THE NATION SATURDAY 11, 2013

E PAG 5

E PAG 7

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper www.thenationonlineng.net

VOL.08 N0. 2482

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

N150.00

Boko Haram

U.S decries excessive ‘force’, killings, detention PAGE 2

PAGE 23

The rescued teenagers and Oyibo (first right) who impregnated them. MORE PICTURES ON PAGE 59

Myy M rerlealtaitoionnsshhiipp itihthM ww Miikkee ruoonnyye EzEuzuru

ss —Nollywood actre

News 2

THE NATION, SATURDAY MAY 11, 2013

Boko Haram: US decries ‘excessive force’, killings, detention

T

HE United States of America (USA) has taken exception to alleged extra-judicial killings, prolonged detentions and disappearances by Nigeria in the fight against elements of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram.

It cited the recent security operations in Baga and Bama, both in Borno State, especially the excessive force alleged to have been applied against the insurgents.

It has, therefore, called for a thorough probe of the al-

•We’re not adopting force-based approach - Presidency

Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation leged mass killing of civilians and destruction of property by security forces in Baga and Bama.

But the Presidency fired back yesterday, saying it had already commenced investigation into the allegations.

Also under probe, the government said, are the killings

in Nasarawa and other parts of the country.

The Presidency vowed that anyone found culpable in the incidents would be punished.

It said that contrary to the assumption of the US Government, its approach to the insurgency in the country is not all about military operation.

Reaction also came from the United Kingdom (UK),

which condemned the Bama insurgency by Boko Haram and expressed ‘deep concern’ over the escalation of insecurity and hostilities in the North-east.

The US, in a statement posted on its Embassy’s website, argued that the tactics being adopted by the Federal Government to address the insurgency could tarnish its reputation.

Its words: “The United

•From left: Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah; former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and Chairman, Board of Trustees of the American University of Nigeria (AUN) Yola, Alhaji Ahmed Joda, at the dinner in honour of the 2013 graduating students of AUN in Yola, Adamawa State on Thursday.

States values the strong partnership it has with Nigeria and respects the role Nigeria plays on the world stage.

“We remain deeply concerned about increasing insecurity in northern Nigeria and the potential threat it poses to stability in both Nigeria and the region.

“The rising cycle of violence is affecting Nigerian citizens the most, with the number of civilian casualties increasing.

“The April attacks in Baga, with reports indicating civilians indiscriminately killed and homes and businesses wantonly burnt, demonstrate the extent to which the Nigerian people continue to suffer from this violence.

“Counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency campaigns are complex and difficult. As a partner, we seek to find ways to help Nigeria build its capacity to address multiple threats to its security.

“As they did this week in Bama, Boko Haram has terrorised the people of northern Nigeria, killing thousands over the past three years with bombings, shootings, kidnappings and coordinated attacks on security forces’ facilities.

“The United States condemns Boko Haram’s campaign of terror in the strongest terms and has worked to help Nigeria address the threat of terrorism. Those members of Boko Haram responsible for the violence must be held accountable in accordance with the rule of law.

“At the same time, we are deeply concerned by ongoing reports of excessive use

Kuje prison inmates protest amnesty for Boko Haram The inmates of Kuje Prison in Abuja have kicked against the proposed amnesty for the Boko Haram sect, citing the destructive impact of the sect’s activities.

The prisoners made their stand known when the Minister of Special Duties,

Vincent IKUOMOLA, Abuja Kabiru Tanimu Turaki-led Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North, visited the prison.

Noticing the presence of

journalists and speaking from the windows of their cells, some of the inmates wondered why amnesty should be given to a sect responsible for the death of many innocent people and caused the nation a lot of pain.

An inmate who claimed

that he was innocent of the crime that had kept him in the prison for about 10 years without trial, said rather than grant amnesty to killers, the federal government should consider releasing detainees, particularly those who have stayed without trial

for a long time or convicted for minor offences.

Another inmate said he was arrested and brought to the prison because of a personal dispute he had with a policeman who branded him a member of the Boko Haram sect in order to justify his arrest and detention.

Rivers youth group pledges support for Amaechi, passes vote of confidence in governor GROUP known as Rivers Youth Movement (RYM) has pledged support for the Governor of Rivers State, and Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

The RYM, an association of youths in Rivers State numbering over two million, also passed a vote of confidence in the Rivers State governor for his landmark achievements in the state.

President-General of the Rivers Youth Movement, Engr. Richard Alete, at a press conference in Port Harcourt on Friday, said the RYM would continue to support good leadership as

A

demonstrated by Governor Amaechi.

He said: “The Rivers Youth Movement (RYM) worldwide, with a membership strength of over two million Rivers youths, including those in Nigeria and the Diaspora, wish to pledge our unalloyed support to the dynamic, focused and award-winning executive governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (CON).

“The indefatigable Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), cannot be undermined despite the current political impasse in the state. The Rivers Youth Movement wants to use this opportunity and

privilege to salute the governor for his developmental strides in this state, that we are inspired by the peopleoriented projects and programmes of the present political dispensation in the state led by Rt. Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and therefore express our unflinching support, loyalty and commitment to this administration with benevolent ideologies.

“We also want to use this opportunity to pass a vote of confidence on the Governor of Rivers State; vote of confidence because he has tried. He has done so much for Rivers people.

“On that note, on behalf of Rivers Youth

Movement worldwide, we stand today to pass a vote of confidence on the Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

“We want to say that Rivers Youth Movement will continue to support good leadership. We will stand for peace, development and good governance.

“We want to say that Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has also touched the life of the ordinary man on the street.”

He noted that the A m a e c h i - l e d administration has distinguished itself in massive construction of world-class model primary and secondary

schools, model primary healthcare centres, roads, a g r i c u l t u r a l advancement and human capacity development among other projects.

The RYM PresidentGeneral appealed to the political class in the state to pursue political understanding and not cause disaffection in the state.

He urged stakeholders to work with the Amaechi administration to entrench development in the state.

Alete urged the youth to remain peace-loving and avoid criminality, assuring that the RYM would ensure peace and good governance in the state.

of force by Nigerian security forces in the name of combating Boko Haram, including extrajudicial killings, prolonged detention, and disappearances.

“We are concerned that such an indiscriminate, force-based approach to counter-terrorism is increasing extremism and decreasing confidence in the federal government. These tactics tarnish Nigeria ’s reputation as an emerging leader and a stable democratic government.

“The tragedy at Baga underscores the need for the Government of Nigeria to put civilian protection at the forefront of its counter-insurgency campaign.

“The government now has the opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to the rule of law and the well being of all Nigerians by, first, adopting tactics in the North that are effective and protect civilians, and, second, ensuring that the National Human Rights Commission carries out an independent and transparent investigation.

“Reports from that investigation must be made public and those who committed or ordered these crimes, regardless of position, must be held accountable.”

But in a swift response, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said thorough investigations were already in progress on major incidents in the last few weeks in Baga, Bama, Nasarawa and other places.

He said: “The major point in response to this statement by the US Embassy is that •Continued on Page 62

South Africa’s Desmond Tutu: ‘I will not vote for ANC’

S

OUTH African elder statesman and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu has said he would no longer vote for the ruling ANC. “I would very sadly not be able to vote for them after the way things have gone,” he wrote in South Africa’s Mail and Guardian newspaper.

Inequality, violence and corruption are among the reasons costing the ANC his support, he added.

Archbishop Tutu, 81, was a strong supporter of the ANC’s struggle against white minority rule.

Former African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela became the country’s first black leader after all-race elections in 1994.

“The ANC was very good at leading us in the struggle to be free from oppression,” Archbishop Tutu wrote.

“But it doesn’t seem to me now that a freedomfighting unit can -easily make the transition to becoming a political party,” he continued.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

3

News 4

THE NATION, SATURDAY MAY 11, 2013

Fear of kidnap: Family bars Ali Monguno from Jumat

E

XACTLY one week after he was kidnapped by suspected members of the

Boko Haram sect, the 92year-old former Minister of Petroleum, Dr. Shettima Ali Monguno was barred from attending his congregational Jumat prayer at his favourite Mosque in Mafoni, Maiduguri, The Nation has learnt.

It was gathered that he had insisted on going to the mosque but family members

Duku JOEL, Damaturu insisted he must say his Friday prayers at home, apparently to avoid a repeat of his ordeal in the hands of kidnappers.

A close family source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was a hard decision for the family to take after what happened to him one week ago at the mosque.

“He actually wanted to go to the mosque but we the

family had to stop him. You know that times have changed and Baba has to understand we are in difficult times which warrant hard decisions.

“He was not happy but we had to stop him from going to the mosque today for Friday prayers. The situation is still fresh in our memories.

We are still fighting to overcome the trauma of his last kidnap,” the source said.

Dr. Monguno was kidnapped by some gunmen after saying his

congregational prayers at a Juma’at Mosque in Mafoni ward of Maiduguri metropolis and was later released by his captors at Kirenuwa, a village bordering Chad Republic in Marte Local Government Area, 145 kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.

Dr. Monguno arrived his GRA compound in Maiduguri at about 12 noon amidst tight security after spending three days in the kidnappers den.

•From left: Director General State Security Service, Ita Ekpeyon; Chief of Policy and Plans, Major General Emmanuel Bassy; Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Ibrahim; Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Dele Ezeoba; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Alex Bundu and Inspector General of the Police, Abubakar Mohammed Dikko, after the security meeting at the State House Abuja... yesterday. See story on Page 5 PHOTO: Akin OLADOKUN.

The GRA residence of the former petroleum minister and philanthropist became a Mecca of sort when news of the release of the nonagenarian filtered out.

Dressed in his usual black

...northern elite relocate

L

AST week’s abduction of former Petroleum Minister, Dr. Shettima Ali Monguno, by suspected members of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, has sparked a wave of relocation by prominent northerners from cities like Kaduna, Kano and Bauchi.

The 92-year-old former Petroleum Minister was released on Monday last week.

Many who are yet to relocate have asked for protection from the police and other security agencies.

Some have simply restricted their movements for fear of the unknown.

Police sources in Kaduna confirmed a rise in requests for protection from traditional rulers, politicians, top civil servants, business tycoons and even foreigners.

The requests are said to be putting the police authorities under serious pressure.

A top business man in Maiduguri has relocated from the Borno State capital with his family.

A source quoted him as saying: “I have to relocate from Maiduguri because apart from the threat letter issued to me by members of the sect, I was informed by security agents that I am among those being hunted by terrorists after they were apprehended in the state while trying to kidnap one of my colleagues recently.”

Many northern leaders who have made Kaduna their home are now hardly in the city.

Impeachment plot: Security beefed up in Rivers, patrols intensified

S

ECURITY was yes terday beefed up in Rivers State, particularly in Port Harcourt and its environs.

Patrols were also intensified over an alleged plot by five of the 32 members of the Rivers State House of assembly loyal to the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, to remove Governor Rotimi Amaechi, using the Dariye option.

Many military and police patrol vehicles were seen on major roads in Port Harcourt, with the operatives engaged in stop-and-search to pre-

•Council secretariat still under lock and key vent illegal movement of arms and ammunition.

The operatives of the Joint Task Force (JTF) and the State Security Service (SSS) were also not left out of the security beef-up at a time the battle line is drawn between Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who is also the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Wike, who wants to succeed Amaechi in 2015. Both of them are of the Ikwerre tribe.

A source close to the JTF,

who asked not to be named, said it was true that patrol had been intensified in Port Harcourt in order not to take chances and to prevent the breakdown of law and order.

The secretariat of Obio/ Akpor Local Government Council, sealed off by policemen on May 3, remained sealed yesterday.

The Chairman of Obio/ Akpor LG Council, Timothy Nsirim; his deputy, Solomon Eke and all the 17 councillors, were sus-

pended on April 22 by the 27 pro-Amaechi legislators.

The pro-Wike lawmakers: Michael Chinda (Obio/Akpor II constituency), Kelechi Godspower Nwogu (Omuma), Evans Bipi (Ogu/Bolo), Martins Amaewhule (Obio/ Akpor I) and Victor Ihunwo (Port Harcourt III), kicked against the suspension of Nsirim and others.

The lawmakers insisted that there was no petition

Police gun down seven kidnap suspects in Anambra

S

EVEN suspected kidnap pers were yesterday killed during a gun battle with men of the Anambra State Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), led by the commander, James Nwafor.

The incident took place at Aguleiri in Anambra East Local Government Area of the state around 6.50 pm.

Seven kidnapped victims were rescued by the police, while the sum of N5 million was recovered from the suspects.

A Lebanese contractor with the Consolidated Construction Company (CCC) Mr. Roumauos Marroun, kid-

•Expatriate abducted by gunmen regains freedom Nwanosike ONU napped by a four-man gang at the gate of the Igbariam Campus of the Anambra State University at about 5.30 pm on Tuesday also regained his freedom yesterday.

The circumstances in which he was freed, however, remained unclear at press time.

A police sergeant, whose identity was not disclosed was reportedly shot dead by the gunmen during the operation.

The Public Relations Officer of the Anambra State Police Command, Emeka Chukwuemeka, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, had said that the police had deployed more men to search for the expatriate and arrest the hoodlums.

He said, “everything is being done to rescue the expatriate and the perpetrators arrested and prosecuted.

“We have mobilised our men in all the nooks and crannies in the state, and nobody will rest until this man is found” he said.

The Nation gathered that the abductors of the expatriate had demanded a whopping N500 million.

A source who pleaded anonymity had told The Nation that the contracting firm could only come up with N700, 000 but the alleged kidnapers put off their set.

“Our hands are tied. His company is not coming out with tangible thing. They should know how these people behave if you annoy them. But we pray that nothing happens to the expatriate,” he said.

royal regalia, the 92-year-old was besieged by sympathisers amidst tears of joy. Gov. Kashim Shettima had to appeal to the crowd to give the aged man a breathing space.

against Nsirim as being insinuated. They described his suspension as illegal, saying there should not have been any need for a caretaker committee.

Following the suspension of elected officials of Obio/Akpor LG, a sevenmember caretaker committee, headed by Dike David Chikordi, was earlier screened by members of the Rivers Assembly on April 23 and inaugurated on the same day by the Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), George Feyii.

Tony AKOWE, Kaduna & Austine TSENZUGHUL Bauchi They prefer Abuja where they believe they are safer.

Second Republic governor of the old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, is one of the few exceptions keeping faith with providence.

He said he lacked the resources to meet any ransom demand.

Besides, he said, he had no other place to go apart from his Kaduna home.

According to him, all his belongings put together cannot meet the expectation of whoever kidnaps him.

He recalled warning government before now about the need to address the Boko Haram issue.

He asked government to adopt a holistic approach to end kidnapping in the country.

Armed policemen have been deployed at the palace of the Emir of Bauchi, Dr. Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu, to beef up security there.

A palace source said the security beef up was imperative.

He said: “If the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, could be attacked on the road or an attempt made on his life, I want you to know that things have become bad.

“You can see (pointing) that is the prison where criminals and those awaiting trials are kept.

The prison officials are armed.

Down there is the state Ministry of Education where we have armed soldiers with their armoured tank. These are very sensitive areas that must be protected.

“You will recall the attempt on the life of the Emir of Fika, Yobe State, was made while in a Mosque. Here in Bauchi, the security situation is not as bad as other states in the Northeast, but we don’t have to take things for granted.

“We have our traditional security men, but we also need the government security with modern security gadgets to assist, and that is why you must have something very special before coming to the palace.

“Still you have to be thoroughly screened by security operatives, though we believe that Allah is the protector of everybody. But God helps those who help themselves.”

•Continued on Page 62

COMMENTARY 9

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

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

W

HAT happens when killers and other violent criminals strike in Nigeria?

Simple: Nigerians talk about it for a few minutes. Relatives grieve. The authorities mouth some ineffectual words. The security family promises the world. Then, everything goes quiet. We move on.

In January, to recall a few recent incidents, Anambra people saw corpses floating on their river. In March, a police commissioner, Chinwike Asadu, was killed outside his home in Enugu. Last month, Baga popped up with a massacre of nearly 200 of its residents while their houses were burnt. Last Friday, a 92year-old ex-minister in the Gowon era was kidnapped. This week, scores of policemen were cut down in Nasarawa.

I reproduce a piece I wrote entitled “Wild, wild country”. It is still a wild, wild country.

The piece: The two killing incidents, set apart by just four days, were as horrifying as the word can be. The one took place in the night when the day’s work was done and many had retired to bed; the other happened in broad daylight. On Independence Day, in Mubi, the second biggest town in Adamawa State, and its commercial nerve, students of the Federal Polytechnic sited there were in their hostel when guns began to boom. They sounded near at first, said one student; soon the gunmen drew nearer, still shooting. Panic gripped the hostel community. Everyone hurried into their rooms and locked their doors. But the visitors were on a mission they must accomplish. They kicked the doors open, shot and killed one stu-

Wild, wild country, still dent after another. At the end of the operation, over 40 students, according to some accounts, lay dead. The incident threw the polytechnic community into imaginable trauma.

Friends and families of the dead were left in the deepest grief. The nation was in a daze, while the entire world stood stupefied.

That was one wild night in the Northeast of the country.

Four days later, and down south in Aluu, where the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, is located, four students of the institution faced the grimmest ordeal of their lives, none of them surviving to relive it. They were stripped naked and beaten until there was no life left in them. Finally, their bodies were burnt.

That was another wild outing.

Some reports blamed the Mubi attack on fundamentalists, while in Aluu, residents were said to have done the job.

