May 22, 2014

Anguish at Jos hospitals

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TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH •Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun (second right), his wife, Olufunso (right) with former Mexico President and Keynote Speaker Mr. Vicente Fox (second left), his wife Marta (left), former Head of Interim National Government Chief Ernest Shonekan (middle), Awujale of Ijebuland Oba Sikiru Adetona (behind Amosun) and others during the Ogun State Investors’ Forum 2014 in Abeokuta...yesterday.

EKITI 2014

N150.00 KANO LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

Saturday - 17/5/2014 CHAIRMANSHIP: APC - 44 with 2, 370, 889 VOTES PDP - 0 with 200, 687 COUNCILLORSHIP: APC - 484 Seats PDP - 0

•Akande, Buhari, Tinubu, others storm Ekiti for Fayemi •PDP postpones campaign’s flag-off over Jos blast •AND MORE •INEC explains non-deployment of card readers ON PAGE 10

Girls: U.S. deploys troops Obama writes Congress

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From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

HE United States has deployed troops to join the search for the over 200 schoolgirls abducted by the extremist Boko Haram sect in Chibok, Borno State on April 15.

President Barack Obama has notified the Congress of the deployment of 80 military personnel, who will be based in Chad, Nigeria’s northern neighbour. Their mission is to help locate the kidnapped girls.

Obama has sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and to the Senate, notifying lawmakers about the steps underway to assist in the return of the abducted girls.

According to Obama, the service members will help with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft for missions over

?

WHERE ARE THE CHIBOK GIRLS KIDNAPPED ON APRIL 15?

Continued on page 4

INSIDE

•U.S. to stand by Nigeria •Boko Haram survivor tells her story •Mbu warns against AND march on Villa MORE ON PA GES •UN votes today 2-5&69 •Teachers declare ‘no work day’ for protest

•ALL FOR APC MAN F AYEMI: Part of the crowds at the All Progressives Congress (APC) rally and presentation of party flag to Ekiti State FA SEE ALSO PAGES 10&11 PHOTO: NIYI ADENIRAN Governor Kayode Fayemi in Ado-Ekiti... yesterday.

•SPORTS P23 •EDUCATION P25 •POLITICS P52 •N/HEALTH P53 •E-BUSINESS P56

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

2

NEWS CHIBOK GIRLS’ ABDUCTION

U.S.: we’ll stand b

•Former Abia State Governor Orji Kalu greeting Pope Francis 1 after mass at St. Peters Square, Vatican City, Rome.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker yesterday spoke to a group of business leaders in Lagos. Though she was in Nigeria to deepen commercial relationships between the United States and African markets, Secretary Pritzker reinforced the United States’ support for Nigeria to combat Boko Haram, reports OLUKOREDE YISHAU

H

•Trade Advisor, International Trade Centre, Ludovica Ghuzani(left)Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Export Promotion Council, (NEPC), Olusegun Awolowo jnr (middle) and Director, Product Development, Henry Otowo at the Standard and Trade Development facility expanding Export program in Abuja... yesterday.

PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE

•From left: Managing Director/ CE0, UNICEM, Mr. Olivier Lenoir, Managing Director/ CEO, Lafarge WAPCO, Mr, Joe Hudson, Managing Director/ CEO, Ashaka Cement Plc, Mr. Leonard Palka and Communication Director, Lafarge Nigeria, Mrs. Viola Graham Douglas at a Media briefing organized by Lafarge WAPC0 on the composition and pigmentaion of the use of cement in Nigeria at the company's head office in Ikoyi , Lagos...yesterday.

PHOTO: ADEOLA SOLOMON

•The Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatisation, Senator Olugbenga Obadara (middle) flanked by the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) Engr. Abiodun Ajifowobaje (left) and Senator Emmanuel Aguariawodo, Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Privatisation during the Committee's oversight visit to Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company.

ER mission was different.

But these are not ordinary times in Nigeria. This fact was not lost on United States Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker when she spoke in Lagos yesterday to a group of business leaders. She said her country would stand by Nigeria to defeat Boko Haram.

The U.S. Secretary of Commerce also offered condolences to the families bereaved as a result of the explosions in Jos, the Plateau State capital and Kano, the Kano State capital.

She said: “I want to offer my condolences to the families in Jos, following the tragic attack there yesterday.

And I want to address the issue that is on all of our minds. To the north of here in the town of Chibok, hundreds of families are without their daughters today. As a mother of two myself, my heart breaks for these girls and their loved ones and friends.

“All parents, no matter where they were born or where they reside, hope that their children are always safe, and that their children have the opportunity to realize their dreams. That these young girls were kidnapped while pursuing their education is particularly unsettling, and the world is anxiously awaiting their safe return. ”The United States is supporting Nigeria as it works to find and free these young girls. A team is now in place at our Embassy to provide military aid, assist in information gathering, and more. Last weekend, the United States attended a meeting in Paris where President Goodluck Jonathan and the heads of state of the countries bordering Nigeria — Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin — pledged to work together to combat Boko Haram. With them, the U.S., France, the EU and the UK agreed that to prevent violent, extremist groups from making inroads into vulnerable communities, a comprehensive approach to promoting opportunity, inclusion, and security must be implemented in the region. We will help Nigerians do that. Our commitment is long-term; we will stand by Nigerians as they strive to defend and protect their sons and daughters, husbands, brothers, sisters and mothers. ”For all of the promise here in Africa, situations like this raise serious concerns. The threat of violence, corruption in government and business, and a lack of trust threaten Nigeria’s continued progress.”

•Members of the Solid Women Initiative for Development protesting in Abuja over the abduction of the Chibok girls at the National Assembly, Abuja... yesterday.

Pritzker said Nigeria is too important to be allowed to be consumed by insurgency, adding that the opportunities in Nigeria are abundant.

“You are home to the largest economy in Africa, and one in five people on the Continent are Nigerian.

Not only do our governments stand together as partners and friends, but our companies – as evidenced by this trade mission – are eager to forge stronger partnerships in Nigeria.”

She said despite the challenges of insurgency, the U.S. would remain committed to Nigeria’s progress.

“Despite these challenges, the United States has been and continues to be a committed partner in your progress. Back in 2012, President Obama outlined his vision for how the United States and Africa would work together toward a mutuallybeneficial future. The “U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa” laid out a comprehensive policy that would achieve four specific aims: strengthening democratic institutions; advancing peace and security; promoting opportunity and development; and spurring economic growth, trade, and investment. ”These goals are inextricably linked. The United States has a number of initiatives in place to help Africa make progress in each of these areas. At the Department of Commerce, our goal is to advance the trade and investment pillar of the President’s strategy. This trade mission is a sign of commitment by our government to support anew U.S. business focus in Africa,” she said.

She also spoke about the electricity problem in Nigeria and Africa.

Pritzker said: “Today, nearly 600 million Africans (two-thirds of the people on the Continent) lack electricity, including millions here in Nigeria. This problem is particularly stark in rural areas where 85 percent of the population does not have power.

Studies have shown that Africa will need $300 billion in investments to achieve universal electricity by 2030.

Already, the U.S. Government has committed $7 billion toward Power Africa, and has secured additional commitments totaling $14 billion from 35 private-sector partners. Simply put, Power Africa is designed to catalyze new financing and investment in energy solutions that will help Nigeria – and the five other countries that comprise Power Africa

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

3

CHIBOK GIRLS’ ABDUCTION

nd by Nigeria to defeat Boko Haram

•Members of the Solid Women Initiative for Development protesting in Abuja over the abduction of the Chibok girls at the National Assembly, Abuja... yesterday.

PHOTOS: ABAYOMI FAYESE

Boko Haram survivor tells story on Capitol Hill

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EBORAH Peter, a 15 year-old Nigerian, has a horrible story.

On the evening of Dec. 22, 2011, she saw her father, a Christian pastor, shot three times in the chest by three members of the Islamist radical group Boko Haram. While her father lay on the floor of his home, the men debated whether or not they should kill her brother Caleb. As her father breathed his last, they killed Caleb too. The men made the young girl lie between the corpses and she stayed there until the next morning, when a local pastor paid for her to get out of the region. That pastor was killed in 2013 — again, by Boko Haram.

Peter recounted her story before the media on Capitol Hill Wednesday, as Congress debates how to counter the radical Islamist — provide reliable electricity to its citizens. ”Already, Power Africa has closed on transactions totaling nearly 3,000 megawatts, with an additional 5,000 megawatts in the planning stages.

Here in Nigeria, the Power Africa initiative is providing technical assistance as your government privatizes its electricity industry, an effort that could add 2,000 megawatts over the next five years. We are also working

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Deborah Peter, 15, recounted how the Nigerian Islamist group had butchered her father and brother as Congress mulls how to counter the group that has abducted over 200 schoolgirls group behind last month’s kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Peter’s home town. She held up a paper sign reading “#BringBackMySisters” for video cameras and photographers. She then attended a House panel committee to discuss the growing threat of Boko Haram, along with Department of Defense and Secretary of State officials summoned as witnesses.

“I decided to tell the world my story when the Chibok girls were taken because everyone needs to know how horrible Boko Haram is,” said Peter in her statement. “They kill

together to attract additional private investment, and to secure financing for renewable-energy projects. In addition our commercial-law experts are creating a library of documents to help streamline the process for negotiating and closing agreements and transactions under Power Africa. Next month in Abuja, we will hold a workshop to increase the use of these documents among utilities and regulators. ”Power Africa is just one example

innocent people who never hurt them. I want the world to understand what happened to me. I hope the kidnapped Chibok girls will take courage from my story, and know more of what God says, and know what it means to stand strong in the face of bad people.”

After giving her opening statement, Peter was asked to describe how she felt about Boko Haram after all she had been through. “It’s a hard question; I think they’re bad,” she said, before adding “I can’t judge them.”

Later, TIME asked her why. “The Bible said do not judge,” she replied.

of our long-standing commitment to ensuring Africa’s continued growth and prosperity. Let me give three more. First, we are pushing for the seamless renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, of which Nigeria is the top beneficiary.

As many of you know, AGOA allows 6,400 products from eligible Sub-Saharan African countries to enter the U.S. duty free. For 2013, U.S. imports under AGOA totaled $26.8 billion.

•Deborah

Going forward, our hope is that Nigeria will take advantage of AGOA to diversify its economy, fulfilling the vision of the legislation. In fact, AGOA is a key topic that I will discuss in Ethiopia later this week with members of the African Union.”

She explained the conditions that must be met for the country to attract American companies.

“But for U.S. businesses to come here, stay here, and help you achieve

your full potential, Nigeria needs to take the tough steps that allow businesses to truly thrive. Our companies want to do business in countries that follow the rule of law, maintain ethical standards, abide by workplace safety, encourage workforce training, and protect intellectual property.

These are the conditions that will increase trust and confidence among international and local business leaders and encourage further investment,” she said.

How citizens can check Boko Haram attacks, by expert

ECURITY expert, Dr. Ona Ekhomu, has urged Nigerians to reduce what he described as “ security vulnerabilities that predispose them to Boko Haram attacks”.

Reacting to the vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) attacks at Sabon Gari Kano on May 18, he said the attacks could have been defended against but were facilitated by observable and exploitable vulnerabilities.

He said terrorists planning to carry out attacks must carry out surveillance of their proposed targets, acquire bomb-making ingredients and assemble the bomb in a compound. He added that once an individual or group starts to a amass bomb ingredient, he should be reported to the authorities.

Said he: “accumulating gas cylinders or bags of fertilizer are terrorist attack pre-incident indicators (TAPIs) which could signal imminence of a bombing attack”.

Ekhomu, who is the president of the Association of Industrial Security and Safety Op-

•Shakau

eratives of Nigeria (AISSON), said bombs were often assembled and primed in compounds.

“While assembling bombs, the terrorists are usually very secretive and edgy and would not tolerate anyone coming around where they are building the IED. Persons who put up such behaviours should be reported to the authorities as suspects,” he added.

He urged Nigerians to be familiar with colors, shapes and sizes, in order to give accurate descriptions to the authorities for investigation. He said the make and model of cars along with licence number plates should be memorised by citizens to help in police investigations of terrorism cases. According the first chartered security professional in West Africa, “ the wrong description could throw investigators off the trail of perpetrators”.

Ekhomu, who is also Chairman of TransWorld Security praised the local vigilance groups in Kala Balge, Borno State for attacking and killing over 100 BH fighters. He described their action as “a patriotic act of heroism”. He also commended vigilance group in

Madagali, Adamawa State for killing about 50 Boko Haram fighters.

He warned residents’ of these communities to be extremely vigilant as BH was sure the come back to punish them.

He said that these were not normal rimes and citizens should not go on “business as usual”. He said the attack at Alargano community near Chibok in Borno State was meant as a punishment for the killing of Boko Haram fighters in Kala Balge and Madagali. He called on the military to provide adequate cover for the communities that have fought back in order not to “turn their joy into sorrow”.

Ekhomu urged the Office of the National Security Adviser to urgently put the National Improvised Explosive Device Prevention Initiative into effect in order to save Nigerian lives. He deplored the fact that a lot of high explosives are still not properly secured in the country and called for the suspension of blasting and quarrying activities in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states for the next six months.

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THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

NEWS Boko Haram kills 48 in attacks near Chibok

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•Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (right), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu (second right), Chief Bisi Akande (third left), Governor Kayode Fayemi (fourth right), his wife Bisi (third right), Deputy Governor Modupe Adelabu and former Governor Segun Oni during the APC rally in Ado-Ekiti... yesterday.

Mbu warns protesters against march on Villa

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SHOWDOWN looms today in Abuja, with #BringBackOurGirls campaigners taking their protest to the Presidential Villa.

They want to deliver a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan “as the father of our country”, but Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police chief Mbu Joseph Mbu warned yesterday against marching on the Villa.

Also today, teachers will withdraw their services in protest against the April 15 abduction of the over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State.

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) directed schools shut, an action to be accompanied by nationwide protests.

Speaking on a meeting with Mbu yesterday, Col. Ahmed Zubairu, an assistant team leader, said: “We had been trying to get in touch with the commissioner of police. We eventually did and after he ushered us into his office, he asked if we were really planning to march to the Presiden-

•Teachers withdraw services From Yusuf Alli, Sanni Onogu and Grace Obike, Abuja

tial Villa and when. We answered to the affirmative. He said he would not permit us to go further than the Federal Secretariat. He said protesters will not be allowed to get close to the Presidential Villa due to security reasons.”

Former Minister of Education Oby Ezekwesili said citizens have the right to meet with a leader who they chose to and there is no reason for the Police to try to stop the protest.

“The president is the father of the nation and when a child is crying, it goes to its father, which is exactly what we are doing. We are not violent people; all we want is to march to the President and demand that he addresses us on the abduction of our daughters and on the state of insecurity in the nation and we will not allow anyone stop us from our singular purpose.

“We as citizens are seeking a singular purpose, which is to meet with our President; we are demanding from them what we have kept in their care which is our girls and asking that it should be returned to us. That is all.”

One of the leaders of the group, Hadiza Usman, assured the group that an acknowledgment letter had been received from Inspector General of Police Mohammed Abubakar permitting the march to take place.

She said: “We wrote a letter to the Commissioner of Police who refused to acknowledge, but the one sent to the Inspector General of Police was acknowledged and we will print out several copies as we march tomorrow, we do not need the Commissioner telling us if we can proceed or not because in the first place, he has refused to acknowledge us so far. We will proceed with our march.”

The march is planned to

take off from Unity Fountain, Maitama, at 3pm, and proceed to the Presidential Villa, where President Jonathan will be expected to address the protesters.

In an interview, Ezekwesili said the march was meant to engage the President.

She said: “We are going ahead. We are going ahead.

We are hoping that between today and tomorrow that the President, as the one who understands what it means to respect the voice of citizens,would see the benefit, would see the necessity to engage with his citizens.

“I mean, even our own nationals in other countries went to their leaders’ offices to say we want to speak about it. Even Americans went to raise the issue with their own President. So wouldn’t our own President see that his citizens are demanding that engagement.”

Asked if the Presidency has replied the group’s letter, Ezekwesili added: “They didn’t reply. They didn’t reContinued on page 9

northern Nigeria.

The force will stay in Chad until its support is no longer necessary. Chad shares a portion of its western border with northeastern Nigeria.

The military and security agencies may have received satellite images of what looked like the camps where the abducted Chibok girls are kept by Boko Haram, The Nation learnt yesterday.

It was, however, still difficult as at press time to locate the exact place or places.

The analysis of the images by the military and other agencies was ongoing.

The April 15 abductors are believed to have been hiding in the Sambisa forest.

A security source, who spoke in confidence, said troops have not invaded Sambisa forest because a lot of intelligence gathering was being conducted by Nigerian military, security agencies and foreign forces.

The source said: “The search for the girls is still in progress.

From intelligence gathering, the military and security agen-

•Families seek bodies of victims

A

cies have got images of suspected camps or areas where the girls are being held hostage.

“We are analysing these images to be able to locate the exact place or places where the girls are kept.

“The images showed some clusters of people. The reality from these efforts is that it is still difficult to locate the exact point where the girls are.”

The source said the U.S. and other foreign nations have been collaborating with the Nigerian military and security agencies to locate where the girls are.

He added: “A major challenge is getting the spot where the girls are camped. There were contradictory information or clues from the locals and even these foreign partners do not want to capitalise on what the locals are saying.

“Sometimes, these locals would say the girls are in Sambisa forest or around Lake Chad or Cameroonian borders.

“So, a lot of intelligence coordination is ongoing as I am talking to you. It is just for the equipment to pick the exact camp.”

U.S., UK condemn explosion

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From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

ing in more bodies which they claimed were recovered from under the debris of buildings and shops ruined by the effect of the explosions.

The Jos main market, scene of the blast, remained closed.

Shops at the adjacent Ahmadu Bello Way were also shut.

Those whose shops were not effected were guarding them to avoid looting.

Emmanuel Okafor and his two sisters were overwhelmed by grief at the Plateau Specialists Hospital on seeing the remains of their mother. “It is over; we are finished. See my mother. God? Why? Why? why God?”.

Okafor said, weeping.

Chiendu Mazi, 40, who found his wife’s body at the morgue fainted. He was revived by nurses and doctors.

He said: “I gave my wife money to go and buy food items. I never knew I was sending her to die.”

Families able to provide proof were allowed to take away bodies of their loved ones. Most of those burnt beyond recognition will be given mass burial, it was learnt.

Continued on page 9

Girls: U.S. deploys troops Continued from page 1

Anguish at Jos hospitals LL was gloomy yesterday at hospitals in Jos, the Plateau State capital, as residents continued the search for their loved ones.

Two explosions rocked a major market in the central city, killing no fewer than 118 people. Nearly 70 people were injured.

At the three major hospitals - Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Bingham University Teaching Hospital (BUTH) and Plateau State Specialists Hospital - some people were lucky to identify bodies of their loved ones.

Others searched endlessly.

People were wailing on sighting the heaps of bodies piled up at the various hospitals. Families who were able to identify their own were asked to bring photographs as evidence before claiming the bodies.

Police Commissioner Chris Olakpe, who put the death toll at 46 on Tuesday, said the figure had risen to 76 as more bodies were recovered from the rubble.

At the Plateau specialist hospital and BUTH, NEMA ambulances were seen bring-

WO attacks by Boko Haram gunmen killed 30 people near Chibok, the town where the Islamists kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls last month, witnesses said yesterday.

The first attack on Monday afternoon killed 10 in Shawa, seven kilometres from Chibok, some residents told AFP on condition of anonymity.

But another report by Associated Press (AP) claimed that 48 people died from the attacks.

Gunmen then stormed the nearby village of Alagarno late Tuesday and stole food, razed homes and fired on fleeing civilians.

“It was a sudden attack,” said resident Haruna Bitrus, in an

‘

•An injured victim of the explosions in the hospital...yesterday

I gave my wife money to go and buy food items. I never knew I was sending her to die

JUTH Medical Director Dr Edmond Banwat, briefing the National Emergency Management Agemcy (NEMA) Director-General Sani Sidi and Inspector General of Police Muhammed Abubakar said: “Most of the casualties were brought to the hospital from the scene of explosions. 48

’

people were brought with various degrees of injuries; 22 bodies were brought. Even today, a few hours ago, some of the victims with third degree burns who were rushed to other hospitals in the city were referred to the tertiary hospital for major treatment.”

“Two of the dead are chil-

dren; majority of them are women,” said Banwat.

Sidi assured victims recuperating in the hospital of the support of the agency to facilitate their quick recovery.

Police chief Abubakar called on citizens to be united against terrorism. He said insecurity across the nation should not be left for security agencies alone and urged all citizens to be sensitive to any strange development and report same to security agencies.

Continued on page 69

HE United States and Britain yesterday condemned the “vicious” bombing in Jos as well as a series of “terrorist acts” on defenceless civilians.

“The US government strongly condemns the multiple bomb blasts in the city of Jos yesterday, as well as the bombing in the SabonGari neighborhood of the city of Kano on May 18 that have resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement, adding that the attacks were “unconscionable, terrorist acts demanding accountability and justice”.

In another statement by the US Embassy in Abuja, the US noted that the attacks demonstrated the criminality of the perpetrators who continue to target defenceless civilians.

The statement reads: “The U.S Embassy in Abuja Continued on page 9

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THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

NEWS CHIBOK GIRLS’ ABDUCTION Kalu: govt should consider negotiation with Boko Haram

Group protests to National Assembly From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

A

GROUP, Solid Women Initiative for Development Worldwide (SWID), has called for the immediate release of the schoolgirls abducted from Chibok, Borno State.

Leading a protest to the National Assembly yesterday, SWID Founder/President, Lady Queen Ezike, said the abduction of over 200 schooolgirls by the Boko Haram sect “is highly irreligious, a cowardice act and a crime against God and humanity”.

The activist hailed President Goodluck Jonathan for attracting multi-national intelligence support and deploying military technology for the search and rescue of the abducted girls.

She said: “We cannot but urge you to keep doing all that is humanly possible to ensure the safe return of the Chibok schoolgirls. Our hearts go out to the families of our future mothers, who have not seen or heard from their innocent daughters close to 40 days now.

“The prayers of millions of well-meaning people all over the world are with you, our dear daughters. Your abductors will not go unpunished.

Posterity will not forsake you.

“The challenge might seem unsurmountable, but it is surmountable, especially with God by your side. Do not relent. We will keep praying to God Almighty to crown all your efforts with success.”

Senator Chris Anyanwu, who represented Senate President David Mark, said the current insecurity called for the concerns of all Nigerians.

He urged Nigerians to adjust their ways of life by becoming more alert to the happenings around them.

