown elements to use the Internet, with its social media extensions, to tarnish and malign the image and reputation of the CBN Governor.

Okoroafor said efforts at tackling this menace had been yielding positive results as over 100 of these fictitious accounts had been closed with the collaboration of the Facebook authorities. He said there is a criminal case against one of the elements using these channels to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.

He said the relevant law enforcement agencies have been duly notified of these developments.

“We, therefore, urge members of the public to disregard these fake accounts and their false and malicious contents as they are calculated to deceive the public, malign the reputation of the CBN Governor and cause disaffection in the country,” Okoroafor said.

Nigeria, Turkey trade to hit $5b in five years

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HE Deputy Minister of Economy in Turkey, Mr Mustafa Sever, has said the volume of trade between Nigeria and Turkey is expected to reach $5 billion in the next five years from $1.5 billion.

Sever spoke yesterday at the opening ceremony of the three-day Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)-Turkish export products fair held in Lagos. He said Turkish Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stock in Nigeria stood at about $100 million while Turkish contractors are holding 15 projects in Nigeria with a total value of $880 million.

•From left: Head, Corporate Affairs, Union Bank Nigeria Plc, Mr Francis Barde; Executive Director, Finance/Chief Finance Officer, Mrs. Oyinkan Adewale; and Group Managing Director, Mr Emeka Emuwa, during an interactive session with reporters in Lagos... yesterday.

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Inflation likely to hit 10%, says CBN

IGERIA’S inflation is likely to exceed 10 per cent at some point over the next few months, but will return to single digits by the fourth quarter, Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sarah Alade, said yesterday.

The CBN held rates at 12 percent last week for the ninth time in a row, citing concerns over ongoing external price pressures. “It’s the beginning of the planting season, at that time you have this slight uptick in prices,” Sarah Alade told Reuters in an interview during an investor non-deal roadshow for AMCON, Nigeria’s state-backed bad bank.

“By the time it’s harvest time, prices are dampened. You have from nine to 9.5, now to 10 and then back again - in and out.

By the fourth quarter, we should be back to single digits,” she added.

Analysts say Africa’s second biggest economy has achieved an impressive degree of macroeconomic stability over the past year, with inflation falling, the local naira currency stabilising and stock and bond markets both performing

well.

But investors remain wary of the government’s tendency to fritter away its oil windfall on recurrent spending, stoking price pressures. Corruption also drains assets.

Nigerian consumer inflation rose to 9.5 per cent in February, from nine per cent in January, though still within the Central Bank’s single digit target. Food price inflation rose to 11 per cent.

CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi, told Reuters on Monday that he expected interest rates to remain unchanged at

12 per cent in the coming months to avoid jeopardising recent progress towards taming inflation and stabilising the exchange rate.

Sanusi said he wanted to see a sustained downward trend in inflation before easing.

Alade said the CBN had retained a “tight monetary stance” at the latest meeting, though she said she was relaxed about the naira, which fell to a seven-month low last week.

“It’s not a concern. If (a currency) is market-driven, you have this kind of up and down.

We are quite okay with that.”

Alade said the CBN’s foreign exchange reserves, which hit their highest in over four years at $47 billion in February, had continued to grow.

“We have robust external reserves, as of Friday reserves were $48 billion,” she said.

Reserves would likely remain on an upward path, surpassing the $50 billion level, Alade said.

“We are nearing $50 billion.

I still see the reserves increasing, if oil prices remain where they are - we have all this fiscal consolidation,” she added.

Samsung, NLNG hold talks on supply AMSUNG Heavy IndusThe company has longof tankers ers. tries, the world’s secondterm contracts with buyers in

S

largest shipyard, is discussing with the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) for the supply of four ships for export of liquefied natural gas.

According to Bloomberg News, NLNG, Africa’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, seeks to expand its deliveries abroad.

Nigeria LNG is still working on the proposed deal, Gloria Ita-

Ikpeme, a Lagos-based spokeswoman for the company, said.

A spokesman for Samsung Heavy said negotiations were on-going.

Nigeria LNG operates the Bonny Island plant with six production units able to produce 21.7 million metric tons of the gas yearly, or about eight per cent of the world total, according to data from the International Group of LNG Import-

Europe and is seeking to boost shipments eastward to meet growing demand from Asia.

Plans to boost the tanker fleet of Nigeria LNG’s shipping unit, Bonny Gas Transport Limited, include an order with Hyundai Heavy Industries for two ships.

The expansion follows a $1 billion loan brokered by BNP Paribas SA, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Africa Finance Corporation.

By Toba Agboola

He said despite the economic crisis experienced globally, Turkey exported to over 201 different countries and customs zones, breaking a record in exports with $152.5 billion and attracted $129 billion in investments over the last 10 years.

On the fair, the Vice-President of the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialist of Turkey (TUSKON), Mr Ahmet Ciger, said the ECOWAS Turkish Export Products fair was organised to show their interest to ECOWAS and to highlight the potential in ECOWAS countries.

Lagos begins tax defaulters’ prosecution in April AGOS Goernor, Babatunde Raji Fashola yesterday said the government will start prosecuting members of professional bodies, among others, who defaulted in tax payment as from April 12, this year.

Speaking during a Tax Stakeholders Conference for Professionals in Lagos, Fashola said it had become imperative for members of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), and Nigerian Institute of Marketing (NIMARK) to pay their taxes promptly or face the wrath of the law.

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By Akinola Ajibade

Others are members of Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), and Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN).

He said the government has compiled the number of cases to move to court, but told them to hold on because of the conference.

He said the government has tried to appeal to the moral conscience of professionals among those people in the upper-income brackets to take tax payment seriously, arguing that the time has come to invoke the power of the constitutions on tax evaders.

Unions picket Aero over sacked workers

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OR anti-labour activities, aviation unions yesterday picketed the corporate headquarters of Aero Airlines at the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

The action by the union was to call the airline to order for its failure to recall the over

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

600 staff sacked by the airline without recourse to labour laws.

At Aero’s office yesterday, workers and union members blocked the entrance to the gate to prevent some workers who were allegedly called in by the airline from having access into the company.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

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EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 26-03-13

NSE launches online platform for firms

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IGERIAN Stock Ex change (NSE) yes terday launched a secured online platform for quoted companies to submit their earnings reports and other information to the market on a seamless online platform.

Speaking at the launch of the online platform named X-Issuer, Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Oscar Onyema, said it represented another step towards achieving Exchange’s vision of becoming the gateway to African markets.

He said the launch of XIssuer is more than just a mere passion for 21st century technology strategies; it is the understanding that accurate information is imperative in driving a vibrant capital market.

He said the online platform embodies NSE’s unwavering commitment to providing a first rate platform that will enable all stakeholders build and grow their businesses.

The NSE boss noted that there was need to bridge the information gap be-

*Equities slip further

By Taofik Salako & Tonia Osundolire

tween listed companies and the capital market, which is information driven. He added that it is time to look beyond the submission of information to the Exchange by post, hand delivery or courier.

He called for collective efforts to create a world of information repository in the capital market that will facilitate quick and easy access to information by investors and other interested parties globally.

Onyema said X-Issuer would provide an unparalleled opportunity to significantly reduce information leakage and eliminate delays associated with the discharge of issuers’ postlistings obligations in a cost effective and efficient manner.

“At the Exchange, we believe that we need to be well positioned to adapt our business to compete effectively in the global marketplace and continue to work on achieving

greater transparency and integrity. Whilst we are positive that this initiative will encourage accountability, we also believe that it will positively impact activities in your issues as international and local investors, and analysts shall be better able to evaluate your data in an accurate, timely and cost effective manner,” Onyema said.

Meanwhile, the downtrend at the stock market was sustained for t he sec ond c onsec u t i v e day as key indicators at NSE slipped to lower levels.

The main index for the stock market, the All Share Index (ASI), dropped by 0.11 per cent each to close 33,429.46 points while aggregate market capitalisation of equities lost N12 billion to close at N10.697 trillion.

With losers and gainers almost at par, the inclusion of several highly capitalised stocks on the losers’ list tilted the market to the negative. Nestle Nigeria topped the gainers’ list with a gain of N56 to close at N916.

Cement Company of Northern Nigeria lost N1.21 to close at N10.89.

Lafarge Wapco Cement Nigeria dropped by N3.99 to close at N70.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 26-03-13

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

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MONEY LINK FirstBank launches ‘expressions on card’

Union Bank eyes larger customer base F U NION Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc will significantly grow its customer base by optimizing the potential of existing large customer base and targeting new segments of the market through innovative products, efficient, reliable technologies and amenable banking ambience.

Group managing director, Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc, Mr Emeka Emuwa, made this known during interactive session with the media yesterday at the lender’s corporate head office. The bank’s executive director and chief financial officer, Mrs Oyinkan Adewale was also attendance.

Providing insights into the immediate growth plan for the bank, Emuwa, who recently took over as the

By Taofik Salako

helmsman, said the lender would strive to generate growth by strengthening existing customer loyalty and business relationships, while seeking to win new generation of customers through trendy and reliable services and products.

According to him, while the bank does not plan to physically expand locally or internationally this year, it would maximise the opportunities in its large customer base while still growing that base by targeting new segments of the market.

He added that there are also plans to re-align the bank’s branch network to make sure that the lender covers new business areas in which it does

not have presence.

Emuwa, who was formerly Managing Director of Citibank in Nigeria before his appointment at Union Bank on November 1, 2012, outlined that the bank’s focus for the time being is not on expansion or acquiring other banks, but on ensuring that its service delivery is at the best possible level.

“When you mention the name Union Bank, one of the first things that come to people’s minds is ‘Big, Strong, Reliable’, which has been our tagline of many years. Indeed, Union Bank was once all these things. Our long term goal is that Union Bank will be all three again – big, strong and reliable. But for today, our focus is on being reliable,” Emuwa said.

He said that the

management of the bank has been looking into everything that needs to be taken care of to make sure the lender delivers the best service, pointing out that the comprehensive repositioning includes the bank’s human resources, processes, infrastructure and technology among other issues.

According to him, the modernization of the bank’s branches, which had been started by the previous management, is being consolidated while the workforce would be strengthened with new skills and know-how.

He noted that the bank’s

T

Nduka Chiejina (Assistant Editor)

revised guidelines for primary mortgage banks.”

The apex bank said the extension would allow the PMBs directors and shareholders sufficient time to exercise any of the options for capital raising, business combination and downscaling highlighted in the earlier circular dated 14th December, 2012.

The Director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department of the CBN Mr Olufemi Fabamwo who signed the circualr drew the attention of the operators of PMB to earlier

T

HE biggest emerging markets are uniting to tackle underdevelopment and currency volatility with plans to set up institutions that encroach on the roles of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Bloomberg said the leaders of BRICS nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are set to approve the establishment of a new development bank during an annual summit that began yesterday in the eastern South African city of Durban, officials from all five nations say. They will also discuss pooling foreign-currency reserves to ward off balance of payments or currency crises.

“The deepest rationale for the

circulars to indicate that there has been a change in the time frame to recapitalize.

CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido

FGN BONDS Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year 5-Year

35m 35m 35m

11.039 12.23 13.19

19-05-2014 18-05-2016 19-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount

Price Loss 2754.67 447.80

INTERBANK RATES 7.9-10% 10-11%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day 1-Year

Amount 30m 46.7m 50m

Rate % 10.96 9.62 12.34

Date 28-04-2012 “ 14-04-2012

O/PRICE

C/PRICE

RTBRISCOE NESTLE WEMABANK INTBREW FIDSON OKOMUOIL CADBURY IKEJAHOTEL MCNICHOLS LIVESTOCK

2.09 860.00 1.55 20.16 1.58 64.04 33.21 0.82 1.05 2.32

2.25 916.00 1.65 21.45 1.67 67.24 34.85 0.86 1.10 2.43

CHANGE 0.16 56.00 0.10 1.29 0.09 3.20 1.64 0.04 0.05 0.11

CCNN WAPCO PAINTCOM AFRIPRUD UBCAP UPL IPWA UNITYBNK AIRSERVICE NNFM

O/PRICE 12.10 73.99 1.60 1.84 1.35 4.72 0.77 0.79 5.50 24.60

C/PRICE 10.89 70.00 1.52 1.75 1.29 4.52 0.74 0.76 5.30 23.80

Rate (N)

Date

350m

150m

150m

155.2

2-7-12

350m 350m

138m 113m

138m 113m

155.8 155.7

27-6-12 22-6-12

Current Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

NGN USD

147.6000

149.7100

150.7100

-2.11

NGN GBP

239.4810

244.0123

245.6422

-2.57

NGN EUR

212.4997

207.9023

209.2910

-1.51

149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

(S/N) Bureau de Change 152.0000

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

154.0000

156.0000

-1.96

NSE CAP Index

27-10-11 N6.5236tr 20,607.37

28-10-11 N6.617tr 20,903.16

% Change -1.44% -1.44%

NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N)

Parallel Market

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name

153.0000

DISCOUNT WINDOW Feb. ’11

July ’11

July ’12

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

12%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate Inflation Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00% 12.10%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00% 12.10%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00% 11.8%

ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH KAKAWA GUARANTEED STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND LOTUS CAPITAL HALAL BGL SAPPHIRE FUND BGL NUBIAN FUND FBN MONEY MARKET FUND FBN FIXED INCOME FUND NIGERIA INTERNATIONAL DEB. PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CENTRE-POINT UNIT TRUST STANBIC IBTC NIG EQUITY • ARM AGGRESSIVE

LOSERS AS AT 26-03-13

SYMBOL

Exchange

Sold ($)

CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Year Start Offer

(S/N)

GAINERS AS AT 26-03-13

SYMBOL

Amount

EXHANGE RATE 6-03-12 Currency

OBB Rate Call Rate

Amount

Offered ($) Demanded ($)

MANAGED FUNDS

NIDF NESF

BRICS is almost certainly the creation of new Bretton Woods-type institutions that are inclined toward the developing world,” Martyn Davies, chief executive officer of Johannesburg-based Frontier Advisory, said.

The BRICS nations, which have combined foreigncurrency reserves of $4.4 trillion and account for 43 per cent of the world’s population, are seeking greater sway in global finance to match their rising economic power. They have called for an overhaul of management of the World Bank and IMF, which were created in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in 1944, and oppose the practice of their respective presidents being drawn from the United States and Europe.

DATA BANK

Tenor

Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33 N1000.00 N552.20

technology was being upgraded and reinforced to make it more efficient and effective for the bank’s clients.

Emuwa expressed optimism on the prospects of the bank in the competitive market, pointing out that despite its many challenges; Union Bank has a lot of competitive advantages such as a large branch network, a large and loyal customer base and a reputation for being transparent, especially with regards to charges.

“At Union Bank there are no hidden charges, what we tell our customers that we are going to charge them is what we actually charge them,” Emuwa said.

BRICS nations plan new bank to bypass World Bank, IMF

CBN extends PMIs’ recapitalisation to Dec. HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the recapitalisation deadline for Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs) to December 31, 2013.

This confirms The Nation’s report of last week Wednesday, which stated that the operators had pleaded with the apex bank to extend the recapitalization deadline to December, to allow them raise the necessary capital A circular to this effect was addressed to all directors and shareholders of primary mortgage banks from the CBN and titled “Extension of the deadline for compliance with the

IRST Bank of Nigeria Limited yesterday launched its FirstNaira MasterCard termed ‘expressions on card’, which enables existing customers to upload personal pictures of choice on their cards.

The bank Group Managing Director/CEO, Bisi Onasanya, who unveiled the product, said the lender has gone a step further to meet its customers’ needs by giving them the opportunity to carry memories, smiles and any others experiences on their cards.

He said the bank thinks of how to engage the youth or youth at heart with the product, explaining it is a highly secured naira-based payment card that works both locally and internationally.

He said the product depicts the lender’s continued support for the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The bank’s Head, eBusiness, Mr. Chuma Ezirim explained that the bank is giving customers, especially the youth, the flexibility to express themselves through images captured on the card.

He however, explained that there are limits because as a top banking brand in the country, Renan Basterris, Technical Consultant, Genlto S.A, who partnered with the bank to develop the product, said it complies with legal rules and was designed based on customer needs and demands.

Offer Price

Bid Price

9.17 1.00 138.34 147.21 0.80 1.14 1.10 100.00 1,000.00 1,784.94 15.58 1.39 1.87 10,855.53

9.08 1.00 137.92 146.68 0.78 1.14 1.09 100.00 1,000.00 1,780.68 14.82 1.33 1.80 10,528.92

• KAKAWA GUARANTEED

CHANGE 1.21 3.99 0.08 0.09 0.06 0.20 0.03 0.20 0.80 0.79

• STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE • AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days 150 Days

Rate (Previous) 4 Mar, 2012 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917 12.1250

Rate (Currency) 6, Mar, 2012 10.17% 11.46% 11.96% 12.54%

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK Previous

Current

04 July, 2012

07, Aug, 2012

Bank

8.5000

8.5000

P/Court

8.0833

8.0833

Movement

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

56

NEWS

•Okwudili (left) and Ona... yesterday.

•Some of the beggars... yesterday.

Anambra rids streets of the destitute, ‘corporate’ beggars

O

VER 200 beggars were yesterday ‘arrested’ in and around Awka, the Anambra State capital, by a combined team of social workers and security agents.

Confirming the ‘arrest’, the Director of Social Welfare in the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Rose Udeagbara, said the detainees have been sent to the Vocational and Rehabilitation Centre, Nteje.

Mrs. Udeagbara said social

From Onu Nwanosike and Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

workers allowed the detainees to choose if they wanted to be rehabilitated or reunited with their families.

The Commissioner, Lady Henrietta Agbata, said families should take care of their members, who are challenged.

She said Anambra indigenes do not beg and that most of the beggars came from

•Over 200 ‘arrested’ neighbouring states, influencing indigenes to start begging.

“You can see that many of these beggars are from outside Anambra, mainly Enugu, Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom states.

“We have some from the North and other states; some even came in from Niger Republic.

“They are becoming a

nuisance and littering the streets. We will repatriate nonindigenes and rehabilitate those who are willing.”

Two ‘corporate’ beggars, Anichebe Okwudili from Eziagu and Onyebuchi Ona from Udi, both in Enugu State, said they are begging on behalf of a group, the Humanitarian Welfare Rescue Mission, with headquarters in

Orji to Orubebe: we’re not feeling your ministry

A

BIA State Governor Theodore Orji yesterday said the state has not felt the impact of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.

The governor spoke when the minister, Godsday Orubebe, visited the state.

Represented by Deputy Governor Emeka Ananaba, Orji said if the people were aware of the visit, they would have welcomed him with placards.

Orji said the state is tired of waiting for the ministry’s presence.

He said the road from Obehie in Ukwa West Local Government to Ukanafun in Akwa Ibom State is bad.

“Your contractors are building the road with bare hands and wheel barrows, this is not what is expected in this millennium.

“We do not want to join

‘Orubebe, stop giving excuses’ From Precious Dikewoha, PortHarcourt

A GROUP, the Nigerian Democratic Awareness Forum (NIDAF), has urged the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, to stop giving excuses and complete the East-West Road.

Its Publicity Secretary, Franklyn Awusonye, said: “It’s been one excuse too many for Orubebe on the fate of the project.

“In one spell, he told the National Assembly that about 70 per cent of the road had been completed. Another time, he claimed it was 25 per cent.

“Then he alluded to poor funding. Now, the project originated without design and financial plan. What impunity?”

The group urged the minister to relocate his office to the Delta-Bayelsa-Port Harcourt axis of the project to enable him monitor and supervise the project.

From Ugochukwu Ugoji-Eke, Umuahia

others who are in the habit of complaining, especially on the East-West road, which does not concern our people.

Orji said the ministry has

not employed youths from the state.

“It is only when such youths are employed that crimes will disappear. Their files have been wasting away in your ministry.”

Orubebe said they were in the state to inform the government of the conference on Niger Delta which would be held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State next month.

He said the ministry would soon inaugurate the skill acquisition centres built in the state.

Orubebe also visited Cross River State, where he met with Governor Liyel Imoke.

Imoke, who was represented by Deputy Governor Effiok Cobham, praised the Federal Government for its commitment towards developing the region.

The minister told the governor that President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the proposal to extend the East-West road from Oron in Akwa Ibom State to Calabar, the state capital.

Chime: Nigeria not prepared for emergencies

E

NUGU State Governor Sullivan Chime yesterday said Nigeria is not prepared to handle emergencies.

Chime spoke at the opening of a two-day zonal workshop on the Role of the Media and Information Managers in Emergency and Disaster Management, organised by the Southeast Zonal office of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner of Environment and Mineral Resources, John Egbo, said he believed that

From Chris Oji, Enugu

NEMA would come to the rescue.

“Last year, many states were devastated by flooding, which rendered many communities homeless.

“The public was left for a long time without knowing the real cause of the disaster or what to do during and after the disaster.

“The bottom line is that Nigeria was never prepared to handle emergencies like in advanced countries.

“But I truly believe that NEMA will come to the rescue.

“I wish to praise NEMA for organising this workshop.”

NEMA’s Director-General Muhammad Sani Sidi said disasters and the number of victims had risen significantly in recent years as a result of the impact of climate change, communal conflict, competition over land resources between farmers and pastoralists and terrorism.

Sidi, who was represented by the Southeast Zonal Coordinator, Bandele Onimode, said the development had impacted negatively on our national development .

Abuja.

The duo use documents showing the picture of a woman, identified as Chizoba from Nsukka.

They gave the name of their boss in Enugu as Mesika and that every social worker knows him.

It was gathered that they receive as much as N11,000 daily, which is shared among them, their organisation and the patients they are begging for.

Useni Mohammed from Niger Republic (16) said his father, who is a driver in Onitsha, gave him a daily target, which he has to deliver.

“I have a twin sister and we are both known as Emeka and Amaka; we were born in Onitsha.”

Alice Okeke (37), who uses her disabled daughter to beg, claimed she gets N500 daily as a cleaner in one of the state’s agencies.

Anambra community suspends leader From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

O

RAUKWU community in Idemili North Local Government of Anambra State has suspended its President-General, Emeka Udodeme, for alleged gross misconduct.

Addressing reporters yesterday in Oraukwu, the leader of Oraukwu Stakeholders’ Congress, Okey Udegbunam and Secretary Innocent Okonkwo, said Udodeme’s activities were at variance with the community’s constitution.

Udodeme could not be reached for comments.

Dickson hails committee

B

AYELSA State Governor Seriake Dickson has urged the Directorate of Project Monitoring and Evaluation to ensure that contractors adhere strictly to government’s standards in the execution of projects in the state.

The governor made the call during a meeting with the chairman and members of the directorate at the Government House in Yenagoa.

Dickson reiterated the importance of the meeting, stating that it was to enable him know the constraints and issues affecting them because of the magnitude of the assignment.