Both incidents, not forgetting the killings in a Kano school within the same period, have sharpened up a whole new, horrifying angle in the country’s insecurity challenges. Schools have been attacked before, only now, there seems to be more boldness in taking on larger numbers of Nigeria’s young people secluded for the purpose of study. We must worry about the ease with which assailants invade our schools and kill young people being groomed for leadership. Our educational profile may not lift our spirits but we must worry when students are wasted. More fundamentally, we must worry when lives are wasted by people who neither have the sanction of the creator to do so nor the authority of the law of man.

We must worry when mobs become accusers, prosecutors, judges and executioners in one fell swoop, as in the case of the Uniport Four, who were reportedly accused of stealing laptop computers and mobile phones.

Reports said a crowd watched with inter-

est, even applauding, as the four, all below 22, were tortured to death and their corpses set ablaze. What do you make of such a scene and such an act? Such brutalities attack every claim we make to civility, and rebrand us a wild, wild nation.

Mob action or jungle justice did not start in Aluu, to be sure. All over the country, people have faced instant death at the hands of streetwalkers and bystanders, and for even the pettiest of offences. But for me, one nasty thing about such brand of justice is that the people dispensing it may be woefully unqualified for the job. Some who clobber mob victims to death may actually be thieves themselves. We can tell from the mob which was eager to slay a

‘

Mob action or jungle justice did not start in Aluu, to be sure. All over the country, people have faced instant death at the hands of streetwalkers and bystanders, and for even the pettiest of offences. But for me, one nasty thing about such brand of justice is that the people dispensing it may be woefully unqualified for the job

certain adulteress caught in the act.

But there are weightier concerns about jungle justice. It questions the character and professionalism of the police, the outfit whose responsibility it is to sort out civil disorders. How was it that a mob tortured and killed four undergraduates, then set their corpses on fire, an operation that must have lasted hours, without the police getting any wind of it? What do you make of such police? Again, why are people better disposed to taking the law into their own hands rather than reporting their concerns to law enforcers? Why has confidence in the police waned?

It is perhaps naive to conclude that the Aluu executioners were inspired by the assailants in Mubi simply because of the short space of time between them, but it is safe to say that unlawful killings, of which Nigeria has quite a pile, if not punished, pave the way for more of such barbaric illegalities. Heaps of files of unsolved murders are still with the police, as are bunches of reports on bloody communal and sectarian crises with government. Hope may have died out on those files being reopened or the murderers being brought to justice, and it is just this sort of profile that helps to reduce the value for life in the populace. In time, people with propensity to kill, begin to do so knowing that, as in the past, there is little or no chance of ever being caught and punished. Such scenarios make life seem worthless.

Everyone has a role to make things better, but people in authority have a bigger responsibility.

You can tell if life matters in a local council if the chairman defends one threatened resident with all his soul. It is easy to see if a state or federal government cares for its people if a small endangered community is given the best possible attention.

We are just one wild, wild bunch.

’ Of Akpabio, Etok and a political faux pas

I

T was like drama, no, it was real drama. Overnight, Senator Aloysius Etok woke up in Abuja, decided to grant an inter view but not on a national issue; he decided to speak on a senatorial contest in 2015. People who listened to the radio interview where the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-West spoke on how there was no vacancy in the Senate for ‘his seat’ in 2015, wondered why the senator chose to speak of 2015 when he has not fully delivered on the job at hand. But then, that is the way of some Nigerian politicians, they myopically think public service should be their exclusive preserve.

More than anything, speaking of the senatorial contest in Akwa Ibom North-West hurts more than a few constituents, as they would rather their senator speak on how to bring development to the region by joining hand with the governor, who is also from that region. But how can Senator Etok collaborate with the state governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, the same way the Senate President, David Mark is collaborating with his governor, Gabriel Suswam, when he already has an axe to grind?

According to Etok, it was an anathema for Akpabio to eye ‘his chair’ in the Senate and if he did, the governor must have consulted not with the people, who are the corner stone of democracy, but with Etok because he was ‘the owner of the chair’.

The big surprise of the interview was when Senator pooh-poohed the structure he rode on to get to power by bad-mouthing Akpabio, saying he did not play any role in his (Etok) becoming a senator for a second term. Though the people still remember the roles played by Akpabio, including persuading other contenders to step down for Etok and even convincing the people, who were ready to ride roughshod on Etok during the polls, Etok would have us believe that he returned to the Red Chamber by his doing and through his popularity with the people.

He even arrogantly said that the people have not told him he would not return to the Senate as if the people went to invite him to contest in the first place. He even said he would hold the chair and not let go till it is broken, pray when does the Senatorial seat of an entire constituency comprising 10 local governments become a chair for one person? Another way of the world and tragedy of Nigerian politics, staying in power for life is the be-all and end-all of their professed love for the people. Well, one need not remind Senator Etok and, in fact, other politicians who consider political positions as something they and their family alone should hold for life, that the people reserve the power to choose their leaders. More so, it is God who chooses leaders and He will do his beat in 2015 whether Governor Akpabio as well as anyone qualifies from the Senatorial District contests or not.

The greatest surprise of the whole saga, however, came when the distinguished Senator Etok threw caution to the winds by holding a press conference where he stated that Governor Akpabio was after his life. It was a classic political howler, or so most people thought. But the senator had a different opinion.

He had prepared a speech in which he said: “I have on this phone some text messages which says (sic) that if I don’t retract the statement that I will contest the election in 2015, after seven days, I will see what they will do. The governor has also instructed different groups that if I don’t retract the statement within seven days, I will either be dead to stop me or alive to retract the

•Akpabio

Why would Akpabio be so afraid of Etok that he would want to hurt him when he has never taken that path before?

Of course, book makers thought of Etok’s allegation as a cock and bull story woven together to appeal to sympathy Oluwakayode AINA

statement. Therefore, I want you all the media to ask the governor or those he had let loose to tell the world what is the insult; that if I still remember what happened during my second term struggle when, as soon as they knew I was going to contest, my wife was kidnapped.”

Not a few people wondered how and when an issue about 2015 could suddenly degenerate into threats against the senator’s life, but many a people who know Akpabio and his politics of peace recognised that the threats could not have emanated on the governor’s instruction. Why would Akpabio or any of his supporters ask Etok to recant or face assassination when the people power belongs to them? This was an Akpabio that defeated an incumbent governor’s governorship aspirant, Bob Ekarika, in 2006 at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary; an Akpabio that won governorship election by landslide margins on two occasions.

Why would Akpabio be so afraid of Etok that he would want

•First published October 14, 2012

to hurt him when he has never taken that path before? Of course, book makers thought of Etok’s allegation as a cock and bull story woven together to appeal to sympathy. Argumentum ad misericordiam is that fallacy whereby people resort to using emotional appeal to win an argument and Etok committed that much by alleging that Akpabio was after him and that he had suffered the same fate before. So, did Akpabio kidnap his wife and motherin-law in the past and also went ahead to support him? Does the fact that he suffered such fate make the Senate seat his exclusive preserve and is it enough reason that other people cannot aspire?

The governor’s reaction, through his Commissioner for Information, Mr Aniekan Umana, cleared the air about the allegation, as he described it as “paranoid, deceitful, baseless and mere hallucinations that serve no purpose whatsoever,” saying: “His Excellency, Governor Akpabio, is a God-fearing and peace-loving man, and has never contemplated and will never contemplate evil against anyone, let alone his brother and friend, Senator Aloysius Etok.” It actually turned out that Senator Etok’s allegation about the threat to his life was true, as evident in the arrest of one Adelola Tamunotonye Olaore, a 29-year-old graduate of Mechanical Engineering, who confessed to being behind the assassination threat against Senator Etok with a view to defrauding him. Though the State Security Service (SSS) has nipped the threat in the bud, Senator Etok had made a puerile move by ascribing the threat to the governor. It was a glaring case of trying to call a dog a bad name to hang it, it was a joke taken too far and the world is waiting for the next move that will be made by the senator.

Bob Woodward must have seen farther ahead in time to have said that “the legislator learns that when you talk a lot, you get into trouble. You have to listen a lot to make deals.” Now that the suspect has been arrested, can the Senator prove that there is a link between the suspect, who claimed to have seen Etok’s complementary card at the office of the Niger Delta Development Commission in Port-Harcourt and Akpabio? The burden of proof lies with the Senator, who deemed it worthy to announce to the world that ‘Akpabio has let loose his resurrected assassination squad’ and has sent same after him (Etok), without proper investigation. It is incontestable that the court of public opinion will find the senator guilty of failing as a legislator and being bereft of counsel to have made such a move of naming Akpabio in an attempt to kill him.

The issue, it was further gathered, is generating ripples in the Senate and its leadership. Those who know Etok in the Senate are of the opinion that rather than concentrating his effort on how to extricate himself from the web of controversies he has found himself in the pension probe and thank the leadership for stemming the tide that was loaded against him, he is now busy soiling the name of his benefactor.

Indeed, the people of Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District in Akwa Ibom North-West are awaiting the explanation of their senator on the political faux pas, same way he is awaiting their voices to tell him they were not through him with him, when he should have seen the hand writing on the wall.

•Aina is a public affairs analyst

10

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

11

12

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

ea b t s u m n A woma to have an bit stupid arriage m enduringto’s wife Sadiat lo –Buhari O

or My fears f s 2015 poll h in the Norhtim

–Sen. Bukar

Abba Ibra

•Pages 44&45

•Pages 39,42&43

13 THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

Life after jail:

The many agonies of ex-inmates ,

,

The first year usually is so tough; it’s like 20 years in jail put together

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

14

The many agonies ,

There is so much stigmatisation against ex-convicts and to do a PhD, you need a steady flow of cash; getting a job has not been easy as I always tell prospective employers that I am an ex-convict and that ends the interview. I have lost many job opportunities.

I am ready to work but the first thing that can help me getting a job is getting the stigma off and the only way to do that is to get a national pardon. Without that, an employer offers you N10, 000 per month

,

•Tailoring dept at After Care

S

UNDAY Oladapo came out of his underground one-room apartment at the Aftercare Centre in Ikorodu, a Lagos suburb, and squinted in the afternoon sun. His room was dark and sparsely furnished with an old two-seater chair. The floor was bare; on the far right side were his cooking utensils. The place also served as his kitchen.

Unless he tells his age, it will be difficult to guess he was 61 years old. He has a sparse frame, tough looks and his eyeballs had assumed a sort of permanently red colour. When he removed the skull cap on his head, a natural jerry curled hair was exposed. And when he spoke, he had a mannerism of ending every short sentence with “you see,” which somehow added a sort of flair to his otherwise stuttering English language.

Since he came out of the prison four years ago, he has lived at the centre and at the mercy of Bishop Kayode Williams.

Williams himself has less than a sterling past. In 1973, he was arrested for armed robbery as part of the dreaded Idowu Oyenusi gang and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In 1976, while attempting to use a Christian tract to smoke marijuana at the Sokoto prison where he was held in solitary confinement, he repented and turned his life to God. In 1980, he was out of prison and began a new profession as a preacher. He then founded the Prison Rehabilitation Ministry International (PREMI) and the After Care Centre to rehabilitate ex-inmates and minister to their soul. That was how he met Oladapo, at the Kirikiri maximum prison in Lagos where the latter was on death row, for armed robbery.

Williams also pastors the Christ Vessel of Grace Church, which stands majestically at 82, Old Oko Oba Road, Agege, Lagos. To many of the residents of this neighborhood, the church is a place for

destitute persons and ex- prisoners. This is exams in chains in 2004. It was very funny, not far from the truth as Williams is the I just focused on what I wanted to achieve. presiding bishop of the church. A high I was allowed to put on mufti; in the exam praise was underway when The Nation hall there was one warder behind me. arrived. Though a bishop, Williams did not When the results came and I passed, they dress as one and this Sunday, he wore a were all happy for me.” black shirt over a black pant with a white His good fortunes were not done yet. collar to distinguish him as a cleric. As Prominent citizens pleaded for him to be the high praise increased, he jingled his released to go to the university and on tambourine to the beat of the song and January 1, 2005, he walked out of the performed several dance steps. At the back prison a free man. of the auditorium, Kayode Dada stood “I came out thinking I would walk quietly almost lost in worship. Dada is no straight to the school and start but they ordinary member of the church; he had told me I can’t because I was an exserved 10 years on death row at the convict. I don’t know how they got the Abeokuta prison and one of the closest information. They said because I had a aides to Williams. record as an ex-convict, if they allowed me Brutish, nasty and harsh to study medicine, I would not be able to Dada’s story is likened to those served practise unless I can get a pardon before I as legends. Born in 1972, he had a modest finish the course. In fact, they didn’t want education and had enlisted in the Nigeria me to come at all, but Kayode Williams Defence Academy (NDA) but soon found helped me, prominent citizens vouched for the life of drugs and crime enticing. The me and the school took me on the robbery that took him to prison and close condition that I would study physiology to death’s door happened in 1995. Dada not medicine.” was not keen in reopening the details of But his troubles were not over yet. At the his crime but admitted to it. “I didn’t know College of Medicine, he was warned by the the gravity of what I did; I was just looking management not to foment trouble or he for money for drugs. April 8, I was would be in trouble. He was put on apprehended and July 1, 1999, I was constant surveillance. But he won their sentenced to death by the military tribunal trust emerging as the departmental in Abeokuta, I was in condemned cell for student of the year in 2008 and most four years in Abeokuta. I waited for death versatile student in 2009. After his degree, every day, which was the worst experience he went on to do his Masters. Currently, he of my life, “Dada said. is being sponsored by Mrs. Igiebor for his But luck smiled on PhD in Physiology. him and in 2003, his But life has not been a death sentence was bed of roses for him. commuted to life After his Masters degree, I have been taking imprisonment. he got nowhere near medicine since 2003. I Through sheer hard landing any job. His life work, he studied and has been that of constant am still trying to get passed his Senior frustration, desperation my life back.

There is School Leaving and hope. Providing for Certificate his two children has no job and I charge Examination and his been an uphill task and phone batteries now Joint Matriculation he has survived mainly in my village. I want Exams. on the generosity of “ When my death good Samaritans. to buy a big generator sentence was “There is so much to improve my commuted to life, I stigmatisation against business. But what I was told to use the ex-convicts and to do a opportunity wisely. I PhD, you need a steady really want now is to said I wanted to go to flow of cash; getting a get married and start school, and I was job has not been easy as I a family escorted out to do the always tell prospective exams. I went for the employers that I am an

,

After spending years in prisons, many ex-inmates find life outside the prison walls nasty, brutish and unfair.

SEUN AKIOYE reports on how some are coping with life after jail.

,

ex-convict and that ends the interview. I have lost many job opportunities. I am ready to work but the first thing that can help me getting a job is getting the stigma off and the only way to do that is to get a national pardon. Without that, an employer offers you N10, 000 per month,” Dada lamented.

While Bishop Williams may have been the most popular face in the campaign for the rehabilitation of the ex- prisoners, there are others who are not ex-convicts themselves but who have devoted their lives serving that cause. Many of them had taken inspiration from Williams; one of them is Ahmed Adetola –Kazeem, a lawyer and the President of the Prisoners Right Advocacy Initiative. AdetolaKazeem specialises in helping prisoners who have spent years in Awaiting Trial cell get justice, through outright release and if there is a pending case against them, a quick trial.

His foray into Prisoners Advocacy Rights began in 2009 during his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.

After his NYSC, he came back to Lagos to start his organisation and worked in his father’s chambers. In 2011, he began full time work, helping set prisoners free at Kirikiri Maximum Prisons. Since 2011, he has helped secure the release of about 100 inmates. But unlike Williams, he does not have the facilities to rehabilitate the exprisoners. But he keeps a tab on them through regular phone calls.

One of his clients was Maman Keita, who was accused of murder. At the time of his release, he had spent 11 years awaiting trial. Keita said he was trying to fend off robbers who had descended on him at his ram market. One of them stabbed him and he returned the gesture. Later, police said the other fellow died. But AdetolaKazeem got him out and got him N7,000,000 compensation.

Another prisoner, Sule Sanni, who spent 13 years in prison, also got N1,000,000 compensation. While in prison, Sanni fell ill with a heart disease. That was not all, his parents also died awaiting his return.

When he was released in 2012, his illness had worsened. He now lives in a small village outside Yola, Adamawa State where he makes a living charging phone batteries.

“I have been taking medicine since 2003.

I am still trying to get my life back. There is no job and I charge phone batteries now in my village. I want to buy a big generator to improve my business. But what I really

15

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

of ex-inmates

want now is to get married and start a family,” Sanni told The Nation in a telephone conversation.

Ali Hassan also fell ill in the prison. His sickness is said to have to do with his mental capabilities. He was said to have relocated to Borno. His brother told The Nation that he has not heard from him for a long time and he wasn’t sure if he was getting better.

But there are other prisoners who have been able to turn their lives around, at least temporarily. Some of them have gone on to learn some trade.

AbdulAzeez Audu was charged with robbery in 2006 and released from Kirikiri in March 2013. When The Nation got in touch with his family, he was said to be learning motor repairs in Ojo, outskirts of Lagos.

Godwin Johnson got arrested for murder in 2007 and he was released in 2012. He was 15 years old at the time of his arrest. When contacted, his mother lamented that he had fallen into trouble again. She said Johnson went to a red light zone for sex and on his way back got involved in a fight and was picked up by the police. He is currently at Igbeba prisons in Ogun State.