NUT declares ‘no work day’ to join protest From Grace Obike, Abuja

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HE Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) will shut down all schools today to enable teachers across the country join the protest against the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls of the Government Girls’ Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State.

The protest is expected to hold simultaneously in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The teachers expressed sadness over the abduction of the over 200 schoolgirls and the killing of 173 teachers by Boko Haram insurgents.

NUT said it will ask the Federal Government to declare emergency in the Education sector and provide tighter security for schools by guaranteeing conducive and peaceful learning environment.

NUT President Michael Olukoya addressed reporters yesterday in Abuja on the planned protest.

The union leader said the abduction of the Chibok girls was a stumbling block to making education available to all by the year 2015.

He said: “All schools nationwide shall be closed as the day will be our day of protest against the abduction of Chibok schoolgirls and the heartless murder of the 173 teachers.”

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•President, Women Arise Initiative, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin (second left); Vice President, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Issa Aremu (middle), a member of Civil Society Group, Bola Ogunrinade (second right) and others during a call for the release of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls at the plenary of the National Conference in Abuja...yesterday

North's governors should do more to fight terrorism, says Fed Govt

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HE Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, has urged the 19 governors in the North to work harder at curbing insecurity in the region.

The minister said it was necessary for the North's governors to really prepare their people against insurgency.

Maku addressed State House correspondents yesterday in Abuja at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The minister said northern governors should stop criticising the Federal Government's decision to extend the state of emergency in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states.

According to him, terrorism is a community war, which all governors, especially those in the North, should work hard to end.

Maku said the governors should devise proper monitoring of all persons within, coming in and going out of their states.

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

The minister noted that the current war against insurgency, being restricted to the community level, cannot be won by the Federal Government merely sending troops to the affected states.

He said the cooperation of all Nigerians was needed to win the war across the country.

Maku said: "The war against terror is a Nigerian war. It is our cooperation that will defeat it; it is our understanding that will isolate the evil. It is the unity of purpose in the country that will lead to victory over terrorism.

"We need greater unity to break into what is going on and defeat it. That is why the grandstanding and politicking that is associated with the fight against terror is increasing the tempo of the activities of terrorists. The variety of opinions among the political class feeds into the confidence

of terror groups because their objective is to divide public opinion and continuously penetrate the Nigerian society and destroy it.

"So, we continue to plead that all of us in the politics of this country need to think again to understand that the challenge we face is not to the advantage of anybody. We need to understand that politics aside, we need to save our country first.

"We need today the kind of work that will enable every preacher, every religious leader, to speak to their followers to be able to sensitise the people to support what is going on.

"Every state in the North needs to go back to the basics. That means ...to deal with terror in each of the 19 Northern states, they must reorganise their people, from the smallest unit of the smallest village to the hamlets, to the wards, to the towns, to the districts.

"There must be a proper or-

ganisation of communities for proper information about the movements of people and activities that could lead to the destruction of lives and property."

On the role the Federal government can play in the fight against insurgency, Maku said: "The Federal Government is a fire fighter. It does not own any constituency in the 19 Northern states. The Federal Government only sends soldiers and policemen when there is a fire on the roof, to put out that fire.

"But the real ground, where terrorists are operating, is at the local level, at the unit level, at the state level. Until we have every state government determined, not rhetorically but practically, to sit back and organise their people and take proactive measures, in terms of information gathering, in terms of preparing people to be able to report, to confront, to organise themselves, we will not be able to defeat terror..."

We don’t have funds to fight insecurity, says Army

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HE Nigerian Army has said it lacks the financial capacity to tackle Boko Haram’s insurgency and other security challenges facing the country.

The Chief of Accounts of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Abdullahi Muriana, spoke yesterday on the paucity of funds facing the Army.

It was at the opening of the Nigerian Army Finance Corps’ Warrant Officers’/Non-Commissioned Officers’ training week in Jaji, Kaduna State.

The accountant explained that budgetary allocations to the military was adequate to meet the contemporary security challenges and cater for the welfare of soldiers.

Muriana said besides the limitation of the “envelope system”, the Army was also enmeshed in bureaucratic bottleneck in getting appropriateb funding approval for military operations.

The general called for a review of the current system “as the increasing speed at which the effects of conflicts appear in the operational environment will continue to challenge commanders”.

He added: “It is our humble appeal that government could evolve other means of funding

From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

and supporting military operations other than the normal budgetary allocations.

“Such means include but are not limited to strategic cooperation and liaison with other civil industries for the production of uniforms and other equipment.”

Muraina suggested the inclusion of a special operations fund in the budget for Defence, adding that this should be placed under the Chief of Army Staff for disbursement to the required operation areas.

He said: “The increasing dynamic environment, coupled with continued technological development in the country and our immediate neighbours have spurred the Nigerian Army to place high premium on efficiency, proficiency and professionalism of officers and soldiers.”

The accountant described warrant officers and senior noncommissioned officers as the backbone of regimentation in the Army.

He stressed that such officers form the bridge between of-

ficers and junior non-commissioned officers.

The Chief of Army Staff Lt.Gen. Kenneth Minimah said funding was fundamental to curbing the security challenges in the country.

He said: “Success in this pursuit, therefore, calls for prudent and efficient management and application of available funds.”

The Army Chief was represented by the General Officer, Commanding 1Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Kenneth Osuji.

UN to vote today on Boko Haram status

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HE United Nations (UN) Security Council will today lead its 15 member-countries to vote on the status of Nigeria’s Boko Haram

sect.

The Coordinator of the National Crises Information Centre, Mike Omeri, spoke yesterday in Abuja on the global body’s readiness to put a tag on the killer sect.

He said the 15-member countries, being led by Nigeria, have unanimously condemned the activities of the sect.

Omeri said the Federal Government had formally asked the UN council to include Nigeria in its list of countries with embargo on illegal importation of arms and ammunition.

He said: “The United Nations Security Council has got the permission of the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to lead other member-

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

countries to vote on the Boko Haram sect.

“All member-countries of the council condemn the activities of the sect and resolve to place an embargo on the illegal importation of arms and ammunition into all member-countries.”

The agency chief said Nigeria had begun the implementation of decisions reached at last week’s security summit in France.

On Tuesday’s twin bomb blasts in Jos, the Plateau State capital, Omeri urged Nigerians to desist from rushing to bomb blast scenes.

The agency chief said it is necessary for security personnel to declare such scenes safe before other people could go there.

He described the bombings as despicable and a horrific act that must be condemned by all Nigerians.

FORMER Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu has advised the Federal Government to consider a “formal or informal” negotiation with the Boko Haram sect or their agents in exchange for the release of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

Kalu said the option of “formal or informal negotiation” with the sect was imperative because of the safety and security of the abducted girls.

The former governor said this was more important than any other consideration for the future leaders of Nigeria.

He said government could send agents to negotiate with Boko Haram leaders or their agents without getting involved.

Addressing reporters yesterday at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, on arrival from London, Kalu said other countries, including the United States, have adopted the negotiation option during insurgency in Afghanistan and other countries.

He said: “Well, the Federal Government should negotiate with Boko Haram, either formally or informally, because the lives of those girls are greater than any other consideration. They are the leaders of tomorrow.

“We cannot allow those girls to be suffering in the hands of those people. The government can negotiate formally or informally. It can send agents to negotiate on its behalf without getting involved. The U.S does this in Afghanistan and other places. It can negotiate formally or informally.”

Kalu noted that rather than apportion blames, politicians and other Nigerians should collaborate to end insecurity in the land.

He said if the blame game continues, the indivisibility and unity of Nigeria would be threatened, such that the country may be heading for disintegration.

Kalu said the challenge of insecurity and the tussle for power may bring to pass, assertions by an American diplomat that Nigeria may break up in 2015.

He said: “You see, this issue is not about the President. If we don’t take time and work together as Nigerians, Jonathan might be the last Nigerian President.

Jonathan might be the Mikhail Gorbachev of Nigeria.

“That is the truth. So, we had better wake up.

“The political class, the business class, the military and civilians must now stand up to work for our internal security. Internal security is more important than anything we have done. I believe that once we are able to come together, Nigeria will be alright.

“As of now, the country is in pains; the country is in problems, and some people are taking it very lightly.

“We are suffering from the pains of our people. We are suffering from the pains of the Nigerian system. This is not about which part of the country you come from; it is about Nigeria.

Nigerians should take what is happening seriously.

“I am surprised that the political class and the private sector are still joking with this matter.

This is a serious matter. Anybody’s child can be kidnapped; whether it is in Chibok or any other place. Nigerians should take this matter seriously.

“Can you imagine how many Nigerians have been killed; how many of us who have been wounded? I want our people to be wise...”

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

6

NEWS

•Participants at the Nigerian Army Finance Corps, warrants officers and senior non-commissioned officers during a training in Jaji, Kaduna State...yesterday

Covenant Varsity’s centre to host conflict management workshop

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HE African Leadership Development Centre of the Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, will host a leadership competence development workshop, with the theme: Conflict Management and Resolution, from May 26 to 28.

A statement by the Director of the Centre, Prof Aize Obayan, said the workshop will provide a critical understanding of conflict, its management and resolution processes on a number of contexts in Nigeria and Africa.

The keynote address will be delivered by the Chancellor of Covenant University, Dr. David Oyedepo. The focus of the address is titled: Leadership Imperatives: Conflict Resolution and Conflict Management Demands for Inspiring Transformation and Driving Change.

Other lead speakers for the workshop include the Ambassador of Ireland to Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Fay; the former President and Chairman of Council of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM), Chief Lugard Aimiuwu; former Sierra Leonean Minister of Information, Prof Cecil Blake and President of the Nigeria Psychological Association, Dr. Andrew Zamani.

Alleged N5b property conversion: Accountant gets bail

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FORMER accountant with Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mr Micheal Adenuga, who is standing trial for alleged fraudulent conversion of a N5 billion landed property, has been granted stiff bail conditions.

Justice Sedoten Ogunsanya of a Lagos State High Court, sitting in Ikeja, yesterday granted the accused bail for N50 million.

Adenuga is expected to pay the money through a bank draft drawn in the name of the Chief Registrar of the Lagos High Court as a condition for perfecting his bail.

Justice Ogunsanya ordered that the money be deposited into an interest-yielding account.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), last week, arraigned Adenuga before the court over alleged fraudulent conversion of landed property worth N5 billion.

Counsel to the EFCC, Mr. Jamiu Musa, alleged that Adenuga and his company, Covenant Apartment Complex Limited, fraudulently converted 22.68 hectares of land at Ayetoro, Ikota, in the Lekki area of Lagos, without the knowledge of other investors in the land.

The lawyer said the property was jointly owned by Covenant Sugarland Property Development Limited and Messrs Sunday and Joseph Oyeniran.

Musa also alleged that the defendant forged a document, titled: Contract of Sale Between Covenant Apartment Limited and Kingview Realty Limited, to commit the theft.

He said the offences for which Adenuga was charged

By Adebisi Onanuga

contravened Sections 278 (1) and 285 (b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State of Nigeria 2011.

Adenuga pleaded not guilty to the charge when they were read to him.

His counsel, Mr, Ehis Badmus, had filed a bail application and pleaded that the accused be remanded in EFCC custody.

But at the resumed hearing of the matter yesterday, Badmus prayed the court for liberal bail conditions.

The lawyer reiterated that his client was diabetic and high blood pressure.

He added that Adenuga’s health situation would worsen if he was remanded in Kirikiri Prisons.

Badmus averred that before the defendant was arraigned by the EFCC, he has been given administrative bail and did not jump the bail.

Citing Section 115 of the Evidence Act, Badmus submitted that prior to the arraignment of the defendant, he had not appeared before any court for a criminal matter.

He prayed the court to grant his client bail on liberal terms.

Ruling on the application, Justice Ogunsanya granted Adenuga bail for N50 million with two sureties in like sum.

She ordered that one of the sureties must be a blood relative while both sureties should be resident in Lagos State.

The judge said the sureties must also be gainfully employed and must produce three years’ tax clearance payable to the state government.

Justice Ogunsanya adjourned the matter till June 4 for the continuation of the hearing.

PHOTO:NAN

APCnotsaboteurs’party,saysKalu

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ORMER Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu has corrected the insinuations by some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is sabotaging the ruling party’s efforts through criticisms of government’s policies and programmes.

Kalu said it was unfair for anybody or politician to castigate the APC of wrongdoings.

The former governor said APC’s criticism of government’s policies and programmes was healthy for democracy.

Addressing reporters yesterday at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, on arrival from London, Kalu said APC’s criticisms were meant to offer a viable opposition in Nigeria.

The frontline businessman noted that this would enable the

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•‘Criticism is healthy for democracy’

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

ruling party to address fundamental issues bordering on governance.

Kalu said: “It is good for every government to have a good, healthy opposition.

People say APC is a saboteurs’ party; I don’t agree with that. In a healthy democracy, there is supposed to be criticism. I want my party, the PDP, to stand up.

It is only in a viable opposition that leaders will stand up. Leaders will be sleeping when there is no opposition.”

The former governor proposed the abolition of the presidential system, because “it is wasteful”.

He called for the adoption of the parliamentary system and regionalism.

According to him, this is

more representative, cheaper and result-oriented.

Kalu said: “I am of the opinion that Nigeria should abolish the presidential system of government. My reason is that the appointed ministers should be members of parliament so that they can see wisdom in serving their nation.

So, they can see wisdom in contributing to the arguments so that the lobbying between the ministers and the legislature will stop.

“I see our working together as parliamentarians and ministers. This means that if you don’t win an election, you cannot come and become a minister.

This is the way it used to be before. It will also be less expensive.

“I believe genuinely that

•Kalu

the parliamentary system is cheaper and cost-effective and it is also the way to go for our democracy. We should have a President and a Vice President.

We should even have a President and have a Prime Minister.

“It happens that way in some countries, including South Africa. We don’t need the present Upper House and Lower House because it is expensive...”

Bill on chemical weapons prohibition scales serve as the national focal BILL seeking to propoint for effective liaison hibit the development, second reading at Senate

production, transfer and use of chemical weapons in Nigeria scaled the second reading yesterday at the Senate.

The Bill, titled: Chemical Weapons Prohibition Bill 2013, also seeks to establish a national authority for an effective implementation of the chemical weapons convention in Nigeria. It was sponsored by Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba.

Senate President David Mark urged his colleagues to support the Bill because “it is good”.

In his lead debate, NdomaEgba noted that the Bill was

From Sanni Onogu, Abuja

premised on the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), an arms control treaty which outlaws the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons and their precursors.

The treaty, he said, became effective on April 29, 1997 and “Nigeria is a state party”.

The senator recalled that as of October 2013, 190 nations had consented to be bound by the CWC. Ndoma-Egba said: “The parties’ main obligation under the

convention is to prohibit the use and production of chemical weapons as well as the destruction of all chemical weapons through an agreed framework.

“The Bill, therefore, seeks to prohibit the development, production, transfer and use of chemical weapons in Nigeria and to establish a National Authority for the effective implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention in Nigeria.

“The trust of the Bill is to establish a body that will

with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and other state parties to the convention and to fulfil Nigeria’s obligation under the convention.”

The Senate Leader explained that a chemical weapon is a toxic chemical contained in a delivery system, such as a shell or bomb, and includes any toxic chemical or its precursor that can cause death, injury, temporary incapacitation or sensory irritation through its chemical action.

Reps seek monthly briefing on state of emergency

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HE House of Representatives resolved yesterday that security agencies should provide the National Assembly with a monthly briefing on the effectiveness of the measures to curtail insurgency in Northeast states under the state of emergency.

The resolution followed the adoption of the prayer of a motion by a member, Aishat Dahiru Ahmed (Adamawa), titled: Need for a periodic briefing on the State of Emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.

The lawmaker said she believed that giving the National Assembly an insight into the actions taken by the security agencies “will go a long way in reassuring Nige-

From Victor Oluwasegun, Abuja

rians of adequate security of lives and property”.

She regretted that despite the huge funds that had been pumped into Defence, the nation’s security remained parlous.

Mrs Ahmed said: “Despite the N900 billion in the 2013 National Budget for security, there appears to be minimal success in the fight against insurgents in the country. Even for that alone, they (security agencies) should come and brief us. Let us assess the effectiveness of the measures they have put in place and let us know if there is any way we can come in, even if it means they should have

supplementary funding.

“The lawmaker expressed concerns that collective action to curb insurgency might be difficult to achieve because of the distrust and apprehension among stakeholders over the escalating activities of the insurgents, even in the face of the state of emergency.

She noted that the extension of the state of emergency preceding an election period is not desirable “because our first experience in Nigeria, with the event that happened in Western Nigeria between 1964 and 1965, led to the collapse of the first republic; we shouldn’t allow that to repeat itself”.

Mrs Ahmed added: “There is also the issue of the

complaints from the rank and file of the Nigerian Army, which almost led to a mutiny. It is caused by the way insurgency is being handled.”

The lawmaker noted that “the inclusion of Nigeria in the MINT - Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey emerging economies, after the rebasing of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - is indicative of the growing interest in Nigeria’s economic prospects”.

She said there is need to address the issue, because “economic development can only be sustained in an atmosphere where there is peace and guarantee of security”.

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THE NATION THURSDAY MAY 22, 2014

NEWS

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BOUT $7.3 billion has been invested in Ogun State in the last two years.

Governor Ibikunle Amosun revealed this yesterday in Abeokuta, the state capital, at the opening of the second Ogun Investors’ Forum, themed: “Agriculture and Urban Development: Ogun State, the New Frontier.”

Since 2012 when the last investor’s forum was held in Abeokuta, Amosun said over 46 major industries had established their factories in the state.

He said over 30 others were in their various stages of completion. They include Lafarge WAPCO Cement; Wemco Cold Steam Iron Steel factory; May and Baker Pharmaceutical Company; Shongai Plant; Procter and Gamble, which is the largest single American investment in Nigeria, outside the Petroleum sector; Dangote Cement and Nestle Plc, among oth-

Alumni lament protracted strike

Ogun has attracted $7.3 billion investments, says Amosun •‘Opportunities abound in agriculture, housing’

By Muyiwa Lucas and Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

ers.

Amosun said: “The talking point as we speak today is not about who is in Ogun State, but about who is not in Ogun State and this is just the beginning.”

He said the “tremendous” response of investors and industrialists in choosing Ogun State over others informed the theme of this year’s edition of the forum, adding: “We are determined, ambitious and forward looking in our developmental programmes and projects.

We are focused on preparing our people and our state for the future because we see Ogun as a state that will play a pivotal role in the future development of Nigeria and Africa by harnessing its natu-

ral potentials in Agri-business.”

Urging investors to leverage on the state’s vast land for housing and agriculture, Amosun said his administration allocated over 200,000 hectares of land to investors in agriculture at a minimal cost and will make more land available.

He identified palm oil, palm kernel and rubber cultivation, aquaculture and livestock farming as areas of agriculture with viable business opportunities for investors.

The governor said: “We seek a creative, participatory approach from investors in achieving our dreams of agricultural development and urban renewal. Our approach is not only holistic but futuristic. We are deter-

mined to provide housing for majority of people who work in Lagos but live in Ogun.

“We have enough land for large scale farming and investors should also look into waste management and urban landscaping. We are linking our neighbouring states with our light rail system and together we shall walk into the new frontier of development.”

Former Mexican President Vincente Fox, in his keynote address, said Nigeria, especially Ogun, can compete with other developed countries in food production and processing. Fox is optimistic that if the agricultural revolution going on in Ogun is sustained, the “Gateway” state would soon attract developed nations to the coun-

try. To actualise this feat, Fox said the state needs to mobilise youths and imbibe in them the ‘can do spirit’.

He urged the government to inculcate commercial and mechanised farming in the educational system and convince youths that they can be successful in life as farmers.

Fox urged the Federal Government to boost the productivity of farmers through technology. He said Mexico, which was not producing enough food before his tenure, has become an agriculture hub, adding “Today, Mexico produces over 70 per cent of foods consumed in the United States and private sector partnership is the secret for achieving the feat.”

Fox said no nation can develop on its own and countries need to partner.

•Amosun

He said: “Private participation is the solution to development, as it builds capacity and saves the government money which can be used in developing other sectors.

Government should also build technology, but it should be private sector driven. This is the formula for development.”

Ogun State is seated on a land mass of 16,409.26sq kilometers and over 80 per cent is arable land. The state has a favourable climate for the cultivation of cash and food crops all year round, as well as for livestock rearing.

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

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HE Alumni Association of the Adeyemi College of Education (ACE), Ondo, has urged the Federal Government to urgently resolve its differences with the College of Education Staff Union (COEASU).

It said the union’s strike had paralysed activities in Colleges of Education and polytechnics.

Speaking on ACE’s Golden Jubilee celebration, the association said it should have been shifted because of the strike.

Lagos schools teach Chinese

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HE Lagos State government has begun the pilot teaching of Chinese Language (Mandarin) in five schools.

Commissioner for Education Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye said the pilot programme started last year at Bolade Junior Grammar School, Oshodi; Ikeja Junior Grammar School; Immaculate Heart Comprehensive Junior High School, Maryland; Mende Junior High School, Maryland and New Era Junior Girls School, Surulere.

She said the state had also introduced the teaching of German Language through a partnership with a German school.

Mrs. Oladunjoye said: “Birch Freeman Senior High School, Surulere, is the pilot school for teaching German Language.

Already, our officials have visited the school to ascertain the level of commitment of the German Embassy to the project.”

She said consultants in the Lagos Mandarin Junior Club had developed and demonstrated the use of the Chinese Language software proposed for primary and secondary schools.

The commissioner said the state was studying the software and a decision would be made soon.

She said 35 pupils selected from the state’s six education districts went to PortoNovo, Republic of Benin, for an Easter camp school exchange programme.

•From left: Lead Specialist for Health, Nutrition and Population in Africa Dr. Don Bundy; Executive Director, Partnership for Child Development Imperial College, London, Dr. Lesley Drake and Special Adviser to the Osun State Governor on O-Meals Mrs. Funmi Adeyi interacting with pupils of the AUD Government Elementary School in Isale Osun, Osogbo...yesterday.

Ondo chiefs allege death threat in petition to police

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IVE chiefs in Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State have petitioned the Commissioner of Police, Isaac Eke, alleging threat to their lives.

They are Chiefs Alfred Monehin, Busayo Adeyeye, Olamigoke Bamidele, Olorunsola Olajide and Eniola Monehin.

They said they had been receiving messages containing death threats and some of their properties had been vandalised since they installed a new Olofun of Irele

From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

late last year, after a court sacked the former monarch, Oba Olarewaju Lebi.