“When I promised the people during my inauguration that it was going to be work, work, and the state was going to be a construction yard, I think some people thought that it was mere political grandstanding. But, now they know that when I say something, I mean exactly what I say.”

The governor praised the members for the job they have done in the task of repositioning the infrastructural development of the state.

Rivers to pay bills of fire victims From Clarice Azuatalam, Port Harcourt

T •Chime

HE Rivers State Government will pay the hospital bills of fire victims in Ogoloma community.

Ogoloma in Okrika Local Government was thrown into mourning last Sunday, when 25 persons were hospitalised, following a fire which started from a residential building, where petroleum products were stored.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Sampson Parker, said the government would ensure that the victims are cared for ,until they recover.

Parker, who condemned the storage of petroleum products in residential buildings, urged the police to investigate the matter and prosecute the perpetrators.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY MARCH 27, 2013

57

NEWS CNPP, Lema hail INEC’s disqualification of rival APC

SSS wades into Yari’s Abuja property deal

T

HE State Security Service (SSS) has waded into the dispute between the Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari and a private corporate body, Nestello Gateways Group, over the ownership of an Abuja property.

The governor is contesting the ownership of the property, which he claimed was sold to him for N200 million in 2010 by a former employee of Nestello Group, Mr. Obinna Kanu, who is on the run.

The SSS on Monday invited one of the directors of Nestello Group, Mr. Mike Mbanefo, for clarification on certain issues raised in an earlier petition to the agency.

Mbanefo, who confirmed the invitation to our correspondent yesterday, said he honoured the invitation by the SSS over the petition and was engaged by the legal department of the SSS for about six hours.

He said: “The SSS operatives were very polite in their approach. From my discus-

From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

sions with them, I found out that they have worked on the petition we submitted to them.

“I am happy to tell you that my discussion with them was meaningful because after the discussion, they accompanied me to the property to see things for themselves.”

Justice Jude Okeke of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in June 2010 ruled that the property, located at 1, Fatai Williams Street, Asokoro, Abuja, be returned to Nestello Group.

In Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/ 486/10, Justice Okeke ordered the eviction of Governor Yari from the property.

The judge also ordered the governor to pay accumulated rent arrears running into millions of naira.

The eviction order was executed on May 8 last year, but the governor found his way into the property the next day with his seized personal effects returned to him.

The court issued a second

and third eviction order on the same property, but execution of the order was resisted by armed policemen, ostensibly on the order of the governor.

Members of the judgment enforcement team from the court reported that they were harassed and manhandled by armed policemen when they went to execute the last eviction order on October 15 last year.

A report by the leader of the enforcement team, Mallam Abubakar Karofi, dated October 16, 2012 said the policemen had threatened to shoot the officials for attempting to carry out the eviction.

The report stated inter alia: “Upon our arrival at the residence, we met about eight people, who unknown to us, were mobile policemen, supposedly stationed on the premises.

“We introduced ourselves and told them our intention, but to our surprise, they said ‘NO’.They said nothing would be enforced; they quickly went inside the

By Augustine Avwode

T

•Yari house and appeared fully dressed in their mobile police uniform, carrying guns.

“They stood between us and the building. At that juncture, I called the Director of Litigation, while they also made a few calls.

“From their conversations, I got a hint that they were given an order not to allow us carry out the enforcement, which was clear from their action; guns were cocked and pointed at us with a threat of being shot if we tried anything.”

Obviously miffed by the action of the policemen, owners of the property had petitioned the SSS and the National Judicial Council (NJC), accusing certain top officials of the court of complicity in the matter.

Lottery: Nigeria loses N2b monthly to project delay IGERIA is losing revenue in excess of N2billion monthly as a result of the delay in the implementation of the Lottery Platform As a Service (LPAAS) Project by the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), it was learnt yesterday.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Systems Numeric Nigeria Ltd, Athan Achonu, while appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, said the Lottery Commission and the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) shunned due process in the bidding process for the LPAAS contract.

The Systems Numeric Ltd petitioned the committee on February 25, accusing the Lottery Commission and BPP of violating due proc-

N

From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

ess in the bidding process for the contract as contained in the Act establishing the Lottery Commission.

“But for the delay in the launching of the project, by now, Nigeria ought to be making about N2billion monthly from lottery. Unfortunately, we are faced with this delay as a result of the flawed process in the award of the contract,” Achonu said.

To support his claims, Achonu, in the petition to the committee, said his firm met the biding requirements prescribed by the BPP. He said: “For instance, in compliance with the requirement, my company submitted a technical proposal in which the financial proposal was a section. But the other company submit-

ted its technical and financial bids as separate documents in violation of Section 13 Page 17 of the Lottery Commission’s request for proposal, RFP. “In addition, the rival bidder failed to submit the performance bond as required, whereas he provided performance bond of N500,000,000.00 that was sourced from a bank. Unfortunately, the facility is still accumulating interest to the detriment of my company.”

He, however, expressed concern over the inability of the BPP and the NLRC to adhere to due process.

Said he: “With the foregoing, we expected that in compliance with all international best practices for bids of this nature, our company would have been awarded the contract.

“To our amazement, in-

Ekweremadu faults unitary policing system

T

HE Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, yesterday described the unitary policing system in the country as inadequate to tackle its security challenges.

Ekweremadu spoke in Abuja at the opening of the Sixth National Development Summit of Traditional Rulers.

The lawmaker said the way out of the present high rate of crime, which he described as “unacceptable and regrettable”, was to find ways of engaging the youth and diverting their energies to national development.

He said insecurity goes beyond unemployment and poverty.

Said he: “The rise in crime has also brought home the real message in the saying that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. Churning out graduates that roam the streets without jobs is like servicing a machine gun and handing it over to the devil for custody.

From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

“Insecurity is not all about unemployment and poverty as the unitary policing arrangement has proved deficient in manpower, training, motivation and equipment or infrastructure to deal with our security challenges.

“We must rethink and decentralise the policing system so that our traditional institutions, working with various sub-national police, can play greater roles in mitigating crime and youth restiveness where they exist.”

Ekweremadu in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Uche Anichukwu, congratulated the royal fathers for their willingness to key into the youth empowerment strategies of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and the national and international efforts at minimising the causes and harmful effects of

climate change.

He added: “As people who live among and relate with over 70 per cent of the Nigerian population, our traditional rulers are positioned to lead the campaign on climate change.

“They have the better language to interpret the message to their subjects and the authority to lead the sociocultural revolution that will arrest practices that are harmful to our ecosystem.”

stead, the SGF directed the Lottery Commission, BPP and the ICRC to further review the bid, which unnecessarily gives our rival bidder an opportunity in the LPAAS bid.”

PUBLIC NOTICE ANTHONY I, formerly known and addressed as Folashade Lucia Anthony, now wish to be known and addressed as Folashade Lucia Ogunsemo. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE EDIRIN I, formerly known and addressed as Ms Patricia Edirin, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Imirhe Patricia Edirin. All former documents remain valid. Lagos State Government and the general public should please take note.

HE Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has hailed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for rejecting the registration of the Africa Peoples Congress (APC) because of irregularities in its application.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Osita Okechukwu, CNPP said the electoral umpire “has by the action served the cause of justice and defended the 1999 Constitution.”

The CNPP said the rival APC was formed out of mischief.

It accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of being the unseen hand behind an attempt to register the party with the aim of sustaining a one-party system in the country. “ We’ve always known that African Peoples Congress was born out of mischief to sustain the one party state foisted at variance with the constitution by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the country.”

According to the CNPP, when the legal representative of the APC went to the INEC office, both the sponsor of the legal team and the protem chairman were still members of the PDP.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY MARCH 27, 2013

58

FOREIGN NEWS Italy Minister resigns over marine row TALIAN Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi has resigned over his government’s decision to send two Italian marines, accused of killing two Indian fishermen, to Delhi for trial.

“My reservations about sending the marines back to India were not listened to,” he told the Italian parliament.

The case sparked a major diplomatic row between India and Italy.

The marines said they shot the fishermen off the Kerala coast in 2012 after mistaking them for pirates.

They were shuttled back and forth between India and Italy in recent months while the two governments argued over the legal consequences of an alleged crime committed in international waters, the BBC’s David Willey, in Rome, reports.

Italy then announced last week that it would send the marines back to Delhi to stand trial.

Yesterday, Mr Terzi said he was resigning because his voice had gone “unheard” by Prime Minister Mario Monti and his caretaker administration.

“I can no longer be part of this government,” Mr Terzi said.

“I am resigning because I have maintained for 40 years and I maintain more forcefully today that the honour of the country, its armed forces and the Italian diplomacy must be safeguarded. I am resigning because I support the two marines and their families.”

Meanwhile Defence Minister Giampaolo Di Paola said he would not step down over the crisis because he did not want to “abandon a ship in difficulty”.

Mr Terzi said he supported the two marines and their families “I have always acted for the good of the marines and Italy. If I haven’t managed that, I ask forgiveness from everyone, and first of all from both of them,” he told MPs shortly after Mr Terzi’s announcement.

“It was me who told them about the decision to return them to India, I looked them in the eyes and told them.”

The marines, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, had been guarding an Italian oil tanker when they shot the fishermen in February 2012.

I

CAR rebel head Michel Djotodia ‘suspends constitution’

T

HE leader of rebels who have seized the capital of the Central African Republic says he is suspending the constitution and dissolving parliament.

Michel Djotodia said there would be a transition period until “credible and transparent” elections, during which he would “legislate by decree”.

He added he would uphold a peace deal that promises elections in three years.

Ousted CAR leader Francois Bozize has fled to neighbouring Cameroon, officials there have announced.

Following the takeover, the African Union has suspended CAR and imposed sanctions on rebel leaders.

About 5,000 Seleka fighters swept

into the capital Bangui on Sunday after the collapse of a power-sharing deal - the Libreville Accord.

The deal collapsed when Seleka withdrew its members from the government.

“I consider it necessary to suspend the November 27, 2004 constitution, to dissolve parliament as well as the government,” Mr Djotodia said in a statement to reporters.

The statement could not be broadcast due to power cuts, Reuters reported, and instead was recorded and issued to journalists.

“During this transition period which will lead us to free, credible and transparent elections, I will legislate by decree.”

He added: “We will lead the people of Central African Republic during a three-year transition period, in accordance with the Libreville Accord.”

Earlier, South African President Jacob Zuma said at least 13 South African soldiers were killed in the battle against the rebels on Sunday.

The troops had been stationed in Bangui to support government forces.

It is the heaviest loss of life for South Africa in a single battle since it became a democracy in 1994.

Looters and armed gangs are reported to be still roaming the streets of Bangui.

The UN says tens of thousands of

•Djotodia

people have fled CAR into neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon.

CAR has been unstable since its independence from France in 1960 and is one of the least-developed countries in the world.

US eyes anti-piracy effort along West Africa coast

T

HE U.S. and some of its allies are considering plans to increase anti-piracy operations along Africa’s west coast, spurred on by concerns that money from the attacks is funding a Nigerian-based insurgent group that is linked to one of al-Qaida’s most dangerous affiliates.

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has escalated over the past year, and senior U.S. defense and counter-piracy officials say allied leaders are weighing whether beefed up enforcement efforts that worked against pirates off the Somalia coast might also be needed in the waters off Nigeria.

There has been growing coordination between Nigeria-based Boko Haram and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which was linked to the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, last September that killed four Americans, including the ambassador. Military leaders say AQIM has become the wealthiest al-Qaida offshoot and an increasing terrorist threat to the region.