Iyere Abure spent nine years in prison for robbery. Through Adetola-Kazeem, he was released in 2012. The Nation found him at Ikeja motor park. He was dressed in blue jeans and shirt and had an umbrella to protect him from the scourging sun. He has a small strong body and when he shook hands, his palm was hard but smooth.

Sitting inside one of the buses, Abure, 38, who hails from Edo State, said he was glad to be out of prison. But life has been hard as he currently resides with his parents in Egbeda, on the outskirts of Lagos. Before his prison experience, he was a ‘senior’ bus driver, plying Ikeja to Ojota. Then his bus was used for armed robbery and the next time the bus was spotted, it was impounded. Abure was behind the wheel.

He turned his life to God in prison and vowed to become a preacher. “ I had many visions in prison, seeing myself preaching to many people,” Abure said. He believed God has called him into full-time ministry because he was able to read the Bible in prison without formal education. When he got out, he began again as a bus conductor-not many people would trust their vehicles to an ex- prisoner- but he soon won the trust of some who allowed him to drive in shifts. When he is not driving, he makes a living being a

•Abure

•Oladapo

•Dada

conductor. does not know her daughter-in-law’s He wants to save enough money to go residence in Ogun State. to a seminary and learn the rudiments of The grandmother sank unto the floor being a gospel preacher. But before then and collapsed in exhaustion. Life is hard he must contend with present realities. for her and her grandson had brought “This commercial transport business is shame on her. Several times she made really my line, everyone knows I am good. reference to death and dying and the need If I can get a bus to myself, that would be to be at peace. Even though she had a big turnaround in my life. I need one maintained a brutal expression while LT31 bus; if I get that, all of my problems talking about Niyi, it was evident she are over in this life,” he said. nursed some hope the boy would But two cases stood out from Adetolaturnaround.

Kazeem’s clients. Tunde and Niyi, who “Is there a way you can help me? Do were both arrested for armed robbery and you know where his mother lives? Are who reportedly went mad in prison. At you sure he is not in any trouble again?” some point, Niyi was said to have been she asked, her stone-faced eyes giving isolated. When they were released in 2012, way to anxiety. When she was assured that they left no telephone numbers of any her grandson was not back in prison, she relatives, but left home addresses. The smiled.

Nation went in search of Tunde at No 2, The struggle continues Raji Oba Street Alimoso, Lagos. Nobody In Nigeria, hundreds of prisoners are knew him at all; none could recall ever released every year from the clutches of its hearing that name. None of the 227 prisons; majority of these ex-prisoners neighbours also knew him, he has simply would find their new life harsh and brutal. disappeared.

For most of them, there will be no family At 98, Itire Road Mushin, Lagos the to return to and no help from anyone. For address left by Niyi, an old woman, a sizeable number of them, life in prison frowned on hearing the visitor inquire would be worth more than their harsh about Niyi. She had been busy tending her freedom. Eventually, they will find their petty wares which she sold at a shop ways back through the iron gates of prison beside the house when the visitor arrived where they are assured a regular meal and and she insisted on finding out the a space to sleep. identity of the inquirer. It took a long But some who are lucky to find mentors cajoling and persuasion before she could like Williams may have a brighter chance own up to knowing Niyi who she at life. For 30 years, Williams has been described as “stubborn and troublesome”. championing the cause of the Her face suddenly took on a sad note, she rehabilitation of the ex-prisoners in order hissed several times to reintegrate them without saying a word. back into the society.

Finally, she said: “ I The ex-prisoners I didn’t know the don’t know where he respected him is, please go and ask because of his past gravity of what I did; I his mother.” reputation of being a was just looking for The day Niyi was member of one of the released he had made most vicious gangs in money for drugs.

April straight for his Nigeria. They also 8, I was apprehended grandmother’s house respect him because in Itire. She was he is now a pastor. and July 1, 1999, I was surprised to see him For him, there are sentenced to death by and didn’t want him in four cardinal issues to the house. “ I didn’t the military tribunal in crime reduction: want his trouble Reformation, Abeokuta, I was in anymore. His father Rehabilitation, died three years ago Reintegration and condemned cell for because of his case. My Resettlement. These four years in children are dying in four cardinal points, my presence and I Abeokuta. I waited for he said, are missing in don’t want any more the Nigerian prison death every day, trouble from Niyi. He system, thereby which was the worst got angry and left for making prison terms his mother’s house in more of deformation experience of my life Ogun State.” The than reformation. grandmother, however, For those who got

,

•Williams

,

out and stayed out, life is often full of ironies; they have to battle with the stigmatisation that comes with having been to prison. Families are lost and the prospects of starting all over again are grim. This is the fate of Oladapo, who was arrested in 1982. Recalling the details that led to his arrest, he swore he was innocent of the crimes. “I was living at N0 9, Olumokun Street Amukoko; I was selling marijuana and a lot of boys used to come to my place. One day a boy came, I didn’t know he was an armed robber and that the community vigilance group was after him. He was found at my place and killed.

Later the community arrested me and the police charged me with robbing one Mr. Sowunmi of N3,000 and some jewelries.”

He was convicted of the crime on September 13, 1983. He spent the next 19 years in the condemned cell before his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by then Lagos State Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu. On May 29, 2009, Tinubu’s successor, Governor Babatunde Fashola, gave him a pardon and he was released from jail. The total number of years spent in jail was 27 years.

His life is as complicated as his case.

When he was arrested, he had a threeyear-old son and his wife was three months pregnant. Now his wife and son are nowhere to be found, his father had died and his properties taken over by his brother-in-law. He doesn’t know what happened to his wife’s pregnancy too.

When he got out of prison, Williams came to his aid and offered him a room in his house. Today, everyone calls him Baba Sunday at the After Care Centre and to keep body and soul together, he has taken to carpentry - a trade he learnt before he went to prison -using tools that were given to him by the Prison authorities.

“All my tools are bad, I need serious tools to work. If I get N200, 000, I will be able to establish myself. But now, life is hard and business is bad. Whenever I don’t have any job, I join the bricklayers as manual labourer,” Oladapo said.

Life in the AfterCare Centre An imposing signpost announced the After Care Centre and informed the visitor that it is a vocational management training centre. Located in Odongunyan, Ikorodu, Lagos, it was opened with pomp in 2005, a collaboration between PREMI and the Nigeria Prisons Service.

According to Williams, the centre was designed to serve as the bridge between the prison and full integration back to the

Continued on page 18

16

Pa Jimoh Amosa, Abdullahi Berende’s father

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

17

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

Berende’s family compound, Idi-Ape, Ilorin Some of the students of Berende

Berende before his arrest

The suspect when he was paraded

His Arabic certificate flaunted by his brother

Gbenga ADERANTI

The mosque at Oja-Oba where Berende used to preach

Yakubu, his younger brother

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

18

‘Stigmatisation is a big problem for us’

society. Because many of the prisoners had no formal skills, the centre would train them in carpentry, welding, computer studies, barbing, tailoring, and toilet tissue manufacture.

“This whole place has fallen down,” Williams said as he took a walk around the centre. Of all the skill acquisition trainings available at the centre, only tailoring still functions. The building itself –donated by Williams- had collapsed in several places while the farm, which hitherto consisted of piggery, poultry, snail farm and fish pond now boasts of only grass. Inside one of the halls, the toilet tissue manufacturing machine is now home to spiders that have made their web all over it.

“This is the result of lack of funding from the government. We are supposed to have a booming place here but look at what we have. I have made representations to the federal government but without any response. I am doing this because of the passion I have to help exconvicts and to make them useful to the society. But this burden is too much for me to carry, there is no way I can do it alone.”

PREMI had Nigerians who have taken up the cause in the past. One of them is former President Olusegun Obasanjo who in 2000 gave Williams a state pardon. Obasanjo has been instrumental to the release of many prisoners both home and abroad. He serves as the patron of PREMI and he laid the foundation stone of a 42-hectare rehabilitation centre in Ibadan.

That centre too has collapsed, save for the palm tree plantation which is still being operated manually. Are Afe Babalola is the Chairman of the Board of PREMI and he has also single-handedly fought for the release of many prisoners and personally saw to their rehabilitation.

Also, His Royal Majesty, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso, the Osile of Oke Ona Egba, has been of tremendous help to PREMI and its army of ex-prisoners. But as individuals, they can do very little without the back up of the government.

At the After Care Centre, the former inmates called Williams “father”. To many of them, he has been the only relative they know, but times are bad and money scarce.

Having no one to pick the bills, Williams has devised an ingenious way of achieving his goals. “We can’t house and feed the exconvicts; we don’t have the money to do that, so before a prisoner is released, we contact his family and prepare them for his homecoming. Then, we keep monitoring them from there.”

Problems of integration The first problem a prisoner faces upon

,

I also think the stigmatisation is the cause of all these violent crimes because when you don’t give people a chance, they have nowhere to turn to.

When you help an exconvict, you keep yourself safe. If you stigmatise and the person doesn’t get help, he’s coming back to you because resentment would set in

,

large factory that would employ exprisoners. “When you come out and you try for a long time you don’t have something to do, you will go back to crime. That is why I want the government to build a large factory that would cater for ex-prisoners,” said Abure.

Williams admitted that the Nigeria Prison Service has partnered with both PREMI and After Care but the commitment of government is waning and funds are not forthcoming, therefore the centre has been in doldrums for a long time. “The federal and state governments need to wake up. This is not an issue for debate at all, it is time they know this is a big problem. I cannot do it alone; we need the government to take action. I am available to do all I can if the government is willing and ready,” Williams declared.

But Abdul Rasheed Alimi, a Deputy Controller of Prisons in charge of After Care Programme, told The Nation that those who are willing have been trained and equipped.

•Hassan (left) and Kazeem “For those who are willing to go into vocational training, we teach them various vocational skills.

We have tailoring, carpentry, welding, barbing and we have educational aspects too. Now, upon discharge, for those that have been involved in the trainings, before they are released, we liaise with their families and see how we can help in resettling them,” Alimi said.

He also enumerated some of the success stories the Prison Service has recorded: “It is essential to cater for inmates that have changed and are willing to be of good behaviour and good citizens. We relate with their communities and relatives. The After Care Service would then help in resettling inmates. Last year December, we took some of our inmates to Abuja and we gave them equipment for their resettlement. One of them is in Ikorodu. Over the years, we have resettled a number of inmates. We have their records.

•Members of Pastor Williams’ church in prayer session We give them the equipment free of charge, it is government release is that of accommodation. For many Getting a good job is totally out of the that gave us these equipment and then we equation. The best most ex-inmates do is to of these former inmates, while coming out continuously monitor their progress,” he of prison may offer freedom, it also offers become pastors. Others like Oladapo and added.

Abure would go back to their trades and harsh realities. Oladapo realised this shortly Abure insists that government can do after he left prison. “The bishop has been live in the dream of a prosperous life in the much better. There are so many ex-inmates future. For those who dared like Dada, the kind to me, but this is the 4th year and I out there that are on the verge of returning need to move to my own place, but there is stigmatisation of being an ex- convict would to crime. “There is a guy at the park, he dampen any dream of a great future. no money to rent a house,” he told The doesn’t have anything and he sleeps in the Nation.

“I also think the stigmatisation is the buses. I don’t like to go near him,” he said. cause of all these violent crimes because When funding was available, William Oladapo is still battling his old demons. used to house desperate inmates in his when you don’t give people a chance, they He wants to prove he was innocent of the rehabilitation centre in Ibadan. That has have nowhere to turn to. When you help an crime that ruined his life. He asked The since stopped and many of the former ex-convict, you keep yourself safe. If you Nation reporter to help him prove his case. inmates who had nowhere to go soon find stigmatise and the person doesn’t get help, “Please, go to Amukoko, ask for Fijabi and themselves in the wrong crowd. Some are he’s coming back to you because resentment Alhaji, help me find them and let them tell back in prison. would set in,’’ Dada said. you the truth. I was not an armed robber,” There is also the problem of acceptance.

Williams also attributed the stigmatisation he pleaded. Innocent or guilty, that would Some family members were reluctant to take experienced by most ex-inmates to make little difference to the desperate their own back after such a violent past. It ignorance. When he also came out of prison, situation he now finds himself. was a stain on them, but the larger problem he had to face resentment from people who is with the society which has refused to give totally distrusted his motives. Now, 30 years them a second chance. Dada said he has had after, Williams has under his tutorship Most people still to work twice harder to measure up to the thousands of ex-prisoners whom he has view us as dangerous. minimum acceptable standards. helped find a new life. “We lack “Most people still view us as dangerous. I understanding that if we fail to rehabilitate, I don’t blame them; if don’t blame them; if it didn’t happen to me, reform and resettle the ex-convicts we are I would have done the same. It’s difficult to sitting on a keg of gunpowder. When they it didn’t happen to me, identify genuinely changed people, so the leave the prisons and they could not find I would have done the people are skeptical. But I think everybody help outside, they will commit another needs a chance and once you have not crime and go back inside,” William said. same. It’s difficult to misbehaved, then the society should give Rehabilitation identify genuinely you a chance,” he said.

The AfterCare Centre appears to be a Dada and the rest like him have had a raw genuine panacea to the issue of changed people, so the deal with rejection by the society. They have rehabilitation for ex-prisoners and that only people are skeptical. had to bear the humiliation silently, live with option has also fallen apart. According to slammed opportunity and watch their life’s Adetola Kazeem, one way the government But I think everybody hope fade away. That is the lot of many excan attack the problem is to begin the inmates in Nigeria. rehabilitation in phases. “There could be needs a chance and According to an ex-inmate who went into rehabilitation in phases; the government can once you have not drugs and spent some years in prison in put in place comprehensive skill Thailand, living outside could be more rehabilitation for them and for those who misbehaved, then the difficult than in jail. “The first year usually is have acquired skills, the government should society should give so tough, it’s like 20 years in jail put give them a small grant to start off.” together,” said the former drug baron who His position is not different from that of you a chance refused to mention his name.

Abure who wants the government to build a

,

Continued from page 15

,

19

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

How fake NNPC, DPR officials swindled me of N4m — Female fuel dealer Ebele BONIFACE

‘ , Afolabi

Ganiyu

20

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

Rising from the ruins

Children at Slum Dwellers Academy

Seun Akioye

Seun AKIOYE

Mr. Ogbara

21

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

Another street

Left&right: Streets in the community

‘ Isola Agbodemu

’

‘

’

22

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

‘My experience flying BA’s Business Class’ In air travel, British Airways not only boasts a truly intimidating resume but much more than that is its commitment to luxury, comfort and pleasure in the air. Group Business Editor, AYODELE AMINU writes on a recent trip to Washington D.C. flying the Business Class

•Massage at the Spa

•Business class bed

•Silver bar at the Heathrow

•The club kitchen

L

UXURY in the air is taking a new shape with the latest configuration of British Airways Club World class also known as Business Class, a main staple of long haul flights. A trip from Lagos to Washington was an eloquent testimony to this fact. Despite the stopovers in London during both legs, this trip presented the perfect opportunity to experience excellent service, on-air indulgence and privacy (even when flying in a cabin with other passengers).

I flew Lagos to London Heathrow and Heathrow to the Washington D.C, outbound. On the return, I flew from Washington D.C to London Heathrow and then back to Lagos. The planes were a mix of 777 and 747-400, all with the latest fourclass configuration ranging from first class in upper deck to Club World/Business to World Traveller Plus/Economy Plus to World Traveller/Economy in lower deck.

As a frequent traveller, I have flown business class on various domestic and international airlines with varying degrees of comfort; most recent was Egypt Airways to the last World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual General Meetings in Japan. One common trend I found out which runs through most of these cabins is the difference in lay flat seats. The difference in the seat/bed itself is relatively minor, with the variation emanating from technology, ergonomics, entertainment, food and service.

But with BA, it’s radical departure from the norm such as the pattern of front and back facing seats that roughly alternate sets it apart from the rest, this was evident in the 747-400 I flew to London. The two seats on either side run head to foot, while in the middle four, the center two seats face the same direction, the aisle seat on either side faces the opposite.

For those that cannot wait to relish their me-time (privacy) up in the air, Club World class is your best option. Upon take off, as soon as the aircraft stabilised in the air, I was eager to explore the option of taking the privacy screen up. This allows the window seats to become very secluded but provide direct access to the aisle without stepping over your neighbour. The two centre seats are more advisable for couples because dividers rise on the outside of both, turning it into a little mini-cabin of its own, offering a mini-paradise on air.

However, for those who crave the company of their travelling companions, opaque electronic screens between each seat allow you chat to a colleague or travelling companion next to you.

Club World long haul business class is designed for business and pleasure which is noticeable even before take-off from offers of champagne or juice, choice of newsprints from courteous air hostesses as soon as you board.

Behind the curtain, the World Club cabin seems a little like a lounge, an impression that is reinforced by the seats, which face both back and front and the black. These award-winning seats look like large armchairs, comfortable enough, but not yet showing their potential. The amazing aspect stems from how these seats transform into a fully flat six-foot bed at the push of a button soon after light goes out. Eschewing in-flight entertainment, drinks, snacks and dinner – but perhaps for them the point of business class travel is having time to sleep.

The Nation gathered that at the time British Airways launched the seat that would revolutionise expectations of business class travel, it consulted with former NASA scientist and other sleep experts who agreed that the only way to achieve a good night’s sleep was lying down flat.

Since then the Club seat has been improved, from new cushioning technology to provision of more ergonomic support making the original seats more comfortable.

Like the seats, the menus in Club have recently been upgraded from choice of starters and main courses that include vegetarian and Well Being options; the latter being meals British Airways’ experts recommend to help counter the effects of long haul travel. Designed by some of Britain’s top chefs – and yes, they do have a few, the service style is also a little more genteel than in economy, ditching the catering trolley in favour of somewhat more personal service.