In a petition signed by their lawyer, Bode Famakinwa, the chiefs alleged that the messages were sent by 13 people, including Lebi; Irele Council Caretaker Chairman Tunji Oladele; Olu Omonodi and Aji Ilemighan, among others.

They urged the police boss to provide security for them.

Their lawyer said: “These chiefs are urgently crying for thorough police investigation and it is highly expected that the culprits would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

“Already, our clients have been rendered homeless.

Their properties, worth millions of Naira, were damaged. Some were injured by the above named persons.

We urge you to quickly intervene in this matter because the former D.P.O who was transferred was aiding

and supporting these lawless people and left our clients unprotected.”

Lebi’s lawyer, Mr. Olumide Ogunje, said the chiefs were fond of raising “unnecessary alarm”.

Ogunje said the monarch was not after the chiefs’ lives.

He alleged that the petitioners were behind the crisis in the community.

Ogunje said Lebi enjoys the people’s support and would win the case before the Appeal Court.

‘

These chiefs are urgently crying for thorough police investigation and it is highly expected that the culprits would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

’

Lawmakers hail Ajimobi for changes in education

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HE Oyo State House of Assembly Committee on Education has hailed Governor Abiola Ajimobi on the transformation of educational institutions.

The Committee Chairman, Olusegun Ajanaku, spoke during the committee’s visit to some educational institutions in the state.

From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

Ajanaku said with the infrastructure available in schools, the standard of education will improve.

He said the records show an improvement in the number of teachers in schools, hailing the governor for allocating 35 per cent of the 2014 budget to education.

Ajanaku urged teachers to rededicate themselves to selfless service and give their best always.

Inspecting the Science Laboratory under construction at Eleta High School in Ibadan, the committee complained that the work was slow and substandard and directed the contractor to appear before it.

At the office of the Board of Technical Education (BOTAVED), the principal said all colleges in the state had been accredited.

The Executive Secretary of the Board, Mrs. Ronke Makanjuola, hailed Ajimobi on the prompt release of grants to colleges and procuring equipment needed to standardise technical educa-

tion.

The committee also visited the Federal College Special, Oyo; Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo; Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo; Community High School, Kudeti, Ibadan; The Polytechnic, Ibadan; the State Universal Education Board’s (SUBEB’s) office and the Ministry of Education.

THE NATION THURSDAY MAY 22, 2014

8

NEWS •Ebonyi State Governor Martin Elechi (fourth right; his deputy, Chief Dave Umahi (fourth left); President, PSN Pharmaceuticals, Olumide Akintayo (fifth left); Chairman PSN Ebonyi State branch, Dr. Collette Elechi; and others during the company’s representatives’ visit to the governor.

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Osun politicians warned

SUN State Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Maishanu has urged politicians to act in consonance with the electoral act or face the wrath of the law.

He spoke yesterday in Osogbo at a meeting with representatives of political parties.

Maishanu warned governorship candidates and their supporters to shun anything that will disrupt the peace in the state.

He said security chiefs were determined to maintain security as the August 9 governorship election draws nearer.

Reading relevant sections of the Electoral Acts to the

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

politicians, Maishanu warned them against maiming, arson, killing and other crimes during and after the election.

He urged parties to always obtain police permit before embarking on any political activity, stressing that any political activity held without the knowledge of the police would be seen as illegal.

Maishanu advised politicians to stop peddling rumours and making unfounded allegations that heat up the polity.

He urged them to be tolerant and persevere in the interest of peace.

Boko Haram: SSANU urges Jonathan to expose sponsors

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From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

HE Western Zone of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (SSANU), has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to expose the sponsors of the deadly sect, Boko Haram, in order for peace to return back to the country.

This was contained in a letter addressed by the union to the president through the governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, entitled,” Urgent need for decisive action on insecurity and terrorism in Nigeria” signed by SSANU National Vice-President Southwest, Comrade Alfred Jimoh and Zonal Secretary, Comrade Abdussorbur Salam.

The protest letter was submitted to the Oyo State Governor’s office by the union shortly after a peaceful rally from the University of Ibadan (UI) premises to the Agodi secretariat, where over 500 SSANU members appealed for the release of the about 200 female students abducted in Chibok, Borno State last month.

According to SSANU, the President should be courageous enough, to expose all high profile culprits and sponsors of the group because the country is now sitting on keg of gun powder waiting to explode.

The union noted that the abduction of over 200 female students in Chibok over 30 days ago has introduced a dangerous dimension to the current spate of insecurity in the land.

NSCDC to secure national assets in Lagos HE Commandant of

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the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Lagos, Mr. Donatus Izuka Ikemefuna, has assured Lagos residents that the corps will ensure the safety of residents and businesses.

He called for the support of residents and other security agencies to actualise the NSCDC’s mandate.

Ikemefuna debunked allegations that civil defenders abandon their primary responsibility to secure politicians, saying none of his men was attached to a politician.

Speaking with The Nation in Lagos yesterday, he said NSCDC men were only assigned to protect critical

By Uyoatta Eshiet

national infrastructure and collaborate with other security agencies to protect life and property in the nation.

Ikemefuna said the core mandate of the corps is the protection of national assets, such as petroleum pipelines, power installations, electricity dams, airports, waterways, sea ports and government secretariats, among others.

Others are: disaster management; supervision and monitoring of private guard companies and the gathering of intelligence reports.

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Police foil robbery in Ogun

OLICEMEN in Ogun State have recovered a Port-Harcourt-bound luxury bus that was snatched by robbers.

The command said a patrol team attached to the Odogbolu Division recovered the bus, owned by a transport firm in Lagos, on Monday.

A robbery gang snatched the bus, marked LSD 235 XJ, and its passengers on the Sagamu-Benin expressway.

Police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi said the

•Recover luxury bus

From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

police responded to a distress call and pursued the robbers.

He said the robbers abandoned the bus and ran into the bush.

Adejobi said: “The command has viewed the case of snatching a Luxury bus from many angles and the Commissioner of Police, Okoye Ikemefuna, has ordered the

Department of Criminal Investigation to look into the matter.

“We cannot just see it as a robbery incident. We need to widen the scope of our investigation to have clear insight into the incident. Efforts would be made to apprehend the fleeing robbers, particularly the injured ones, as the investigation team collaborates with medical practitioners and traditional healers in the area, since the

suspects will surely visit them (medical practitioners) for treatment.”

Men of the Ishara Division, led by Mr. Mosho Akapo, dislodged a robbery gang at Fidiwo on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway after a gun battle.

The robbers escaped into the bush. Some of them were injured.

Long barrel guns, one English double barreled pistol with number 101 and some ammunition were recovered from the scene.

Catholic bishops write conference delegates

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HE Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has written National Conference delegates, urging them to resolve the question of the place of religion in the country.

The eight-page document under, is titled: “Religion and State in Nigeria.”

It dealt with the question of the place of religion in the state and was endorsed by CBCN President, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, Archbishop of Jos. The document was circulated to delegates yesterday.

CBCN said the place of religion in the state raised a lot of heated debate in previous conferences and has started raising acrimonious dust in the ongoing conference.

The bishops said religion is a powerful social force, which could be deployed for good or evil.

They noted that the role the political system assigns to religion has a lot to do about what impact it could make in the nation, good or evil.

The bishops said though they were convinced that even in the circumstances of religious pluralism, religion has been playing a positive role in the lives of Nigerians at various levels, there have been many challenges and issues which needed to be courageously addressed to create an atmosphere for greater positive impact.

According to the bishops, the country’s problem seems to be how to reconcile two apparently conflicting principles, both enshrined in the nation’s Constitution.

(A) That Nigeria is “one nation under God,” which the bishops said means that the

•Warn about dangers of mishandling religion From Onyedi Ojiabor,

Assistant Editor and Dele Anofi, Abuja

state is, therefore, neither against nor indifferent to religion. (b) That there shall be no state religion in Nigeria, either at the federal or state level (article 10 of the Constitution).

They noted that “this is what many people understand as Nigeria being a “secular state.”

In this dilemma, the bishops said “we need to agree on how far the state is to be involved in religion and in the internal affairs of religious communities.”

To resolve the problems, they highlighted two major concerns, which they hope patriotic Nigerians, Muslims and Christians can accept. (a) “National unity and integration, with a priority on our common citizenship for every one every where in Nigeria. This means seeking and stressing our common grounds of both challenges and values, within the obvious diversities in the faith that we hold and practice. (b) “Equity and even handedness if and when government intervenes in religious matters . This would go beyond the provisions of Art. 10 of our Constitution, which merely decrees that government, both federal and state, shall not adopt any religion as state religion.”

They posited that from the above, it is clear that “we have agreed to exclude two opposing extreme positions,” -”to make Nigeria a godless state, where government would have nothing to do

with religion in any form.

“This is how some people have understood the expression ‘secular state’, although that word need not be interpreted in this way.

“To make Nigeria a religious state, in which a presumed majority religion would be the official religion, contrary to Art.10 of our Constitution.

“We hear that this is what the Boko Haram terrorists claim to be fighting for: to make Nigeria an Islamic state in which the Sharia Law, according to their own understanding, would hold sway on all citizens.”

CBCN said two options open to the country are (a) “That we give official recognition to some religious communities, and these will receive government patronage in ways to be worked out.

“This would include promoting and financing the religious laws of each group and maybe paying the salaries of their officials and staff.

“This ‘multi-religious option’ would practically abrogate, or at least seriously compromise the provisions of Art.10 of our Constitution.

There would also be need for a Ministry of Religion to handle all religious matters.”

Another option, according to CBCN, is to let every religious group take care of its affairs, within the ambit of a general law, which is the same for all.

They noted that ‘in this case, government would have to reduce its involvement with religious matters to the barest minimum, and even here, equity and even handedness would have to be maintained,

to ensure justice for all.”

CBCN said there was no doubt that “we have been living with dangerous ambiguities and confusion in these matters,” which in its opinion, “is at least partly due to our historical baggage.”

They noted that the baggage started with the pre-colonial “caliphate, which for all intents and purposes was an Islamic state, and was continued in the British colonial policy of parallel governance, despite the famous amalgamation” of 1914.

CBCN said the British era could be described as “two nations under the British monarch” and lamented that for the past 50 years since independence, the Nigerian state has been grappling with the difficult task of building “one nation under God.” CBCN said: “For the good of our nation, we make a passionate plea that Islam must now be ready to be just a religion like others in the country. Otherwise, the present and future unity and religious harmony in our nation will continue to be seriously jeopardised.

“This is mainly a northern problem and this largely for historical reasons. At least until recently, Muslims in the middle belt and especially the Southwest, have lived comfortably with their brothers and sisters of Christian faith, without seeking special attention or status.”

The bishops concluded that “Our recent experience of religious terrorism has shown how much havoc can be caused in the nation if religion is badly handled.”

9

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

NEWS

Boko Haram kills 48 in attacks near Chibok Continued from page 4

•From left: Director Naval Information, Commodore Kabir Aliyu; Chief of Policy and Plans, Naval Headquarters, Rear Adm. Ameen Ikioda and Chief of Administration, Rear Adm. Joe Aikhomu, at a news conference to mark 58th anniversary of Navy in Abuja…yesterday.

•Chief Executive, FRSC, Mr.Osita Chidoka speaking during the air rescue demonstration at Giri, in Abuja…yesterday. With him (from left) are: Managing Director, Flying Doctors Nigeria, Dr. Ola Orekunrin; Deputy Corps Public Education officer FRSC Abuja, Mr. Bisi Kazeem; Corps Marshal and Managing Director and Chief Executive officer, OAS Helicopters Leasing and Services, Captain Evarest Nnaji

U.S., UK condemn explosion Continued from page 4

strongly condemns the multiple bomb blasts in the city of Jos on May 20, as well as the bombing in the SabonGari neighborhood of the city of Kano on May 18.

These vicious attacks on Nigerian civilians and the abduction last month of more than 200 girls in Chibok are unconscionable acts and starkly demonstrate the criminality of the perpetrators who continue to target defenseless civilians.

“We have seen reports that tensions are high in Jos, and we join the voices of those who are appealing for calm.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims.

“The United States met last weekend in Paris with Nigerian authorities as well as our partners and allies to discuss the way forward on confronting the regional se-

curity threat Boko Haram poses to Nigeria and West Africa.

“Countries agreed to work together to establish a regional counterterrorism strategy, strengthen regional cooperation, including with respect to intelligence sharing and border security, and mobilize support for sanctions against Boko Haram at the United Nations.

“The search for the missing school girls of Chibok is ongoing. The Nigerians are in the lead. We’re continuing to lend our unique assets and capabilities to assist in the search.

“We continue to stand with the Nigerian government and people as they grapple with violent extremism.”

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said: “I condemn this cowardly, inhumane crime. My

thoughts are with those who have been bereaved or injured.

“This attack on the market was a transparent effort to create tension between different groups in a city well known for its diversity where people of different ethnicities and religions live alongside each other. It has resulted in death and tragedy for both Christians and Muslims alike.

“I welcome the restraint shown by the population in the face of this provocation and reiterate the United Kingdom’s continued support to the people of Nigeria.

“Last weekend in Paris the international community and regional leaders made clear their collective determination to support Nigeria and defeat the scourge of terrorism. The Jos attack has only strengthened our resolve.”

Mbu warns protesters Continued from page 4

ply. We will go ahead.”

Responding to a question, Mrs. Ezekwesili said the group would not restrict its campaign to Abuja.

She said the members would soon visit Chibok to identify with the parents of the abducted girls.

The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) is expected to hold protest simultaneously across the 36 states and the FCT. The NUT will demand that the government declares emergency on the state of education and make lives secure in the school system by guaranteeing conducive and

peaceful learning enviroment.

NUT President Michael Olukoya said this yesterday at a news conference in Abuja.

Olukoya said the abduction of the Chibok girls is a stumbling block to the realisation of making education available to all by the year 2015 and added that it is important to take insurance cover for both students and teachers in the vulnerable political environment.

He said: “All schools nationwide shall be closed as the day will be our day of protest against the abduction of Chibok female students and the heartless murder of

173 teachers.

“We remain resolute in our resolve to continue the campaign even as we mourn the death of our colleagues until our girls are brought back safe and alive and the perpetrators of the heinous crime are brought to book.

“At this juncture, we demand that both the Federal and State Governments should exhibit true concern to the families of the 173 teachers, 170 from Borno State and three from Yobe State, who lost their lives to the barbaric, uncivilised and wicked acts of terror by paying them adequate compensation to assist in soothing their misery.

account supported by other locals.

“They began shooting and set fire to our homes. We had to flee to the bush. They killed 20 of our people,” he added.

Many of those who fled the Alagarno attack ran to Chibok.

The military said it had deployed heavily to the area to find the 223 girls who have remained in captivity for over one month.

Mallam Umaru Saina, one of the villagers who spoke with correspondents on said, a young woman in the village was missing. She was believed to have been abducted during the attack, since nobody knows the where abouts of the woman.

“They destroyed everything we had and burnt down our remaining food after stealing what they needed. What is most painful is that they did not spare our kids. They killed kids, women and men.” He said.

Alagarno village is about 30 kilometers from Chibok town where about 275 female students sitting to their WAEC at the Government Secondary School, were abducted by the insurgents, and about 117 kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.

In a similar development, the civilian Joint Task Force intercepted about nine Boko Haram elements caught trying to get into Maiduguri.

Sources close to the JTF said they were handed over to the military authorities.

Major world powers, including the United States, are offering varying levels of assistance with the rescue mission.

Bitrus said despite claims of a military build-up in the area, troops had not responded to the latest attack.

“While the gunmen were fleeing, three of their vehicles broke down and they have stayed behind to fix them. They were there up to this morning” with no response from the military, he said.

Apagu Maidaga of Alagarno village said residents hid in the bush and watched while the extremists set ablaze their homes of thatch-roofed mud huts.

“We saw our village up in flames as we hid in the bush waiting for the dawn; we lost everything,” he told The Associated Press in a telephone call.

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) yesterday called for a panel to probe the source of funding for Boko Haram’s activities.

It has submitted a proposal to the United Nations (UN) Security Council and the European Union (EU) on the need to set up an independent panel to find out how the sect’s activities are financed.

HRW’s Nigeria Researcher Mrs Mausi Segun, at a news conference in Lagos, said an international panel would ensure accountability in such a probe, adding: “The military cannot investigate itself.”

She said “severe” human rights abuses by security agents in the course of fighting insurgency had further aggravated the situation.

“There have been several abuses. In the Northeast, scores of men have disappeared after being arrested. How do you get the support of the people when Continued on page 69

10

THE NATION THURSDAY MAY 22, 2014

NEWS EKITI 2014

Akande, Buhari, Tinubu, others storm Ekiti for Fayemi

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DO-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, was agog yesterday as the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) converged on the town to present the flag to Governor Kayode Faqyemi, the party’s candidate in June 21 election.

The presentation of the flag to Fayemi, which was led by the National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium was also witnessed by other party leaders, including former Head of State, Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari and former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In a brief but apt message, Akande stated that the leadership of the party considered Fayemi deserving of a second term based on his exemplary performance in his first term administration of the state.

Other leaders in attendance were former presidential candidate Nuhu Ribadu, former House of Representatives Speaker, Aminu Masari, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu and former Kaduna State governor Gen. Jafaru Isa. APC governors present at the rally included Alhaji Tanko AlMakura (Nasarawa); Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe); Rauf Aregbesola (Osun); Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara); Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo); Rochas Okorocha (Imo); Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); Adams Oshiomhole (Edo); Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) and AbdulAziz Yari (Zamfara).

Also, former governors in attendance were Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo,

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

(Ekiti); Chief Olusegun Osoba (Ogun); Senator Bukola Saraki (Kwara), Timipre Sylva (Bayelsa); Senator Danjuma Goje (Gombe); Senator Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa) and Segun Oni (Ekiti).

Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Prof. Modupe Adelabu; her Osun counterpart, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori and Fayemi’s wife, Bisi attended the rally.

Members of the two chambers of the National Assembly and members of the Ekiti State House of Assembly also graced the occasion.

The atmosphere at the flag presentation was sombre in view of the insecurity and loss of lives that had befallen the country in recent times.

The about 267 girls abducted in Chibok Borno State, the yet to be found, even as the terrorists keep killing people.

A minute silence was observed in honour of the victims of Jos bombing which claimed about 118 lives two days ago.

Fayemi explained his plans for another term in office, noting that while many achievements had been recorded in the three and a half years of his administration, “a lot more still needs to be done”.

The APC candidate assured that his administration would remain focused on the popular ideals upon which it rode into office in October 2010. He said that the need to build a society where all Ekiti people would be economically empowered

•APC candidate speaks on plan as he gets flag •Party scales down rally for Jos bomb victims, others The election day is not a tea party. You have to be ready; I always say this: power is not served ala carte. –– Tinubu urged him to present himself again for the electoral contest.

He said: “For me personally, your mandate has caused me to reflect on my own life’s journey; a journey that we have shared in the last four years.

I have had cause to reflect upon the values instilled in me by my upbringing and by my faith.

“I was raised to understand that the life well-lived is a continuum of service; service to God and service to humanity. Indeed, my mentors and parents impressed upon me that service to God is demonstrated by serving others, positively impacting the people around us, and demonstrating a fierce resolve to leave people better than they were when they first met you.

“Leadership itself is merely the opportunity to serve and power is a God-given resource with which we are meant to change lives for the better. With great power comes an even greater responsibility to serve.

“I went into politics because I believe that committed purpose-driven servant-leadership can provide people with the tools that will em-

power them control over their destinies”.

Tinubu, urging the people to come out in their numbers to vote for APC on the election day, maintained that no one attained power on a platter of gold.

According to him, the “electorate should not fear the presence of soldiers and policemen on the streets that days as they were being paid from the resources of Nigerians.

“APC is the cure of Nigeria’s headache, ineptitude, insecurity, poverty and unemployment. On the morning of election, you have nothing to fear. Don’t be afraid; go there and demand for your rights. You will not have this opportunity again until another four years. This is the opportunity to show your happiness and the rejection of the property development party.

“The election day is not a tea party. You have to be ready; I always say this: power is not served ala carte.”

Imo State Governor and Chairman, Progressives Governors’ Forum, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, prayed that “may God never allow a bad man to rule Ekiti State again.”

According to the governor, Fayemi is eminently qualified to rule in any part of the country.

Okorocha said: “Many may not agree that Nigeria today is going through a very difficult moment. Let

me say that a nation like Nigeria that is facing extreme danger of daily bombings, killings and blood-letting should better seek the wisest cause of action and not of mourning.”

Referring to the Tuesday’s bombing in Jos, Plateau State capital, he said: “This is indeed not the nation that we all dreamt of. Suffice it to say that we cannot all fold our arms on daily mourning and crying, something must be done to bring about this change in the way things are done in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

To Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should use the electoral card reader for Ekiti and Osun governorship polls to prevent what he described as “the cloning of voter cards and voter register”.

Aregbesola said: “For the transparency and credibility of these elections in Ekiti and Osun and subsequent elections, the electronic card must be used. We have on good authority that the permanent voter cards are being cloned by these people. If the INEC is committed to ensuring that the will of the people is translated to the return of candidates elected,thentheuseofelectronicvoter card is a must.

“It is a shame that our nation has been brought to its kneels. It is so

painful that today, we mourn and everyday we are mourning. Can we continue to have such people in government?”

Oni, who maintained that the APC was a new political order for the country, urged the electorate to vote for the APC candidate, saying: “We are not here to enthrone mediocrity but for Ekiti people to have a government that our children will benefit from.

“Anybody that our children will not see as a role model, I will never endorse such a person. We don’t want a governor who will pass under the barbed wire. We can no longer afford a governor that people will be asking Ekiti people what is wrong with them”.

He added: “We are not here to enthrone mediocrity, but for Ekiti people to have a government that our children will benefit from.

“Anybody that our children will not see as a role model, I will never endorse such a person. We don’t want a governor who will pass under the barbed wire. We can no longer afford a governor that people will be asking Ekiti people what is wrong with them”.

Oshiomhole warned Ekiti people to be careful not to elect “a candidate who was tried, failed, impeached and charged to court for corruption.”

He explained that he noticed a great change in the state brought about by the Fayemi administration, adding that the whole world is watching how Ekiti poll will be conducted.

INEC explains non-deployment of card readers for Ekiti, Osun polls From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

T

•Governor Fayemi with the flag...yesterday.

PHOTO: NIYI ADENIRAN

PDP postpones Ekiti campaign’s flag-off over Jos blasts

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HE flag-off of Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) campaign for Ekiti State governorship election by President Goodluck Jonathan and other party leaders, earlier scheduled for today, has been postponed.

PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, announced yesterday that the National Working Committee of the party postponed the event by one week.

According to Metuh, “the postponement is in honour of victims of the unfortunate bomb blast in Jos, Plateau State capital.”

He restated PDP’s commitment to the plights of Nigerians in the light of the security challenges facing the nation.

“Our hearts reach out to the victims and their families and

HE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has defended why the card reads will not be deployed in the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections.

The electoral body said the competitive nature of the election will not allow it to toy with the idea, hence the need to stick to the Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) which will be used in the country for the first time.

Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman Mr Kayode Idowu, argued that the non-deployment of card readers would in no way affect the credibility of the Ekiti and Osun elections.

He said: “ The commission will be introducing Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for the first time in Nigeria’s electoral process during the two governorship elections. These are major elections, with prospects of high contestation; and it would be overreaching to introduce electronic card readers at the same time with PVCs. The commission’s plan is, and has always been: to introduce the PVCs in the upcoming governorship elections; pilot the card readers with PVCs in smaller by-elections that will come up before 2015; then, deploy the card readers with PVCs for the general election.

Idowu explained that the wisdom of this incremental procedure should be obvious from lessons learnt from other countries; for instance, the 2012 general election in Ghana where challenges that arose from simultaneous introduction of voter smart cards and card readers compelled the country to shift voting in some areas to the following day before the election could be concluded.

Experiences are meant to be learnt from, and one way of learning from experience is to redesign approaches towards the same objective,” he insisted.

Ekiti indigenes in Europe to meet over poll

•Fayemi’s group: it was delayed for fear of failure we pray that all Nigerians unite as we say no to terrorism.

“Finally, we pray that the insurgents will release our abducted girls for them to reunite with their families,” the party publicity secretary stated.

But the Spokesperson of Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation, Dimeji Daniels, while reacting to the lastminute cancellation of the PDP rally, described the reason given as “comical and a reflection of the fact that the PDP is indeed suffering from General Anxiety Disorder Syndrome (GADS).”

Daniels claimed that the PDP rally was cancelled “for fear of failure as the party has self-destruct from the inside.”

According to him, Jonath-

an had “cancelled his earlier planned attendance in view of the internal bickering associated with the strange and undemocratic manner of its controversial flag-bearer, Ayodele Fayose.”

He claimed that the intraparty problems would have rubbished the so-called rally, hence the reason it was unavoidably cancelled.

He said: “The enormity of the problems confronting the party owing to the controversial style of its candidate would have rubbished the rally. This is why it was cancelled.

“The attempt of the PDP to draw cheap public sympathy from this is another of its insensitive approach to serious issues affecting the lives of defenceless

Nigerians. After all, Nigerians know which party was dancing Azonto in Kano and popping champagne in Ibadan few hours after many were killed in the Yanyan explosion in Abuja.”

Daniels added that it was usual for the PDP which is in control of the government at the centre to accuse others of its numerous failings.

He noted further that it was on record that APC governors and leaders have shown more concern for victims of insurgency in the country in the manner they have “always taken care of the victims through donations and love, way before the PDP-led government woke up from its lethargy.”

B

ARRING any last-minute hitch, Ekiti indigenes living in Europe will on Saturday meet in Frankfurt to deliberate on the coming governorship election in the state.

The convener of the Frankfurt gathering, Femi Awoniyi, who is also the publisher of bimonthly magazine, The African Courier, made this known in a statement.

Awoniyi said: “We feel that the current situation in Nigeria is so grave that there is need for all of us - both home and abroad - to become actively engaged for a strong, stable and secure Nigeria that we all desire.”

He disclosed that the Frankfurt meeting will review the political situation in Ekiti State, especially concerning the coming governorship election, which is “taking place at a point in our history when there is widespread concern both nationally and internationally about the direction in which our country is moving.”

Awoniyi added that the group would take a position on the election at the Saturday meeting, which it will also communicate to the people of the state This, he added, “is imperative because as citizens, it is incumbent on those in the Diaspora also to make their voice heard at such a critical moment as the coming election.”

11

THE NATION THURSDAY MAY 22, 2014

NEWS APC RALLY IN ADO-EKITI

•Former Ogun State Governor Aremo Olusegun Osoba (left); his Ekiti State counterpart, Chief Segun Oni; Ekiti Deputy Governor Prof Modupe Adelabu and APC Interim National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande at a mega rally /Presentation of flag to Governor Kayode Fayemi at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, Ado-Ekiti...yesterday.

•Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi (left); his Osun State counterpart Rauf Aregbesola; AbdulFattah Ahmed (Kwara); Babatunde Fashola (Lagos) and Senator Bukola Saraki.

•Former Governor of Bayelsa State Chief Timipre Sylva (left); Senator Osita Izunaso and former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nasir El-Rufai. Behind them is Ondo State APC chair Isaacs Kekemeke.

•Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and Osun State Deputy Governor Mrs Grace Laoye-Tomori.

•Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari

• Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura (left); his Rivers State counterpart Rotimi Amaechi and APC leader Ogbonnaya Onu

• Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole addressing the crowd.

•APC state chairmen

•Artistes

•Senator Babajide Omoworare (left) and member, House of Representatives from Osun State Yinka Ajayi

•Senator Seye Adetunmbi (left) and Babafemi Ojudu.

PHOTOS: NIYI ADENIRAN

BUSINESS

12

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

At the moment there is an average of about 18 hours per day of constant power supply to different parts of the country. This feat was brought about by the implementation of the integrated power sector reform programme anchored on the power roadmap.

- Minister of Information, Labaran Maku

Alleged libel: NEXIM Bank’s MD sues CNPP’s secretary for N600m

Caverton plans African growth after Nigeria’s Exchange listing

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AVERTON Offshore Support Group, a Ni gerian company that provides marine and aviation services to the oil and gas industry, plans to expand in four new countries after listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange yesterday.

“We’re looking at taking our aviation and offshore logistics support services to Congo, Mozambique, Angola and Ghana” over the next five years, the Chief Executive Officer, Olabode Makanjuola, has said.

“We’re invited by the international oil companies and investors in these countries,” he told Bloomberg.

Caverton listed 3.35 billion shares at N9.50 each on the Nigerian bourse, it said in an e-mailed statement. That gave the company, which provides oil field services for multinationals including Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corporation. and Total SA, a market capitalisation of about N32 billion, equivalent of $196 million.

The share listing is a boost to the stock market in Africa’s biggest economy, Nigeria Stock Exchange’s Chief Executive Officer, Oscar Onyema said at the listing ceremony.

The NSE is targeting a market capitalisation of $1 trillion from the current $75 billion estimated by Bloomberg.

Caverton is the second company to list in Nigeria this year, the first being Seplat Petroleum Development Co. (SEPL) Caverton shares fell 9.7 percent to N8.58 as of the close of business in its second day of trading.

The company, which currently operates in Nigeria and Cameroon, plans to buy seven new helicopters and one fixedwing aircraft by the third quarter to boost its aviation support services, Makanjuola said.

DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$117.4/barrel Cocoa -$2,686.35/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢95.17pound Gold -$1,396.9/troy Sugar -$163/lb MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE -N11.4 trillion JSE -Z5.112trillion NYSE -$10.84 trillion LSE -£61.67 trillion RATES Inflation -8% Treasury Bills -10.58%(91d) Maximum lending -30% Prime lending -15.87% Savings rate -1% 91-day NTB -15% Time Deposit -5.49% MPR -12% Foreign Reserve $45b FOREX CFA -0.2958 EUR -206.9 £ -242.1 $ -156 ¥ -1.9179 SDR -238 RIYAL -40.472

By Joseph Jibueze

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• From left, Managing Director/ CE0, UNICEM, Mr. Olivier Lenoir, Managing Director/ CEO, Lafarge WAPCO, Mr, Joe Hudson and Managing Director/ CEO, Ashaka Cement Plc, Mr. Leonard Palka at a Media briefing organized by Lafarge WAPC0 on the Composition and Pigmentaion of the use of Cement in Nigeria held at the Company’s Head office, Ikoyi on Wednesday in Lagos.

PHOTO: ADEOLA SOLOMON

Lagos pays N50b first tranche of N275b bond

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AGOS State has com menced settlement of the N275billion Bond series issued with the payment of N50billion first tranche.

The Commissioner for Finance, Ayo Gbeleyi, who made this known yesterday while briefing newsmen in Alausa, Ikeja, said the fiveyear bond that started in 2009 for infrastructural financing, was fully redeemed in February this year, adding that the government has commenced payment in order to boost the confidence of investors.

Gbeleyi said the N275 billion bond was oversubscribed due to the growing confidence of investors in the state’s economy.

“The bond series began in 2009 with the issuance of N50

By Ekene Okoro

billion in tranche One (which has matured and fully redeemed) and N57.5 billion in 2010 in tranche 2 of the same series expected to mature in 2017,” he said.

He explained that under Series Two of the bond issuance, “the state in 2012, raised N80 billion in tranche One, which is maturing in 2019, and eventually sealed the deal in 2013 when it raised N87.5 billion last tranche of the series Two. With N50 billion offset, the outstanding in the state’s bond programme is now N225 billion.”

He said in an effort to ensure the continuing repayment of the bond debts, the government has created a Consolidated Debt Service

Account (CDSA) managed by independent trustees to which 15 per cent of the state’s monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) is transferred.

He said the state currently generates about N20 billion from IGR monthly, while as at March 2014, the CDSA had accumulated N47.8 billion.

Gboleyi explained that all indices guiding purposeful borrowing are benchmarked against international best practices, and the size of the state’s economy, allows Lagos to borrow, stating that all monies raised through the bond programme, are channeled into capital projects which could bring more money to build in the future.

The Commissioner also explained that the state’s GDP the US dollar stands at $100

• Fashola

billion as of 2013, which accounts for 20 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP, and is equivalent to that of some 15 states combined, and larger than that of most African countries, including Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Kenya.

He said the state will continue to post impressive (investment grade) risk ratings.

He said in the risk rating of the state economy by Fitch, it moved from AA- stable in 2012 to AA -positive in 2013, and from A in 2012 by Global Credit Rating (GCR) to A+ in 2013.

Cement manufacturers kick against new policy

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EMENT manufacturers have kicked against the new government’s policy which restricts certain categories of the product to specific uses.

They said the policy will lead to increase in the price of cement, as well as result in its scarcity as there would be difficulty in responding to the new requirement in the production lines Speaking at a joint press briefing in Lagos, the manufacturers, comprising Lafarge WAPCO, United Cement Company of Nigeria (UNICEM) and Ashaka Cement, said the restriction placed on the usage of 32.5 grade of cement to plastering only, is an indirect ban on the product. They said it is unacceptable to them.

According to the Managing Director/CEO, Lafarge WAPCO, Mr Joe Hudson, the 32.5 grade is not the cause of building collapse in Nigeria, adding that the

• ‘It will result in high price, shortage’

By Toba Agboola

grade is the best multipurpose cement which has been in use in many counties for many years.

His words: “The new policy of the government to restrict the 32.5 grade will affect the investment on cement. There will be a big impact on the capacity because it will reduce the production of cement. The policy is capable of causing confusion.

“The 32.5 grade has served and is still serving manufacturers, builders and corporate organisations well. The greatest buildings in Nigeria, like the Cocoa House, the NITEL building and other skycrappers, were constructed using this par-

ticular brand of cement.

They are still standing and being used.

“Coming to the grassroots level, this is the brand used in constructing most of our residential buildings which have stood the test of time, he said, adding that rather than laying the blame of building collapse at the doorstep of the so called inferior quality of 32.5 grade of cement, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), should focus on how to implement the building code of 2006, dealing with cement application and the use of unqualified engineers, among others.

He said the argument that the 32.5 grade of cement is being produced for profiteering is not true and unfair.

The Managing Director, Ashaka Cement, Leonard Palka, said the recent directive by the SON is unprofessional and capable of killing

the industry,arguing that the restriction place on the 32.5 is not acceptable to them.

“We have been in this business for more that 40 years, and for someone to now come and tell us that 32.5 is of less grade, is unprofessional. The claim that the grade has been banned in some countries, or that it is the cause of building collapse is absurd,” he said.

The Managing Director, United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited (UNICEM), Mr Olivier Lenoire said it is not fair to say that cement is the cause of building collapse.

He said the issue on ground is more of competition and not technical.

Last week, SON came out with a new policy on cement.

The agency placed restriction on the 32.5 grade, urging manufacturers to commence the production of the high-grade 42.5MPA.

HE Managing Director of Nigerian-ExportImport Bank ((NEXIM), Mr Roberts Orya, has sued the Secretary General of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) Chief Willy Ezegwu for alleged libel.

In the writ of summons filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the plaintiff is claiming N600million damages for defamation of his character through a press release issued by the defendant.

He is also praying for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant or his agents “from further publishing or causing to be published the said words or any words similarly defamatory of the plaintiff.”

Orya said the statement issued by CNPP on May 16 is a “vicious, malicious and vitriolic attack” on his integrity and reputation.

He said the release was published on the internet using the defendant’s personal e-mail address.

It was entitled: “CNPP calls for the suspension of the MD of NEXIM Bank… demand immediate probe of N200billion stabilisation fund.”

CNPP, in the statement, sought Orya’s immediate suspension for alleged dereliction of duty, gross abuse of office and misapplication of the N200 billion stabilisation and loan guarantee fund advanced the agency by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

CNPP alleged that Orya “has turned this critical financial agency that promotes investment and stimulates national industrialisation drive in the import and export sector into a personal fiefdom through the recruitment of unqualified staff, alienation of directorate and executive staff in the decision making process, favouritism in the grant of loans and gross misapplication of agency fund.”

The CNPP Secretary General said the group would “commence daily picketing and mass action at the NEXIM bank headquarters, the EFCC office and the NASS (National Assembly) until Robert Orya is removed from office and a criminal investigation/prosecution process against him is launched by the relevant authorities.”

The plaintiff said the press release, which was sent to various online news media and read by many people, was false.

In a supporting affidavit, Orya said: “The words published aforesaid concerning the plaintiff are malicious, false and untrue and in consequence of the words published aforesaid, the plaintiff’s integrity has been gravely and flagrantly damaged by the defendant.”

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

13

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

14

NEWS Fashola, Oracle consolidate partnership in Dubai

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•Lagos State Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Ben Akabueze speaking at the ministerial press briefing to mark the third anniversary of Governor Babatunde Fashola’s third year anniversary at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja...yesterday. With him are Permanent Secretary, Mrs Iyabowale Aluko (left) and Permanent Secretary, Information and Strategy, Mrs Oluranti Odutola.

PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

AGOS State Governor Babatunde Fashola and Oracle Corporation have consolidated their relationship that will see the state deploy the technolgy firm’s products in delivering services to the people of the state.

The governor and his team visited the United Arab Emirate (UAE) to consolidate on their collaboration between the tech giants and the state government in delivering better e-government services.

According to a statement, the visit provided Oracle the opportunity to showcase its e-business suite to the governments of AbuDhabi and Dubai and to introduce Governor Fashola and his team to other heads

By Lucas Ajanaku

of state in UAE for cooperation and articulation of the state’s requirements on Oracle’s e-Business Suite (eBS).

The governor recalled that the relationship between the state and Oracle dated back to 2001 when the state first deployed Oracle eBS, adding that presently, the tech firm is being used to run all the state financial, human resource, purchasing, inventory management, fixed assets and others. He added that the state is looking at deepening its use of eBS as part of the new initiative to deliver eservices to the citizens According to the governor, through the Ministry of Science and Technology, the state will collaborate with the Dubai Free Trade Zone in the use of Oracle eBS for enterprise resource planning, and a robust mobile solution.

In Abu Dhabi, the governor was received by the Head of Government, Dr. Mohammad Ahmed, who showcased the government’s deployment of Oracle eBS in their shared services platform.

He explained that it is a single platform that serves all facets of the government, increasing effectiveness, efficiency and lowering cost of IT from about AED 636m to

•Fashola

AED36m. The governor also visited the Abu-Dhabi Polytechnic where a programme exists to build nuclear reactors for electricity generation where the authorities agreed to work with the governor in knowledge transfer through sending a delegation to understudy the state.

The President/ Head Application Business Unit for Oracle, Middle East and Africa, Mr. Arun Khehar, assured the governor of its willingness to help the government achieve what Abu Dhabi achieved by sending one of the experts that worked extensively on the Abu-Dhabi project to assist the state.

While taking the team through presentations on the deployment of a smartcity, he said urban performance depends not only on the city’s endowment of hard infrastructure but increasingly so, on the availability and quality of knowledge communication and social infrastructure.

With this, the state government will be working with Oracle on the deployment of its smart city.

Next Thursday is public holiday

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HE Federal Government has declared May 29 as public holiday to mark the 2014 Democracy Day celebrations.

A statement by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Mrs. Fatima Bamidele stated that the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro declared the holiday on behalf of the government.

She said the minister wished Nigerians a warm celebration urging them to support the transformation agenda of the government by participating actively in democratic governance to transform the nation to the next level.

Moro, the statement said, also congratulated Nigerians on the attainment and celebration of another democratic year, urging citizens to join hands with President Goodluck Jonathan in the sustained effort to build a peaceful and united nation.

Sterling Bank plans big for Children’s Day

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TERLING Bank has planned a four-pronged programme to make this year’s edition of the Children’s Day celebration exciting for young ones.

The programmes are: a mathematics competition for primary school pupils, ‘My One Bank’ competition among secondary school pupils, Mother and Child Expo and Children’s Day Party.

Pupils registered for the competition have examination slips that will allow them sit for the mathematics examination holding at the Dola Hall of Caleb International College, Lagos on May 24.

A hundred successful candidates would be alerted via SMS two days after the examination inviting them to an award scheduled to hold on May 29 at the same venue.

The Children’s Day party will hold on May 24 at the Muri Okunola Park, Victoria Island, Lagos in collaboration with various partner brands like Fan Milk, Chi, Farmer’s Choice Sausages and Ruff ‘n’ Tumble.

The ‘My One Bank’ competition would require pupils be-

tween ages five and 17 to draw a bank of their dream. This will cover the structure, the types of products they will offer and identify of their potential customers. The project will run for three months starting from May 24.

While the Mother and Child Expo which will hold between May 24 and 25 at The Haven, Ikeja is designed to encourage a financial culture among children and their mothers A statement by Sterling Bank’s Group Head, Strategy & Communications, Mr. Shina Atilola noted that the various activities of the bank in the education sector are based on the need to invest in “our collective future and create the society we want by investing in our youth.”

It added that the bank has published two books on financial literacy for children and teenagers which were distributed to a school during the Financial Literacy week earlier in the year, while members of the bank’s workforce taught some pupils under its “Volunteer Teaching Programme.”

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THE NATION THURSDAY MAY 22, 2014

NEWS

Delegates bicker over grazing reserves D ELEGATES to the National Conference were divided yesterday over grazing reserves for nomadic herdsmen.

The division became apparent as northern delegates and their counterparts from other regions argued along lines of discrimination and economic well-being.

The northern delegates said while the conference was seeking equality for indigenes and immigrants in states, suddenly the case of nomadic cattle rearers became different.

On the other hand, delegates from the South and Middle Belt claimed that the herdsmen were into an economic activity and should not be over-indulged since their cattle were not for free.

Problem started during the consideration of amendments made in the report of the Committee on Citizenship. Immigration and other related matters.

The committee had recommended that governments should promote grazing reserves as well as create a dedicated fund meant for the acclimatisation of the herdsmen.

An amendment was raised against the establishment of grazing reserves but was rejected by the House.

Dr. Magdalyne Dura, a delegate from Benue State however revisited the amendment and proposed that grazing zones and the dedicated fund for acclimatisation should be created in the home states of the nomadic cattle rearers.

According to her, since the nomads were engaged in an activity purely for economic and not philanthropic purposes, they have to be treated like every other Nigerian that engages in other economic activities.

She said as long as the herds are not free but to be sold in exchange for money and promotion of their own well-being, the nomads should not be given such preferential treatment.

She argued that the state government of the herdsmen should establish the reserves as well as the dedicated funds.

According to her, nomads can as well buy grass to feed their cattle as they roam the country rather than forcefully take over people’s land.

She was supported by Prof.

Godini Darah, who said Nigeria should be thinking about the modernisation of its cattle business, cited Argentina where corned beef is being imported into the country.

He also pointed out that it was not only cattle rearers that are nomads in the country, noting that nomadic fish-

Vehicle owners get ultimatum

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HE Lagos State Police Command has warned owners of abandoned vehicles parked at Aswani Police State to remove them or lose them to members of the public through auction, two weeks after this publication.

The vehicles are Mitsubishi Spacewagon KRD 949 AE, Honda City CZ 823 LSR and Volkswagen bus KJA 320 XF.

From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor and Dele Anofi, Abuja

ermen of the Niger Delta region were never given any preferential treatment by the government.

He said: “We should not be protecting herdsmen at this age. The corned beef we eat now in this country comes from Argentina. We should grow and modernise ours too.

“We have several agricultural research institutes that can give us improved grass for the cattle.

“Moreover, it is not only cattle rearers that moves around the country, fishermen too move around and no special provisions are made for them “The proposal of creating

grazing reserve in the home state of the nomads is very progressive”.

On the other hand, Naseer Kura, a delegate representing Civil Society Organization (CSO), said the proposal would be disadvantageous to the nomads as they don’t know their home states anymore due to their nomadic nature.

He said having to look for green pasture across the country, the cattle rearers are contributing to the economic development of the community they found themselves.

On his part, Bashiru Albasu, a former Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) from Kano State, pointed out that the government of Kano has not asked Igbo traders in the state that constituted 70 percent of its traders, to build

roads or provide other infrastructural facilities.

He said it was unfair to restrict the privileges of the nomads in other states by denying them grazing reserves.

Alhaji Magaji Dambatta, a North West delegate, said it was an act of irresponsibility for delegates to support discriminatory policies against nomadic herdsmen.

Saying that such support was unfortunate, Dambata noted that the nomads have a right to improve their own economic well-being by moving their cattle from place to place.

Mohammed Dingyadi, a delegate from Sokoto, said the case of nomads should not be different. “Snce nomads move from place to place, they should not be denied rights to privileges en-

joyed by others,” he added.

On realising that tempers were flaring, Vice Chairman, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, said the issue would be dealt with as others were treated.

At this point, the Chairman, Justice Idris Kutigi explained that since all previous decisions by the conference were pragmatically dealt with, delegates should resist identifying issues with groups or tribes.