It has long been difficult to track whether there are terrorist ties to piracy in the waters off Africa. But officials are worried that even if

LENTEN TALK

Theme: Power of Prayers

By Rev. Henry Adelegan

Text: Acts 12:5-7

P

•Dissolves parliament, will rule by decrees

RAYER is an unseen force that controls what is seen. Every thing in life responds to known commands. Things of this world will follow a natural course of action or known structural dictates and policies unless and until there is prayer for it to be otherwise. When prayer is taken very seriously, divine intervention is provoked for advent of supernatural occurrences.

From our text, King Herod used his power to make life very hard for Christians in the church, he stretched his hands towards James, the brother of John and killed him obviously because there was no spiritual intervention for it to be otherwise. When King Herod discovered that the Jews were pleased with the death of James, he stretched his hands towards Peter too. While Peter was in prison, the church didn’t fold their arms again but prayed for divine intervention, which compelled heaven to intervene.

Prayer is our spiritual weapon to root out, pull down, destroy, throw down, build, and to plant. Besides that, it provides us with the opportunity to ask God for whatever we desire with the promise that He would oblige us (Matthew 7:7). It was prayer that gave Nehemiah access to King Artaxerxes and provided him unfettered access to build the broken walls of Jerusalem with ease ( Nehemiah 1:4-2:8). Prayer also gave Queen Esther favor before King Ahasuerus, saved her from death, destroyed Haman and his friends, frustrated their plans to exterminate the Jews and promoted Mordecai ( Esther 4:13 ff cf Isaiah 44:24-25) Beloved, when you pray or intercede for others, God will hear you, send his angels to you, His light will shine on you to give your life divine illumination, destroy whatever chain that is being used to bind you to a place ( Isaiah 43:3) and any power waiting for your downfall shall be put to shame like Haman and his friends.

Besides that, you are assured that every good thing and years valuable to you that the enemy had stolen or destroyed shall be restored to you (Joel 2:25). As He lives, the angel of God shall pilot your path, and doors of greatness and opportunities shall open unto you of their own accord as they opened to Peter when he left the prison in the name of Jesus.

Prayers: Father, hear my cries during this season of lent, send divine angels to me, deliver me from the hands of my oppressors and make ways for me in Jesus’ name.

Boko Haram insurgents aren’t directly involved in the attacks off Nigeria and Cameroon, they may be reaping some of the profits and using the money for ongoing terrorist training or weapons.

No final decisions have been made on how counter-piracy operations could be increased in that region, and budget restrictions could hamper that effort, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

But officials say the solution could include continued work and counter-piracy training with African nations. The U.S. participated last month in a maritime exercise with European and African partners in the Gulf of Guinea.

“Maritime partnerships and maritime security and safety are increasingly important in the Gulf of Guinea region to combat a variety of challenges including maritime crime, illicit trafficking and piracy,” said Gen. Carter Ham, head of U.S. Africa Command.

In recent weeks, Ham and other U.S. military commanders have bluntly warned Congress that the terrorist threat from northern Africa has become far more worrisome.

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has escalated from low-level armed robberies to hijackings and cargo thefts and kidnappings. Last year, London-based Lloyd’s Market Association - an umbrella group of

insurers - listed oil-rich Nigeria, neighboring Benin and nearby waters in the same risk category as Somalia.

Pirates have been more willing to use violence in their robberies, at times targeting the crew for ransom. And experts suggest that many of the pirates come from Nigeria, where corrupt law enforcement allows criminality to thrive and there’s a bustling black market for stolen crude oil.

Typically, foreign companies operating in Nigeria’s Niger Delta pay cash ransoms to free their employees after negotiating down kidnappers’ demands. Foreign hostages can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars apiece.

SSS arrests Chadians, Nigeriens, Malians in Lagos

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OME illegal immigrants coming into Lagos from the North were yesterday intercepted at Ojodu/Berger end of the LagosIbadan Expressway by operatives of the State Security Service (SSS).

The SSS operatives were acting on intelligence reports that gunmen are fleeing the North to escape the heat being turned on them by the military Joint Task Force (JTF).

It was learnt that the suspects, numbering about 40 and travelling in an open truck, were mainly illegal immigrants from Chad, Niger and Mali.

A source disclosed that 20 of the travellers, who were identified as illegal aliens have since been handed over to Alagbon Command

By Jude Isiguzo

of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) for interrogation and subsequent deportation.

The Nigerians among them were allowed into Lagos with their goods.

An unverified report claimed the driver of the truck refused to stop when he was flagged down by plain-cloth SSS officials.

The operatives, it was learnt, shot into the air severally, forcing the driver of the trailer to a stop and the passengers ordered to alight.

The illegal immigrants allegedly hid inside the goods before they were fished out by eagle-eyed officers.

A source at the NIS office at Alag-

bon confirmed that they received from the SSS some suspected Nigeriens living illegally in Nigeria.

The Nation learnt that all security outfits in the state have been placed on the alert to arrest illegal immigrants within Lagos and its border towns to forestall the influx of terrorists into the Centre of Excellence.

The SSS Director in Lagos, Mr Ben Achu Olaye, confirmed the arrest.

He said the suspects had been handed over to the NIS for interrogation.

Also yesterday, the Police Command raised a surveillance team at Berger and other border communities to discourage terrorists form relocating to the state.

Why Boko Haram activities persist, by Falana

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IGHTS activist, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), has attributed the hightening insecurity in the country to the alleged refusal of the Federal Government to implement the recommendation of a committee it constituted in 2011 to examine the security challenge the Boko Haram sect posed to the nation and proffer solutions.

Falana, who displayed a copy of the White Paper issued by a Federal Government’s White Paper Drafting Committee, headed by Comrade A. Morn, with U. Onwumookwu as Secretary, threatened to sue the governemnt, if it fails by April 15 to end the security challenge facing the country.

The Secretyary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) had, on August 2, 2011, inaugurated the Presidential Committee on the Security Challenges in the Northeast Zone, with Ambassador Usman G. Galtimari as its Chairman and Alhaji A. B. Shehu as Secretary.

The committee submitted its report in September 2011 with far-reaching recommendations on how to end the security challenge in that part of the North.

The SGF constituted another seven-

By Eric Ikhilae

man White paper Drafting Committee to, among others, produce “a roadmap for peace that is pragmatic, implementable and offers durable solution to the security challenge in the area”.

The committee had Comrade A. Morn as Chairman and U. Onwumookwu as Secretary.

A major finding of the Galtimari committee was that the miliatnt group that methamophosed into Boko Haram had the backing of some politicians. It recommended that security agencies fish out such individuals men of means and “bring them to justice”.

The Federal Government accepted the recommendation.

The governemnt also accepted the committee’s recommendation that it engage the sect’s leadership in dialogue, to resolve the problem.

It also accepted the recommendaton that security agencies be better funded to ensure effective policing of the nation’s borders to stem “the smugling of arms, ammunitions and explosive materials into the country”.

The recommendation that states

where the sect’s activities thrive, should exercise the necessary political will to deal with the problem despite the perceived implication to their sponsors, was accepted by the Federal Government, who directed its security agencies to work with such states.

Falana noted that the Galtimari committee, established in a bid to find lasting solutions to terrorist attacks unleashed on innocent people, investigated the origin of the Boko Haram sect, it’s operations and made far reaching recommendations to end the insurgency.

“Although the report was submitted in September 2011 while the Federal Government issued a white paper on it in May 2012 it is curious to note that the said recommendations have not been implemented to the detriment of law and order in the society.

“However, If the deteriorating security situation in the country is not halted by April 15, 2013, I shall not hesitate to embark on legal proceedings at the Federal High Court with a view to compelling the Federal Government to implement the directives contained in the white paper,” Falana said.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY MARCH 27, 2013

59

FOREIGN NEWS Pope wants to stay in simple residence for now

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OPE Francis wants to stay for the time being in a simple Vatican residence instead of moving into the spacious and regal papal apartments, the Vatican said on yesterday.

The former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina is still living in the Domus Santa Martha, a modern hotel-style residence inside the Vatican City where he stayed during the conclave that elected him on March 13.

Although the papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace - which consist of more than a dozen rooms as well as quarters for staff and a terrace - are available, he shows no desire to move in any time soon, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said.

In the past few days Francis has moved out of a single room in the residence, which has some 130 rooms, into a suite so he could have more space to work and to receive people, Lombardi said.

Francis has set a more austere tone for the papacy than his predecessor Benedict XVI, who gained a reputation for sumptuous costumes. Lombardi says the new pope enjoys the residence’s community atmosphere where he lives alongside other clergy.

The pope says Mass in its chapel every morning and invites Vatican workers and other guests to attend.

“I can’t make long-term predictions, but for now it seems he is experimenting with this type of simple cohabitation,” Lombardi said.

“It is still a period of getting used to things, of experimentation. Certainly in this phase he has expressed the desire to stay where he is,” he said.

Lombardi said the pope will be using the offices in the Apostolic Palace and its grand, frescoed reception rooms to meet heads of state and delegations, and will continue to appear each Sunday to deliver a blessing from the window of the papal apartments overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

Egypt’s Morsi warns against foreign meddling

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GYPT’S Islamist president has warned he will deal “firmly” and “decisively” with any foreign attempt to meddle in the affairs of his country, mired in turmoil for most of the two years since Hosni Mubarak’s ouster.

Mohammed Morsi says Egypt does not interfere in other countries’ domestic affairs and expects to be treated similarly.

He told an Arab league summit Tuesday in Qatar that “We don’t accept anyone sticking his finger inside Egypt.” But he didn’t elaborate.

Egypt is embroiled in a tug of war pitting Morsi and his Islamist allies against a mostly secular and liberal opposition. The crippling political impasse is compounded by economic woes and tenuous security.

Congolese warlord “the Terminator” arraigned at ICC B OSCO Ntaganda, a Congolese warlord known as “the Terminator” who evaded arrest on war crimes charges for seven years, denied guilt when he appeared for the first time at the International Criminal Court yesterday.

Ntaganda unexpectedly gave himself up to diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Rwanda last week, walking in off the street and demanding to be handed over to the ICC. Within days he was put on a plane to The Hague.

He is accused of murder, rape and other crimes over a 15-year-period of fighting in Rwandan-backed rebellions in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

His appearance almost seven years after the court first issued a warrant for his arrest is a much-needed success

for the ICC following the collapse of several cases.

Dressed in an ill-fitting dark blue suit, blue shirt, and stripy tie — attire most likely provided by the court — a stooped and bowed Ntaganda appeared ill at ease in the courtroom yesterday, leaning forward and looking down as the hearing began.

He confirmed his name, gave his age as 39, and told the court he was not guilty of the charges, but a judge interrupted and said this was not the occasion for discussing his guilt.

Asked whether he was aware of the charges against him, Ntaganda said: “I was informed of these crimes, but I plead not guilty.”

Ekaterina Trendafilova, who was presiding alone over the hearing, stopped him.

“I wouldn’t like to interrupt you, because you should feel at ease,” she said. “But the purpose of this initial hearing is ... to know whether you have been informed about the crimes ... your rights, and we are not discussing now anything related to your guilt or innocence.”

“I was born in Rwanda but I grew up in Congo. I am a Congolese citizen,” Ntaganda told the court, speaking in Kinyarwanda through interpreters. “I was a soldier in the Congo.”

Ntaganda is accused of re-

cruiting child soldiers, murder, ethnic persecution, sexual slavery and rape during a 2002-2003 conflict in northeastern Congo’s mineral-rich Ituri district.