Initially reticent, some of my co-travellers in the club class cabin were reluctant to raid the larder. An innovation which is fast becoming a staple with this cabin, it’s an opportunity to consume an assortment of snacks and drinks left out in the galley at any time during the flight. Having gotten over this state, most now seem to have got

over the ingrained fear of being caught with their hands in the cookie jar and previously untouched larders now often needing replenishment.

There are of course other benefits to business class travel, from the power connections for laptops and phones built into the video remote to the flexibility of tickets and preferred wait listing. But the ones that appear to count most are route network, speed through the airport, services such as lounge shower and valet facilities and the big one – sleep. Certainly these come at a price, but if BA results are anything to go by, it’s one that increasing numbers of business travellers consider well worth the investment.

Perks of World Club class The perks of the world club class ticket is endless. Much more than a comfortable seat and a better quality of champagne in the air, it is also a passport to some rather nice benefits on the ground. At a good number of airports all over the world, BA has dedicated Club counters, which saves time spent in queues for those not already checked in online, saving time.

At Heathrow’s Terminal 5 that magic Club boarding pass also does an open sesame on the Fast Track Arrivals and Departures, dedicated speed through channels for premium passengers; a sort of legalised queue jumping than can save huge amounts of time, one I couldn’t help but enjoy.

At the Galleries Lounge, relaxation and work goes hand in hand. In this lounge, you can relax and work with any kind of modern technology from your smart phone through to your tablet and not miss that important e-mail or if your preference is relaxation, just take it easy with a drink or two and a snack. Rushing to the airport from the office shouldn’t be a worry as the quick power shower and shave or even spa treatment should freshen you up before the flight in galleries lounge.

Lounges You enjoy access to the comfort and facilities of over 70 dedicated British Airways lounges, and through BA’s partners at over 170 additional lounges worldwide.

Flying from British Airways London Heathrow Terminal 5 offers the experience

E

TR

OGU L E V A

of the luxurious Galleries Club lounges located in Terminal 5A and Terminal 5B. You can also pop into the 20-seat cinema for a spot of entertainment, enjoy a glass of fine wine from the silver bar or treat yourself to a glass of champagne, available upon request.

If you’d like a light meal or snacks, simply take your pick from a range of food served in the Chef’s theatre. For full body pampering drop into the Elemis Travel Spa, which is subject to availability. Elemis Travel Spa is available at Heathrow Terminal 5 and New York JFK where Club World customers have a complimentary two-tier treatment menu. If you’d like a refreshing shower before you fly, there are 20 shower suites available for you to use.

Privileges of luxury With your touch button privacy screen, you are enclosed in your own personal space. If you have work to do, a generously sized desk, in-seat phone and personal laptop power socket make it easy. Your personal locker is ideal for storing your shoes, newspapers or laptop when dining or sleeping.

Your wash bag contains everything you need to feel totally invigorated on the flight including, Elemis in-flight skincare products, toothbrush, toothpaste, eye mask, earplugs and comfy flight socks.

You can relax in front of a movie or listen to some of your favourite music with your 26cm (10.4 inches) personal flat-screen, noise-cancelling headphones and entertainment options.

Highlife entertainment’s Audio and Video on Demand (AVOD) system puts you in control. You can choose from over 200 entertainment options and play, pause, stop, fast forward and rewind to fit in with your own schedule. You can also enjoy high sound quality thanks to the noise cancelling headphones.

Drama or documentary? Tragedy or comedy? Pop or classical? Whatever your taste, highlife entertainment will have something to suit you. Your choice includes over 100 movies and TV programmes, over 50 music CDs and audio books and 20 interactive games.

Arrive in style Just because your flight has touched down doesn't mean your Club World journey is over. BA’s end-to-end service can help you fast-track through arrivals formalities at key airports.

Pg 32 Pg 32

Pg 30

PAGE 36

Saturday, May 11, 2013

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

39

A woman must be a bit stupid to have an enduring marriage –Buhari Oloto’s wife Sadiat e known as a textil y rl la u p o p is to er anke Olo her hands in oth as h Alhaja Sadiat Ak e sh w o n k s ose friend i Buhari Oloto, a aj lh merchant, but cl A to e ag ri ar Her m ty oper and proper lines of business. el ev d te ta es ed le’s s-bas prominent Lago spite of the coup in e m ti f o st te e ood th enerations of g t n re fe if merchant, has st d e th d closeness to their albums in em th e celebrity status an g d le w ans, who ackno f the few society o e n o as Nigerian musici w to lo lhaja Sadiat O e late fuji music th h it w g and at parties. A n ei b f o the privilege ng his last days. ri u d , er st people who had ri ar B e e ikiru Ayind encounter and th e th t maestro, Alhaji S u o ab IO B es.

UL UKPA among other issu e, She spoke to PA ag ri ar m er h sustained See Pages 42&43 secrets that have

40

With KAYODE ALFRED

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

E-mail:kayflex2@yahoo.com

TEL:08035733605

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

TEL:08035733605

41

42

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

‘Why many educated ladies these What are your beauty secrets?

T is God. I don’t have any particular beauty secret. However, a woman must watch what she eats. Food makes you big and meat adds flesh to your body. Whatever you consume must be in moderation. Food kills.

I don’t eat much. I had a cup of tea this morning. Even yesterday, my house help had to remind me about breakfast. I had my breakfast at noon with a friend who came to greet me. I ate jollof rice and the tea I had this morning was the next food after that afternoon meal.

I like fruits and vegetables. As a woman, you must eat in moderation. If God permits you to eat twice, fine. But don’t eat late. You must have your super latest by 7 pm. If you miss that, then you can go to bed that day without meal.

Our people eat too much. My husband hates gluttonous people. My husband can take just a cup of tea and biscuit for breakfast. And for lunch, he can have a small portion of wheat and vegetable soup. That is his style. So, that is for food.

For cream, people are now being more aware. Education is helping our women to stay away from using creams. You see that most of our educated kids nowadays don’t use creams. They rather prefer to be ordinary than bleach or toning with various creams. But when we were young, illiteracy was in vogue and that was what led to the mad use of creams.

Some of the elderly women before us used creams wrongly and that was why their flesh went bad.

But thank God for the new generation ladies.

They are now enlightened, and that is how they live. They marry their husbands with their ordinary beauty: no cream.

Even in most advanced countries, you can’t sell those creams again. If you display them in a mall, you could be sued and locked up. I think Nigeria should also embrace that culture.

You are married to a Lagos celebrity who is also a top property merchant, Alhaji Buhari Oloto. Tell us about yourself and your husband and why you are popular in social circles.

I am lucky to have married a very good man; a great man whose sojourn on earth has been blessed by God. I think we are compatible in many ways. He is a free giver; a kind man. I am also a free giver and that has helped us to come a long way in marriage. I am a business woman with many years of experience. My husband, like you said, is a property merchant. He is a building contractor and a successful business man.

I am actually from a polygamous home.

It was a tradition then, like you know. But I was the last born on my father and mother’s side. My mother was the first wife, but other wives equally had a good

I

number of children. So, you will understand that I have step brothers and sisters and they are all successful.

But I was the last child of my mother. My father’s lineage is called Adeleke in Oyo town. They are Adeleke, Oladigbolu-Gbadegesin.

They are from the Oke-Apo lineage in Oyo town. My mum hails from a royal family. They are called the Ayanwale family of Oyo town. My husband is also from a royal lineage.

He hails from the Oto and Itire royal family. Aguda here in Lagos belongs to their forefathers. They also own Oregun (Ikeja). They own Ojota and Itire-Ile. They also own Ado-Odo (Ota) in Ogun State. You know, they are all of the Awori stock. So, my husband is a full blooded Lagosian.

How did you meet him?

It is destiny that determines human encounters. We met 26 years ago. He actually came for me, wanting my hand in marriage. But I was seriously discouraged by many people who claimed he was a womaniser. Life is indeed funny. One of my friends, may God bless her soul, was the only one who gave me the courage to marry him. She advised me to try him, that I might be lucky.

She said he might stop chasing women after marrying me. She passionately advised me, saying: ‘This man has bothered himself so much chasing you. Take him as he is and marry him.’

But I was still skeptical about him. I said: ‘Ah! They said he is a womaniser and you want me to go marry him? Do you want me to have a turbulent marriage?’ I refused to oblige her request but she was very persistent. She said she was sure that he would not chase women again if I married him. Alhaji later came and asked why I was not yielding to his advances. I told him straight away that I was afraid of his adventures. I said: ‘Sir, I have heard that you are a super womaniser, and I don’t think I can stand your status.’

It was then he told me not to be afraid; that he was ready to keep to me alone once I agreed to marry him.

He said he was ready to take me to the registry and do proper marriage with me.

And in all fairness to him, he came through with all his promises. He didn’t falter at all.

Is that why he has not married another woman after you?

I am telling you. He is a very honest man. Upon getting to marry me, he stopped the chasing game. All he promised to do was done. And I was really surprised because I initially nursed fears about him. He gave me a love ring.

He took me to the registry and did a proper marriage ceremony for me. In fact, the late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister was the one on the band stand on our wedding

,

A woman’s responsibility is to be patient with her husband. Don’t think that we whose marriages have lasted didn’t make sacrifice. We did. And our sacrifice is ‘stupidity’. We became stupidly humble in order to keep their tough heart. If you are a bit ‘stupid’ and ‘foolish’, you will earn a durable matrimony. But if you start proving that you are right at all times or your husband is stupid, then you are on your way out

,

•Alhaja Sadiat Oloto

day.

A lot of people even made jest of our union. They said: ‘Don’t mind her, he will soon get fed up with her and get another woman.’ But God disgraced their thoughts. My husband turned out to be a very honest man. He stood on his promise that he would never marry another woman after me. He said: ‘I will make you my only beloved wife. I have dated so many ladies; I have been involved in many relationships, but right now, I am taking a leave. I am not marrying any woman again. If they tell you that they saw me with a woman, don’t break your head. It could just be a flimsy relationship and not one beyond that.’ And that has been his stand till today.

If someone tells me she sees my husband with one woman somewhere, I won’t be bothered. It is never my priority to start policing my husband over his external affairs. What bothers me is his peace of mind. I care for peace in this house, and that is the work of a woman. If he is always there for me as the husband and I can do my business, what am I bothering my life for? If he won’t bring any woman to shatter my matrimonial peace, I think I owe him his peace too.

That is the lot of a good marriage. Even when we have events, we do it together as husband and wife. We attend occasions together. Even if he invites his ‘guests’, I won’t bother to know where they are seated. So, why should you worry?

I used to tell my friends that if you see ladies at your party, you don’t need to be jittery. You don’t know if they are your husband’s guests or business associates. It is not a crime, since he won’t bring them to meet you at home. The lady you see at your husband’s party might be his bank

assistant or customer relations manager.

She might be his business partner. She might be a customer. You must not be too observant and intruding. If your husband respects your privacy as a person, I think it is also right to reciprocate such gesture.

You must understand that your husband has given you your own respect in his own right. It is when you try to ‘pokenose’ into your husband’s deepest affairs that you will be emotionally troubled.

May we not be emotionally troubled. I used to advise many young ladies to toe that line of philosophy because it has worked for my own marriage as well. I thank God. I don’t need to intrude into his official privacy. I go to his office when he invites me. That is how we have been leaving in the 26 years of our marriage. If I want to visit my friends, he doesn’t stop me. He respects my discretion simply because there is solid trust between us. There must be trust in your relationship for you to have a wonderful matrimony. If there is trust, the relationship will last.

What in your opinion breaks today’s marriages?

Lack of patience is the first thing.

Secondly, over-education is also disturbing them. I do tell many of them to be very patient with their husbands. A woman’s responsibility is to be patient with her husband. Don’t think that we whose marriages have lasted didn’t make sacrifice. We did. And our sacrifice is ‘stupidity’. We became stupidly humble in order to keep their tough heart. If you are a bit stupid and foolish, you will earn a durable matrimony. But if you start proving that you are right at all times or your husband is stupid, then you are on your way out. One of you must accept

43

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

days can’t keep their homes’

•Alhaja Sadiat Oloto

,

responsibility for the mistake. Even if your husband proves that he is right and you know that he is wrong, you just be patient. Later, when you settle down, you can then say: ‘Dear, you cheated me the other time. I know you were only trying to be masculine.’ If that man is sane enough, he will hug you and say: ‘My dear, sorry. I was wrong.’ He will definitely say so.

I used to advise my friends and their daughters and even my daughters that they need to apply wisdom and patience because a man can cheat you at times and still claim to be right. But if you are gentle and intelligent, the man will end up apologising to you in the end.

It does happen with my husband. I say: ‘Alhaji, you played a smart one on me. I was actually right.’ And he would say: ‘Oh, sorry, my mother. I am deeply sorry.’

And it will end there.

But these days, ladies are full of pride.

They lack humility. They want to claim right at all cost because they feel they are very educated; which is too bad. Let me tell you a story: A young girl in London often visits me. She is a friend to my daughter. She had a boyfriend who incidentally was my friend’s son. All of them usually come to see me whenever I am at home in the UK. So, one day, she told me about her boyfriend who offended her by having a fling with another girl. She said although the boy apologised to her, she eventually decided to retaliate by also having a fling with a boy. I cautioned her and told her the impending implication. She said: ‘Oh yes.

But what right does the boy have to go and have a fling with another lady?’’ And that the same right he has to do such also applies to her. I lectured her. I said it is a man that can do such with no blemishes.

If a woman does it, it becomes an abomination. And if you are wise enough, your man will desist from doing such.

So, she said: ’Mummy, since he did it, I also did it to retaliate.’ She went further to tell me that the boy was even aware of her act and that he had also forgiven her since it was a tit-for-tat exercise, and that the guy said no problem; that he was not worried by her action. Being an elderly person, I told her there and then that the guy would not marry her. I said it with a benefit of hindsight but she never believed me.

A year later, I saw her in Lagos. I asked her about the guy and she said: ‘Ah, we have broken up.’ I said: ‘But I told you then and you never believed me. You said he had forgiven you but I said he didn’t forgive you. As from that moment, he knew you could retaliate in terms of sleeping around. He will never feel comfortable marrying you again because he knows that any time you catch him having a fling, you could also retaliate by sleeping around.’ So, I warned her and prayed for her. I said: ‘Now you are in Lagos; Lagos people are not like London people. The day they catch you with a fling, they won’t even allow you to say sorry. So, be wise and apply wisdom in your dealings with men.’ She thanked me and left.

So, that is the reason why I said education is a bigger problem to our new crop of young girls because they love to claim rights. Of course, education is good.

We all want the best education for our children. But in as much as we give them education, we must also enlighten them on how to relate with their husbands and how to handle matrimony as an institution. They need to be impacted with wisdom. You need to know how to relate with your in-laws, your husband’s friends and other people around him.

Let there be trust. Let your husband know your movement. Let him trust you.

It is trust and humility that can bail you out of every obstacle, so that we don’t keep having bread and butter marriages. I call it bread and butter because you construct it today and in six months, you bring it down. You have pastors and

imams bless you in the public and you allow judges and lawyers to break you in secret.

Many juju and fuji music musicians praise your husband; even Islam gospel musicians.

What do you think is responsible for this?

Generousity. Yes. I think that is how God created him. He is a great man. He loves music and he shows it. He is a voracious listener to music. He enjoys both old and contemporary music, both young and old artistes. He is so in tune with music that at times you would think he is the composer (laughs).

Another thing is that he encourages all musicians. No matter your status, new or old, Alhaji will encourage you with whatever he has. He will give you money to encourage you and he will never look down on you. Even if you have just recorded an album today, Alhaji will encourage you.

That is why you see all of them praisesinging him. He supports them in all ways. And if you invite him to the launch of your album, no matter how small or new you are, he would not ignore you. He will be there in person and launch it for you.

He will pray for you and give you what he can. So, he is like their father and they all love him.

Another interesting thing about him is that if he invites artiste A for his occasion today, if any member of his family is doing something, he will invite artiste B. He will ensure that he distributes the wealth round for them all. If a friend wants to do an event, he will say: ‘Oh, we have not invited this person for a long time. Alhaja, let’s patronise him for this event.’ And if it is their club that is celebrating, he will say we invited artiste

A or B last year, let’s invite artiste C or D this year. He is very compassionate when it comes to helping musicians, and that is why you see that kind of massive love from them towards him.

What has been your most challenging moment in life?

We experienced bad times like it is in any relationship.

There was a time I imported some fabrics from Korea and the whole cargo was seized at the airport. It was a huge investment with lots of money down the drain. It was one very sad moment I can never forget. It was during the Abacha regime.

It was such a terrible moment. But we thank God. At another time, armed robbers came into this house and looted everything I was selling. Then, the vogue was to put all the fabrics and jewellery in the house for onward distribution. In those days, this house used to be filled with various articles of trade. I was selling gold, jewellery and fabrics. I had my own gold. Some were for my customers. Some were for friends who had begged me to help them market and sell.

Everything was gone with the robbery incident. They came into this house. That was in 1995. They stole everything without leaving a dime. My husband and I had to pay them back. We are talking about a heavy fortune here. It was such a terrible phase of my life. But with God on my side and hard work, I was able to bounce back. So, that is what I can recall about my most challenging moment.

You are known to travel a lot, where is your choicest destination in the world?

London is my second home. I like the

I used to advise my friends and their daughters and even my daughters that they need to apply wisdom and patience because a man can cheat you at times and still claim to be right.