He regretted that a certain group, nomadic herdsmen, were singled out as a result of the grazing reserve recommendation, saying, “We should not descend to this level. How many are the herdsmen compared to the entire population of Nigeria?”

Bringing the subject to a conclusion, though amidst pockets of protest, the vice

•Conference chair Justice Idris Kutigi

chairman said the issue would be dropped and to be considered by the leadership before being presented alongside other contentious matters at a later date.

“We don’t have to put every contentious subject like this to vote. No vote. We will resolve it when dealing with other contentious issues,” he ruled.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

16

THE NATION

BUSINESS LABOUR

Fed Govt urged to stop anti-workers’ activities

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HE Chemical and Non-Metallic Products Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (CANMPSSA) has called on the Federal Government to ensure the enforcement of laws and regulations that will boost local manufacturing of drugs and discourage importation of fake drugs. The union also canvassed a level playing ground for effective competition amongst local manufacturers.

President, CANMPSSA, Comrade Abdul Gafar Mohammed, who made the call at a press conference organised by the association, also stressed the need for Federal Government to put in place policies that would stop the unfair labour practices encountered by workers in the sector He said: “There is urgent need for government to ensure the enforcement of laws and regulations that would boost local manufacturing of drugs in the country by discouraging importation of fake drugs as well as ensure policies that would stop the unfair labour practices encountered by workers in the sector”

Stories by Toba Agboola

According to Mohammed, there are prevalent unhealthy industrial practices in most companies in the sector that need the attention of the Federal Government for industrial peace to prevail “The prevalent unhealthy industrial practices in most of our member companies has given rise to a need for us to adopt a new strategy to effectively combat the high rise in unfair labour practices.

“The problem of casualisation, outsourcing and termination of employment without fulfilling the procedures and, in most cases without the necessary financial entitlement must stop for peace to reign in the sector.

“The right to unionise as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution, International Labour Organisation (ILO) convention as domesticated by laws are mostly trampled upon by some employers of labour in the sector”, he said.

Arguing that the struggle had been

geared towards improving the welfare and well-being of the association’s members, Mohammed said: “We have various cases of undue harassment; intimidation and witch hunting of labour representatives and branch executives in order to intimidate them to abandon the struggle for emancipation of workers.

“We call on the government to enforce policies that would ensure safe work place, decent work agenda, gender sensitivity, training and sustaining the right to freely associate in the sector.”

The labour leader emphasised that government had not given all the important sector the due attention such as import waivers, tax relieves/exemptions, intervention funds.

“We have very unpleasant government policies as relate to pharmaceutical industries as most of the industries are operating under poor road network, epileptic power supply, insecurity, high and unstable foreign exchange, unpredictable and very fluid financial situations general infrastructural decay that had added to the cost of production,” Mohammed said.

Pensioners seek 33% increase

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HE Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) has urged the Federal Government to pay its pensioners a 33 per cent pension increase as their military counterparts.

NUP President Abel Afolayan made the call in a communiqué after its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja.

He charged the government to facilitate that through the Pension Transition Arrangement Department (PTAD) to address major challenges which included non-enrolment of scores of pensioners in the federal payroll several years after retirement.

He said another source of worry for pensioners included the non-harmonisation of pension for many, unacceptable neglect of the welfare of state pensioners by many state governments, non-payment of gratuity and death benefits, non-compliance with the constitutional provisions of sections 173(3) and 210(3) by the federal and state governments on the five-yearly pension increase, omission of names of genuine pensioners from the pension payroll and replacing them with ghost pensioners.

The union deplored with dismay the mismanagement of pensioners’ records as well as funds by government officials entrusted with such responsibility. It frowned at the non-inclusion of NUP members in the ongoing National Conference.

“The union calls for the resumption or restoration of the withdrawn five per cent counterpart funds by the Federal Government to local government pension board towards assuaging the suffering of the affected pensioners,” it said.

FCT SURE-P disburses N270m

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•From left: Member, Chemical and Non-Metallic Products, Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (CANMPSSAN), Comrade Francis Adam; Comrade Femi Kupolati; Mohammed and CANMPSSAN General Secretary Comrade S. O. A. Babalola at the event.

NULGE supports autonomy for local govts

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HE National President, Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel, has said for the third tier of government to be active and proactive in its activities, it must be free and autonomous.

He said a platform must be created to organise them to harness all available human and material resources within their domains for the enhancement of their standard of living.

“I think our position is well known to all Nigerians and it has not changed from our long time of struggles to emancipate the local government system from the tyranny of the state governors.

“Our position is that we really want the local governments to be free; we need local governments that will address the aspiration and yearnings of our rural people. We need local governments that will deliver; local governments that can stand the test of time; local governments where the issue of unemployment can be addressed through tapping local talents.

Khaleel said for the LGAs to achieve their objectives, there must be an inclusive and a democratic system of governance where the people or communities that make up the councils must be the helm of affairs and be seen to have a stake in the system.

He added: “We want local governments where every member of the community will be a stakeholder committed to the de-

velopment and aspiration of his area.

On the National Conference, he said the best way to address Nigeria’s problems was having inclusive local governments, stating that every member of the community will understand his roles and importance in the administration of the government.

His words: “The best way to address Nigeria’s problems is by having inclusive local governments. This means that every member of the community will realise his importance and his role in administering the local government, not a caricature system of local government that we have been experiencing since 1999 till date.”

He continued: “The system of local government that will work for this country is the only answer to the problems of our divisive nature; diversity in ethnicity, religion and in many other ways. The essence of creating local governments is to address the differences. “And even the structures we have as state governments cannot adequately address and manage the aspirations and yearnings of different groups within a particular state. Those differences will be better addressed under the system of local government where smaller communities are merged.

“This is our focus and we really believe that for any government to work properly or deliver, you must have an articulate public service structure, that is why as part of our agitations, the civil service of the

local government, we believe, must also have some degree of independence by way of having a constitutional framework that would guarantee the existence and independence of the local government service commission that will manage the activities of civil service of the local government.”

Meanwhile, NULGE has rejected the recommendations by the Committee on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government for Local Government Areas to be turned into administrative units rather than a federal entity.

President of Yobe State chapter of NULGE, Comrade Musa El-Badawy, said the local governments should continue to remain a federating unit as recognised by the 1999 Constitution. He pointed out that turning them into an administrative unit would subject the system to the excruciating control of the state assemblies.

El-Badawy urged the committee not to temper with the views of Nigerians who were overwhelmingly in support of local government autonomy at a recent public session held by the National Assembly in the federal constituencies.

“The union knows that the issue of local government is an almost settled matter through various past efforts. The National Conference can only build on this and adopt it for a grand norm in Nigeria and not to sabotage or put the country in a reverse gear through its positions,” he said.

BOUT N270 million has so far been disbursed as monthly stipends to 3000 women, youths and the physically challenged under the Community Service, Women and Youth Employment (CSWYE) project of the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) in the Federal Capital Territory In a statement, the Chief Communication Officer of CSWYE SURE-P FCT, Abdulrahman Mohamed, said the chairman of the scheme, Yahaya Suleiman Yunusa, made this known this while receiving last year’s performance monitoring assessment report conducted by the community service office of the project in Abuja.

He explained that the 3000 participants had been on the programme since April, last year and were fully deployed in community sanitation duties with the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) absorbing 1000 participants because of its size, while Kuje, Kwali, Gwagwalada, Bwari and Abaji have 400 participants each.

He noted that available feedback from the impact assessment report indicates that the Federal Government through the Ministry of Labour have paid all the 3000 participants their monthly stipends of N10,000 each up to December last year.

Senior staff association pleads for jobs

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HE Senior Staff Association of Communications, Transport and Corporations (SSACTAC), has said its members suffered as a result of the “poorly executed” privatisation policy of the Federal Government. It is, therefore, making a case for initiatives that will provide jobs across the country.

SSACTAC President, Mr. Mohammed Yunusa, said this at a briefing, adding that the reforms in the power, postal, telecoms, railways, housing, manpower development, maritime and ports sectors need to be well planned out and executed for the benefit of all Nigerians.

“So far, the privatisation processes in power and telecommunications are yet to achieve much, except the clear handing over of our joint patrimonies at little or no costs to the favoured high and mighty among us.

“We should improve services while creating jobs directly or indirectly as the case in other developed economies. Let us warn that the approval of partial commercialisation of NIPOST must move it away from the disturbing past and build a new NIPOST in terms of infrastructure and staff to meet our needs,” he said.

Yunusa said roads and the railways must be given attention if the country wants to be among the great economic power in the 21st century.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

17

COMMENTARY EDITORIALS

FROM OTHER LANDS

Should Assad face trial as a war criminal?

Fairy tale •Local rice production in Nigeria is still insignificant and agric minister Adesina must be living in another country to claim otherwise R. Akinwunmi Adesina, minister of agriculture and natural resources has in the past few years earned a rather unenviable reputation as the most voluble of the members of this administration’s cabinet. And for full effect, he stands as perhaps the best dressed and the most good-looking of the lot. He is also a gifted speaker who knows how to dazzle with statistics. Each time he speaks, he garnishes his speech with figures that are bound to keep his listeners riveted if not spellbound.

Over the years, it has turned out that his numbers which he brandishes all so casually cannot stand the most elementary of scrutiny. His most recent offering was his proclamation at a forum last week that, “We have achieved 85 per cent self-suffi-

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‘A chunk of cultivated rice in Nigeria is lost at harvesting level and another chunk lost at paddy and milling stages. The entire so-called rice revolution being championed by Dr. Adesina has been long on noise and propaganda and very short on strategy, capacity building and transparency’

ciency in rice production. In 2013, we produced 2.9 metric tonnes of paddy rice. In 2012 we produced 1.4 million tonnes.

Nigeria is now 80-85 per cent self-sufficient in paddy rice production.”

Apart from the fact that even Dr. Adesina is well aware that he is being economical with the truth in the above assertion, he is also deliberately making mischief with statistics. We ask: is Nigeria getting self-sufficient in paddy rice production or on ready-to-eat rice? Anyone who knows anything about rice production would know that you could produce the entire paddy you want, yet do not have rice on your table. Paddy rice is therefore only half the rice story which will require another long value chain of milling, bagging, transportation, storage and distribution to begin to talk about locally produced rice. And mind you, it is a system that needs at least a decade of consistent operation before it can be considered in terms of sufficiency.

Yes, a lot more Nigerians may be cultivating rice now than a few years ago, but it is still a haphazard process as there is almost a glut of imported rice in every corner market in all parts of Nigeria. Even at that, a chunk of cultivated rice in Nigeria is lost at harvesting level and another chunk lost at paddy and milling stages. The entire so-called rice revolution being championed by Dr. Adesina has been long on noise and propaganda and very short on strategy, capacity building and transparency.

It would be the greatest thing to happen to Nigeria since independence if she

can grow her own rice but the minister has a wrong-headed and insincere approach to it. He has increased the levy and tariff on imported rice and threatens to ban rice import next year. What has been achieved by this twin moves is to banish legitimate importers while creating a lucrative bazaar for smugglers.

This is because it has become stupendously cheaper to import through Nigeria’s neighbours therefore, the risk of smuggling has become insignificant compared to the rich margins derivable.

Also remarkable is the fact that as legitimate importers dwindle fast, government loses huge revenues to smugglers.

Another sore point is that the Rice Fund which ought to have accrued from the levy has remained an opaque and under- the- table business of government.

The fund is neither accounted for nor discussed. There is hardly any interface with the numerous rice stakeholders as most of the activities in rice cultivation and milling is largely being driven by private efforts with some support from USAID Markets.

We dare say that it is grand deception for Dr. Adesina to talk of sufficiency in rice production in Nigeria today. We urge him to sit up, roll up his sleeves and draw up a medium-to-long-term road map. He must rally the stakeholders and deploy the huge sum which ought to have accrued in the Rice Fund for the purpose it is meant. Producing rice to feed about 160 million people is not cheap talk.

Adesina should please get serious.

Justice for Toba •The Fed Govt must step in to get justice for Toba Falode allegedly murdered in Dubai

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ISHA Falode is a grieving mother, contending with the pang of losing a promising 19-year old son, who virtually had the world at his feet.

That the boy died in his prime was bad enough. Worse still, he was allegedly murdered; and this heinous crime the alleged murderers were trying to pass as an accidental fall.

But the unkindest cut of all: the United Arab Emirate (UAE) police are alleged to be masterminding a cover-up to bury the crime.

The Nigerian government must exert all legal and diplomatic pressures to get to the root of the matter; and expose any coverup, if indeed there was one.

True, that will not bring back life to the dead. But it would offer a grieving mother some cold comfort that the alleged killer of his boy did not escape justice. Most importantly, it would help avert any such future crimes. Who knows in whose household such a tragic bell would next toll?

The reported death of Toba Falode, a 19year-old student at SAE Institute, music and performance arts, university in Dubai is blood-chilling. The official story is that Toba fell off the balcony of his 17th floor apartment in Dubai. But Ms Falode found his son might have been pushed, by a Saudi youth whose father has extensive investment in UAE, after a reported scuffle for the attention of a British girl.

Faisal Aldakmary Al-Nasser is the primary suspect, alleged to have pushed Toba from his 17-floor apartment to his death on February 15. From Ms Falode’s account, the Dubai Police apparent lack of interest in the case and alleged attempt at cover-up arise from influence his father logs, as a big investor in UAE.

Aside, except the Nigerian government pushes for the re-opening of the case, it is as good as dead. This is because, by extant international laws, only a government, not an individual, can force the UAE authorities to ask the Dubai police to reopen the case.

In the name of justice and fair play, the Nigerian government must intervene — and fast too. That would at least reassure Nigerians, wherever they are, that their government cares for their welfare and security.

On the balance of available evidence, there appears indeed enough ground to suspect a cover-up. To start with, as at the time of Toba’s fall, there is evidence of a scuffle. Present at the 17-floor balcony were Toba, Al-Nasser and Olivia Melanie Richards Evans, the Briton girl between them.

Other friends in Toba’s room reportedly heard sounds of a scuffle; and by the time Ms Evans and Al-Nasser emerged, with the Saudi announcing that Toba had fallen off the balcony, Al-Nasser reportedly had blood stains on his shirt and a fresh wound on his knuckle, suggesting some earlier struggle, that preceded Toba’s fatal fall.

Al-Nasser, with the Dubai police, claims it was a fall. Ms Falode insists it was a push.

The bounden duty of Nigeria is to find out the truth; and, if there is foul play, ensure whoever was guilty got his comeuppance by law.

This is imperative because there is a relay of news of Nigerians being serially killed in foreign lands. That should stop. But that would be if the Nigerian government takes a stern stand on this running tragedy. By starting with the Toba Falode case, it could well be the dawn of a new era.

Having said that, there is a word of advice for Nigerian parents and guardians whose children and wards live or school abroad. Quite a number of these kids and young adults are just dispatched there without proper supervision. That is not good enough. If parents give their children proper guidance on how to avoid getting into harm’s way overseas, surely cases of tragic deaths and other disasters will reduce.

Even then, the Nigerian government bears vicarious responsibility for such tragedies. Toba, like most of these Nigerian foreign ensemble studying abroad, would probably go to school at home if there were opportunities. But the reverse is the case.

Governments at all levels should therefore ramp up investment in social infrastructure.

Still, Toba deserves justice. It must not be tolerated that a human being, no matter how rich and influential, could throw another, from a 17-floor balcony to his death. That is absolutely unacceptable.

‘The Nigerian government must exert all legal and diplomatic pressures to get to the root of the matter; and expose any cover-up, if indeed there was one. True, that will not bring back life to the dead. But it would offer a grieving mother some cold comfort that the alleged killer of his boy did not escape justice’

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EPORTS have circulated over the last several weeks that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces are gaining the upper hand in that nation’s ugly civil war — and are once again committing atrocities using internationally banned chemical weapons. This time, the allegation is that the regime is dropping chlorine gas bombs from helicopters over civilian targets.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been in Assad’s corner from the start of the civil war. If an investigation underway by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirms the latest allegation — leveled by France, among others — it will be time to bring Assad before the International Criminal Court to answer war crimes charges.

Why now? Why not a year ago, when Assad used chemical weapons, including deadly sarin gas? Because until recently there remained a chance — slim though it was — for a diplomatic solution to the Syrian crisis and for Assad’s negotiated exit. Knowing that a jail cell awaited him at The Hague if he left the country would have been a disincentive for Assad to leave voluntarily. But the closer Assad comes to prevailing in the war, the less need there is to keep that diplomatic exit open.

Members of the U.N. Security Council are reportedly drafting a letter to refer Assad’s actions to the ICC. One challenge will be to win the backing of the United States; to that end, the letter has apparently been written specifically to allay U.S. concerns that American troops or the Israeli government will somehow end up before the tribunal.

The second — and far greater — challenge will be to win Russian support. As one of the council’s five permanent members, Russia has a veto, and President Vladimir Putin has been in Assad’s corner from the start of the civil war.

As his behavior in Ukraine demonstrates, Putin clearly doesn’t mind flouting international conventions. We hope he at least recognizes that the world must stand united against chemical weapons, and that Assad needs to be called to account.

There is narrow cause for optimism. It was Russian intervention (after the threat of U.S. military action) that led Assad to admit last fall that he had chemical weapons, and to accept their supervised removal from his country. That process has progressed more slowly than anticipated. Although the last shipment remains stalled, international monitors are hopeful that the stockpiles will be gone.

Chlorine, because of its pervasive use in industry, is not covered under the reporting requirements of the international Chemical Weapons Convention. But that convention, which Syria signed when it promised to give up chemical weapons, does ban using chlorine gas as a weapon. If the investigation finds the gas was used, Assad must be held accountable.

The Security Council should put the war crimes referral to a vote and force Russia’s hand. If Russia vetoes it, then at least the world will be able to see who stands for humanity and who stands against it.

– Los Angeles Times

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh • Editor Gbenga Omotoso •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Adekunle Ade-Adeleye •Editor, Online Lekan Otufodunrin •Managing Editor Northern Operation Yusuf Alli •Managing Editor Waheed Odusile

• Executive Director (Finance & Administration) Ade Odunewu

•Deputy Editor Lawal Ogienagbon

•Advert Manager Robinson Osirike

•Deputy Editor (News) Adeniyi Adesina

• Gen. Manager (Training and Development) Soji Omotunde •General Manager (Abuja Press) Kehinde Olowu •AGM (PH Press) Tunde Olasogba

•IT Manager Bolarinwa Meekness

•Deputy Editor (Nation’s Capital) •Press Manager Yomi Odunuga Udensi Chikaodi •Group Political Editor Emmanuel Oladesu •Legal Counsel John Unachukwu •Group Business Editor Simeon Ebulu • Manager (Admin) Folake Adeoye •Group Sports Editor Ade Ojeikere •Acting Manager (sales) •Editorial Page Editor Olaribigbe Bello Sanya Oni

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

18

CARTOON & LETTERS

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IR: There is definitely something wrong with the government’s handling of the anti-terrorism efforts. I have wondered severally why our security agencies who have signed in to lay down their lives for our security are not provided with the required weaponry to engage the terrorists.

This is despite the huge billions of naira voted to provide security and combat terrorism and other criminalities. Indeed, corruption in Nigeria is systemic and it permeates our public and private sectors.

Unfortunately, our security agencies are not spared. I repeat, it is absolute irresponsibility to expose our security officers to dangers due to corruption or whatever negligence. It is a national and collective shame that our soldiers mutinied due to our inability to provide and protect them with the weaponry needed to engage the terrorists.

We equally need to provide continuous orientations to our security agents to recognize and protect the fundamental human rights of Nigerians. We must not be permissive of extrajudicial decisions. It breeds mistrust between the populace and the security agents who must be partners in progress. The intelligence network then becomes denied of direct flow of information from the citizenry. It also helps the terrorists to attract sympathy from aggrieved individuals. We must take actions according to the law against erring officers. This will go a long way to prevent future occurrence and to assure Nigerians that

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Something is wrong somewhere!

the government stands for all against injustice.

We must continue to remain united as we engage the terrorists who remain committed to the destruction of our nation. We must preach unity across ethnic and religious divides, and refuse to be distracted by religious and political leaders with ulterior motives. Such characters are never found wanting in situations like this. They seek relevance only by commitment to

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ethnic and religious bigotry. That is the way their pockets become oiled. We must make them irrelevant in the pursuit of our national goals.

Terrorists are of their master: the devil. As devils, terrorists hide under whatever they can to justify evils. Terrorists neither speak for nor represent any faith. We must remain focused on our efforts to bring peace, unity and freedom to our nation.

Corruption at the political and military leadership has been identified by the US military (who have come to help bring our girls to safety) as a major set-back. With several unclear issues surrounding our anti-terrorism efforts, we have made it clear to the world that something is definitely wrong somewhere. Our security agencies are well known for their gallantry and excellence in international efforts dating back to the global recogni-

•Akinlolu, Abdulazeez Adelaja University of Ilorin

Is the coin still a legal tender?

IR: Under the colonial rule, local currencies which include coins were issued to ensure a balance in the currency structure as well as ease of transactions. It wasn’t until the 1991 currency re-structuring that people’s attitudes and acceptance of the coin began to gradually change, when the then military administration issued a new N50 bank note and turned 50 Kobo and one naira bank notes into coins.

Many Nigerians saw it as an attempt to make the lower denomination unsuitable for transaction.

No society can do without coins

because of its role in facilitation of transactions. The coins reduced the tendency to approximate transactions to the nearest bank notes, makes change available for daily transactions; it was in the line of these that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) re-introduced the coins on February 28, 2007, as part of the economic reforms. Then, N50, N20, N10 and N5 bank notes as well as N1 and 50 Kobo coins were re-issued with new designs, while a new N2 coin was introduced.

The CBN directed that all banks should pay two percent of all with-

drawals in coins, which means for instance, that a customer withdrawing N20,000 from his bank account would go home with N400 worth of coins. It also directed the banks not to accept coins as deposits from the public until further notice, saying that the coins needed to be kept in circulation for sometime. Before the re-introduction of coins, goods were priced in multiples of fives because of the dearth of coins and this affected price levels greatly. No goods could be bought for N1 because no such denomination existed, so prices of the lowest- priced goods were

INEC and card-reader machines

IR: The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has matter-of-factly ruled out the use of card reader machines for the coming governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States. This is rather disappointing.

INEC is not sure of its capabilities and has developed cold feet after initially announcing with glee that the machines would be used in Ekiti and Osun, but is rather cautious now and would not want to deploy both cards and machine readers at this same time. This is self defeating. It would amount to going to great length to install scanner ma-

tion of our former Head of State, General Aguiyi Ironsi (and our officers) in bringing peace to crisistorn Congo in 1960 and 1964 (commanding an entire United Nations Contingent).