Most recently, he was a commander in the M23 rebel movement, but his whereabouts had been unknown after he had fled to Rwanda with hundreds of his followers, and his decision to turn himself in to the U.S. Embassy in the capital Kigali caught diplomats there by surprise.

Analysts said he may have felt that his life would be safer in an ICC detention cell than in an increasingly hostile Rwanda.

A date of Sept. 23 was set for the next hearing at which judges will decide whether

the evidence against Ntaganda is strong enough to warrant a trial — by no means a foregone conclusion.

Recently, prosecutors withdrew their case against Kenyan civil servant Francis Muthaura after a witness retracted his testimony, prompting lawyers for his co-accused Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya’s president-elect, to charges also be dropped against him.

With many of the court’s suspects, including Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and Sudanese President Omar alBashir, at large and beyond its reach, Ntaganda’s arrival is especially welcome to prosecutors and activists.

“Ntaganda’s appearance at the ICC after years as a fugitive offers victims of horrific crimes a real hope of seeing justice,” said Geraldine Mattioli-Zeltner of Human Rights Watch.

“Ntaganda’s detention in The Hague shows that no one is above the law.”

Prince Harry plans six-day US tour

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•Afghanistan National Army (ANA) soldiers roll out a carpet as others stand guard during a ceremony to hand over Bagram prison to Afghanistan government at Bagram Prison facilities.

Photo: AFP - Massoud Hossaini

Italian court orders new trial for Amanda Knox

I

TALY’s highest criminal court ordered a whole new trial for Amanda Knox and her former Italian boyfriend on Tuesday, overturning their acquittals in the gruesome slaying of her British roommate.

The move extended a prolonged legal battle that has become a cause celebre in the United States and raised a host of questions about how the next phase of Italian justice would play out.

Knox, now a 25-year-old University of Washington student in her hometown of Seattle, called the decision by the Rome-based Court of Cassation “painful” but said she was confident that she would be exonerated.

The American left Italy a free woman after the 2011 acquittal and after serving nearly four years of a 26-year prison sentence from a lower court that convicted her of murdering Meredith Kercher. The 21-year-old British exchange student’s body was found in November 2007 in a pool of blood in the bedroom of a rented house that the two shared in the Italian university town of

Perugia. Her throat had been slit.

Raffaele Sollecito, Knox’s Italian boyfriend at the time, was also convicted and acquitted.

It could be months before a date is set for a fresh appeals court trial in Florence, which was chosen because Perugia has only one appellate court. Italian law cannot compel Knox to return for the new trial and one of her lawyers, Carlo Dalla Vedova, said she had no plans to do so. ‘’She thought that the nightmare was over,” Dalla Vedova told reporters on the steps of the courthouse. “(But) she’s ready to fight.”

He spoke minutes after relaying the top court’s decision to Knox by phone from the courthouse shortly after 2 a.m. local time in Seattle.

Another Knox defender, Luciano Ghirga, was gearing up psychologically for his client’s third trial. Ghirga said he told Knox: “You always been our strength.

We rose up again after the first-level convictions. We’ll have the same resoluteness, the same energy” in the new trial.

Still, it was a tough blow for Knox, and

she issued a statement through a family spokesman.

“It was painful to receive the news that the Italian Supreme Court decided to send my case back for revision when the prosecution’s theory of my involvement in Meredith’s murder has been repeatedly revealed to be completely unfounded and unfair,” she said.

Knox said the matter must now be examined by “an objective investigation and a capable prosecution.”

“No matter what happens, my family and I will face this continuing legal battle as we always have, confident in the truth and with our heads held high in the face of wrongful accusations and unreasonable adversity,” Knox said.

The young woman had planned to sit down with a U.S. TV network to tell her story in a prime-time special to be broadcast April 30. The exclusive ABC News interview was timed to the publication of her new book ‘’Waiting to Be Heard.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if there were any plans to delay the book, given the court setback.

EU suspends sanctions against Zimbabwe officials

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HE European Union has suspended sanctions against 81 officials and eight firms in Zimba-

bwe.

The decision followed a “peaceful, successful and credible” referendum on a new constitution earlier this month, the EU said in a statement.

However, sanctions will remain in force against 10 people - including Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe - and two firms, EU sources say.

The EU imposed sanctions, including a travel ban, in 2002.

It said it was in response to human rights abuses and political violence un-

der Mr Mugabe’s rule.

Allies of Mr Mugabe have long argued that the sanctions should be unconditionally removed and that they have had a negative impact on Zimbabwe’s economy.

Mr Mugabe, 89, and his rival, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, 61, have been sharing power since disputed elections marred by violence in 2008.

Zimbabweans overwhelmingly approved the new constitution - which expands civil liberties and has been endorsed by both Mr Mugabe and Mr Tsvangirai - in the 16 March referendum.

Fresh elections are expected to be held

some time this year.

The 27-member European Union said it had agreed to “immediately suspend” restrictive measures against 81 individuals and eight entities.

The EU says it welcomes the repeated calls for reconciliation and peaceful political activity made by Zimbabwean political leaders, but is also concerned over the recent reports of intimidation and harassment against some political activists and civil society representatives, he adds.

Earlier on Monday, a court in Zimbabwe granted bail to prominent lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, who was detained a day after the referendum.

RINCE Harry is to tour the US to promote the rehabilitation of injured American and UK troops, publicise his own charities and support British interests, St James’s Palace says.

His visit will take in several locations between 9 and 15 May. He will also watch the opening ceremony of the Warrior Games, in Colorado Springs, where injured servicemen and women will compete.

A spokesman said he wanted to highlight “our injured servicemen and women”.

Prince Harry will visit Washington DC, Denver, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Britain is entering a team for the first time in the Warrior Games - a Paralympicstyle competition - and the prince is known to be a supporter of the competition, after he met UK troops who took part as individuals last year.

He will also meet survivors of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey.

And he will stage a fundraising Sentebale Polo Cup match in Connecticut, in aid of his African-based charity, which supports orphans and vulnerable children in Lesotho.

Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, the prince’s private secretary, said: “Prince Harry wants to highlight once again the extraordinary commitment and sacrifice of our injured servicemen and women - our wounded warriors.”

He added: “Although a prince, Harry is also an operational soldier - indeed he’s a soldier’s soldier therefore throughout this briefing the recurring theme is to help recognise and bring a spotlight on to the work being done to help these outstanding young men and women.”

The prince’s visit to America comes seven months after a private trip to Las Vegas resulted in global headlines after he was photographed naked in a hotel room with a woman.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27 , 2013

NEWS Nine-year-old boy ‘hangs self’ in Jos

Fire at Kano House, Abuja

From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

HERE was a fire at the Kano State Liaison Office, Abuja yesterday.

The building also houses the corporate head office of Jaiz Bank Plc, Nigeria’s first fullfledged non-interest bank.

Briefing reporters on the incident, the Zonal Officer, Federal Fire Service, Central Area, Abuja, Mr. Francis Agbonivare, said the fire was caused by a spark in the short circuit compartment housing the air conditioning system.

He said: “Besides the air conditioner, which was burnt, other structures of the building were not affected and we put out the fire in less than 15 minutes.”

Also briefing reporters, Jaiz Bank spokesman, Mr. Idris Salihu, hailed the fire service officials for their professionalism and promptness.

He said: “Normalcy has been restored to the premises and our operations were only temporarily disrupted for precautionary reasons. Our customers have since been coming in to transact their businesses.”

A nine-year-old boy has allegedly hanged himself in Angwan Yashi, Tudunwada community of Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State.

The boy, Henry Goodness, was said to be a primary one pupil at Mesiah Foundation Private School in Tudunwada.

His body was reportedly discovered about 3:30 pm yesterday by neighbours.

A source said the parents were not at home when the incident occurred.

His uncle, Mr. Goodness, said a neighbour called him on the phone to inform him of the incident.

The grandfather of the deceased said in tears: “I suspect a foul play. My boy could not hang himself, not for any reason. The boy had no reason to commit suicide. Something must be wrong.”

The police have been contacted to investigate the incident.

Villagers protest as truck kills student From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

RESIDENTS of Agan toll gate, a Makurdi suburb located on the MakurdiLafia Highway yesterday protested after a truck driver knocked down and killed a 24-year-old student, who lived in the community.

A source said the driver abandoned the vehicle after the accident and fled into the bush.

The villagers reportedly mobilised and blocked the highway, preventing vehicles from passing through the road, which links the North with the Eastern part of the country.

There was a traffic gridlock. Street urchins capitalised on the situation to extort money from travellers.

Police later dispersed the protesters and restored peace.

Police strengthen security in Yola FOLLOWING last Friday’s attack in Ganye in Adamawa State, which led to the death of 25 people, the police have tightened security in Yola, the capital.

Investigations showed that check points have been mounted in major streets in Yola, resulting in traffic jams.

Police spokesman Mohammed Ibrahim said the measure was a proactive one.

He said: “You saw what happened in Ganye. We don’t want to take chances.

“We need the public support and understanding to ensure security of life and property.”

Ibrahim appealed for understanding from the public.

Nine of the 21 local governments have been attacked in the past one year.

T

•One of the houses burnt in Ganye, Adamawa State, where a former Commissioner was killed during last Friday’s attack.

Gunmen kill 15 Berom, two police officers

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UNMEN suspected to be Fulani militia have allegedly invaded two villages in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, killing 15 people.

The two villages, Atakar and Dajak, were said to have been attacked simultaneously on Monday.

Twenty people were reportedly killed in the villages last week when people suspected to be Fulani militia allegedly launched the first attack.

Two policemen, Corporal Jibril Muhammed and

•Sack two villages in Jos From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

Constable Aliyu Abubakar, were also killed during the attack.

Police Commissioner Chris Olakpe confirmed the incident.

He said his men were killed when on a peace mission.

A lawmaker representing Riyom Constituency and the Majority Leader in the House of Assembly, Mr. Daniel Dem, said most of the

houses in the two villages had been torched. The villagers have fled to Kaura Local Government in Kaduna State to seek refuge.

He said six people were killed at Dajak and nine at Attackar. He described the attack as sad, noting that the villages had been under a siege by suspected Fulani militia since last week.

Dem accused the Special Task Force (STF) deployed to restore law and order in the local government as being

part of the problem.

He said: “My people are being killed everyday, yet the Special Task Force is not doing anything about it.

“I call for the withdrawal of the STF since it cannot handle the crisis.”

Also confirming the incident, the acting spokesman for the STF, Navy Lt. Jude Akpa, said two mobile policemen attached to the STF were killed. He, however, could not confirm the number of civilians killed.

Navy Lt. Akpa said nobody had been arrested.

Attah Igala vows to eradicate hunger, starvation

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HE Attah of Igala, His Eminence, Idakwo Ame-Oboni, yesterday reiterated his determination to eradicate hunger and starvation in Kogi State, particularly in Igala kingdom.

He spoke when he led some of his subjects to a farm site.

According to him, people should be involved in aggressive farming.

He noted that to achieve the objective, everybody should embark on large scale farming.

Attah Igala, who has 150 hectares of farmland at Ojuwo-Ocha in Ofu Local Gov-

A

From Muhammad Bashir Lokoja

ernment and 200 hectares at Oforachi in Igalamela Odolu Local Government, said on his ascension to the throne, he prayed for the extermination of hunger and starvation from Igala Kingdom, Kogi State and Nigeria.

He said his leadership was proactive by matching words with action.

Attah Igala urged the indigenes to fight hunger by embarking on farming.

Said he: “With the help of God, during my reign, food will be in abundance in the

kingdom, in the state and in the nation.”

The monarch noted that government alone could not meet the demands of the people, adding that with abundant arable land, everybody should embark on farming to complement government’s effort.