But if you are gentle and intelligent, the man will end up apologising to you in the end. It does happen with my husband. I say: ‘Alhaji, you played a smart one on me.

I was actually right.’ And he would say: ‘Oh, sorry, my mother. I am deeply sorry

,

ambience of London city. Right from my youth when I started travelling, I have never found a place like London. If I am in London, it is like I am at home. In fact, I stay two, three months in London if I am not trading around the globe. My husband often complains that I stay too long there at times. He visits twice before we both return home. It is my favourite tourist destination. I do travel to America, Italy, Paris (France), China and other countries, but those are business trips. For holiday, it is London.

In fact I live as if I am in Lagos when I’m in London. I eat whatever I eat in Lagos, and that is why I say it is home away from home.

How about your children?

We are grandparents now. Majority of them are abroad. Some are schooling, some are working. They are all engaged with good jobs. Some are lawyers. Some are bankers and some are administrators in Lagos councils. Some are working in Alausa (Lagos State secretariat). We thank God for their lives. It is God that helped us to raise them.

Your family seemed to be attached to the late Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Barrister a lot…

Alhaji Barrister was a very good man.

And between him and Alhaji, the love was too much. You can’t even know that they didn’t come from the same womb. In fact, Barrister used to call Alhaja (Oloto’s mother) his mother. The closeness was too much. Even when he was sick, he was practically living here. When he left Havana Hospital (Surulere) and even returned from India, he was living here.

He slept in my husband’s room.

I was close to him just as he was close to my husband. He hid nothing from me and I didn’t hide anything from him as well. God just said his time was up. We even spent time with him in London before he passed on. My husband left London 10 days before he passed on.

The very day he passed on, I was somewhere around Mushin, heading to Alhaja Bisi Kuye’s home at Ikeja. I saw a missed call on my phone, which turned out to be that of his London-based wife, Mama Danjuma; the one he was living with at that time. So, I called her and she said she only wanted to greet me. I asked about Baba (Barrister)? She said he was okay; that he had even taken tea and his drugs that morning. She said he was even laughing as we spoke, and I said she should hand over the phone to him so that I could greet him. And Barrister responded, ‘Akanke, are you fine?’ I said yes. He said what about my brother (Oloto)?’ I said we were all fine. He asked about our journey back to Nigeria and I said it was fine. We spoke and laughed over some other things. I never knew that would be our last conversation until we started hearing rumours the next day that he was dead.

His wife was calling. He had not even died when they said he was dead. His wife called to tell us that he was vomiting. I asked what led to that and she said he took ogi (pap). I started shouting: ‘Please, call the ambulance!’ Meanwhile, the news was strong in Nigeria that he had passed on. Some people Mama Danjuma had called to inform them about Alhaji’s predicament started spreading rumours that he had passed on. But I don’t blame the lady. She needed to alert every one since she had an only child for him. Her reputation was at stake, so she did it out of panic, so that nobody would say she killed the man, since he was a famous husband with many children.

It was when my husband called to know the hospital and condition that they told us he was on oxygen. My husband spoke with the doctor and he said he was responding to treatment. It was around 12 in the afternoon that we got the final call that he had died. God the ultimate said his time was up, and we thank God for his soul.

44

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

m a Ibrahi State b b A r a Buk obe Senator r governor of Y ly Chairman, rme rent is the fo 2007. He is cur sing, as well as is Hou 99 to In th from 19 Committee on e committees. BOGO, Senate several Senat itor, LINUS O ial oc Ed r of membe with Assistant speaks on the S certain at w im intervie or Abba Ibrah ks to ensure th ed yearly Senat ich see ses are provid means, h w l l i u gB ir Housin f affordable ho ers within the te; a o rn number ium income ea before the Sen 5 for med ich is currently is fears for 201 : wh and h th. Excerpts l l i b B I the P the Nor n i s n o i t elec As Senate Committee Chairman on Housing, what is your assessment of the Federal Government’s housing policy?

HE Federal Government is currently busy building houses all over the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and several other places. Very soon, my committee will embark on an inspection tour of some of the ongoing housing projects in Abuja. I have read in the papers about more housing units also being initiated by the Federal Housing Authority, Federal Mortgage Bank and Ministry of Housing. The Minister of Housing has been going round commissioning some of the completed ones.

The Federal Government has been building houses, but what is indeed true is that there has not been a huge number of houses being built, against the background of equally huge deficiency of houses for Nigerians.

Anything short of 16 to 20 million affordable houses for Nigerians cannot take us anywhere.

There is a new housing policy, which I learnt will soon be launched by President Goodluck Jonathan, and I hope it will produce a minimum of one million houses per annum across the country as being projected. Apart from the government, individuals and professional associations have also been building houses, even though some of •Senator Abba Ibrahim them are being threatened with demolition by the Federal Capital Territory Development Authority. But by and large, we need a more revolutionary approach in the country’s housing policy.

What kind of housing policy are you really talking about here, because each time government at both federal and state levels come up with such ‘fantastic’ housing policy targeted at the middle class or medium income earners, they usually end up in the hands of wealthy Nigerians and politicians like you and other ‘Ogas at the top’?

That was why I said earlier that something revolutionary must be done on mortgage institutions through the new national housing policy, soon to be launched by the President. Mortgage institutions will have to be introduced to achieve the scheme.

Otherwise, there is no way the Federal Government alone can build one million houses using their own internal resources from budgetary allocations or provisions. There must be some mortgage arrangements within and outside the country.

There is also the Social Housing Bill now in the Senate. The bill seeks to ensure that a certain number of houses are constructed every year in each state of the federation, including Abuja. These kinds of houses are meant for medium and low income earners in the country. The unemployed also stand to benefit from the social housing policy when the bill is finally passed into law and assented to by the President. The details will be made known when it is eventually passed.

The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) has suffered a lot of setbacks in the Senate, no thanks to northern senators like you and other lobbyists from the region. Why are the northern lawmakers so strongly opposed to the bill?

The strong opposition is not peculiar to the PIB alone. There are strong oppositions to other bills as well by some other people every now and then. That is the normal process of law making.

But in this particular case, that is the PIB, there are four very important issues we need to thrash out before this bill is passed into law. The bill cannot be passed in its present form because of the four issues I am going to talk about.

The first one is the issue of 10 per cent of the profit of oil

T

My fears the North companies going to the communities where oil is produced. PIB is not a bill that allocates revenue to the three tiers of government or any institution for that matter. So, that aspect is not supposed to feature in the bill at all. If 10 per cent profits of oil companies are deducted, they should go to the national treasury. How it will be disbursed will be decided by a different body altogether. It should not be the National Assembly.

The second issue is the powers of the President and the Minister of Petroleum Resources. The bill seeks to give them too much power. This needs to be looked into and decisions ought not to be taken by one or two persons at their whims and caprices. It should be by a group of individuals or the Federal Executive Council. Something must be done also about this aspect.

There is also the issue of selling the oil industry to Nigerians. There is nothing wrong with that in principle. But if the oil industry is to be sold to Nigerians now, the northern part of the country will be terribly disadvantaged because they do not have the money to buy anything now. They do not have the money to buy the oil and gas companies now. And that means that the provision of the bill when passed into law will end up selling the oil and gas industry to Nigerians from the southern part of the country. That will not be fair unless probably a formula is found whereby states will have allocations.

There is no doubt that eventually the oil and gas industry will be taken to the Stock Exchange. But the poverty level in the North will work against the region in competing with their southern counterparts for the stock of oil and gas. The North is completely poor and is dying of hunger. We do not have anything.

Maybe, you do not seem to understand the difference between the South and the North in terms of the Nigerian economy.

So, unless a formula is worked out, it will not be fairly and evenly distributed.

Then, in the same huge and long bill, nothing has been said of setting aside some considerable amount of money to prospect or develop other potentially oil-producing areas from other regions than where oil is currently produced. Out of the six zones where oil is said to be available, only one zone has been developed. The other five zones are not developed and no allocation is made in this bill to develop other areas with one in the West and the other four in the North.

Only one in the South South has been developed.

So when you consider the four undeveloped areas in the North against the background of the proposed 10 per cent profit from oil companies and sale of the Nigerian oil and gas industry to Nigerians and the power of the Minister and the President, it is disadvantageously skewed against the North. These are all the issues we must thrash out before the bill sees the light of day with regards to being passed into law.

It is not true that senators from the North are dismissing the PIB bill. After all, it has already gone through the Second Reading. It is just one more step and it is over and done with. We from the North are talking about the need to do something about the bill in form of moderating it before its passage into law. That is all.

Are you implying that the North is being marginalised, which is why the PIB bill has suffered delayed passage into law for fear of what you perceive will amount to continuous marginalisation of the region?

In the circumstance which we are presently, there are two Nigerians, oil-producing and non-oil producing. The non-oil producing states have only one source of revenue which is the monthly allocation from the federation account, of which oilproducing states are also beneficiaries. But in addition to this monthly allocation from the federation account, the oil-producing states have the Ministry of Niger Delta. Hundreds of billions of naira are budgeted every year for this ministry. There is also the NNDC, also, with hundreds of billions of naira being budgeted for the agency. There is equally 13 per cent derivation which goes to about nine or 10 of the oil-producing states in the Niger Delta states.

There is also the Corporate Social Responsibility from oil companies

,

I have lost two of my nephews, one was a village head and the other was his elder brother. They were slain overnight. My wife lost a school. I also lost an SUV. In my hometown, the communication mast was destroyed. Apart from my wife’s school, two other schools were also razed and seven people killed. These kinds of statistics are daily occurrences in Borno and Yobe States.

We are really helpless and there is very little we can do as individuals. It is only the government that can do something

,

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

for 2015 polls in

45

–Sen. Bukar Abba Ibrahim marginalisation of the North?

Did you read the reactions to the nonsense brought to the Senate floor

by Senator Ita Enang regarding the alleged 83 per cent control of the oil blocs by the North? The President as well as the Minister of Petroleum Resources are from the South. If the claim of Senator Ita Enang is true, let the President cause the Minister of Petroleum Resources to publish all the facts and figures to prove that the North is in control of the country’s oil blocs. That was absolute nonsense.

To begin with, didn’t you read Mr. Femi Falana’s article on the matter?

For those who do not know, 80 per cent of Nigeria’s oil resources are in the hands of foreigners. The balance of the 80 per cent is just 20. So, let the Ministry of Petroleum Resources publish a detailed list of oil bloc ownership for all to see. It is no way near the claim of Ita Enang. The claim was utter rubbish designed to cause disaffection in the polity. The few names he threw around were those who got their allocations during the

•Senator Abba Ibrahim

A

Two factors could be said to be responsible for the high level poverty in the North. The first one is natural factor such as desertification. All the surveys carried out by the United Nations since my secondary school days have continuously shown Borno and Yobe states to be the poorest in Nigeria. Poverty in these states is partly caused by desertification I just mentioned earlier. These areas have continued to record very little rainfall. Agriculture, which is the mainstay of the two states, have also suffered the consequence of low rainfall. But that is not an excuse for us not to do something to improve on the situation.

Just as the leadership of the North has underdeveloped the region and brought about poverty, the leadership of the country has also underdeveloped the region and brought about poverty. So what difference does it make whether leadership has resided in the North longer than anywhere else and whether or not it did not help the situation in the region? Is it a northerner that is ruling now? Is the situation getting worse or better? Take for instance, the capital projects in the year 2012, for the North East zone were worth N50 billion, whereas it was between 79 and N80 billion for the remaining five zones.

So, is the gap widening or narrowing? Was the leadership from the North in 2012? The leadership from the North brought about poverty in the region, but there is widespread poverty across the country even in the absence of northern leadership. So, how do we explain that?

Again, let’s go back to the PIB Bill. There was a startling revelation on the floor of the Senate that the North controls 83 per cent of Nigeria’s oil blocs, although it generated controversy. Given this scenario, why is there still poverty in the region despite your alleged dominance of the downstream sector of oil and gas industry and how does this tally with your claim of

,

engaged in oil activities in the same Niger Delta region.

Also, there are unspecified Federal Government grants which go to the region as a result of the fact that the President comes from there. There is the amnesty arrangement in place where huge amount of money is being paid to ex-militants.

From my analysis, you can see that you have a few states in the federation with more than six sources of revenue, with each of them enjoying a considerable amount of money running into billions of naira annually, while majority of the states within the same federation have only one source of revenue from the federation account. So, how fair and reasonable is this in a federation? This is minus the proposed 10 per cent in the PIB bill. s we speak, three states in the South South today earn more than the 19 northern states put together. The North East has been marginalised continuously right from the time of independence. We were first of all marginalised by the Hausa Fulani majority from the North and now by the whole country. Go and take a look at the situation today in the North East. It is so lamentable as a result of long years of marginalisation from successive governments, both military and civilian from the late Tafawa Balewa, Gowon, Murtala, Obasanjo, Shagari, Buhari, Babangida, Abacha, again Obasanjo to President Jonathan.

From the study carried out two years ago, the South South has over two trillion naira worth of abandoned and ongoing projects being executed by the Federal Government. The North East has just N98 billion worth of projects under execution. The South East is the next marginalised geo-political zone after the North East with N160 billion worth of projects abandoned and ongoing.

This is almost twice that of the North East. The North West has over N300 billion worth of projects and the South West follows with over N400 billion worth of projects. For the North Central, maybe because of the Senate President, it has over N700 billion worth of projects, both abandoned and ongoing.

Now, you can see the yawning gap between the South South and the North East, the North East and the South East, the South East and the South West, the North Central and the North West. These details can be found in the Presidency. I am not making them up to whip up sentiment. This statistics is a product of a committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan and headed by Ibrahim Bonu, the report of which was submitted to him.

From the aforementioned statistics, you can now understand the obvious disparity and the skewed imbalance in the allocation of projects and the palpable marginalisation of some zones in the country.

A lot of informed northerners like you and others not so informed, have consistently blamed the crisis in the region on grinding poverty. Considering the fact that the North has ruled this country for over 35 years, are your people not to blame for the self-inflicted poverty which you have continued to lament over the years?

In the interview you conducted with my friend, Senator Kanti Bello, he provided the answer when he said that the failure of President Jonathan is an ideology for APC. The failure of the PDP is an ideology for APC. For me, that was the best response to those who think we do not have an ideology...

We are focused on offering Nigerians an alternative to inept and corrupt governance in the country

,

military era.

As a matter of fact, most of the oil wells are not even yielding oil at all. The oil industry is firmly in the hands of foreigners. So, if he was talking about the balance of 20 per cent, let them publish the list of those who won them.

There are concerns that by 2015, there may likely not be elections in the North because of the activities of Boko Haram. How disturbed are you by this alarm? am greatly disturbed. I think a lot about it every day. I just hope and pray that the situation normalises before then. But if things remain the way they are, we may not have elections at all in many parts of the North in 2015. As the situation currently is, I cannot even venture into my state party secretariat in Damaturu, Yobe State. Today, no party officials can go to their party offices in Yobe and Borno States. They are all shut down. So, how can you have elections in this kind of atmosphere?

What are people like you and others doing to put down the carnage in the region, since things cannot continue like that?

Let me paint the picture of how I have been hit by the activities of the Boko Haram. I have lost two of my nephews, one was a village head and the other was his elder brother. They were slain overnight. My wife lost a school. I also lost an SUV. In my hometown, the communication mast was destroyed. Apart from my wife’s school, two other schools were also razed and seven people killed. These kinds of statistics are daily occurrences in Borno and Yobe states. We are really helpless and there is very little we can do as individuals. It is only the government that can do something.

With the relentless wave of attacks by the Boko Haram, would you advise the government to still go ahead with the dialogue option and the amnesty initiative?

No comment.

So will you still hold the Federal Government accountable should it refuse to push ahead with the amnesty talks?

No comment.

Critics of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have dismissed the coming together of four parties to form a merger, as another unbelievers’ journey or mission.

What are your thoughts on this?

No matter what our critics want Nigerians to believe, the birth of APC is one whose time has come. And there is nothing anyone can do about it. Some people have spoken about the party having no ideology, but in the interview you conducted with my friend, Senator Kanti Bello, he provided the answer when he said that the failure of President Jonathan is an ideology for APC. The failure of the PDP is an ideology for APC. For me, that was the best response to those who think we do not have an ideology.

And despite the politics which earlier trailed its registration, we are focused on offering Nigerians an alternative to inept and corrupt governance in the country.

I

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

46

My business romance with King Saheed Osupa

Let me expose we, women a little: 10 signs she faked her orgasm Y

OU may think you’re King of the Sheets and you’re making her sing hallelujah when not in church, but the reality is that most women have faked an orgasm at some point in their lives, and most men have bought it.

You have a right to know when what you’re witnessing is a performance rather than the real deal. If she’s falsifying ecstasy, she’s doing both you and herself a disservice. How will you know you need to fix it if you don’t realize it’s broken? Luckily, we’ve got your back. To make sure you’re aware of your talents or lacking talents we’ve put together wildly useful hints to let you know if the odds are ever in your favor.

It has been estimated by various studies that 70% of women fake orgasms at some point in their sexual lives. Some fake orgasms very regularly as in every time - while others only fake it some of the time.

The psychology behind faking orgasms is simple: She isn’t going to have an orgasm this time, and she knows it. She can’t be bothered with a) you trying hard to satisfy her and prolonging the encounter, and b) you feeling bad because you couldn’t satisfy her come hell or high water. If you want to know if you are being duped, use the following signs that she really is having an orgasm to distinguish the faux from the bona fide, and catch her in the act.