Why then have we failed so far to rein in terrorism and win the war against the terrorists? It is due principally to corruption at the leadership level. It is due to the absence of political will on the part of our President to name the terrorists and their sponsors and accordingly bring them to justice. The terrorists cannot exist without financial, material and political support. Once the sponsors of terrorism are dealt with without any regard whatsoever to whose ox is gored, , victory over terrorism is assured.

chines at the airport and refuse to use them.

The sophistication of the card is useless without the use of the machines. This is because there have been reports that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been secretly buying the cards from the poor, tempting them with offers ranging from N5,000 to N50,000. One of the party’s big-wig in Ikirun was caught and handed over to the police with thousands of voters’ cards in his car.

In some instances, they have been promising people jobs and collecting their cards in return. In other instances, they have been giving out

questionnaire to job seekers and asking for their card numbers–to clone the cards.

In these instances, only the card readers can stop these fraudulent practices. Criminally obtained cards are transferable. All they need to do is to import ‘voters’ from near or far states for the election and give them the cards. Where the cards are cloned, their aim is to create confusion where two voters brandish the same. Dispute over card would lead to violence and disruption of voting. Where there is voting disruption, the rule says, result would be cancelled. If this is done successfully

in precincts where your opponent is strong, then of course, you can strategically rig the election by knocking off the results where your opponents are strong.

The politicians are desperate and INEC should be one step ahead of them. I am asking therefore that the decision not to use the card readers should be revisited. We need the card readers for a free and fair election. May God help INEC and especially Prof Jega to be able to resist pressure from the presidency who are sorely afraid of the card readers.

• Wale Adeyemi, Osogbo, Osun State

raised to N5 and N10. Unfortunately and sadly, we are back to that situation.

The coin has suffered untold rejection and abuse from the public because Nigerians are not better educated and enlightened on the need to have it in circulation. The situation whereby the naira notes have been turned into writing sheets, even by those working in the bank, stained by meat sellers and squeezed by buses and taxi driver has worsen the state of the naira hence the need for the use of coins to be enforced.

If developed countries like the USA and China use the coin for their daily transactions, it shows its importance and advantages to the economy. As a matter of urgency, the CBN should send a bill to the National Assembly to criminalize the rejection and any form of abuse of the coin. Furthermore, the government should designate some business places and establishments as no–banknote-for-transaction. Places like Post Offices, tollgates, licensing offices, school business centres, lottery centres, and cinemas etc should only transact in coins.

Those are ways by which the government can intensify the campaign for the use of coins in all transactions so that the unemployed and poor Nigerians can survive.

• Hussain Obaro Ilorin – Kwara State.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

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COMMENTS

International media and Africa

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ROM Wednesday May 7, to Friday May 9, Nigeria hosted some kind of the world economic forum, a kind of Africa Davos in Abuja. Unfortunately, at a time Nigeria should be in glorious light, the kidnapping of 274 girls by Boko Haram and the global concern overshadowed the significance and importance of the World Economic Forum in Abuja. We, of course, have ourselves to blame for this tragedy. The Boko Haram phenomenon started almost five years ago from an isolated event in Maiduguri involving the killing of the Boko Haram leader, Mallam Yusuf while in police custody. The movement itself seemed to have been exploited by politicians during the regime of the ANPP government of Bunu Sheriff. It seems as soon as the party was in power, it saw no need for the services of Boko Haram sect and tried to get rid of their troublesome presence by force. Unfortunately, the thing has spiralled out of everybody’s control. There has been series of killings and kidnappings by the Boko Haram group and it seems as if they are getting bolder and bolder every day.

The world ignored them until this episode of kidnapping of young school girls. Abubakar Shekau the leader of Boko Haram has now publicly said he will sell them to slavery and this has again been exploited to our discomfiture by the international media.

The concern of the international community is understandable but unfortunately, this concern is sometimes laced with hypocrisy. How does one explain the use of the kidnapping to ridicule and denigrate our country as a land where there is no effective government or where the military is inept and where according to CNN, there are 700,000 slaves? The international media suddenly came up with a spurious study that there are 30 million slaves in the world and 700,000 of this are in Nigeria. As if this is not enough, the CNN has been describing the practice of early marriage among our Muslim compatriots as forced marriage and equating it with slavery. This kind of cultural arrogance should not be allowed to go unchallenged. There may be cultural practices in Nigeria and in other parts of the world that are not the same with western practices but it will be irresponsible to describe such marriages as forced marriage. Having lived in the United States and in the western world in general, you cannot but feel that some of the slanting of the information in the global media is designed to depress our brothers in the black Diaspora so as to make people feel that the pernicious practice of slavery has always existed in Africa and our brothers in

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IKE a coin, there are also two sides to leadership. There is the benefit side and there is the burden side. Most leaders prefer to look at the benefit because that is what they see when aspiring for office. The benefit side of leadership is full of glitz and glamour.

It is the side which does not put too much pressure on a leader. It is the side where the leader rides in a convoy, with the roads cleared for him.

He also flies in jets and has a retinue of aides at his beck and call.

This is the side which many leaders see. They do not see the other side of carrying their countries’ problems on their heads if need be. They do not see the side of weeping with their people when they weep. They do not see the side of sharing in their people’s grief when they are sorrowing. They only want the sweet side of leadership.

By so doing, our leaders forget that we are in a bitter-sweet world.

So, descending from their Olympian height to be with their people when they are suffering is strange to them. Or how else do you explain it that 38 days (counting from today) after the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, President Goodluck Jonathan has not visited the place? Of what purpose will the visit be, you may want to ask.

38 DAYS AFTER

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WHERE ARE THE ABDUCTED CHIBOK GIRLS?

the black Diaspora should be grateful to the white man in spite of the 400 years of slavery and unpaid labour.

Anybody who does not believe race is a factor in international relations can now learn from Nigerian experience. Furthermore, it has taken the international community almost a month to react to this tragedy and even their reaction is so patronising and humiliating that we can hardly be expected to celebrate it. Of course if our government has been highly efficient, this may never have happened.

Perhaps we are wrong to have called the whole world to Abuja and unreasonably closed down the government for three days at a time when all hands should have been on deck to free these unfortunate children. Our government feels what is important is its image and politics and the dramatic crying and wailing of the president’s wife has also not helped because this is not a personal issue of the president as Mr Jonathan but a tragedy for Nigeria. Unless we can dramatically rescue these poor children, the damage to Nigeria’s image may be irredeemable. What worries most Nigerians is that in spite of the declaration of emergency in the north-east, Boko Haram is still able to drive in convoys to inflict havoc on unsuspecting children and individuals. A state of emergency and imposition of curfew seem to be observed in the breach in the north-eastern part of Nigeria. The conclusion any intelligent person will come to is that the security forces are complicit in the dastardly attacks that are going on. Now we have had to descend from our Olympian height of protecting our national sovereignty to the abyss of begging Americans and the Britons to come and help us rescue our own children. One can understand international assistance in situations like air crashes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and earthquakes but in a man-made situation such as kidnapping, national governments are naturally expected to be able to handle such events. It appears to me that we have failed miserably in this regard.

We have allowed politics to come before security and good governance. At one point, we were in self-denial about the crisis facing our country. Now everybody is aware of the ineptness of our government and its inability to protect us. This is sad particularly at a time when we should be basking at being the biggest economy in Africa. We have lost an opportunity to positively project the image of our country. Whatever has to be done to redeem this terrible situation must be done and done quickly we cannot afford to allow the situation to drag on indefinitely. The issue of Boko Haram therefore calls for a frontal attack with a

policy of a combination of carrots and cane and a large measure of development assistance to states in the north-east of Nigeria as well as a plan to help alleviate youth unemployment in the region. It is the idle hands that is the devil’s workshop, we have to take the sting out of the pain of joblessness and u n e m p l o y m e n t Jide among the youth nationally but Osuntokun particularly in the northern part of our country. I am not suggesting government creating sinecure jobs but through encouraging private and public investments and public works particularly investment in agriculture, we can create jobs. The Chad Basin Development Authority was in the past the vanguard of wheat production in Nigeria.

We need to revive this and the north-east is also suitable for cattle ranching and for vegetable production particularly tomatoes, onions and so on to which we can add value and export to other parts of the world to create wealth for the local people. There is so much that can be done if we are a serious people and our current security situation compels us to think out of the box and approach our problems rationally. The damage to our image can only be repaired if we are able to put an end to this national tragedy and emerge out of the situation with our heads held high as was the case after the Biafra civil war. A policy of rehabilitation, reconciliation and reconstruction will be most appropriate in the present circumstances.

• Borno political elite’s war of attrition

How does one explain the use of the kidnapping to ridicule and denigrate our country as a land where there is no effective government or where the military is inept and where according to CNN, there are 700,000 slaves?

The visit that never was Will it bring back the girls? We will be missing the point if we are thinking in terms of the visit leading to the return of the girls. For sure, the president’s visit will not lead to the girls’ release by their abductors, but it will buoy up the spirits of their traumatised parents.

It is problems like this that bring out the best in leaders. A leader with the milk of kindness would have risen to the occasion as soon as news of the girls’ abduction broke and reached out to their parents and guardians.

With soothing words, he would have assured them that the government would do everything within its power to secure the girls’ release. Our president never did this.

To him, the girls’ abduction was one of those things which would soon fizzle out. It has turned out not to be so. It was the government’s delay in responding to the girls’ abduction that led us to where we are today.

If the government had moved as swiftly as the girls’ parents did after the abduction, we may not have found ourselves in this cul-de-sac.

The government tarried for too long before reacting to the girls’ kidnap. By the time it woke up from its slumber, the girls’ captor, Boko Haram, had taken them far, far away. We are now literally search-

ing for a needle in a haystack.

Where and how do we begin the search for these girls when we do not know their location?

The search for the girls and managing the emotions of their parents are intertwined. The two go together. While looking for the girls, we should also look out for their parents, who will be psychologically and emotionally troubled.

This is why the president must be there for them As our leader, he owes it a duty to help them overcome their trauma. And how can he do that without visiting Chibok?

When last week, news broke that the president would be visiting Chibok, many saw it as an opportunity for him to worm his way into these people’s hearts after his initial false start.

Let us face it, the president did not handle this matter well ab initio. His initial cold attitude suggested that he did not believe that such a large number of schoolgirls - 276 - could be abducted at a go.

Yes, it is normal to query how that number of people could be kidnapped in one fell swoop, but it is not normal to fold your arms and do nothing when you are in a position to do so. The problem is that we have politicised everything, including human lives. We are now paying the price for our politick-

‘If Chibok had been another major international or national institution, the president would have rushed there for the whole world to see him making his usual promise to cut Boko Haram to size. The people are tired of this refrain. We want to see it translated into action’

ing by this late hour search for the girls.

The president missed a golden opportunity by not visiting Chibok last Friday as initially planned. Only him knows why he did not undertake the visit, notwithstanding his media manager’s denial that such visit was not on the card. We do not wish to engage in a war of words with the Presidency over whether or not Dr Jonathan was billed to visit Chibok last Friday. Eve if the visit was not officially announced, that does not detract from the fact that there were plans for such visit before it was nipped in the bud.

The reason for not undertaking the visit is obvious - security reports would have said time was not ripe for it. We should have left the matter at that instead of the president turning it into an issue on the world stage. During a press briefing after the regional summit on security in Nigeria at Paris, France, last weekend, President Jonathan said going to Chibok was not the issue. What should concern everybody, he said, was finding the girls. ‘’These girls are not held in Chibok.

Sometime, people want the president to go to Chibok. If the president goes to Chibok today, it will not solve any problem. The problem facing the president and indeed the Nigerian government is how to get these girls from wherever they are’’. es, going to Chibok will not bring back the girls, but it will do something to the psyche of their parents and guardians. The visit will lift up their spirits and portray the president as a compassionate leader. But our president does not see the visit

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Lawal Ogienagbon lawal.ogienagbon@thenationonlineng.net SMS ONLY: 08099400204, 08112661612

as paramount. Yes, why should he visit Chibok when there are political battles to be waged in Ekiti and Osun states? To him, winning the forthcoming governorship elections in those states is far more important than visiting Chibok, where many families are pining away in anguish over their abducted daughters.

It was disingenuous of the president to have cited his visits to the United Nations (UN) House and Force Headquarters in Abuja after they were bombed to prove that he is a caring leader. What this says of him is that if Chibok had been another major international or national institution he would have rushed there for the whole world to see him making his usual promise to cut Boko Haram to size. The people are tired of this refrain. We want to see it translated into action.

The president should acept the burden of leadership just as he enjoys the benefit. Chibok is a burden he must carry whether he likes it or not and the earlier he realises this the better. I pray that it will not be too late by the time he decides to visit Chibok.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

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COMMENTS

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S it is often said, evil triumphs when good men keep quiet. The current crisis in Borno State festered because men of goodwill from that part f the country kept quiet as the current state actors engaged themselves in a war of attrition, not because they care for the governed but out of shared greed to hold on to power. As the world today embarks on efforts to rescue the abducted children of Chibok Government Secondary School, Governor Kashim Shettima who is one of those responsible for the 15 years baleful legacies of ANPP in Borno State has finally admitted that “the security challenges confronting the state and the nation as a whole can be traced to poverty, unemployment and lack of education among the youth population, which create tension and idleness among the youth making them susceptible to deviant behaviours.”

But as President Jonathan, one of the external forces fishing in the troubled waters of Borno State has rightly reminded him, it was not the federal government but the local politicians that are responsible for a situation where only 27% of children of school age attend school, a situation that makes them easy targets for recruitment by confused people who preach hate ideology and religious intolerance, killing helpless women and children and kidnapping teenage girls as sex slaves in the name of their strange god.

The major motivation for the 14 years war of attrition by the Maiduguri warriors is power.

Their common ideology is greed. They are comfortable operating freely whether under the banners of APP, ANPP, AD or PDP and APC. They are all friends, business partners and quite often, children of those who have cornered disproportionate share of the state resources. First, was Mala Kachalla, financed by wealthy Ali Modu Sherif, to become an elected governor of Borno State in April 1999, on the platform of All People’s Party (APP) .

Not long after, the party became ‘All Nigeria

‘If the authorities in Borno State had gone beyond politicking and embarked on fund-raising in Abuja, Lagos and other major cities of the nation, ordinary Nigerians incensed by Boko Haram’s sheer madness would have made contributions. Taking out a million naira out of the state meagre resources to pay the family of each dead soldier is not money creatively spent’

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Borno political elite’s war of attrition People’s Party’ (ANPP) as a result of fractionalization. To survive the dangerous mine field of Maiduguri politics, Kachalla in February 2001 established a Sharia Implementation Committee, in a state with about 60% Muslims and 40% Christians. And because there was no ‘clear cut demarcation between Borno, Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon, a region plagued by armed rebels and trafficking in illicit arms and children’ as Kachalla himself once observed, his ‘political sharia’ was hijacked When his financier and godfather, Ali Modu Sheriff in 2006, decided to become a king himself, Kachalla sought refuge in the Alliance for Democracy (AD). Following his defeat by his godfather, he joined forces with PDP to wage war and make Borno State ungovernable. He died in the process in April 2007.

Ali Modu Sheriff himself like ‘the godfather who never sleeps’ schooled, lived and joined his business tycoon father’s construction company as a director in Maiduguri. His PDP rival Hashim Ibrahim who holds the traditional title of Mutawalli Borno, a senior councillor to the Shehu (traditional ruler) of Borno, whom he defeated in 2003 and 2007 was his childhood friend, business partner and like him was a privileged son of an illustrious father, Ibrahim Imam, ‘the motivating force of the progressive Borno Youth Movement.

Senator Khalifa Ahmed Zannah, another major actor in the Maiduguri elite war of attrition is also a Maiduguri-based successful businessman, and a member of the board of many federal establishments. General Ibrahim Babangida was his godfather. He, along with others in 2007 organised the Democratic Women Forum, an organization that supported the political aspirations of the former

HIS President will never cease to amaze with his simplistic ways and rationalizations. On the Boko Haram insurgents whose abduction of over 200 school girls in Chibok, Borno State, that has now taken centre stage, globally, President Goodluck Jonathan simply dismissed criticisms of his reported aborted trip to Chibok, contending that it was not mandatory for him to visit the town. Of course, simplicity is one of President Jonathan’s virtues. He comes across as the regular guy made good – no pretentious frills or airs. Even his speech carries no affectations, though some of us would wish he packs more punch than his trademark flat, monotone of delivery. But that is natural Ebele for you.

Anyway, how could anyone want to crucify the man if the deeply internalized character moulding of the pristine, uncomplicated simplicity of his rural upbringing in the rustic village of Otueke has permanently etched an enduring, simplistic thought process on his impressionable young mind? In the fast trajectory of God’s amazing grace on the young academic’s rise to Mount Olympus of power, there apparently was no time for grooming, for creating a new personality for him – the public persona. No doubt, his simplicity has its advantage – it got him the votes in 2011 general election, with his projection as one of us, common folks. Remember the shoeless, canoe boy imagery? But then, simplicity in disposition, coupled with simplistic speech, can become a baggage that diminishes the high office of the President of the most populous Black nation on earth.

The Presidency is a unique platform to inspire the populace and for those it has pleased God, in his wisdom, to put on that throne, they owe it a duty to the nation not to become letdowns. Stirring words and bold actions are the hallmarks of any inspiring leadership. Sir Winston Churchill, Britain’s war-time Prime Minister stirred the British to stand firm against Nazi Germany and snatched victory from the jaws defeat; Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. galvanized his underdog African race in the U.S. with his soul-stirring ‘I have a Dream’ speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. and changed the course of American history for ever.

They spoke, gave hope and lifted spirits in troubled times.

These are troubled times in Nigeria. Can this president rise up to the occasion? I have my doubts, not when our ‘gentleman’ president projects a simplistic understanding of grave situations and seems more rattled and exasperated, as if he is being unfairly ‘crucified’. It is a wrong attitude. And unfortunately for this president, he is apparently surrounded by those who stoke this feeling of his being made scapegoat of a governance crisis he inherited. Admitted, the system rot preceded him, but the issue is: What has he done to lift the

military dictator. Contesting as a PDP candidate in the 2011 Borno Central Senatorial election, he defeated Ali Modu Sheriff, the two term governor of Borno State by 189,232 to Sheriff’s 120,377 votes. Now, Senator Zannah, whose nephew Shuaibu Bama was arrested in Modu Sherif’s house and accused of having links with Boko Haram has in turn accused Modu of being the sponsor of Boko Haram.

The arrest of his brother according to him was “part of the campaign to declare him a Boko Haram member, financier, sympathiser, and harbourer and declare his seat vacant, all to pave way for Ali Modu Sheriff”.

Shettima the current governor who is a prominent member of the on-going war of attrition was also based in Maiduguri before he became Modu Sheriff’s Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, later commissioner in the ministries of local governments and chieftaincy affairs, education, agriculture and health. The assassination of Engineer Modu Fannami Gubio, the ANPP governorship candidate, by yet-to-be identified gunmen paved the way for his emergence as ANPP candidate. He later went ahead to defeat his PDP opponent, Muhammed Goni in the April 2011 elections, with 531,147 votes to Goni’s 450,140 votes.

Shettima in his inaugural speech as a governor described Sheriff, his godfather as “indefatigable, visionary and politically sagacious whose immense contribution to the development of our great party and his demonstrated managerial and administrative acumen in governing our dear state in the last eight years remains unassailable”. But the governor was silent on the fact that those eight years witnessed several religious riots in which many churches were destroyed, with massive

killings and destruction of property by the Boko Haram fundamentalist Islamist sect.

If the policy direction of Shettima’s administration which he said was predicated on “Restoration of peace and tranquillity in the state” has failed, it was perhaps because it was based on falsehood.

Shettima and his group who have been in power for about 14 years are all grassroots politicians with cells of support in all the 27 local council areas of the state. They have spent all their lives in Maiduguri and served their communities in various capacities as party officials and commissioners. It is therefore inconceivable that they will not have an idea of those who have laid siege on Borno State in the past few years. APC should be asking the Borno State government hard questions. If Shettima gave an undertaking that the abducted girls would be protected, what measures he put in place to guarantee this or forestall possible sabotage by an unfriendly federal government that has demonstrated its hostility? I am sure APC is aware that if an Ogbeni Aregbesola gave such an undertaking, he would probably be there physically with his army of happy volunteer’s workers to serve as human shield.

Although Lagos State is not at war, but Borno State governor could have borrowed one or two things from Governor Fashola’s creative approach to security in Lagos State. He did not just wait on federal government he once alleged sent two patrol vans to a police division where about 50 are needed, but creatively raised funds to equip the force. If the authorities in Borno State had gone beyond politicking and embarked on fund-raising in Abuja, Lagos and other major cities of the nation, ordinary Nigerians incensed by Boko Haram’s sheer madness would have made contributions. Taking out a million naira out of the state meagre resources to pay the family of each dead soldier is not money creatively spent.

Such amount could have been more creatively deployed to keep the soldier alive.

It was recently disclosed that Obasanjo negotiated and obtained from Boko Haram a set of conditionality for a truce which the government ignored opting for outright use of force, while paying lip service to negotiation. As this column, along with other well-meaning Nigerians, has canvassed in the last three years, self-inflicted crisis by Maiduguri’s self-serving politicians cannot be resolved by force of arms. The way forward will be to allow the warring elites face their demons no matter how hard to swallow the demands of the insurgents are. We cannot continue to shy away from compromise which is said to be the highest badge of honour in a federal arrangement as in democracy even when other options are readily available.

Jonathan’s voodoo development index

By Bisi Olawunmi gloom? Has he been able to stir and energize the populace?

Where a leader has speech and action deficiencies, disaster looms. Nigeria is heading toward that foreboding threshold.

The President must demonstrate a clearer understanding of the state of the nation and speak reassuringly to the people.

President Jonathan is a highly educated person - with a PhD - and a doctorate degree does not come cheap. I should know; I recently took that hard road, and as a senior citizen. He got his PhD as a young man and that meant he was a sharp fellow.