The Special Adviser to the Kogi State Governor on Agriculture, Prof. Abubakar Akpa, said the assurance from the royal father on food sustenance for the country, state and Igala kingdom was a welcome development.

He said Kogi State Government had taken a bold chal-

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

Other members of the syndicate include Hussaini Vatsa, Suleiman Ahmad, Umaru Salihu, Ibrahim Yusuf and Moh’d Bello Waziri.

Others are Zakaryah Ibrahim, Garba Gwalu, Ndaman Umar, Moh’d Shabako, Umar Yabagi, Aminu Usman, Usman Musa and Hassan Mohammed.

The prosecutor said the accused between December last year and January in Minna formed a common

intention to issue fake admission letters as genuine documents to candidates.

The prosecutor said the accused caused injury to the public by their action.

They were also found to be in possession of fake admission letters.

One of the accused, Usman Jibrin Musa, was alleged to have used as genuine, scanned and reprinted admission letters of the college, which he issued to Zulai Aliyu, Umar Kabir and Zainab Mohammed.

Thirteen members of the

B

ENUE State Governor Gabriel Suswam has cre ated a new ministry called the Ministry of Environment and Urban Development.

This brings to 17, the ministries in the state public service.

Following this development, a new permanent secretary has been appointed for the ministry. He is Mr. Akperan James Iorunde.

Until his appointment, Mr. Iorunde, a Deputy Director of Education, was the Head Teacher at Special Science Secondary School, Makurdi. He hails from Tarka Local Government.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Media Affairs, Dr. Cletus Akwaya, said the new permanent secretary would be sworn in soon.

Ex-Kogi speaker heads Agric Committee From Muhammad Bashir Lokoja

•Attah of Igala lenge of industrial breakthrough by ensuring that agriculture was the vehicle to realise the dream.

14 remanded in prison for issuing forged letters of admission

MINNA Chief Magistrate’s Court has ordered a 14-man syndicate that specialises in issuing forged letters of admission and certificates of the Niger State College of Education to be remanded in prison till May 13.

Danlami Abubakar and 13 others were arraigned on a four-count charge by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mu’azu Shehu, for joint acts, forgery, being in possession of forged documents and using as genuine a forged document, contrary to sections 79, 364, 368 and 366 of the Penal Code.

Suswam creates new ministry

syndicate pleaded not guilty to the charges. The plea of Awwal Gana, who is said to be at large, could not be taken.

The accused counsel, Zakariyahu Bello, made an oral application for bail, a prayer that was not opposed by the prosecutor.

Magistrate Bilqquis Gambo Yusuf said the accused were entitled to a bail and directed the defence counsel to make a formal prayer for it.

She ordered them to be remanded in prison and adjourned the case till May 13 for further hearing.

K

OGI State House of Assembly former Speaker Abdullahi Bello now heads the Agric Committee, as the Assembly announces the reconstitution of the 25 standing committees.

The Speaker, Momohjimoh Lawal, last week announced the dissolution of the standing committees to pave the way for the injection of new people into the committees.

The decision is one of the actions taken by the new leadership of the Assembly. The crisis in the House was resolved last year, which led to the resignation of the former Speaker.

In the other reconstituted committees, the Majority Leader, Yakubu Yunusa, heads the Business and Rules Committee; Christopher Atule heads the Works and Housing Committee; Paul Gowon heads the Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Committee; Gabriel Daudu heads the Finance and Appropriation Committee; while the only female lawmaker, Habiba Deen, heads the Committee on Women Affairs.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

NEWS Henry Okah to spend 24 years in jail Continued from page 4

for the Abuja bombing and got another 12 years for a March 2010 bombing in Warri, which MEND also claimed responsibility for, Louw said. Okah was also sentenced to 10 years for threatening South Africa and that term will run concurrently with the 12-year sentence for the bombing in Abuja, she explained.

MEND had threatened to attack the holdings of companies, including MTN Group Ltd. (MTN), Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator, and SacOil Holding Ltd. (SCL), an oil and gas exploration company, saying South African President Jacob Zuma is interfering “in the legitimate fight for justice” in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

Okah, who denied the charges, declined to testify. He said his trial was unfair because the Federal Government blocked about 20 witnesses from travelling to South Africa to give evidence.

He said: “The judge made his decision based on what was before him. The problem is that my witnesses were stopped from coming.”

The government accused Okah of leading MEND, an organisation, which was promoting militancy, to fight for a greater share of oil revenue for the Niger Delta.

Thousands of militants dropped their weapons to embrace the amnesty programmed introduced in 1999 by the Federal Government under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

Okah, who had earlier denied involvement in the Independence Day bombings , yesterday described the claim that he leads MEND as “ridiculous”.

According to him, his support was derived from the the various armed groups in the Niger Delta.

Prosecutor Shaun Abrahams said Okah was not remorseful.

Abrahams said: “The accused has shown no remorse for his ac-

tions throughout the entire trial...

He is looking for a political resolution and has taken no responsibility for his actions.

“There are no mitigating facts that your lordship can take into consideration to impose a lesser sentence... The relevant sentence would be to impose a life sentence and the other sentences to run concurrently.”

Abrahams said Okah was previously granted amnesty by the Nigerian government to play a role in resolving issues in the Niger Delta and to work with the government to bring peace in that region.

He said: “Okah was given a second bite at the cherry, what did he do? There is no evidence of what positive role the accused played in the Niger Delta.

“The accused had his second bite at the cherry after he received his amnesty — he can’t in this regard get another chance.”

Abrahams told the court that Okah’s intentions in the bombings were to “obtain maximum casualties”.

On January 21, Okah was found guilty on 13 counts of terrorism, including engaging in terrorist activities, conspiracy to engage in terrorist activities, and delivering, placing, and detonating an Improvised explosive device.

The charges related to two car bombs in Abuja, in which 12 people were killed and 36 injured on October 1, 2010.

The court heard yesterday that in the Warri bombings Okah, was fully aware that a school in close to the car bombs.

“He was not remotely concerned that hundreds of children could die at his hands,” Abrahams added.

He said the principal of the school had decided to close the school for the day.

Earlier, Okah, dressed in a red checked shirt and tan trousers, entered the court and waved at his

friends. He was flanked by 14 police officers.

Nineteen police officers took up position inside the courtroom and at the doors ahead of Judge Claassen’s entrance.

Okah’s wife, Azuka, arrived about 30 minutes into the proceedings.

When Okah saw his wife he sought to get her attention and gave her the thumbs up as she smiled at him.

Claassen adjourned proceedings for a tea break and indicated he would hand down sentencing after the break.

During the tea break, Okah and Azuka spent some time talking with each other. Okah was also seen chatting to the police officers inside the courtroom.

In January, Claassen said in his judgment that the State had proved Okah’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and that his failure to testify meant the evidence against him remained uncontested.

He found no evidence that Okah did not head MEND, which claimed responsibility for the blasts.

During the trial, Okah denied any involvement in the blasts and said the charges against him were politically motivated.

Activist lawyer Festus Keyamo said the conviction was politically motivated and legally incorrect.

The lawyer sought Okah’s unconditional release from South Africa prison. He said Okah’s offence was his refusal to accept the amnesty offered by the government and his insistence on the NigerDelta controlling its resources.

The lawyer urged Nigerians and the international community to condemn the trial and judgment of the activist.

Keyamo said: “As counsel to Charles Okah and others who are facing the same set of charges under Nigerian Laws, I have been actively involved in coordinating the trials in South Africa and in Nige-

‘Stop Boko Haram’ Continued from page 4

•Okah

ria. The fundamental flaw in the trial is that Okah was not given adequate facilities and the opportunity to defend himself.

“This is because after the prosecution closed its case in South Africa, the defence attorneys and my chambers here in Abuja tried frantically to summon the witnesses of Okah who are based here in Nigeria to testify on his behalf. These witnesses include some government officials.

“In this regard, we wrote to the Attorney-General of the Federation who replied and directed that Okah’s counsel in South Africa apply to the court there for an order to secure the legal assistance of the Attorney-General of Nigeria. This was only two weeks ago.

“Without giving Henry’s counsel in South Africa adequate time and facilities to follow the directives, the South African court foreclosed his opportunity to call witnesses and rushed to convict him.”

Besides, Keyamo claimed that Okah’s conviction breached his fundamental right to fair hearing and an obvious attempt by the South African authorities to please Nigeria at all costs.

“Whilst all Nigerians empathise with those who lost their lives and limbs in the October 1, 2010 bombings, it is wrong to convict anybody for it without due process. Henry has been convicted without due process,” he said.

Boko Haram: JTF, police in house-to-house search Continued from page 4

blast that rocked the New Road Motor Park, in Sabongari Area of the city, which claimed more than 20 lives.

But Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso assured the corps members of adequate security, urging them to respect the norms and culture

of their hosts.

Speaking with reporters shortly after the passing out parade of “Batch A, at Karaye Camp, the state coordinator, Alhaji Bashir Yakasai, said prior to the explosion, very few corps members indicated interests to be redeployed after

the orientation programme.

However, soon after the bomb blast, many corps members irequested to be redeployed and their request was granted, he said.

Yakassai said: “Despite the Director General’s intervention, the corps members insisted on their redeploy-

ment. There was a directive that corps members should be redeployed to four key areas of agriculture, rural infrastructure, education and health.”

He urged corps members to utilise the skills acquired during their orientation, so as to achieve self reliance.

dering and drug trafficking as some of the global challenges being tackled by the organisation.

She warned that terrorism, money laundering and drug trafficking pose a serious threat to global peace and said the scourge had spread to local communities the world over.

Mrs. Ballestrazzi identified Columbia as a major flash point in drug-related crimes, noting that the bug had caught up with many poor and developing countries in Africa and Asia.

The INTERPOL chief said the organisation would continue to collaborate with the Nigeria police in areas of intelligence gathering and information sharing on these and other trans-border crimes.

According to her, INTER-

POL has been working with the police authorities in the fight against terrorism and kidnapping.

She, however, declined to entertain specific questions on the matter.

Mrs. Ballestrazzi assured that INTERPOL would strengthen its assistance to the Nigerian government in tracking down fugitives, especially when the crime involved money laundering and terrorism.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIGP) in charge of Investigation, Mr. Peter Gana, who stood in for IGP Mohammed Abubakar, expressed appreciation to the visiting INTERPOL team.

He assured that the police will always collaborate and cooperate with the INTERPOL whenever their assistance of the sought in any operation.

Tukur, Anenih fight over PDP peace moves Continued from page 4

ership. For the first time, governors like Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) and Babangida Aliyu (Niger) are receptive to genuine reconciliation.

“As a matter of fact, Anenih has been carrying the President along on his reconciliation trips and terms agreed to with the stakeholders. He enjoys the tactical backing of the President.”

Anenih and other BoT members have gone to Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Kogi, Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa states.

“And for every tour and issues arrived at, Jonathan gives Anenih the go-ahead to salvage the situation,” the source added.

Anenih is set for a major challenge in the reconciliation, with today’s likely meeting with Aliyu in Minna.

Aliyu, who is leading a powerful caucus in the party, spark the controversy the alleged one-term secret pact between President Jonathan

and PDP governors.

Also, Aliyu has been passionate about power shift to the North in 2015.

Although the Presidency is believed to be uncomfortable with Aliyu’s revelation, it has not officially confirmed whether there was any pact or not.

Instead, there have been attempts to threaten Aliyu and persuade him to recant.

A source in Niger State, who confided in our correspondent, said: “The BoT delegation has been scheduled for a meeting with the governor on Wednesday (today).