Retraction of the clitoral head:

This occurs just before orgasm and provides you with a clitoris-sized hint. When the clit disappears, you’re on the right track, so don’t stop. This coveted disappearance of the clitoris isn’t only visible if you have the lights on and your

face all up in it; it’s something you can feel as well. So, get yourselves into a position where you can easily rub her clitoris during sex, and use it to your advantage.

Under the guise of giving her some extra special treatment, you can feel whether she’s actually close to climaxing or just faking.

Increased breathing and heart rate:

Listen to the sound of her breathing in your ear: When it starts to get heavier, you’ll know you’re onto something. The change will occur reasonably swiftly when she is about to orgasm, and will be accompanied by a completely unconscious change in the tension, rhythm and pace of her other body movements. Liars and the truthful alike might clutch at you and moan and groan, but her breathing is the missing link. Her thumping heart will also be a sign that it’s for real; if she isn’t actually excited, her heart rate and bodily manner will be very ordinary.

Dilated pupils:

Dilated pupils are another surefire sign that your girl is reaching her peak. This might be hard to tell in the dark, but if the lights are on, all you have to do is ask her to look into your eyes as she climaxes. Chances are she’ll be more than willing to oblige to that romantic request. Just make sure to make note of what her pupils looked like at the beginning of your romp so you can compare their difference in size at the end.

Bottom of Form

Red lips: This means both sets: Her mouth lips will go a little redder (lips swell and redden upon arousal), as will her vaginal lips.

While you are penetrating one set of lips, try to feel the swelling in the other set of lips that you’re kissing. Be careful though: Kissing will also increase the redness of her lips, so be gentle with pecks

Vaginal muscle spasms:

Muscle spasms are the biggest indicators of all because she cannot fake or hide this. During orgasm, she will have between 3 and 10 vaginal and cervical contractions, the first few being the strongest. They will grip your penis, and the tightening feeling you experience will be impossible to ignore.

Sudden perspiration:

Hot, sweaty sex? Yes, please.

Breaking out in a sweat means her body is at a high level of tension and her muscles are working overtime - her breathing, heart rate and blood pressure are all up. So, once you both collapse into a sweaty heap afterward, you’ll know she’s been pleased.

Other important signs

She may arch her back and feet, have uncontrolled twitches in her limbs (during and after orgasm), and have uncontrolled facial expressions (aka her “orgasm face”).

Check her cheeks and neck to see if they are flushed.

Of particular importance is what she does immediately after sex: Does she leap right out of bed and get on with her day?

Or does she go to the washroom and lock the door? The chemical effect of an orgasm on the body brings a dazed look to the eyes and she may just want to laze for a few minutes to enjoy it. If she is missing this post-coital bliss, be suspicious.

Her nipples will also harden; it has been estimated that there is a 95% chance that if her nipples aren’t hard, she didn’t orgasm.

Her clitoris gets very sensitive right after orgasm, so if she doesn’t slow down or stop completely after her orgasm, she is probably a faker.

What do I do to stop my girlfriend from the habit of demanding for too much sex?

Dear, Adeola my name is Austin from Ibadan.

I have a girlfriend who demands sex from me a lot. Please ma, what do I do to make her stop this habit?

Dear Austin, not knowing your age will not allow me say it the way it should be said. But because when I advise about sex, I always try to assume I’m dealing with adults, I will make an attempt at answering your question.

If you’re in a committed relationship (and for those who are married), it is a great thing if your woman finds you so sexy and attractive that she wants to be under the sheets with you always.

I wouldn’t know how often your girl demands for sex, but if it is like 3 times in a week, that’s absolutely normal. Except your libido is low, 3 to 4 times in a

E

so that you can get an accurate reading of her response level.

week shouldn’t be a bad idea if you’re both healthy.

Most men I know are angry that they are the ones making all the advances for sex, which could be quite boring.

If on your part, your health cannot match this girl’s demands, talk to her and be very sincere about it. Don’t make her feel like she’s the one who is odd, instead, crave her understanding and reach a compromise on how many times would be convenient for you. I wish you well.

N.B: If on the other hand your girlfriend is a school girl, then this is not a good sign as she could be anything from being at that stage when sex is so sweet she must have it, to using is as a tool to get something from you.

•Members of Help Initiative, a non-governmental organisation with their coordinator, Febi Okonkwo (arrowed), during their dinner in Ibadan, Oyo State

Is it ideal for couples to share separate bedrooms?

Hello Adeola, I’ve been thrilled by your good work, please keep it up. I want to know, is it ideal for couples to share separate bedrooms?

Dear Queen, personally, I do not subscribe to couples having separate bedrooms because in marriage, having respect for individuality does not include bedrooms. We all know that most conflicts between couples are resolved in the bedroom when we are forced to sleep together on the same bed. But when we sleep together and our bodies come into contact, we tend to gradually forgive all hurt feelings and the warmth each party emits breaks down the ice between us. Yes, it is okay to have a bedroom we call our own for our many shoes and bags and clothes, which most men don’t find funny seeing around. It is also good to have such separate rooms for days when we want to read, pray or just be alone, but those rooms are not meant for sleeping in when oga is in another room.

I can’t afford to let this SS2 boy go because he is my joy I have a guy in SS2 while I am in SS3; is it right? I love him but I refused to have a strong relationship due to what my schoolmates say. What should I do? I can’t afford to let him go.

He is a source of joy to me. I am Glory from Abia state.

Dear Glory, I feel terrible each time secondary school students claim to be in love. There can’t be any real thing between you and a boy still wearing school uniforms except to experiment with you and other girls like you. It’s normal for young girls like you to have feelings for members of the opposite sex, but it should be cleaned from your mind as come as it comes because it will lead nowhere.

Don’t even play love games with this boy except you’re ready to be taken to some friends’ place and rushed for sex and quickly pushed out before their parents come back. Any boy still getting pocket money and being flogged occasionally shouldn’t have any business with a girl, so he can’t be your source of joy. Your source of joy should be your education. Be serious with things that can add value to your life.

I’m sad because no guy wants me even at 18 Good day ma. I’m a gal of 18 years and at my age no guy has ever approached me. My friends advised me to always smile but it’s not working. Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and get sad. I will say I have lost my self-esteem. People say if a guy approaches you that it means you have something worth looking at. Please help me. - Worried Gal. Dear Worried Gal, why are you looking at this issue from the negative perspective? Have you sat down to see why guys may not be looking at you? It could be that you look so respectable that no guy wants to toy with you except he is ready for a serious relationship. It could be that you have a good reputation as that girl who won’t take nonsense from a guy. It could also be the Heavens protecting you from dangers that some premature relationships bring. Just be yourself and face whatever you are doing now to safeguard your future. Be happy and don’t smile only because you want guys to notice you; smile because life is more beautiful when we smile.

I’m 18, is a guy of 29 too old for me?

Good day ma. Please ma, I need your advice; I am 18 years dating a guy of 29 years and he has promised to marry me. I love him so much, but I think he’s too big for me. Please ma what do you think?

I’ve always said on this page that age doesn’t matter in a relationship once there is love, sincerity of purpose, maturity on your part to deal with the challenges of a relationship and understanding.

VERYBODY who knows me very well knows that I love music so much my day must start with music and I must gently bow to the power of sleep at night with music. But as much as I love music, I have preference for only a few genre of music namely Soul (Blues), R&B and Juju. Maybe because I grew up knowing no one in my family listening to Fuji, I have never bought a single CD category of music and I don’t have it in the house and not in the car.

All that will change because now as I wouldn’t only be playing Fuji music; I am deeply in a business relationship with one of the best known music acts, King Saheed Osupa aka Saridon P. Since the posters came out about a month ago in Abuja with Media Illuminata and Kreative touch Events (my companies) being the ones behind it, many have wondered how I could just come from being so indifferent to Fuji to actually promoting it. Well, that is the point.

In Nigeria now, everybody should be versatile. I really don’t need to have knowledge about sewing before I can open a sewing institute. I only need to get professionals to do the job. The same way I don’t need to be a die-hard Fuji fan before I can put my money on it.

Truth of the matter is that King Saheed Osupa is such a big name amongst some class of people everywhere in the world. Those who know him are so crazy about him that they would do anything to hear him sing. Saheed Osupa has this larger-than-life effect in so many quarters that it would be great thing to identify with him and have a symbiotic relationship with him. That is why my partner, A.S Hammed and I have done everything possible to ensure we bring this big Fuji act to Abuja live.

So come May 25 at the Women’s Development Centre, Abuja, our relationship with King Saheed Osupa will start to deepen as from 8.00pm when he comes on stage to thrill his many lovers.

I’m sure some of you here in Abuja will love to join us.

Maybe Ayefele is the next big thing we would bring to Abuja and maybe it is another act, but for now, it is Saridon P and I’m happy to be singing Fuji in my soul.

•Political Officers, US Consulate, Mr. Benjamim Lazarus; Executive Chairman, Apapa Local Government, Lagos, Ayodeji Joseph; Vice Chairman, Mrs Bolaji Dada, during a courtesy visit to the council, by Mr. Benjamin Laz

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

47

Oba Animashaun

48

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

T

HE Dubai World Trade Centre in the United Arab Emirates is dwarfed on almost all sides by modern skyscrapers:Emirates Twin Towers,Novotel Hotel and Burj Khalifa regarded as the world’s tallest building.

All these are evidence of the prosperity and success story that Dubai has become. It is worthy of note that Dubai is one of the world’s busiest travel and tourism hub. It is worthy of note that the template for the success story of this wonderful city is predicated on tourism. And tourism is the reason the world gathered at the WTC for the 20th edition of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM).

The ATM started in 1994 when the Middle East’s travel and hospitality industry was still in its infancy. It has grown with the region as it became the dominant force in aviation industry.

It is in the light of the huge impact that the fair is making that many Nigerian travel and tourism companies under the supervision of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) see the fair as an opportunity to reach to the Middle Eastern and Asian markets.

Although the Nigeria’s stand, which normally is a showpiece in terms of aesthetics, was modest, there was nothing modest about the business deals clinched within the four days of the fair.

Leading the hospitality sector is one Nigeria’s biggest hotels, Eko Hotel and Suites. There was also the presence of tour operators and travel agencies.

Remlords Group and many other tour operators participated.

Mr. Olumuyiwa Salami, the chief executive of Divine Tour Brokers, an Ibadanbased tour and travel agency operator, said the

Nigeria’s stand

business response this year was solid.

His words: “My observation about this year’s Arabian Travel Market is that the number of exhibitors has reduced, but we have a lot of buyers as private sector practitioner. It is unlike before when we had plenty exhibitors and a few buyers. It has made it possible for us to get a good deal.”

Mr. Salami said his company was able to make reasonable deals at the fair.

“I know without the NTDC, Divine Tour Brokers would not have been here.

We don’t really have the ca-

pacity to get a stand. We thank the NTDC for the opportunity. But from the business angle, what we have derived so far is overwhelming in terms of business opportunities.

“We have been able to get and sign contracts within these four days and even we got a contract from Novotel Hotel. I was there yesterday, and I think it is a good deal for us. We have good deals from individual companies, and now we have the contracts and contacts. It is now left for Divine Tour Brokers to do the rest. We will make sure that we do the neces-

sary follow-up.” While commending the NTDC for its doggedness in marketing Nigerian tourism, he still believes that the parastatal must put in greater efforts to bring more private practitioners to such fairs.

He said: ”The government cannot do it all alone.

It is important that other private sector practitioners must join this effort. If we are able to give that support, I think we would make further progress in the effort to develop tourism in Nigeria.

“So, the NTDC also needs to encourage the tour operators more by way of sub-

sidizing the costs of their trips in the area of ticketing. I am sure that would encourage

them to come. This subsidizing is just for anybody.

It has to be for the people

•Remlord employee attending to a visitor at Nigeria’s stand

Tourism News

Ministers’ forum discusses aviation, tourism

M

ORE than 25 minis ters took part in the second annual UNWTO and Ministerial Forum at the Arabian Travel Market with delegates sharing their views on how to work together towards longterm aviation and tourism sector growth.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the event, entitled “Tourism and Aviation: Building a common agenda for growth”, was opened by UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai and Mark Walsh, Portfolio Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions, organiser of ATM. Addressing the issues of tourism and aviation, Mr. Rifai said that tourism and

The Ministers aviation should move out of working in silos.

“Tourism and aviation are siblings, and have been working together in parallel lines. We cannot see them separate from each other; with 52% of world travellers reaching their destinations by air, their growth is intrinsically linked,” he

added.

The UNWTO address set the scene for the ensuing discussion which was dominated by the challenges and opportunities facing the aviation sector in the region with Mr. Rifai touching on the related twin issues of taxation and visa facilitation.

“There are visa regimes still

belonging to a century that has passed. Despite the fact that the UAE and Dubai are leading the way in opening up in terms of visa accessibility, the Middle East is still lagging behind as 70% of people still need visas to enter the region,” he said.

HRH Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Presi-

dent of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, launched the debate by reaffirming the region’s geographical relevance to the tourism sector.

“The Arabian Peninsula has always been a crossroads for different civilisations. These days those roads are in the sky rather than on the ground, and the same role that Arabia has played in the past is now similarly happening with airline networks.

“The alliance between tourism and air transportation is very much a non-separable alliance, and it is a very important focus on aligning these two sectors to make places more accessible and affordable,”he said.

Highlighting the potential of regional cooperation, HE Reem Al Hashemi, Minister of State and Managing Director of the Higher Committee on International Expo Dubai 2020, said: “For mega events, we have to build synergies and

expand the traveller experience. Expo 2020 is not just about Dubai, the region will benefit with visitors going on to explore Muscat or Petra, for example. We are promoting the region as a whole, expanding the picture, becoming more attractive and appealing - both to visitors and other airlines.”

HE Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing of Dubai, used the Middle East as a prime example of how tourism and aviation can work together, and what the rest of the world can learn from the region.

“First and foremost, to foster tourism and look to the future, countries and cities should look at adopting open skies policies. The development of airport, attractions and hotels are all important, but the key is to allow airlines to fly without restrictions,” he commented.

49

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013 that are really in the business. The NTDC knows all the certified tour operators.

That is a way of encouraging them.”

Ikechi Uko has been in the Nigerian travel and tourism industry for the past two decades. He was in the ATM to promote his project, the Naija Seven Wonders, ATQ News, an online publication and the African Travel Market(Akwaaba). He believes the 2013 ATM has been the most fruitful for his company.

He said: “I am here for Seven Wonders and ATQ News, but in our stand we have Akwaaba. We are promoting the Naija Seven Wonders in the sense that we want to spice people’s curiosity about Nigeria.

“Every body who has heard about the Seven Wonders would ask what are the Seven Wonders .

Normally you don’t get so many people to ask you questions about Nigeria aside what they know. But this is something different.

Once people hear about the Seven Wonders, they would want to know what is Seven Wonders. The curiosity is there. The curiosity value is massive.

“One thing I would say this year is that we have more visitors at the Nigerian stand. A lot of people are taking more interest in Nigeria and taking us more serious. We got a lot of

Golden Tulip ‘ll revolutionise hospitality business in Ibadan — Akingbade

G

discussions. But from what I have seen, most people are more interested in doing partnership with Nigerians.

They are looking for partnerships. This is good for us because if we did not come here, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to have those partnerships done.

“So, for our organization, this is probably the best travel exhibition that we have been to. For my organization, this is the most successful travel exhibition that we have been to this year.

We have been able to sign partnership agreements with groups in the United Arab Emirates(UAE) for Akwaaba. We’ve been able to also sign agreements with

some Kenyans for both Akwaaba and the ATQ News. We’ve signed agreements with a lot of people who just want to know more about Africa. It has been so enriching for my organization.

“There was a man from Iraq who came to the stand and met with me. It was the first time she was seeing a Nigerian. You would’t believe it was possible, but she kept on shaking. This was an Arab woman shaking your hand. So, the curiosity is there. I think we should show more interest in what goes on here. It has been wonderful and profitable for my organization to come here.”

•From left: Otunba Segun Runsewe; Iyadunni Gbadebo, Eko Hotel’s Sales and Marketing Manager; and Mr. Danny Koupouroglou, Director of Marketing, Eko Hotel

He said he believed these contacts and contracts made would be a big boost for his company.

He said: “We hope that at this year’s Akwaaba, we would have more participants from the UEA and its environs, especially now that we have a partner who will represent us.”

The NTDC boss, Otunba Segun Runsewe, also added his voice to talk about the success of Nigeria at the ATM. He said: “Basically, I must say that the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) is getting bigger and bigger. We must understand and appreciate the fact that we can’t afford to start travelling to 10 to 15 countries. The ATM is a unique opportunity where within the scale of this conference centre over 178 countries are present. It gives us an ample opportunity to network and see what every country can offer.

“That is why during this fair we have been able to make a strong statement in the areas of eco-tourism, sports tourism, conference and health tourism. In the of health tourism, some Indians have approached us and that they are even planning to pay an immediate visit to Nigeria. If we are not here, they and others that have been making enquiries will not have the opportunity to meet with us and for us to showcase what Nigeria has for them.”

Lufthansa upgrades in-flight service

L

UFTHANSA has up graded its in-flight service on long and short-haul flights. Since May 1, cabin staff have been indulging first and business-class passengers with new service ideas, creative menus served on quality tableware and further sophisticated details.

Only a few months ago, the exclusive Lufthansa First Class rated top marks in the Skytrax Star Ranking. Guests in First Class can now enjoy new culinary highlights.