So, you ask: What happened? The attributes of a PhD are the rigour of research and understanding of relationships among variables. The economy is an area where there is need for the President to demonstrate understanding of the relationship between statistics and the situation on the ground as statistics alone does not give a complete picture of the state of the economy. Statistics can become an exercise in gimmickry, the protestations of Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, at the Kukah Centre workshop notwithstanding. The rebasing of Nigeria’s economy, that has made it to upstage South Africa as Africa’s biggest economy, is one such gimmickry, primarily to massage a bruised political ego – to showcase a ‘success’ story. But the World Bank put dampers on the celebration of this ‘feat’ by rating Nigeria among the five poorest countries in the world. The World Bank has indices of development – including per capita income, gross domestic product, school enrolment, state of infrastructural facilities, life expectancy - uniformly applied to all countries in its rating. For those of us ‘on the ground’, Nigeria’s rating among the poor nations closely reflects the daily battle of survival among the preponderant majority. But President Jonathan, still basking in the re-basing euphoria, wouldn’t take such ‘nonsense’ rating, not even from the World Bank.

Pronto, the president created his own ONE INDEX RATING of development to show that Nigeria is a buoyant economy the ownership of private executive jets by the country’s parasitic, jet-set elite. The President, at his 2014 May Day speech at Eagle Square in Abuja, had contended: “Nigeria is not a poor country. Nigerians are the most travelled people.

There is no country you go that you will not see Nigerians…

Aliko Dangote was recently classified among the 25 richest people in the world… I visited Kenya recently on a state visit

and there was a programme for Nigerian and Kenyan business men to interact and the number of private jets that landed in Nairobi that day was a subject of discussion in Kenyan media for over a week”. He then declared: “If you talk about ownership of private jets, Nigeria will be among the first 10 countries, yet they are saying that Nigeria is among the five poorest countries”. What a laughable, simplistic talk! A voodoo development index. How can it be lost on the President that the presence of most Nigerians abroad as economic migrants is their escape option from grinding poverty and insecurity at home? Does it also occur to the President that the boom in private jet ownership is perceived by the people as manifesting the boom in corruption under the Jonathan Presidency? The other day, President Jonathan wondered why we are raising dust about Boko Haram terror campaign, saying that it is our turn to experience the global trend of terrorism, so we must endure.

Again, simplistic talk. With Boko Haram rampaging in the core North and Fulani herdsmen militia invading North Central, with threatening spillover southwards – it may not come as a surprise if, in his signature simplistic nature and in spite of the horror of the times, President Jonathan tells us, in the words of singer, Bobby Ferrin : Don’t worry, be happy !

• Dr. Olawunmi, Lecturer, Department of Mass Communication, Bowen University, Iwo is former Washington Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria

‘How can it be lost on the President that the presence of most Nigerians abroad as economic migrants is their escape option from grinding poverty and insecurity at home? Does it also occur to the President that the boom in private jet ownership is perceived by the people as manifesting the boom in corruption under the Jonathan Presidency?’

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

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COMMENTS

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EARS and predictions grow worldwide that Nigeria could soon break up. In the light of that, the National Conference has become phenomenally important – important as a forum where we Nigerians could critically and carefully look around and inside us to see what, in fact, could make our country break up soon, and try very sincerely to fix it.

One factor that threatens Nigeria is growing poverty among us Nigerians. In terms of natural resources, we are by no means a poor country; in fact, we are one of the very richest countries on earth. Our natural resources are a solid base upon which we could have built one of the world’s richest and most powerful countries. Poverty is not in the making of our country; we are poor today because we have chosen to be poor. The men and women who have managed the affairs of our country since independence have, step by step, succeeded in turning us, the citizens of one of the naturally richest countries in the world, into a huge mass of paupers and beggars – paupers and beggars who must be crooks to survive, paupers and beggars increasingly driven by anger, hate, and an urge to violence.

‘Most Nigerians are no longer ignorant about the cause of the terrible poverty under which they live – the poverty that makes their lives insecure from crimes, various species of conflicts, terrorism, etc. The root of the poverty is simply this: when the people who controlled most of the power over Nigeria chose to pool all power, all funding and resource control of the country together in the federal centre, they gradually destroyed the ability of Nigeria to generate economic growth, economic innovations, productivity, and wealth’

A

FEW years ago, I was driving along the busy Gbagada expressway in Lagos, and at some point there was a serious hold-up occasioned by a massive crowd.

Naturally my curiosity was aroused and I inquired as to what was happening. I was told - ‘eiye di eniyan!’ This in Yoruba which I don’t speak means ‘ a bird turned to human being!’ I never saw the human being or the bird but the story was all over town that a bird had been knocked down and it somehow magically transformed into a human being in female form, of course dead! I laughed it off but did not forget to mention it to one of my sisters in a later telephone conversation.

To my astonishment, she believed the possibility of that occurrence and even regaled me with a similar fabulous magical occurrence in Port Harcourt where a cat turned into a woman! I chastised her that a lady with post-graduate education should not be so silly. Although she admitted to not personally seeing the ‘vision’ herself, she was convinced of its reality and when she mentioned that the woman’s name was Cecilia – I gave up! I have never met anyone who has personally seen any of these incredulous spectacles but they always know someone who saw ‘with their two eyes!’

The introduction above is to illustrate how as a people we have become so gullible that any manner of nonsense will make sense to us. Unfortunately this affliction is not restricted to any class, tribe or religion; it is a widespread national malaise. It is however not a laughing matter and in the present delicate circumstances of our dear country, it is a very serious matter and potentially destructively so. Let me start with the Chibok girls, is it conceivable, that about 300 girls will be coached and volunteered by their families in an alliance with Boko Haram just to embarrass the president and lessen his chances of re-election in 2015? If it is an antiChristian agenda, is CAN lying when it claims the girls are mostly Christians or are Christian families now plotting with Boko Haram against a Christian president and his government?

Yet others will glibly pronounce Boko

What can break Nigeria?

We have reached the point at which this situation must change.

Apart from growing poverty, researchers and writers are talking more and more of what they call Nigeria’s “fault-lines”. By that they mean the differences inherent in the fact that Nigeria is not a nation, but a country of many nations. Yes, we are a country of many nations – each nation with its own history, culture, worldview, desires, expectations, ways of doing things, etc. Making one coherent country out of this intense diversity cannot be easy, even with the best of intentions and commitments. In fact, there is an additional reality that makes the task harder – namely, the fact that the three largest Black nations on earth (Yoruba, Hausa-Fulani and Igbo) are part of the Nigerian plurality. These three nations should never have been brought together into one country. Each of them is too big a fish to be swallowed. The manifest destiny of each of these three giants – in a Black Africa consisting almost entirely of very small nations – is to belong to the forefront of Black Africa’s development in the modern world, and to show Black Africans the path to prosperity. Huddling them together in one country inhibits the development of each of them, and distorts its proper vision of itself and of its duty in modern history. Are there, in the world in our times, many other nations of the size of the Yoruba, Hausa-Fulani or Igbo, each of which is subject to the sovereignty of an entity above itself? In our trying to contain these three giants together in our country, have we Nigerians, perhaps, been attempting to accomplish the impossible?

It is true that, even in spite of these almost daunting ethnic national realities, the desire of Nigerians to preserve Nigeria has been, on the whole, considerable. It was against that desire that the Igbo nation’s Biafran venture of 1967-70 failed. However, since then, especially since the 1990s, various ethnic nationalist movements and “self-determination” groups have been springing up in all parts of Nigeria – and, altogether, these have today become a force that Nigeria can only ignore at its own peril.

Meanwhile, a powerful factor has entered into the Nigerian equation. Most Nigerians are no longer ignorant about the cause of the

terrible poverty under which they live – the poverty that makes their lives insecure from crimes, various species of conflicts, terrorism, etc. The root of the poverty is simply this: when the people who controlled most of the power over Nigeria chose to pull all power, all funding and resource control of the country together in the federal centre, they gradually destroyed the ability of Nigeria to generate economic growth, economic innovations, productivity, and wealth. The explanation for that is that it is the states in a federation, plus the local governments – the agencies that are nearest to the lives of the people – that generate most of economic growth and innovation in a federation. Cast your mind back to the 1950s, the years of Nigeria’s growing prosperity, the years of our prosperous cocoa, groundnuts and palm produce export industries, the years of the development of a cobweb of standard roads across the face of our country, the years of the Regional Development Boards and of our first public industries, the years of the proliferation of primary and secondary schools all over our country, etc,and you will find that our regional and local governments were the engines generating almost all the prosperity. In that kind of setting, the coming of petroleum money since about 1970 would have benefited Nigeria unbelievably. When the controllers of our country down-graded our state and local governments, and turned them into impotent zombies incapable of acting strongly, authoritatively and creatively in their states and local areas, they set the stage for vicious poverty for us the masses of Nigerians. Nigerians now know these things.

And the consequence is that the two strains in the popular response to the Nigerian situation–namely, assertive ethnic nationalism, and assertive rejection of poverty and deprivation and its effects – have now concatenated.

That is why the demand for a National Conference – any sort of National Conference – has become so popular. And that is why Nigerians are accepting President Jonathan’s offer of a National Conference so avidly.

Those partisan political opponents of President Jonathan who are casting doubts on his sincerity about a National Conference, or about his ability to run an effective National

Gbogun gboro Conference, and who are suggesting that we should wait for more dependable leaders to give us a really productive National Conference, may have a point. But Nigerians are not in the mood to consider such a point. Nigerians are in a hurry to gather at a conference and restructure their federation and thereby strengthen their ability to fight their way out of poverty.

Without doubt, most Nigerians sitting at the National Conference have high hopes – hopes of bursting the door wide open to a better Nigeria, a Nigeria of open politics, of level political and economic fields, of stability, and of greater opportunities for all. In the atmosphere of such high expectations, therefore, the following things can suddenly break up Nigeria. First, any attempt, in the conference, by those who have been controlling most power in Nigeria, to resist the restructuring and the change, and to insist on the preservation of the status quo. Second, any show by the federal government of lack of sincerity or seriousness to manage the conference effectively so as to enable it to achieve the restructuring and the change.

Therefore, the question whether Nigeria will survive and go on to prosper, or whetherit will break into a number of separate countries, is entirely in the hands of two groups today – the group that has, since independence, controlled most power over Nigeria; and President Jonathan and his men who today control the federal government. History is watching.

Believe me, don’t believe everything you hear!

By Edo Ukpong Haram’s megalomaniac lunacy as the representation of Islam and proclaim that the religion preaches violence. And many including supposedly educated people will swallow that nonsense without reason. My question will be, when Joseph Kony, a catholic and leader of Uganda’s Lords’ Resistance Army abducted 139 schoolgirls in 1996 and forced them into sex slavery, was he as he claimed guided by biblical injunctions? Or was he simply a megalomaniac lunatic acting upon twisted interpretations of established doctrines?

In Akwa Ibom State, especially in or about 2008, hundreds of young children were being maimed and killed in churches on allegations of witchcraft! That anybody will believe in witchcraft is laughable, that the belief will be taken to the extent of killing or condoning the killing of another human being in violation of God’s express injunction, is pitifully wicked and manifestly unsupportable. So my question is, if witches have all those powers and can fly and change form at will, why is it so easy to capture those innocent children? Why can’t they just put on their ‘flying colours’ and flee or perhaps turn to lions so that their pursuers will be the ones to flee? And if we believe in God’s supremacy and that nothing can happen without the Almighty approving same, why can we not accept witchcraft as the will of God or are we indirectly arrogating to ourselves, the power of over-ride over God’s supremacy?

As a Christian, the Almighty has imbued me with the spirit of discernment to know that only a charlatan will call a place where children are tortured and killed, a church, not to talk of accepting the heinous practice as representing Christian doctrine. If I make this discernment for my religion, the Christian in me will not allow me to apply a different standard of discernment when it comes to

other religions unless of course I am motivated by hate, a divisive spirit or mischief, all of which will diminish the essence of my humanity and Christian faith.

Please my dear Countrymen; let us be wary of all these agent provocateurs masquerading as opinion leaders and leaders of one sectional interest contraption or the other. Let us not believe, let alone buy their outlandish postulations and posturing, we only do so at our own collective peril. They are on a mission to divide in the short sighted calculation that this represents a legitimate tactic to fuel their greed. They do not genuinely represent any identifiable interest group and are only out for their selfish interests.

Please do not believe it when you hear that Nigeria is roughly 50% Christian and 50% Muslim. In reality and in truth and without any fear of being labelled as judgmental, Nigeria is at most 0.5% Christian and 0.5% Muslim with 99% being Nigerians. For most people religion is mere nomenclature.

Otherwise and for anybody with elementary understanding of either Christian or Muslim doctrine, it will be crystal clear that if we had such a huge percentage of Christians and Muslims, our national conversation will be wholly different. This country will definitely not be the way it is. If loving your neighbour as you love yourself is the prescribed human conduct in both religions and given that neighbour means fellow human being, without differentiation of religion, tribe colour or whatever, it is curious that we can hate, condemn or deride any other and fail to see the falsity in our humanity.

Please believe me when I say that Nigeria will continue to exist as one country. Do not believe those who glibly talk about Lugard’s amalgamation and dividing Nigeria and such trash. It therefore behoves all of us collectively, in the event that we have found

ourselves together in one country, to tolerate and understand each other. That is what makes sense, because I believe Jawaharlal Nehru famous line – ‘The only alternative to coexistence is co-destruction’.

Discussing the Chibok girls video, an educated friend in doubting the authenticity posited – ‘where do you have forest in the north, is it not all desert?’ In my exasperation I replied – ‘so you mean millions of southerners abandon the rich vegetation of the south to settle in the desert?’ This level of charismatic ignorance is dangerous because it makes us more gullible to believing nonsense. So borrowing from Lyndon Johnson, ‘If we are to live together in peace we must come to know each other better’.

The wicked amongst us are pushing us to the brink whilst making contingency plans for themselves and their families. Believe me if they succeed and in case God does not forbid, they will come to the rude realization that man’s planning is ALWAYS subject to God’s over-ride! Perhaps then they will truly believe that there is God. • Ukpong, a legal practitioner, writes from Lagos

‘Do not believe it when you hear that Nigeria is roughly 50% Christian and 50% Muslim. In reality and in truth and without any fear of being labelled as judgmental, Nigeria is at most 0.5% Christian and 0.5% Muslim with 99% being Nigerians. For most people religion is mere nomenclature’

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THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

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Thursday, May 22, 2014

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THE NATION

EDUCATION

THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

Who owns the land? The Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) in Imo State claims the land belongs to it. Its host communities are disputing the claim. Last week, youths from the communities stormed the school, destroying and looting properties. There are fears that they may come back, reports OKODILI NDIDI (Owerri).

• FUTO entrance.

Varsity, host communities fight over land

•N20m properties destroyed as youths storm school

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LAND dispute has pitched the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) in Imo State against its host communities. The communities are accusing the institution of reclaiming their land without following due process. Last Wednesday, youths believed to be from the communities stormed the campus, demolishing and looting properties.

The invasion may not be unconnected with the clearing of a land presumed to be owned by the university for the con-

struction of staff quarters.

Eye witnesses reported that the youths, said to be from Umuchima, Ihiagwa, Umuanunu, Obinze, and Eziobodo besieged the university about 6.30am and overpowered the security men. Despite the presence of soldiers, the over 300 youths

‘

They surrounded all of us in security uniform and seized all our clothes; they equally made sure that none of the security men used his phone while the attack lasted

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INSIDE

Candidates to win prizes for studying -Page 28

armed with machetes, axe and locally made guns were said to have destroyed the new structures being erected on the land.

A security personnel, names withheld, said the soldiers left the scene to prevent bloodshed.

He said: “It is by miracle that none of us

No cause for ASUU strike, says LASU VC -Page 46

CAMPUS LIFE

• Prof Asiabaka

was killed that day. When the youths arrived, there were about five armed soldiers around but they quickly left to avoid bloodshed because the youths were well armed. They surrounded all of us in security uniform and seized all our clothes; they equally made sure that none of the security men used his phone while the attack lasted."

The youths were said to have attacked a security man, who answered a call from his family member, accusing him of call• Continued on Page 26

•A 10-page section on campus news, people etc

Murder on campus -Page 29

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

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EDUCATION

Varsity, host communities fight over land • Continued from Page 27

ing the Vice-Chancellor (VC).

It was learnt that the soldiers informed the police and they swiftly moved to the scene to restore order. The police also arrested some villagers. When the news of the arrest spread, The Nation gathered that the youths regrouped and stormed the Old Registry where students’ results and records are stored. They smashed the louvres and torched the building. Students saved the building from being razed.

The contractor handling the 300unit staff quarters, Chief Eric Ihejirika, said equipment worth over N20 million were vandalised and looted.

Following the attack, the university is seeking Federal Government’s intervention to protect its property.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Chigozie Cyril Asiabaka, told reporters that the invasion was unprovoked and barbaric.

The university, he said, had been enjoying cordial relationship with its host communities until their recent demand that part of its land be ceded to them.

He said: "FUTO is not at loggerheads with the communities, why should they vandalise our property? The damage they unleashed on the university is massive and unprecedented. FUTO land belongs to the Federal Government, we have not encroached on their land.

"Their demand that the school should return part of the land to the communities is impossible because nobody here can approve that except the Federal Government. We have convened an enlarged management meeting and certain far reaching decisions have been taken; which include among others the immediate perimeter fencing to forestall further encroachment on the university land."

He said the invasion and other distractions have not affected academic activities.

"The university is still moving on despite distractions. The students will commence their exams soon, we are not distracted by the activities that are going on," he said.

The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Dr Emma Enemuo, blamed traditional rulers of the host communities for the incident.

He alleged that the youths were incited to carry out the attackby some traditional rulers who had earlier demanded that the university should pay them monthly salaries and allowances in addition to returning a substantial portion of the land to the communities.

Enemuo explained that the land was duly and legitimately acquired by the Federal Government 30 years ago and compensations paid to the communities.

He said: "About two years ago, a group of youths invaded the university land with bulldozers, clearing and selling the land to developers who built houses just in the centre of the university. Also around December 2013, a band of youths stormed the university and disrupted a dredging work right in the centre of the university; and the number in which they carry out the attacks is such that the security operatives were almost

helpless.

"It is saddening that traditional rulers who are supposed to educate the youths are now inciting them to attack a federal institution.

In one of our meetings, we told them that we do not have the powers to negotiate with them on a land that was legitimately acquired by the Federal Government, with all compensations paid but they threatened that since we could not negotiate with them, they would send their youths to negotiate with us. I think the recent invasion and destruction of the university property was a fulfillment of that threat.

"There is no way the university can be paying salaries to traditional rulers. There is nowhere in the world where universities do that, and we are not going to do it. Where do they expect the school to get that kind of money?"

He appealed to the government to take steps to protect lives and properties.

"We need adequate protection against these invaders because no one knows their next line of action.

Since they are enjoying the support of their traditional rulers they can go to any length to carry out their threat. I am calling on the Federal Government to come to our aid," he said.

Some leaders of the communities blame the university for the crisis.

The traditional ruler of Ihiagwa autonomous community, Eze James Muruako, said the communities’ action might have been triggered by the non-conforming stance of the university management and the inciting statements.

The communities, he said, took FUTO to court over the land matter, adding that no adequate compensation was given to the communities after ceding over 5,000 plots of land to the Federal Government.

"There is a subsisting suit in respect of the land in question and instead of maintaining the status quo, the university management went ahead to build their staff quarter on the plot of land. This may have sparked the crisis, coupled with inflammatory statements made by high ranking members of the management staff.

"How can they call the host communities their neighbours instead of landlords? And the threat to use the military against the communities for making legitimate demands are most provoking. All the lies and blackmail about traditional rulers asking to be paid salaries are concocted by the management but we cannot be intimidated by cheap blackmail.”

The lawyer of the aggrieved communities, Mr. Sam Anukam who is from one of the communities, said the land the university claims to own covers a large percentage of the communities.

"If we allow this invasion, force-

• One of the destroyed buildings.

• Smashed windows and doors of the registry building.

PHOTOS: EMMANUEL AHANONU

ful and illegal acquisition of our land to stand, a community like Ihiagwa would eventually be swallowed by FUTO and thereby driven to extinction,” he said.

Reliving the genesis of the crisis Anukan said the university paid compensation for just 1,000 of the 4,580 hectares of land acquired from about 11 communities. He said the acquired land was not clearly made known to the indigenes at the time of acquisition. He said the efforts by Dr Achike Udenwa to resolve the crisis when he was governor (19992007) did not yield results because a report by a committee set up to resolve the dispute was rejected by FUTO. Anukam insisted that the acquisition of land belonging to the communities is ultra-vires, null and void and of no effect, arguing that it did not comply with the provisions of the 1978 Land Use Act section 28.

He said: "We have contacted our lawyers and it was discovered that the land acquisition did not meet the three essential ingredients of a successful land acquisition.

These include lack of direct service directly to the individual families over the land, non-declaration by

the acquisition notice of the public purpose for the acquisition in line with Section 28 of the 1978 Land Use Act, as well as non completion of compensation payment on the land so acquired.

"Since these ingredients have not been met by FUTO, the acquisition is null and void and of no effect and FUTO is a trespassers on our land.”

Anukan said the continued occupation of the land by FUTO compelled the communities to initiate legal action against the university at the Owerri High Court, adding that there is an injunction

by Justice Ngozi Ukoha restraining the institution from taking possession of the disputed areas pending the determination of the motion on notice. He accused FUTO of disobeying the order.

"Apart from violating the court order, the Pro-Chancellor invited the traditional rulers, women and youth leaders from the communities on the 10th of April 2014 to address them on the hostility between the institution and the indigenes but ended up compounding the problem by suppressing all popular opinions and boasting that he has all it takes to deal with the aggrieved communities. All

not asking the management to cede any part of the ‘ We are land. What we are asking them to do is boundary demarcation so that we know where the school’s land stopped and the little left for the communities. FUTO by the quantity of land acquiesced to them, extending to 11 communities, can be said to be the biggest university in Africa in terms of landmass

’

efforts by the National Universities Commission (NUC), Federal Ministry of Education and the Imo State Government to resolve the issue amicably have been frustrated

by FUTO," he said.

President-General of Ihiagwa community Mr. Emeka Nkwoada claims that the invasion was not by youths of his community.

"We had a peaceful demonstration to protest the arbitrary acquisition of our land by FUTO management after several efforts to settle the matter amicably failed. I can say authoritatively that contrary to what the management of the institution is feeding the public, about 80 per cent of FUTO land belongs to Ihiagwa community.

The implication of this is that the community, which is known for its agrarian activities, no longer has farm lands or any place to build houses for its growing families," he said.

He said all the communities want is a clear demarcation of the land.

“We are not asking the management to cede any part of the land.

What we are asking them to do is boundary demarcation so that we know where the school’s land stopped and the little left for the communities. FUTO by the quantity of land acquiesced to them, extending to 11 communities, can be said to be the biggest university in Africa in terms of landmass.

“The university has over 4,000 hectares of undeveloped land within the school but instead of building on those plots the management chose the disputed areas within the boundary, even while there is a subsisting court order,” he said.