“Definitely, all issues, including the controversy over one-term pact, will be reviewed. At the end of the day, these leaders will find a way of dousing the tension.

“We are all eager to know what Anenih and other leaders are coming to discuss with Aliyu, who is technically being blackmailed since he spoke on the one-term pact.”

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

62

SPORT EXTRA

AYC: Egypt dethrones Nigeria T

HE hope of Nigeria's Flying Eagles defending their African Youth Championship (AYC) title was ended by an organised Egyptian Under-20 team in Ain Temouchent, Algeria on Tuesday.

The Junior Pharaohs of Egypt defeated the Flying Eagles 2-0 with ENPPI forward, Mahmoud Abdel-Moneam Kahraba scoring both goals.

The defending champions started with a lot of buzz but their flurry of activities counted for nothing.

Inside the first 10 minutes, Abduljeleel Ajagun's shot in Egypt's goal area was kept away by the quick response of Mossad Awad.

There was little to cheer about the opening half though Ovbokha Agboyi had to make a brave clearance off the line to save Nigeria from going a goal down.

Two minutes into the second

half, Nigeria were unable to clear their line as Omar Bassam flicked a free kick into the path of an unmarked Kahraba, to stamp the ball away.

Within a minute, Bassam was played through on goal but he could only chip the ball awkwardly over onrushing Nigeria goalkeeper, Jonah Usman to gather at a second catch.

Nigeria came close to levelling the score when Olarenwaju Kayode shook off his marker but instead only saw his side-footed effort blocked out by Awad in the 52nd minute.

Egypt then scored their second goal with 10 minutes left from just three attempts on goal.

The Flying Eagles showed their weakness of defending set-pieces as Kahraba, once again unmarked this time at the far post, to nod home Ahmed Samir's free kick.

Substitute Bright Ejike then had two chances to score for Nigeria in the last six minutes of the

France leads Mali, Morocco, Togo to honour Keshi

T

HE red carpets were again rolled out on Tuesday for Super Eagles boss Stephen Okechukwu Keshi

by Francophone countries led

by France in Abuja to tell him that he still has much more to give to football in Africa and indeed the world.

The event which was held at the French Embassy in Abuja, was the initiative of the France Ambassador to Nigeria, Jacques Champagne De Labriolle and had the Mali Ambassador Mary Berth Leonard in attendance, there was also Morocco Ambassador Mustapha Bouch and Togo Ambassador to Nigeria Mathew Sunday Adole.

Keshi has previously been national team handler of Mali and Togo and it was not surprising that the two countries joined in appreciating his contribution to their football growth.

There was also the Belgium Ambassador to Nigeria and that of Ivry Coast.

Among Nigerian official present at the occasion were Assistant Coach, Houadonou Valere, Super Eagles team Secretary, Dayo Enebi Achor and Emmanuel Ayanbunmi of the NFF Protocol Department.

At the occasion, the French

•Defeats champions 2-0 game.

He first broke free in a one-onone situation with Awad but failed to convert as the Egypt keeper cleared the ball off his feet and then in stoppage time, Ejike

We lost CAF elections to Adamu factor —Kalu

F

From Segun Ogunjimi, Abuja

Adamu that caused Maigari’s failure in the election.

“When I was there I bargained the inclusion of Dr. Amos Adamu for CAF President, Issa Hayatou’s election.

I told Hayatou then that if he must be President of CAF, A Nigerian must be in the Executive seat too and it worked out then when Adamu was elected. “These are ther kind of things I have been telling you people (journalists) both the government and the NFA (NFF) are not taking some of us into confidence. We understand CAF, we understand FIFA. If they have anything to do in CAF they should seek our opinion because there is no way a country like Nigeria could have

N

•Ejide

supersport.com about his disappointment of capitulating to the debilitating injury just days to the commencement of the 2013 AFCON in South Africa.

“Ultimately, it was up to the coaches to decide who eventually got the nod to start as firstchoice at the AFCON but given my form and consistency at that time, it looked like I would have been the one to start the matches (at the tournament),” Ejide told supersport.com.

The goalkeeper also revealed that he tethered on the brink of depression following the injury but was able to bounce back as a result of the immense inner strength he possessed.

“To be honest, I was disappointed to have picked up the injury but I have learnt to accept whatever fate life throws at me and give God thanks. I knew that irrespective of the injury, I just had to get on with my life,” he explained.

Ejide, who has also enjoyed stints at Tunisia and France with Etoile du Sahel and Bastia then went on to speak about his friendship with current firstchoice keeper and assistant captain of the Super Eagles, Vincent Enyeama.

“We are very good friends and enjoy a wonderful relationship.

We are both based in Israel and usually interact often. He’s a great professional and a good man being,” he added.

Ejide made his Nigeria debut in 2001 and has since gone on to play for the Super Eagles on 22 occasions.

year” In a quick reaction to the confirmation letter from Ghana Baseball and Softball Association, the Secretary General of Nigeria Baseball and Softball Federation, Mr. Kayode Olaniyan said that the match will serve as part of the nation’s long preparations for next year’s World Baseball Classic, adding that with the current aggressive development of baseball going on in the country, Nigeria is presently to once again dominate the game in Africa.

“Almost all African nations want to play with Nigeria. I believe that it’s due to the effort we have put in for the past one year in the development of this game that has necessitated this. The next line of action for us now is to consolidate on the achievement so far, so that we can hit our expected target and subsequently make the necessary impact in the world stage during the Baseball Classic” he said.

Lagos approves 174 sport events to develop athletes

Ambassador presented Keshi with a special Medal from France and urged the Nigerian coach to keep his head high and achieve more glory for Nigeria and the Super Eagles.

ORMER Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu has revealed to NationSport in Abuja yesterday that Nigeria failed in her bid to win a seat in the Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football because the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) failed to involve a suspended CAF member, Dr. Amos Adamu in the politics of the election.

Reactions have not ceased to come since NFF President Aminu Maigari lost the West African football Union zone B CAF seat to his Benin counterpart, Moucharafu Anjorin who won after a run-off with 37 votes to Maigari’s 19.

The Pillar of Sports in Nigeria, Orji Uzor Kalu revealed that it was none inclusion of

G

HANA Baseball and Softball Association has confirmed the April 25th and 27th friendly with Nigeria in Tema Park, Accra.

In a letter sent to Nigeria Baseball and Softball Federation signed by the Secretary General of Ghana Baseball and Softball Association Francis Asare formally conveyed the message of the epic game to their Nigerian counterparts.

The letter reads in parts; “On behalf of Ghana Baseball and Softball Association, I wish to formally invite you to Accra to engage the senior side of Ghana Baseball team in two-day friendly match” “The Association is expecting your arrival in Accra on April 25th, 2013 and departs on April 28th, 2013. The game will be played on 26th and 27th April, 2013 at Tema Community 7 Park.

This is in line with our biennial matches’ agreement for this

AFTERMATH OF 18TH NATIONAL SPORTS FESTIVAL

•Obuh

I would have replaced Enyeama - Ejide IGERIA goalkeeper Ejide has claimed that he would have been first-choice for the Super Eagles at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.

Ejide started most of the tuneup games prior to the tournament until a hamstring injury picked up against Cape Verde on January 9, saw him settle for a place on the sidelines.

The Hapoel Be'er Sheva keeper has exclusively opened up to

lamely struck inside the box at Awad who gathered the ball with ease.

Nigeria will now play in the losers' final at the Stade Ahmed Zabana in Oran on Friday.

Baseball: Ghana confirms Nigeria friendly

gone into an election and lost woefully like this. If Issa Hayatou must be President of CAF, then a Nigerian must be or should have been an executive member of CAF. So those are the politics they don’t understand.

“When I was there (in CAF) before the election of Issa Hayatou as CAF President I bargained him for Adamu. So Nigeria is playing politics of bitterness. They are thinking that if they use us to better their society we will be better off like them on the electoral process. I know that some people including a section of of the media in this country do not like Alhaji (Amos) Adamu but he is a goal-getter. I can say it anywhere that Amos Adamu is a goal getter but some of you (sports journalists) continued to criticise him but he can deliver. I worked with him and I know him that he can deliver. You must see what is good in somebody and make maximum use of it. Every good thing has a bad part of it and every bad thing has a good part of it. Nobody is a saint and I am not saying I am a saint too.

“I was outside the country when I heard that Nigeria lost (CAF election) I cried. I later called Hayatou and congratulated him. If Adamu was there we (Nigeria) will not lose. If the NFA (NFF) and the Sports Minister had consulted me we will not lose. We will hold Issa Hayatou to ransom. Every game has its own language and we know the kind of language to speak to the delegates from both the Francophone and the Anglophone countries and they will put everything on the table and we will become eventual winner”, the former Abia State governor under whose tenure Enyimba Football Club of Aba won the CAF Champions League three times told NationSport.

T

HE Lagos State Executive Council on Monday considered and ratified the report on the recently concluded 18th National Sports Festival (EKO 2012) hosted by the State and directed that the State should continue to develop the athletes.

This was disclosed at an InterMinisterial press briefing addressed at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre Alausa by the Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Development, Mr Waheed Enitan Oshodi and his Information and Strategy counterpart, Mr Aderemi Ibirogba alongside the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Mr Hakeem Bello.

Mr Oshodi added that in furtherance of this, the State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has approved the staging of no fewer than 174 sports events across the 37 sports associations in Lagos State on a quarterly basis in 2013.

The Commissioner said the

objective is to further expose and develop the state`s National Sports Festival athletes for future glories and commended the impressive performances of the athletes at the festival, adding that planned events were designed to further improve their performance.

“The State Executive Council has said we should continue to develop these athletes and this has led to the approval for us to host 174 state-funded sports events across the 37 sports associations. This would be done quarterly throughout the year.

There is still a lot of work to do but we are really happy for all the successes we have achieved so far”, he said.

Mr Oshodi said the state government was impressed with the leap made by the state in the last National Sports Festival saying that finishing in third position from a distant ninth it took in the 17th edition was a sign of better things to come.

Spain back in pole position

I

T hadn't been the best World Cup qualifying campaign for defending world champions Spain -they went into France needing a victory to ensure that they held their destiny in their own hands. A draw against Finland would hardly have filled them with confidence, but they managed the job anyway, with an ugly goal from Pedro the margin in a tightly-fought game marred by a late red card.

Spain had the game's real first chance, with stand-in left back Nacho Monreal demolishing the home defence when he cut in from the flank and dragged an inviting pass towards the penalty spot. Unfortunately for the visitors, the pass fell to Xavi rather than to a Pedro or David Villa, and the Barcelona man hammered his first-time shot just over Hugo Lloris' crossbar.

France were looking to suck the defending champions forward and then hit their guests on the counterattack, and they came close to breaking the deadlock

•Pips France 1-0 when Christophe Jallet sprang clear on the right.

His cutback mirrored Monreal's, but so too did the ultimate result, with Karim Benzema firing over for a goal kick -- albeit from further out that Xavi's six-yard chance.

But mostly, Spain were in control. Their possession game left France chasing shadows, wearing themselves out as they watched their opponents passing circles in the midfield. That nearly cost them in the 31st minute when Lloris wiped out Pedro in the penalty area only for the referee to wave off the astonish Spaniards' demands for a penalty.

There were scares for Spain as well. Mathieu Valbuena's long ball to Franck Ribéry saw Gerard Pique lost, and the Bayern Munich winger scampered clean through on goal only to be thwarted by a combination of a poor touch and Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, keeping the match scoreless through halftime.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013

63

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL.8 NO.2,440

TODAY IN THE NATION '‘The professional must take back recognition from politicians.