On flights from Germany, Lufthansa is offering “Culinary Delights” in a new programme, a step on from the popular Star Chefs concept. Central to the service are the culinary expertise and products of a superb chef – who has at least two Michelin stars or comparable distinction. Menus will change as previously on a bi-monthly roster.

The exclusive caviar service in First Class pas¬sengers can now enjoy as a separate course on day and evening flights. As appetisers, flights attendants will be serving a variety of canapés instead of a single appetiser. In addition, the inflight menus will come on topclass tableware in a new design and new elements like individual salt and pepper pots for each passenger, an extra small bowl with olive oil and elegant glass carafes for fresh water.

The gastronomic concept in Lufthansa business class has also been upgraded with more freshness and variety in the dishes served in the cabin, pastries and beverages. The offerings cater for every taste: New varieties of tea, fresh milk for tea and coffee, plus a wider choice of juices. New accents in business class and pleasing to the eyes are additions to the china and new cutlery. The

OLDEN Tulip Hotel, recently completed in Ibadan, is set to throw its doors open to customers. The management said the hotel would revolutionise hospitality in the ancient city.

The hotel brand has, within a short time, extended the properties it is managing to Ibadan.

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Golden Tulip Ibadan, Alhaji Abdulfatai Akinbade, has described the hospitality business in Ibadan as a fastgrowing subsector in the tourism industry which every hotelier must genuinely sustain to offer first-class services at all times.

Akinbade, who was speaking with journalists during a facility tour of the Golden Tulip Hotel, located at Osogbo Road, Monatan, Ibadan, recently said that the hotel brand came up as a commitment of a passionate hotelier to step up the trend of hotel services in Ibadan to a world standard.

“My sojourn around the world has not only exposed me to the exquisiteness and exclusivity of hospitality, but also improve my choice and sense of luxury when you speak of decent, hospitable and right choice of hotel.

“This forms the rationale behind the concept of a

•Tulip Hotel

Middle East travel growth accelerates

T

new high quality on board will be experienced by passengers on all routes. They can also be sure that a full meal will be in store in business class when they board flights within Germany or Europe.

Even on short flights, the quality sheds none of its appeal: china, cloth napkins, a coffee mug or a new wine glass ensure passengers miss none of the delights of the higher quality, more varied and fresher inflight food.

Should a flight last longer than 76 minutes, something from the basket will be served to round off the meal, such as sweet treats, fresh fruit or ice cream. Included in the in-flight upgrade is a classier range of new hygiene and care products. Available in the washrooms to passengers in first and business classes on long-haul flights are brand-name care products and cosmetics for freshness of body and mind as they fly on to their destination.

world brand in Ibadan, and we have done our home work well to see that all hands are on deck to sustain the Golden Tulip standard and in-house special customers’ innovation treat.” Akinbade added.

According to Akinbade, the versatility of any hotel in terms of friendly customer services must add an exceptional value in terms of economic, social and capacity development to the environment where it is located.

For Golden Tulip Hotel Ibadan, it is not only a new dawn for hospitality business, but investing in the best of facilities to reassure people of Ibadan and other neighbouring states, that they can now enjoy local flavour in international style.

“It took us over 14 years to structure and restructure what we have as Golden Tulip today, and from all ramifications, the best alone is what we stand to offer to our customers in Ibadan.

“We have already started test running our facilities with a soft opening for people to have a tip of the iceberg. Our tradition of serving local dishes in international style is one of the many added values we hold in high esteem to keep our patronage,”he said.

Golden Tulip is scheduled to open June 6.

HE Middle East travel in dustry is regaining mo mentum following the wave of protests and revolutions that swept the region in late 2011.

After growing just 3% in 2011, the Middle East travel market jumped 12% in 2012 and will sustain double-digit growth through 2014, according to a new PhoCus Wright report.

Online bookings will nearly double between 2011 and 2014 when the region’s online leisure/unmanaged business travel market will approach US$16 billion.

“Efforts among Middle East governments and investors to boost inbound travel – coupled with a young and increasingly tech-savvy population – are driving substantial travel industry growth.

“While challenges to online booking adoption remain, online travel bookings are set for

impressive growth over the next two years,”Mona Faraj, a research analyst said.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) dominates the Middle East travel market, accounting for nearly half of the region’s gross bookings and the majority of its online sales. With its large expatriate population, the UAE has the highest online travel penetration in the region.

“PhoCusWright’s Middle East Online Travel Overview” provides market sizing and forecasts for the Middle East’s total and online leisure/ unmanaged business travel markets from 2010-2014.

The report highlights key trends and developments shaping the region’s travel and tourism industry, with insight into the unique dynamics influencing travel growth in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the rest of the Middle East.

50

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

Segun AJIBOYE

EXECUTIVE LEISURE

FORTUNE& I Osobase

51

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

15 fastest growing small business opportunities in Nigeria for 2013 Ajaero TONY MARTINS

Continued from last week

Sighetu. Inset: The fashion icon at the the Ikoyi Golf course

Continued next week Martins is an entrepreneur, investor and business blogger

Source: www.strategicbusinessteam.com

FAMIL Y HEAL TH AMILY HEALTH

52

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

Building a sound relationship (2)

D

EAR Reader, It is a great joy for me to bring God’s Word your way today. Last week, I brought you the introductory part of this teaching. I taught on what relationship is and why we need to build a sound relationship.

Today, I will be teaching on the types of relationships we have. Basically, there are two types of relationships.

The first is your relationship with God, while the second is with your fellow men. Let’s briefly examine each of them.

Relationship With God: Your relationship with God can be considered from three different levels, namely: as your Creator, Father and Lord.

God is your Creator (Genesis 1:27) and you can relate with Him as His creature. He is the Creator of every living.

God becomes your Father when you give your life to Jesus, and get born again. God’s Word says: But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name (John. 1:12).

When you have a personal relationship and encounter with Him, then He becomes your Father.

However, the highest relationship with God is when He becomes your Lord. He becomes your Lord when your life is sown as a seed in dedication and absolute commitment unto Him. He is only the Lord of those who are ready to say: “Yes Lord” to His will, plan, purpose and destiny. When He becomes your Lord, you can be sure nothing can change His plan and purpose for your life. May that be your portion in Jesus’ name.

To Develop an Intimate relationship with God, however,

Health Matters With DR MIKE OYAKHIRE 08170268670 email: drmikeoyakhire@yahoo.com

W

HILE people in the sports and entertainment industries are smiling to the banks and taking possession of properties donated by people from different walks of life, there are people; citizens of this same country who although they share in the glory coming from these sectors , people who appreciate the blood pressure lowering jokes and drama these groups produce. These humble citizens are happy that success attended the efforts sportsmen and women put into their legitimate activities.

However, there are issues, feelings of injustice, disregard and neglect, which can translate to negative reinforcement on the people who by their training are not expected to give vent to these bottled up feelings.

Members of the Medical and allied health profession whether in training including post graduate Medical training spend day time hours working to save lives, and at nights sleep with one eye open, ever ready to be called out even in dangerous hours of the night . Unlike before and contrary to what obtains in the civilized countries we seem to copy , this sector of the Nigerian society are completely abandoned. They have

become the invincible class.

People who care to listen to them assure them that like teachers, they will be rewarded after death. They have no houses of their own , drive rickety vehicles, and carry stress levels three times what non medical people of same age and sex will carry, and yet they watch and listen helplessly how millions and billions are showered on fellow citizens. The general feeling is that if so much can be released so quickly for some people, others should never be made to wait before they get theirs, indeed the cry is that it is human to ask for equity , fairness and justice One billion naira given to Federal Government owned Universities to build Research Labs will alleviate the sufferings of Students and Lectures , who are disabled from exploring into some areas .

When during planting seasons a farmer puts much into Grains and abandons Tubers, he should not expect to harvest Yams and Cassava. In terms of Nationalism and patriotism no one can actually quantify the cost of saving lives, reducing the burden of disease, illness and absence from work ? will any one talk about economy if more people stay away from work , or fail to resume due to illness, impairment and disabilities? Or perhaps surgical teams should now go on television to perform

you have to consciously, deliberately, intentionally, willingly and excitedly make yourself available. How? Through deep Word study, prayer life and constant fellowshipping with Him. There is no other relationship in life that compares in value, equal or can replace your relationship with God. In actual fact, we can safely say that your relationship with God is the only sure foundation for success in every other kind of relationship. It is utterly important for you to straighten up your relationship with God. Relationship With Men: The second type of relationship is your relationship with men. The word ‘men’ here is not talking about gender. This is not referring to the male gender of God’s creation. ‘Men’ in this context is referring to both male and female gender of God’s creation. Here, I am referring to your relationship with people. This is in three levels: your superiors, mates and juniors. During your life’s journey, you will definitely meet and need people in these three categories and this is the best time to develop such relationships.

Your Superiors: Your superiors are the people you draw from. They could be your boss at work, your lecturers in the school or your spiritual parents. These people have the skill you do not have, the experience you do not have and you could climb on their shoulders to see ahead. The truth is: no matter your level in life right now, there are and there will always be, people above you. These are people who can speak into your life, especially when the going seems to get tough.

My husband, my entire household and I are beneficiaries of this type of relationship. During the time I went through the valley of the shadow of death, this was one of the major areas of strength for me. Senior men in ministry were greatly used of God to stand in the gap, to ensure my total liberty and freedom from the pangs of death. Alleluia, today, I am a living testimony and can boldly say that God is too faithful to fail! He is dependable and He is more than enough!

Be humble and smart enough to identify your superiors and draw from their wealth of knowledge and experience.

This will expedite your rate of accomplishment in life.

Your Mates: These are either your colleagues at work, in school or people at the level that you are in. These are the people you share with. They could be your friends. The need for you to identify your own company (Acts 4:23) so as to derive maximum benefits from it, cannot be overemphasized. Remember, if you stand alone, you fall alone.

One tree never makes a forest!

Then, Your Juniors: These are the people that you flow out to, the ones that look up to you as their superior.

Wisdom demands that you identify people that you can reach out to. The need to build sound relationship with people at these levels cannot be over-emphasized. No matter who you are or the category to which you belong, you should get involved in these three levels of relationships. You will always have superiors, mates and juniors. Receive the wisdom to build these strongly, today.

The question then is: Is Jesus Lord over your life?

Or are you lord over yourself? God becomes your Father only when you give your life to Him and be born again. To get born again, you have to confess your sins and accept Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour.

If you are ready to be born again, say this simple prayer with me, in faith: Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I believe You died and rose again for my sake. Forgive me of my sins, take over my life, make me Your child and let Your peace reign over my life. Thank you for saving me. Now I know I am born again.

Congratulations, you are now born again! I believe that you will begin to experience the reality of the price that Jesus paid for your sins at Calvary. All-round rest and peace are guaranteed you, in Jesus’ Name!

Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through: E-mail: faithdavid@yahoo.com Tel. No: 07026385437; 07094254102 For more insight, these books authored by Pastor Faith Oyedepo are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Single With A Difference, Building A Successful Family, and Success In Marriage (Co-Authored with Bishop David Oyedepo).

Post graduate medical training in Nigeria and the millenium development goals

Attitude of governments, philanthropists and relevant institutions not helping matters Caesarian sections before panels of judges so people will no they are wonderful and deserve to be rewarded Where will the drive , the perseverance and the will to continue the struggle for emancipation come from if certain groups are begged to come collect millions and billions while those who in agreement with God make it possible for their fellow citizens to sleep , wake and go to work are treated as if they don't exist?

The internet has now made it very easy for basic personal information concerning any fairly well known person to be assessed. The media have also from time to time made public the financial standings of people ,such that when such well known individuals as a group are being begged to come and collect more money , in a country where others have for over a decade been embarking on strike actions to press home their demands for what is actually due to them, then something has terribly gone wrong. We must be seen by the rest of the world to be proactive On the other hand, there are medically qualified lecturers in universities and other higher institutions , they are equally faced with the challenge that they either publish or perish ;again what is very clear but not recognized is that research is costly ,and when completed publishing costs money. Costs of pub-

lishing journal articles are denominated in foreign currency. In all these, the problems are enormous and people take glory in criticizing the present level of technological inferiority, and the educational system without doing something.

As Europe and America now facing economic challenges of their own, reliance on donor agencies will be fruitless and so organizations , Governments , Governors and individuals who have access to funds should feel challenged to come to the rescue Perhaps, Doctors are not crying loud enough. Is housing scheme for civil servants out of place ? It could also be that those they have elected or appointed to speak on these and other issues are unable to get their list of grievances to make the list of public agenda.

With the heart rending morbidity and mortality in-

dices coming out from various organizations , those at the helm of affairs should worry if these are warnings are not enough, because awareness is getting higher every day and very soon, the young ones will find ways and means to express their grievances, and when that happens, ordinary people will see Medical Doctors all over the place with their ward coats and stethoscope , and yet can not afford to hear a word from any of them not to talk about sitting down to be examined properly.

Such a time is staring us in the face when people will need to go to India to have pus drained from a finger or take treatment for typhoid At the time of writing, the doctor population ratio is one medical doctor to 10000 persons in the population.

Literacy level has dropped and in some states of the federation HIV/AIDS prevalence is higher than the Na-

tional average . In rural areas, the situation is and you may have one Doctor available to care for over twenty thousand people, The events as narrated under will serve as an index to what is about to characterize the Health care system; In the Accidents and Emergency unit of a Teaching Hospital, a Consultant Physician exclaimed in frustration that she had gone round the Hospital and there was not a single Consultant present in any of the departments . A few minutes past mid day it was a working day and a few minutes after mid day. Imagine a lorry load of victims of RTA being driven to into the Hospital within that period ,how would the few Doctors on duty have coped? What with the agonizingly unreliable mobile communication services operating in this country she added in palpable frustration and annoyance?

To be continued

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

53

54

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

55

56

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

57

58

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

61

News 62

THE NATION, SATURDAY MAY 11, 2013

Oshiomhole ‘conquers’ Okpekpe

•Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi (2nd left) and the Commissioner for Public Utilities, Dr. Emeka Nwankwu (1st left) being conducted by officials of the South African Water giants, PCI, about to commence work at Onitsha Water Scheme, round one of their facilities in Pretoria, South-Africa on Thursday.

Nigerian passport: Guarantee non-citizen, go to jail, minister warns

HE Minister for Interior, Abba Moro, has urged Nigerians to ensure that passport applicants they recommend are well known to them as a five-year jail term without an option of fine awaits anyone who guarantees a noncitizen to obtain the country’s passport.

Moro, who spoke at the commissioning of a third passport office for the Lagos Command, at Alausa, Ikeja, reminded the people of the Passport (Miscellaneous Provision) Act, that provides for a jail term of five years without an option of fine for anybody who stands as a guarantor to a noncitizen to obtain a passport.

T

Precious IGBONWELUNDU At the event were the Acting Comptroller-General of Immigration, Rilwan Musa; Lagos State Command Comptroller, R.O. Odupeyin and head of the Passport Office, J.O. Ajisafe, among others.

While urging Nigerians follow due process in the application for a passport, Moro noted that the international passport is a security document that needs to pass through certain processes in order to sustain its credibility internationally.

Moro who said the e-passport was introduced to curb the

defects of the Machine Readable Passport (MRP) that was well exploited by fraudsters and human traffickers, among others, has met the standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

“An electronic chip that contains the holder’s bio-data is embedded in it... Nigeria has continued to ensure that the the credibility of the e-passport is not tampered with. Hence, we no longer hear stories of Nigerian being made to step aside from other passengers at foreign airports and screened more rigorously on account of the passports they hold.”

Moro, however noted that the

e-passport is not a stand-alone solution to the management of migration, adding: “We have put in place systems at our international airports to verify the data in the circuit chip embedded in the passport and cross-match it with that of the central data base of the Immigration Service.

“As a matter of fact, our system provides effective border management by facilitating the processing of bonafide travellers while detecting those on the watch list, online and real-time.”

He said government was determined to improve border control with the use of modern border management system.

US decries excessive force, killings, detention •Continued from Page 2

already ongoing with regard to the incidents in Baga, Bama, Nasarawa and other places.

“President Jonathan is on record as having ordered very thorough probes. He has also encouraged independent investigations by the National Human Rights Commission.

“In addition, he has had to cut short his trip to South Africa and cancel his planned state visit to Namibia . He is back in the country to personally oversee the situation.

“Today (yesterday), President Jonathan has hosted an emergency meeting of the National Security Council where he received further briefings from security chiefs.

“Secondly, President Jonathan has made it very clear that apart from the investigations, where there has been any case of misconduct, the persons involved will be brought to justice. There is no issue therefore as to the fact that the government will ensure accountability and the

T

protection of the civilian population from terrorist attacks.

“Three, it is also not true that the administration is adopting a force-based approach.

The approach to the insurgency by the government is not a uni-focal approach.

There are many dimensions to it. One of those dimensions is the consideration of the option of dialogue and what has become known as amnesty.

“Beyond that also, the government is working with state governments in the affected areas to ensure the security of lives and property, protection of the civilian population, human capital development and stability.

“What has been made very clear is the fact that the terrorists that we are dealing with are not just local insurgents; they also have international connections as revealed yesterday in court that they receive funding from certain elements in Algeria .

“The determination of this government is to reduce through human capital development initiatives, the popu-

lation of persons who can be recruited for these evil purposes.

“However, we note the opinion and the concerns expressed by the United States Embassy just as we note the very encouraging and supportive comments by the UK Foreign Secretary, Rt. Hon. William Hague.”