Education does not require another billion naira Summit in Ladi Kwali Hall. It requires books, posters, sports and science equipment in Nigeria’s 70,000 schools and 1,500,000 classrooms' TONY MARINHO

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

W

ITHOUT doubt, Albert Chinualumogu Achebe (November 16, 1930 to March 22, 2013) was one of the world’s greatest novelists and essayists and, for me, Africa’s greatest literary figure.

When I said so in my review last October of his There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra – his controversial story of Nigeria’s civil war which has now turned out as his last literary output - one angry, presumably Yoruba, reader condemned me as “a Yoruba hater,” apparently for daring to think Achebe was a greater literary figure than the Nobel Literature Laureate, Wole Soyinka.

How this view made me a Yoruba hater I couldn’t understand because I thought Soyinka won his prize on his individual merit and not because he was Yoruba. Of course, his victory was bound to make not just every Yoruba proud. It was also bound to make every Nigerian, indeed every African, proud. I certainly felt proud that cold wet day in 1986 as part of the Nigerian official delegation that accompanied the man to the ceremony for the award.

But then there was nothing contradictory between the pride I felt and my opinion of the relative merit of Nigeria’s two greatest contributions to the world of Literature.

When Soyinka won the Nobel Literature prize in 1986, the first African to do so, not a few Literature buffs thought Achebe was the more deserving of that honour. As a layman, I thought so too. By the time Soyinka won the prize he had, of course, become a worldwide renowned playwright, poet, political activist, novelist and essayist. As a playwright he had produced over 13 plays, several of them classics - notably The Lion and the Jewel (of which I have fond memories as a play regularly staged by the drama club of my alma mater, Government College, Bida), Kongi’s Harvest and Death and the King’s Horseman. He had written two novels, The Interpreters and Season of Anomy, two autobiographies, the controversial The Man Died and Ake, and countless literary and political essays.

None of Soyinka’s plays and novels had the impact of Achebe’s first, and by common consent, best novel, Things Fall Apart, which he wrote in 1958. By 1986, it had become Africa’s and one of the world’s best selling classics, translated into more than 30 other languages.

By the same 1986, Achebe had written three other novels, No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964) and A Man of the People (1966). Each of them was a classic, written with his inimitable readability, simplicity, eloquence, coherence, rigour and insightfulness.

A year after Soyinka won his Nobel prize, Achebe wrote his last novel, Anthills of the Savannah, which, like A Man of the People that presaged Nigeria’s first military coup, was a satirical dig at power drunk politicians, the difference being that whereas the first was about politicians in mufti, the second was about politicians in khaki. Anthills was a finalist in the prestigious Booker Prize but lost out to another novel by a British novelist. And just like A Man of the People presaged Nigeria’s first coup,

People and Politics By MOHAMMED H ARUNA ndajika@yahoo.com

Achebe: Africa’s best

•The late Achebe Anthills, in a way, presaged the dubious but failed attempt by a leader, this time a soldier turned civilian, to sit tight in office. The Nobel Literature Prize, like all prestigious prizes, is, of course, not a popularity contest. It is also about intellectual depth and insight, among other qualities. But then Achebe, like Soyinka, never pandered to popular taste in his novels; all of them were profound narratives about the clash of cultures and the corruptive influence of power.

Soyinka, no doubt, deserved his Nobel literature prize. Certainly he was a more eloquent speaker than Achebe. However, I had always thought Achebe was more eloquent, and certainly more readable, than Soyinka, with the written word. And the Nobel Literature prize was about the written word.

Whatever anyone’s comparative rating of Soyinka and Achebe in the literary world, it was senseless, even mean, to begrudge Soyinka his good fortune of winning the ultimate prize in Literature because, as I just said, he deserved it. What never made sense to me, however, was the apparent belief of the Nobel judges that

Achebe too never deserved the prize until he died, even though for many years he had become a perennial nominee for it.

Since Soyinka in 1986, three other Africans – two South Africans, Nadine Gordimer (1991) and J. M. Coetze (2003) and an Egyptian, Naguib Mahfouz (2006) - have won the prize.

It is not clear to me as a layman, and I suspect too, many Literature buffs, how any of the three deserved the prize more than Achebe.

But then, Achebe would not be the first truly great writer to be refused admission into the very elite class – there have been only 109 members to date since 1901 when the first prize was awarded – of Nobel Literature Laureates.

In this he was in the excellent company of George Orwell (Animal Farm, 1984) and Graham Green (The Heart of the Matter, The Quiet American), etc.

But Nobel Literature prize or not, Achebe was undeniably the man who pioneered and popularised modern African English Literature. His greatness, however, went well beyond his novels. Just like he was a superlative novelist he was also a first class essayist. Probably his best was The Trouble with Nigeria, written after his bitter-sweet experience in 1983 as a leading member of the leftish Peoples Redemption Party led by the radical politician, the late Malam Aminu Kano.

As the blurb of the little book said, the essay was “both a savage indictment of the current system and a message of hope for the future.”

“The trouble with Nigeria,” he said in the opening sentence of the essay, “is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.” There was, he said, nothing wrong with the Nigerian character, its land or climate or water or air or anything else. What was wrong, he said, was “the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership.”

His diagnosis of the Nigerian ailment was spot on – but only up to a limit. It’s hard to disagree with him that the ultimate responsibility for the virtual failure of the Nigerian state today is that of a leadership that preaches what it does not practise. But, as I have argued recently on these pages, the followership also has its own share of the blame. For, if leaders

HARDBALL

N

IGERIA sees itself as big, strong and free, but it still has a lot to learn from other African countries, particularly from the iconoclasts of Zambia. To Zambians, there is no one too high or mighty to be questioned or brought to trial, not even their presidents. The immediate past president, Rupiah Banda, was on Monday arrested by the police and charged in court on Tuesday for corruptly enriching himself through an oil deal with Nigerians in which he was said to have siphoned $11m through his son, Henry’s bank account. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and alleged that he was being persecuted by his political enemies, notably President Michael Sata.

With the exception of former President Levy Mwanawasa who died in office at the age of 60, no Zambia president has escaped prosecution.

The first president of Zambia and author of Zambia Shall Be Free (1963), Kenneth Kaunda, was tried for being a foreigner (Malawian) and not qualified to stand for the 1996 presidential election. In 1999, a Zambian High Court eventually declared Kaunda stateless, even though he ruled Zambia between 1964 and

Lessons from Zambia’s iconoclasts 1991. The author of his distress was of course his opponent in the 1991 election, Frederick Chiluba, who caused the constitution to be amended to preclude foreigners from standing for elections.

But Chiluba himself was tried for corruption after he left office. Accused of embezzling $500,000, Zambia spent about $13m to prosecute him, a cost Banda would later describe as obscene and irrational. Chiluba’s trial, which took place under the presidency of Mwanawasa, his mentor, further cemented Zambian iconoclasm by proving that no one in Zambia was above the law. Though Chiluba was acquitted of the charges in 2009, a London Court, however, found him guilty in 2007 of laundering stolen money estimated at $40m.

The prosecution of Zambia’s ex-presidents evoked images of a game of musical chairs in a quaint way. While Banda prosecuted Chiluba for corruption, he was to take his turn on the ‘guillotine’ early this week when his successor,

Sata, began prosecuting him for corruption.

The cumulative effect of these prosecutions was that in 2010, the World Bank described Zambia as “…one of the world’s fastest economically reformed countries.” Politically too, the country has enjoyed pluralism for more than four decades, with no military hiatus. The country has been ruled by at least three political parties since independence.

First was Kaunda’s socialist United National Independence Party (UNIP), followed by Frederick Chiluba’s social-democratic Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMPD), and then the Patriotic Front (PF) of the current president, Michael Chilufya Sata.

Since 1960 when Nigeria gained independence, no president or military ruler has ever been prosecuted for corruption.

Indeed, the culture of lifelong immunity for past leaders seems to have been adopted. That culture has in turn bred impunity, encouraged civil dictatorship, and may very well engender

get away with saying one thing and doing the opposite, it is largely because followers do not regard their own roles in society, no matter how small or lowly, as positions of trust. In other words, if we all did our own bits we would never have found it so difficult to hold our leaders to their responsibilities.

Like all human beings, Achebe as a writer and as an individual was, of course, not perfect.

But of all his imperfections, I think the worst was that he seemed to share a by and large selfinflicted persecution complex of his Igbo kith and kin.

No doubt the Igbo have suffered persecution in Nigeria, the worst manifestation of which was the 1966/67 pogrom against them mainly in the North, which eventually led to an even more devastating three-year civil war in the East.

The cause of this Igbo persecution, the man said in Chapter 9 of The Trouble with Nigeria, a chapter he called “The Igbo Problem”, was envy by other Nigerians at their success in catching up and even surpassing the Yoruba that had had decades of head-start in the politics, bureaucracy and commerce of the country.

This success, he said, carried a “deadly penalty: the danger of hubris, overweening pride and thoughtlessness which invites envy and hatred; or even worse, which can obsess with material success and dispose it to all kinds of crude showiness.”

This character flaw apart, the real problem with the Igbo since Independence, he said, was “the absence of the kind of central leadership which their competitors presume for them.”

This, he said, had left them to “self-seeking, opportunistic leaders who offered them no help at all in coping with a new Nigeria in which individual effort would no longer depend on the rules set by a fairly impartial colonial umpire.”

After this diagnosis of what he called the Igbo problem, it was strange that he would proceed in his last autobiographical book, There was a Country, to accuse everyone else, including the “fairly impartial colonial umpire” of being united in their hatred of the Igbo without any reason, and go on to locate the Igbo problem squarely in this hatred.

The goal of an African writer, Achebe said in his last book, is to challenge stereo-types, myths and false images of ourselves and retell the continent’s stories in ways that can foster the progress of our society. By and large, he conquered those challenges in his novels and essays but failed to so in his attempt at writing History.

In what may be considered one of those twists of irony, it can be said that the man whose first shot at serious writing was his best gave his worst shot in the twilight of his life after he had had all the experience and wisdom to produce the very best.

However, in spite of his last poor shot, the man remains for me Africa’s greatest literary figure and certainly one of the world’s best ever.

•For comments, send SMS to 08023211188

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above fascism if care is not taken. This was why the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) swore after the 2011 polls to stay in office for the next six decades. And this was why in 2005 Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, while still president, unethically and unscrupulously raised almost N5bn for his presidential library. This was also why on March 16, President Goodluck Jonathan felt no qualms organising a fundraiser for his church back in his village, and raising about N6bn. Considering the appalling behaviour of the two Nigerian presidents, Zambia has shown better judgement, more restraint, and higher degree of morality.

Zambia may be a country of a little over 14 million people with a nominal GDP of about $19.206bn, compared with Nigeria’s 160 million people and a nominal GDP of $238.920bn, but the former has demonstrated more sanity and maturity in its 49 years of independence than the latter in its 53 years of independence.

Zambia’s iconoclasts show that sometimes, small may indeed be beautiful, and that foolishness is no respecter of size or delusion of grandeur.

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Editor Daily:01-8962807, Marketing: 01-8155547 . Abuja Office: Plot 5, Nanka Close AMAC Commercial Complex, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja. Tel: 07028105302. Port Harcourt Office: 12/14, Njemanze Street, Mile 1, Diobu, PH. 08023595790. WEBSITE: www.thenationonlineng.net E-mail: info@thenationonlineng.net ISSN: 115-5302 Editor: GBENGA OMOTOSO