The United Kingdom, in its own statement, signed by the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, spoke of its sadness at “reports of multiple deaths in the town of Bama in the North-East, following an attack by an extremist group.”

Hague added: “My thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims and all those affected. This is the latest in a series of extremist attacks on innocent civilians in Borno State. These attacks have no justification and I condemn them in the strongest terms.

“The growing insecurity and escalation of hostilities in north-east Nigeria is of deep concern. Yesterday’s attack in

Bama follows the terrible loss of life in the town of Baga last month and disturbing allegations of human rights violations.

“The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s 2013 Annual Human Rights report acknowledges the Nigerian Government has both a right and a responsibility to defend its people from terrorism.

“The British Government supports Nigeria in tackling the challenges posed by terrorist and extremist violence.

However the protection of civilians is of vital importance.

I welcome the commitment by the Nigerian authorities to open an investigation into the events at Baga. It is important that the Nigerian Government investigates all such incidents rigorously, objectively and transparently.”

Nigeria and the USA had initially disagreed over the recent amnesty granted former governor of Bayelsa State,Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, by the Federal Government.

Fuel scarity looms as tanker drivers give two-week ultimatum to embark on strike

HE National Executive Council of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers’ Branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers at the weekend threatened to embark on an industrial action if the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) fails to meet the drivers’ demand in two

John OFIKHENUA, Abuja weeks time.

The drivers in a letter to the NARTO President/Secretary General recalled that there was an agreement signed between the union and NARTO where a 25% increase in the salaries of the members was approved.

They asked for the payment of eight months arrears owed them across board.

According to the Branch Chairman, Mr. Timothy Ogbu and the Branch Secretary, Comrade Dayyabu Garba, the drivers can no longer tolerate excuses and thus want the union to comply with the

agreement it earlier reached with NUPENG. The letter added: “We want NARTO to see reasons and accede to these demands with a view to motivate our members for their continuous improvement on productivity and integrity in fuel products delivery across the country.”

•Continued from BackPage that the governor was running with plenty of effort. Of course, he broke into a stroll, which is permissible in the VIP race. Don’t ask me if the Comrade Governor stopped running. I noticed he entered his car only to emerge some metres to the finishing line.

Yes, I saw the Comrade Governor cross the finish point, several minutes after the Kenyan had clinched the coveted prize.

Not one to shy away from confounding his critics, Oshiomhole alleged though jokingly, that he wasn’t listed among those athletes who finished the race. He went further to say that he would sue the organisers to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS).

Oshiomhole surely knows how to hold his audience spellbound.

Hear him: “I’m surprised that my name is not among the winners or losers yet I took part in the race. I completed the race; didn’t I? Anyway, I will ask my Attorney General to file a suit at CAS prono bono, a legal term for free-of-charge. Anyway, I tried abi? At a point when I was running, I kept telling myself that I needed to be alive to collect the prize or to really give my people good governance by delivering on my electoral promises. So, I stopped when I realised that I couldn’t stress myself any further.” I have answered the question, if the governor finished the race.

Oshiomhole surely deserves applause.

The villagers cheered the runners. But it was at the finish line that most of them raised a poser, which sent the Athletic Federation of Nigeria’s (AFN’s) President Solomon Ogba reeling on the floor.

Okpekpe people had seen the East Africans (men and women) finish the race strong and energetic. They stood on their feet. Most of them exchanged pleasantries with the people in the demarcated areas.

But when Nigerians started crossing the finish line, they collapsed into human heaps. Several bottles of water were given to them to pour on their bodies. Many couldn’t stand on their feet. The medical men and women had their busiest time attending to them.

It was when the ambulances were driving a few of them

away that Okpekpe people asked this question. Ogba had no answer. He certainly didn’t know how to communicate his message to them in their dialect for them to fully grasp why Nigerians crumbled and others stood firm.

However, the lessons from the Okpekpe race are many.

Thank goodness Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi witnessed it all. Ogba’s presence too should embolden him to utilise the place to nurture future marathoners for the country.

The East Africans marvelled at the terrain. Many of them were wondering why we opted for the 10km race instead of the 12.5km stuff. It won’t be out of place if AFN enters into an arrangement with the Edo government to make Okpekpe the breeding ground for marathoners now that some parts of the North have become theatres of violence.

Okpekpe race organisers showed Ogba and, indeed, AFN members that if you package a product, sponsors will key into the project, no matter the sport or the location. Sports federations must shop for credible marketers to sell their sport, not board members masquerading as marketers with one objective- to get commission that is almost equal to the cash that they have generated.

AFN members must roll up their sleeves and cultivate the habit of organising competitions with prize money for athletes. This idea of members drawing allowances only to allow the athletes burn their energy for nothing should stop.

The event compelled the organisers to rehabilitate the buildings leading to the finishing point of the race for look and feel. The residents made brisk business; they are looking forward to the event yearly.

Okpepke’s hilly setting will remain etched in the minds of the athletes, officials and other visitors. They took back pictures of the breath-taking scenes, the majesty of nature, back home and long to return.

The Olympic Games’ unique selling point rests with the fact that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is always tied to a particular city, which never remains the same after the Games.

The Okpepke 10km Marathon will signpost development in this rustic community.

Northern elite relocate •Continued from Page 4 It was gathered that similar security measures have been extended to the palaces of the Emirs of Dass, Ningi, Katagum, Jama’are, and Misau.

When contacted for comments on the security beef-up, the Bauchi State Police Command spokesman, Hassan Auyo, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, said: “It is the constitutional duty of the Nigeria police to protect lives and property of Nigerians, and if you have observed any change, the Police are performing their assigned duty’’.

Some influential personalities in the state have already relocated to Abuja and Lagos.

Spokesman for the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in Borno State, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, had said kidnapping became attractive for the terrorists as a way of making money after the task force made it difficult for them to rob the banks.

He said: “Intelligence reports available to the Task Force have indicated that Boko Haram

terrorists have resolved to concentrate more on kidnappings than robbery. They alleged that kidnapping is more lucrative, less dangerous and requires short time to plan and execute.

“A special kidnapping squad has been earmarked and tasked by Boko Haram Sect to kidnap persons who could have wealthy relatives, politicians, businessmen/women, traditional rulers, senior civil servants and foreigners alike. “ The public are advised to avoid or be very sensitive to strangers and friends that have not been in contact for long. Additionally, members of the public are also warned to avoid isolated areas and shun meetings or friends found through telephones or social media.”

Following the recent abduction and subsequent killing of seven foreigners working for a construction company in Bauchi,hundreds of foreigners have fled from the North.

The victims included a Briton, an Italian, a Greek and four Lebanese.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013

63

TOMORROWPUNCHLINE IN THE NATION

But who will blame Oodu for quickly keying into this lucrative and 'legitimate industry' in Nigeria? All you need to qualify for the windfall is ability to cause chaos, render the security agencies ineffective and sustain it for a long time, and you are in business —Tunji Adegboyega

SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2013 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL.7, NO. 2481

T

HERE is nothing but ‘darkness visible’ on the Nigerian horizon. The portents are ominous. The country descends deeper into anarchy daily under President Goodluck Jonathan’s watch. Like the ‘Titanic’, the fabled giant of Africa is moving swiftly towards a giant iceberg but the Chief Helmsman obviously has other things on his mind than offering effective leadership, averting imminent danger and steering the ship of state to safety. Commenting on the state of the nation, an exasperated Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, recently told Al Jazeera that “Nigeria is in a war situation and the entire population must consider itself as being in a war situation and that means the Boko Haram phenomenon should not be regarded as being limited to the Northern region alone or Borno and Yobe States”.

This is certainly no exaggeration. The stories get scarier by the day. No wonder, Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Azubuike Ihejerika last week complained at an army seminar that the increasing wave of ethno-religious violence in the country had severely strained the military’s resources. This is not surprising. The military are now performing police functions in virtually all states of the country. Joint Task Forces comprising the army, navy and air force operate in most states indicating the utter helplessness of the Nigeria Police Force to contain the situation. Surely, this is a situation of war. We are yet to get over the tragedy in Baga, the border town between Nigeria and Niger in Borno State where 185 people, mostly civilians, died in a reported battle between soldiers and Boko Haram insurgents.

On Tuesday, members of the Boko Haram sect attacked Bama in Borno State leaving 55 people dead – 22 police officers, 14 prison officials, two soldiers, four civilians and 13 Boko Haram members. About 300 heavily armed Boko Haram members attacked the town razing the Bama Police Station, the prison and the military barracks in the town. The following day it was the turn of Alakyo, a town 10 kilometres from Lafia in Nassarawa State. A hitherto little known cult, the Ombase militants, opened fire on security agents deployed to arrest their leader killing at least 30 policemen. On the same day, Fulani herdsmen in Benue State attacked Agatu Local Government Area of the state leaving “high casualties including women and children” according to Governor Gabriel Suswan. “There are a lot of killings, a lot of property destroyed and I felt that I should come to brief the Vice President who is holding forth for the President” the Governor said.

It is itself illustrative of the seriousness of the security breaches in their states that Governors Tanko al-Makura and Gabriel Suswan of Nassarawa and Benue states, respectively, rushed to Abuja to seek help. This again is an indictment of our dysfunctional, over-centralized security system that Governors who are supposedly Chief Security Officers of their

A distracted Presidency

‘

• President Jonathan states, could be so helpless to protect the lives and property of their residents without having to rush to Abuja.

In the South East, the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) has declared that the 8th of June will be sit-at-home day in the entire region.

This the organization announced is to protest “the killings of Ndigbo in Nigeria, mostly in the Northern region, extra-judicial killing of our people in Biafra land, the wanton destruction of our people’s properties and the insensitive murder of six Igbo traders on June 8, 2004, at Apo Village, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja”. The group contended that only the ultimate actualization of Biafra could properly avenge these deaths. One can continue to itemise all kinds of security challenges across the country including the Niger Delta where President Jonathan comes from.

Of course, the President deserves full marks for cutting short his trip to South Africa where he was attending the World Economic Forum on Africa as well as cancelling his state visit to Namibia to rush home in response to what his spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, described

Even though President Jonathan has claimed that he has not made up his mind on 2015, it is obvious that his presidency has become terribly distracted by an obsession to secure a second term at all costs.

Amaechi’s only crime is that he is rumoured to have ambition for a higher office; an aspiration that may jeopardise Jonathan’s chances

’

as “fresh challenges to national security which has emerged this week in Borno, Plateau and Nassarawa states”. But there is certainly nothing fresh or recent about these security challenges. They have been a recurrent decimal in diverse parts of the country for the last two years. This is easily the most precarious period in the existence of Nigeria since the civil war.

Indeed, the current conflicts and insurgencies are potentially more dangerous than the civil war precisely because the world has become a very changed place. Weapons of violence have become more numerous, sophisticated, mobile and available to rogue groups who challenge the monopoly of these instruments by organized states. It is much easier now for fragile federations like Nigeria to disintegrate under the weight of centrifugal conflicts fuelled by external influences. At times like this only the most critical and unavoidable foreign trips should be undertaken by the President. Surely, the country would have lost nothing if he had been represented in South Africa by the appropriate Ministers. But then, that is not even the crucial issue.

Nigeria today can only be saved by the most focussed, determined, creative, imaginative, selfless, industrious and patriotic leadership at the highest levels. It is thus astonishing that while the country increasingly becomes a veritable wasteland of sorrow, blood and tears all around him; a time when the people that have entrusted him with their sacred mandate deserve that he serves with all his physical, mental, psychological and mental energies, the Jonathan presidency can afford to dissipate time, energy and concentration on petty squabbles and avoidable power shows. A good example is the show of shame currently going on in Rivers state. Following speculations that Governor RotimiAmaechi has presidential ambitions, the full weight of higher state powers has been unleashed to castrate and demolish him politically.

All of a sudden, desperate attempts are being made to prevent his re-election as Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) despite the will of majority of his colleagues. A PDP Governors Forum has been formed to destabilize the apparently recalcitrant NGF. The Aviation authorities are suddenly fishing for all kinds of reasons to justify the grounding of the state’s aircraft. A curious Abuja court judgement has dislodged the duly elected Rivers State PDP executive loyal to Amaechi and installed one favourably disposed to the anti-Amaechi forces in Abuja. The stage is currently being set in Rivers for recourse to the kind of shameful impunity that saw state governors illegally impeached by a minority of legislators in the past.

Shouldn’t all these energies be channelled to confront the serious tribulations that threaten the existence of Nigeria? Is Rotimi Amaechi a security threat to Nigeria? Do the powers that be at the centre want to add a crisis in Rivers State to the multifarious crises they have been incompetent to effectively tackle across Nigeria?

Even though President Jonathan has claimed that he has not made up his mind on 2015, it is obvious that his presidency has become terribly distracted by an obsession to secure a second term at all costs. Amaechi’s only crime is that he is rumoured to have ambition for a higher office; an aspiration that may jeopardise Jonathan’s chances. But does the governor not have the same constitutional rights as Jonathan?

Now, the worst forms of impunity are being perpetrated to cut Amaechi to size. State institutions are being undermined to subvert the legitimately elected government of Rivers State.

Let the men of today in Abuja know that the kind of impunity being brazenly perpetrated today in Rivers State is as immoral and unacceptable as that exhibited by Boko Haram in killing innocent citizens. Those who perpetrate a form of impunity that violates due process and the rule of law in the selfish pursuit of power are as guilty of crimes against the polity as those who perpetrate violence against innocent citizens with impunity. They both belong to the same degenerate moral category.

Ade Ojeikere on Saturday talk2adeojeikere@yahoo.com 08111813079 - sms only

Oshiomhole ‘conquers’ Okpekpe waiting like some of his colleagues do?

Take a bow Adams Oshiomhole. We are proud of you. Oshiomhole arrived at the apOW else can anyone measure develop pointed time. He waited like others. He anment than with this description of a swered questions from reporters. Watching hitherto decrepit, dingy and hilly bush him, only the lily-livered would ask if he would path or should I say village called Okpekpe in run.

2007 and today?

The starting point broke into a roar when Okpekpe was a forgotten hamlet - permit me Oshiomhole exposed his green singlet, registo use the word- whose occupants stared as tered and set for the Very Important Personalivisitors meandered their way through the tough ties (VIP) race. Where I was, I could see the hilly terrain to attend the funeral of Lagos busivisitors from East Africa touch themselves, apnessman the late Beatrice Itemuagbor, mother parently asking if such a high placed dignitary of Michael Eshilama Itemuagbor. would run in any marathon race where they First timers closed their eyes. Many cars come from? stopped half way up. Other slid and got stuck.

With the blast of the starter’s gun, No hyperboles about what happened in 2007.

Oshiomhole burst out of the pack and ran his For those cars with smoky exhausts, it was misrace. He tried. He didn’t gnash his teeth like sion impossible. many had expected. He showed that he trained Itemuagbor promised to bring people back for the race. As he strode through the track, to Okpepke through good roads. How he would many were waiting for him to stop. That cerachieve this was difficult to see. Most of his tainly would be the high point of the maiden friends, in fact, dismissed his promise as a mere edition of the Okpekpe race, since pundits had dream. tipped the elite event to be a struggle between Itemuagbor, a trail-blazer, had other ideas. the Kenyans and the Ethiopians.

He waited patiently for the window of develThree kilometers into the race, one could see opment, this time coming from a God-fearing •Continued on Page 62 Published and printed by Vintage Press Limited. Corporate Office: 27B Fatai Atere Way, Matori, Lagos. P.M.B. 1025, Oshodi, Lagos.

Telephone: Switch Board: 01-8168361. 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: saturday@thenationonlineng.com ISSN: 115-5302 Editor: DELE ADEOSUN

H

governor, who is anxious to reinvent the wheel of a state that had been looted blind by the very administrators who swore to protect it.

This writer couldn’t fathom how apolitical Itemuagbor wanted to modernise Okpepke. I also didn’t reckon with the fact that manna would fall in Edo State in the form of a reformer governor- Comrade Adams Aliu Oshiomhole, after the locust years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). At least, not in 2007, when the Comrade Governor was active in labour matters as the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

Going to Okpekpe, for me, was like another expedition, irrespective of all that one had read about its new form in the media. Curiously, I insisted on doing a recce of the marathon race tracks. Behold, well tarred road. The scary hill had being dissected into a beautiful windy path, the envy of motor racing faithful.

Driving through what was a tough terrain on good speed showed how well Oshiomhole had made his mark in the “Heartbeat of the Nation.” I was proud to be an Edo man. I was marvelled at the way the organisers utiliszed the surrounding hills to celebrate their sponsors and longed for the aerial photography of

what I saw, for our dear readers to appreciate.

As the car that I rode in snaked its way through the windy path, we noticed a galaxy of cars. We asked ourselves- could that be the Comrade Governor on inspection? We were right. Oshiomhole didn’t leave anything to chance. He was at the intersection of the marathon race path where an impending bridge was being built. Road construction had stopped there. It was clear that the governor wanted to know why the contractor was stalling.

This writer joined in the inspection. Close to the Comrade Governor, I asked- Comrade Governor Sir, would you be participating in the marathon race tomorrow?

Dead silence. I thought the governor didn’t hear my question. He took about 15 steps and said: “yes, I will. That is why I’m here to ensure that things are ready.” The governor continued the inspection with his aides running to macth his fast strides. All was set for the maiden edition of the Okpekpe Race last Saturday.

D-day came with plenty of expectations.

Would Oshiomhole really partake in the race?

Or was his promise to run another Public Relations (PR) stunt to attract people to see how Edo is working? Would Oshiomhole keep us