•Additional contribution by Emmanuel Ahanonu.

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THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

EDUCATION

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Bola Ige Scholarship names winners

ASTER Ganiyu Folajuwon Bausit of Community Primary School, Ayekale, Ibadan and Miss Friday Titi of Command Children’s School Odogbo, Ibadan will study at the exclusive Vale College, Ibadan, for their secondary education, courtesy of the Bola Ige Scholarship.

The scheme is an initiative of Mrs Funso Adegbola, to immortalise her father, the late Bola Ige, a former attorney general of the federation.

The oratory-based competition produced two other winners, Master Adewale Boluwatife and Miss Tijani Adetomiwa, who will complete their senior secondary and A’ Levels education in the school.

The scholarship (worth N2million for the primary category and N1 million for the junior secondary category), covers tuition, uniforms, accommodation, textbooks, feeding and examination costs. Pupils from 42 primary schools and 33 secondary schools participated in the competition.

FUNAAB don chairs cattle venture group

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EPUTY Dean, Student Affairs and Associate Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Dr. Olufiropo Awokola, has been elected as the Chairman, Cattle Production Venture (CPV) Stakeholders of FUNAAB. Speaking at the occasion, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Olusola Oyewole, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development), Prof Felix Salako, acknowledged the efforts of his predecessor, Prof Daisy Eruvbetine, in transforming the venture.

He expressed the readiness of the university management to give full support to the project, so as to reduce the financial burden caused by cattle importation. The Vice-Chancellor added that the project had also been impactful on the teaching and research activities of the university.

Prof Eruvbetine appreciated the support so far given to the venture by the university management. She disclosed that the project was made up of 33 stakeholders comprising 19 members from FUNAAB and 14 other members from outside the university.

Apart from providing investment opportunities for the stakeholders, she added that other services rendered by the venture include popularising cattle production in the South-Western states, students training and income generation for the university. She, however, appealed to the stakeholders to always pay up their monthly dues to aid the smooth running of the venture.

Dr. Awokola, who was unanimously elected as the substantive chairman, called on the stakeholders to be more united, focused, committed and determined to take the venture to greater heights.

Safety experts counsel schools

S

By Oyeyemi Gbenga-Mustapha

CHOOLS have been urged to be more safety conscious in order to ensure that their pupils, students and workers are able to participate in their major functions of teaching and learning.

A business development analyst of Insight Health Consulting Limited, Mrs Camilla Osimi, said this at the School Safety Capacity Building conference facilitated by the School Safety Administrator (SCHOOLRUN), a project of the Lagos State Safety Commission.

Mrs Osimi said: "Safety plays an important role in schools and colleges. Ensuring pupils' and students' safety has been part of the ethical framework for decades. Schools also have legal responsibilities for safety. Like other public services, schools and colleges should be adapting to a period of considerable change as well as continuing to meet existing challenges."

To meet the required safety standard, Mrs Osimi said her firm can partner with schools to bring them up to date to international benchmark.

She added: "Safezone is an initiative that provides technical assistance to schools to improve safety through annual safety assessments and safety improvement plans and was developed in collaboration with Royal Society for Safety and Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), a UK organisation that had pioneered safety over the last 100 years."

Mrs Osimi also advocated the infusion of safety and security knowledge into the curriculum.

Foundation appoints BOT THE Felix Ohiwerei Foundation has appointed an eight-man Board of Trustees (BOT) made up of seasoned business men, academics and corporate executives to pilot its affairs.

Mr Lawrence Agose, will chair the board, while Mr. Fidelis Ayebae is the vice chairman.

Other Trustees are, Mr. Emmanuel Imoagene, Prof Emmanuel Emenyonu, Mr Greg Ojieh, Mr. Yusuf Ageni, Mr. Ohiosimuan Ohiwerei and Mr. Idode Ohiwerei, who is the General Secretary.

Addressing the trustees at their inaugural meeting, Mr. Felix Ohiwerei, a former Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries, expressed his happiness with the calibre of members of the board.

"I am quite confident the trustees would ensure the foundation takes off successfully and execute the agreed programmes, drawing from its aims and objectives. I have no doubt that the board as constituted would be judicious in the application of the funds raised from different individuals, corporate bodies and foundation partners," he said.

•The students calling for the release of the Chibok girls during their ‘thank you’ presentation.

160 Niger Delta youths get dream education abroad

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F the thank you song composed by the Niger Delta graduands of Kaplan International College, Lagos, is waxed into a record, it would arguably be a hit among music lovers going by the way both young and old people who attended their graduation at the Eko Hotel and Suites on Monday danced to its rhythm.

The song reflected how the students, 160 of them drawn from the oil producing communities in Niger Delta states of Rivers, Bayelsa, Ondo, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo and Abia felt about being selected from their deprived communities to undergo a one-year foundation programme recognised by universities in the U.S and the United Kingdom.

"We thank you very much for this opportunity. We have learnt from the best. What happened to us is beyond our wildest imagination," one of their spokespersons, Philomena Abe said. "We never imagined this could happen to us," another of the singers said.

The programme, United States Pathway Programme (USPP) was localised for the Nigerian students by the Kaplan International Colleges, United States to enable them undergo the foundation programme in Nigeria before traveling overseas for their university education.

This week, 138 of them will be travelling to 10 universities in the U.S. to complete their degree programmes in science, management and art fields courtesy of a special scholarship from the office of the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs.

The remaining 22 of them will resume at the Nottingham Trent University, UK, in June.

The graduation was the first major forum the students had to relax after what the Principal of the school, Mr Guy Doughty, described as a highly intensive eight month session to bring them up to the standard acceptable by their schools.

He said the students (initially 180), who were accepted for the USPP with their O Levels studied further mathematics, calculus, American Studies, Chemistry, Micro Economics, Business Statistics among others during the programme and came out successful. Though 20 fell by the way side, Gary

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

described the progression rate of 89 per cent as impressive.

"Some 180 students started the programme; 160 are progressing to the university, which is a 89 per cent progression rate. We are so fascinated that we got 100 per cent visa acceptance.

“We started late and had to play catch up. We had classes through March and April, sometimes up to 10 pm. The students had all these challenges yet came out successful.

Please continue the way you have started; continue to make your families and Nigeria proud," he said.

Given the antecedents of previous beneficiaries of the scholarship scheme said to be excelling in various countries worldwide, and the quality of tuition the 160 students would receive abroad, Senator Abdul Ningi, who chaired the occasion, appealed to the authorities of the countries to allow them return home after their studies to contribute to national development.

"You are asked to get educated so that when you come back, you are not only going to be ambassadors of the Niger Delta but of Nigeria.

"And to you Kaplan, we know that in America, wherever you see young people that are good, you call unto them.

Please do not call unto these ones. They are all we have.

When they finish let them come back. Train them well and we will continue to fund this programme," he said.

Ningi also noted that the Niger Delta region is deserving of the programme, which is part of the amnesty initiative aimed at ensuring that nonmilitant youths in the communities that were most affected during the struggle make progress through education.

"I chaired the committee on Niger Delta crisis. I have travelled the nooks and crannies of the Niger Delta and I have seen the pollution of their farmlands and waters. They are farmers and fishermen and they can no longer do these. You do not need to be a Niger Deltan to understand the collective guilt we feel," he said.

The senator was also full of praises for the Special Adviser on Niger Delta, Mr Kingsley Kuku, who he described as passionate about the programme. "I know without you the amnesty programme

to you Kaplan, we know that in ‘ And America, wherever you see young

people that are good, you call unto them. Please do not call unto these ones. They are all we have. When they finish let them come back. Train them well and we will continue to fund this programme

would have been politicized, bastardised," he said.

However, he warned that the programme should seek ways to ensure that after their education, the beneficiaries are gainfully employed.

"We must find a way a way f making sure that when they come back, they get jobs. This is the next phase of the amnesty programme so that when they come back, they won't go to the trenches," he said.

In his speech, Kuku said he was glad the collaboration with Kaplan to localize the USPP has been highly successful. He said the initiative was created as a result of lessons from placing a previous set of 84 students and has

’

saved the government a lot of money.

He charged the students to be focused on excelling in their various schools and make the President proud.

"You have done well and we are all proud of you. I urge you all to draw inspiration from several of your compatriots in universities in the U.S. who, though in their first and second years of studies, are already winning awards for academic excellence. Do not let your parents and your country down. Even more important, President Goodluck Jonathan, the man who has made all this possible and expects the very best from you at all times. Please do not let him down," he said.

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THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

EDUCATION ACE FILE

Provost lauds stadium THE Provost, Adeyemi College of Education (ACE) Ondo, Prof.

Adeyemi Idowu, has praised the Ondo State Government, for the rehabilitation of the Ondo Township Stadium.

Idowu gave the commendation Tuesday last week during a friendly football match to commemorate the institution’s 50th anniversary.

The match between the ACE football team and the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife team held at the stadium.

Idowu thanked the government for releasing the facility for use by the college. He noted that the ongoing rehabilitation of the stadium would go a long way to boost sporting activities in the area.

He added that the managment has made efforts to boost sports in ACE, by constructing a ministadium, which he said when completed, would provide a platform, where local and international football competitions can take place.

Team OAU won the match by three goals to two.

Provost speaks on societal ills THE ACE Provost, Prof Adeyemi Idowu, has said the inability of human beings to resist temptations is the reason societal ills persist.

Idowu, made the assertion in a lecture he delivered recently at the year 2014 synod of Ondo diocese (Anglican Communion), held at the All Saints’ Anglican Church, Ogbonkowo in Ondo town.

Speaking on a topic entitled: ‘’ Making Life Choices’’, Idowu who was represented by the Director, School of Post-Graduate Studies and Research, Dr James Arowolo, lamented what he described as the inability of human race to learn from the mistakes made by Adam and Eve, who disobeyed God, by choosing to eat the forbidden fruit despite available alternatives.

He explained that as a result of the disobedience, God imposed punishment on them, including death, which has become the ultimate price human beings irrespective of social, educational or religious status must pay.

Idowu underscored the need for people to always exercise restraint in using their freewill as it could result to negative consequences.

NANS President counsels youths THE President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Yinka Gbadebo, has advocated the need for Nigerian youths, to rededicate themselves in the in the task of national building.

Gbadebo, who is a delegate at the on-going National Conference in Abuja, made the statement while speaking on a topic entitled: The role of mentoring in preparing youth for leadership at a programme organised by the Student Transition Committee ( STC) of ACE as part of the activities marking the 50th anniversary of the college.

Rather than the youth engaging in arguments about who should be blamed for the country’s woes, Gbadebo advised them to go a step further by focusing on ways they can use their talent to add value to the nation.

He also told the participants to shun acts such as drug abuse, cultism, internet fraud, prostitution among others which are antithetical to national development.

Speaking on the same topic, a former Student Union leader, Comrade Segun Jegede said mentoring and relevant facilities can help prepare youth for future leadership position.

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‘Release our girls’

HE Provost, Adeniran Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED), Otto/Ijanikin, Mr Wasiu Olalekan Bashorun and the former Vice Chancellor of the Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Prof Aize Obayan, have described the abduction of over 200 school girls at the Government Secondary School Chibok Borno State, as detrimental to girl-child education.

The teenage girls were abducted on April 14 by the dreaded Boko Haram sect, and are yet to be found despite intelligence assistance from the United States and United Kingdom.

Speaking with The Nation, Bashorun said the abduction deprives the girls of their rights and indicts society for failing to cater for them.

He said: "To start with, this incident portends violation of the fundamental human rights of the girlchild and the ethical and moral responsibility of the society to give protection to the children.

"The gender insensitivity and flagrant abuse of the girl-child is quite unfortunate. This issue is not about Chibok or about Borno State nor about Northeastern part of the country, but an injury to the soul of

By Adegunle Olugbamila

this nation. It is the worst kind of incident that can happen to Nigeria; this is a sledge hammer smashing the body-less souls of our children. The abduction of these children is a missile attack on our collective conscience as a nation."

The provost urged Nigerians not to rest until they are found.

"All of us must rise up to the situation and collectively speak and act to guarantee their release before further damage is done to their psyche, physiological and biological composition. These girls were about to sit for their final year examination when insurgents invaded their schools. These girls barely 12 and 13 years old, were training to fend for themselves, to contribute to development of their communities and to be useful citizens," he said.

He also appealed to the abductors to release the girls.

"It is not fair to use these poor children as pawns in whatever game that is being played out in our nation," he said.

To forestall future occurrence, Bashorun suggested a complete overhaul of the nation's system with respect to education, security,

• Bashorun

• Prof Obayan

infrastructural, religious, social and moral values.

On her part, Prof Obayan said it is absolutely wrong for the abducted girls to be turned into cheap commodity that would be sold off.

"As women, our contributions globally to issues bordering on health, economy, education, social work and what have you, cannot be over emphasised. Therefore, for anybody to think we can be merely turned to something cheap that can be sold off in the market bothers me," Obayan said.

Speaking on its remote and future implication she added: "Nigeria will be the worst for it as it will deny these innocent girls their future contributions to nation's development and further the opportunity of becoming useful citizens.

"The so-called morals and social values that we are struggling to instill in the child will be a mirage. On the long run, fairness, justice, equity and understanding of love for one's nation will diminish, ditto for the child's ability to trust and adapt to changing environment."

ICAN gets new district

By Mojisola Clement

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•From right: Dozie Anyaegbunam, Chief Marketing Officer, Gidi Mobile; Anele, Mr Olumide Akindele, Group Head Product, Diamond Bank; Mrs Ayona Trimnell, Divisional Head, Corporate Communication and Dr Adegbesan at the launch.

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Candidates to win airtime for studying

TUDYING may become fun for candidates preparing for public examinations by using a new mobile app developed by Diamond Bank in partnership with IT firm, Gidi Mobile.

The initiative, tagged: Diamond Bank Prep Challenge, would see students who garner the highest points answering past questions using the app winning airtime weekly.

The app has questions for past West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE), NECO SSCE, and the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) aimed at boosting the preparation of candidates for future examinations.

At a briefing to launch the challenge last Wednesday at Diamond Bank's PGD Place, Lekki, Mr Jude Aniele, the bank's Head of Retail Banking explained that the financial institution is embarking on the challenge to reverse poor performance in public examinations.

‘

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

He said with more materials to prepare, students do not have to settle for courses they have no passion for in the university.

"Most students are not well prepared before they write exams. They may not be well taught and may not have access to the right materials. If the success rate in WAEC is 28 per cent, how can we make it better? We thought that we can use technology to drive value. Mobile phones have deep penetration in Nigeria. Reading books today is not easy for youths because many are not willing to read. They would rather be online. We found that we can reach them through mobiles.

“Diamond Bank has partnered with Gidi Mobile to produce an app that supplies past questions that can be downloaded free of charge on mobile phones. We have added an incentive. Every week, the first 2,500 to get the highest score will get N1,000 worth of airtime," he said.

We thought that we can use technology to drive value. Mobile phones have deep penetration in Nigeria. Reading books today is not easy for youths because many are not willing to read

’

Explaining further, founder of Gidi Mobile Ltd, Dr Tunji Adegbesan, said the app has 28,950 past questions for 15 subjects tested by the various examinations which can be downloaded on phones, laptops and android devices, except the Apple iOS, which he said would be available later in the year.

He said candidates gain four points for every question they answer correctly, and two for those attempted. Those with the highest points would be announced and rewarded weekly.

"If you reach 1000 prep questions, it is equivalent to 15 examination past questions. It is the first time this is being done anywhere in the world," he said.

With the dismal pass rate, Adegbesan said any initiative aimed at helping youths to improve, like this one should be applauded.

"The failure rate is a situation bordering on national community. The failure rate has been from 25-30 per cent from 2009-2013, which is about two million children. I want to thank Diamond Bank because without their vision we will not be here. The gidimo app is giving youths an opportunity to grow. The app is free, the questions are free. We feel it is innovative and we hope to get our youths to improve their lives," he said.

HE Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has inaugurated a new district society at Mowe, a boundary town between Lagos and Ogun State last Wednesday.

The Mowe district brings to 50 the number of the institute’s branches across the country.

Alhaji Kabir Mohammed, the 49th president of the institute, said at the event that district societies serve as liaison offices to bridge the possible information gap between the institute's secretariat and its members who are spread all over the nation.

He further affirmed that the creation of the new branch is a timely and positive development and a testimony to the organisational abilities of the district’s executive committee.

Mohammed advised the new executive members of the district to be disciplined and not to mortgage their conscience for pecuniary gains.

The ICAN president also suggested projects that the new district can undertake, including establishing libraries and embarking on enlightenment campaigns.

"I also urge you to further propagate the cause of the profession by organising seminars for secondary schools with a view to catching and bringing into the fold younger individuals who are desirous of pursuing a career in the profession," he said.

The new leaders of the new district society include: Alhaji Musibau Lawal (chairman), Mr. Oluwayemi Ezekiel (general secretary), Mr Nwaneri Emeka (vice chairman), Alhaji Taofeek Pennu (treasurer), Mr. Akanbi Wale (financial secretary), Mr John Dada (technical secretary), and Alhaji Ishaq Adeyemi (publicity secretary).

In his acceptance speech, the chairman said he would ensure that all the tenets of the institute are fulfilled and do all that is needed to bring stability, tranquility and promotion to the institution, with the support of members.

"I will like to appeal to my colleagues in this district to continue the good work we have started by your cooperation in all these areas so that our district would take its rightful place in the committee of districts of our great institute," he said.

29

*CAMPUSES

Union holds election as court lifts order

Bad pitch, good players

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*NEWS *PEOPLE *KUDOS& KNOCKS *GRANTS

CAMPUS LIFE

THE NATION

0805-450-3104 email: campusbeat@yahoo.com THURSDAY, MAY 15, 2014

Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.net

email:- campuslife@thenationonlineng.net

Hoodlums suspected to be students of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) have killed Dr Godwin Iwatt, a lecturer at the Department of Microbiology, known for his uprightness and principle. STANLEY UCHEGBU (Graduating student of Accounting) and EMMANUEL OGAR (Graduating student of Electronics and Computer Technology) report.

Murder on campus •Unknown gunmen kill ‘strict’ lecturer

I

T was 2:30pm last Tuesday and the Department of Microbiology of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) was brimming with life. Some students were writing their examination; others milled around, chatting.

Suddenly, gunshots rang out from an office. There was bedlam. Exam supervisors, lecturers and students ran out of the exam hall. Some ran into the Centre for Educational Services (CES) building; others ran into the nearby Physics Department When all was calm, a lecturer, Dr Godwin Iwatt, was found in a pool of his own blood.

He was reportedly shot at close range by two assailants suspected to be students of the institution. The assailants, CAMPUSLIFE gathered, escaped from the scene immediately.

The Head of Department (HOD), Dr B. E. Asikong, who rushed to the scene, found Dr Iwatt screaming for help. He was rushed to the medical centre from where he was transferred to the UNICAL Teaching Hospital (UCTH).

Days after he was said to be responding to treatment, Dr Iwatt died from injuries sustained in the attack. He was said to have been hit on his left thoracic cavity.

When news of his death hit the campus, the department was paralysed. The late Dr Iwatt’s colleagues gathered to mourn him.

Students were shocked.

Why must Dr Iwatt be killed? Could it be because of his straight-forwardness and discipline? These are some of the questions students were asking.

The late Dr Iwatt taught Virology and Microbial Ecology. He was described as “too strict”. He was recently appointed the university’s Examination Officer.

Before the incident, it was gathered that Iwatt received several threat messages from unidentified persons. A source told our correspondent that, two weeks ago, some people visited the late Dr Iwatt’s private laboratory to attack him, but he “escaped miraculously”.

Johnpaul Otobong, a 300-Level Zoology and Environmental Science student, told CAMPUSLIFE that he overheard some students a few weeks ago saying the late Iwatt boasted in the lecture room that nobody could kill him.

The late Dr Iwatt’s home was attacked by

unknown assailants the night before he was killed in his office. But he was said not to have reported the incident to the security unit.

“With all the threats, we still don’t know why an educated man of the status of Dr Iwatt would toy with his life. He never deemed it necessary to report the threat messages he had been receiving to us,” a high ranking university security officer said.

The Chief Security Officer, Mr Boniface Adie, declined comments, referring our reporters to the Information Officer, Mr Effioing Eyo. Eyo, in a statement, confirmed that the late Iwatt was shot at close range in his office by two unknown assailants suspected to be students of the university. He gave their ages to be between 22 and 28. He said the assailants took to their heels immediately and mixed with other students.

He said: “The problem we have at the moment is that we have not yet ascertained who the assailants are. We learnt that the assailants did not only threaten the late Dr Iwatt, they also threatened another lecturer, Dr. Maurice Ekpenyong, in the same department.

It is disheartening that a lecturer has been sacrificed so brutally in the course of carrying out his duty. The murdered lecturer was only abiding by the school’s rules and regulations.”

The management has vowed to apprehend the unknown assailants.

‘ We learnt that the assailants did not only threaten the late Dr Iwatt, they also threatened another lecturer, Dr. Maurice Ekpenyong, in the same department

’

•The late Dr Iwatt

•Poly students held for ‘robbery’-P32 •Vehicle crushes student to death -P32

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

30

CAMPUS LIFE

Pushing For Aisha Out Falode, my with heart bleeds Agbo Agbo

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ISTENING to ace sportscaster and member of CAF Media Committee, Aisha Falode recount how her late 19 year old son, Oluwadamilola Oloruntoba Falode – a student of Audio Production at the SAE Institute in Dubai, United Arab Emirate died penultimate Tuesday on Channels TV made my heart bleed. You could feel the agony and pulse of an aggrieved mother who single handedly raised a promising son who was cut in his prime. How do you console such a mother and widow whose only son was brutally taken from her? That was why this distraught mother went public with her grief to try and find answers to how and what led to her son’s death.

I watched this lady who always looks strong and confident on the screen break down while giving a summary of the private investigations she carried out which questioned the preliminary investigations carried out by the Dubai police on the issue.

She used the press briefing to appeal to the Federal Government to prevail on Dubai government to reopen the investigation and provide justice over the death of her son who she said was allegedly murdered by one by Faisal Aldakmary Al-Nasser, a Saudi national She alleged that there was a plot by the Dubai Police authorities to cover up the murder of his son, adding that they said he fell from the balcony of his 17th floor (Apartment 1703) in Manchester Towers, Dubai Marina, Dubai, on Saturday February, 15, 2014.

Let’s listen to her story: ”We (She, her family lawyer Festus Keyamo, and a family member), travelled to Dubai in April and met with some of my son’s friends who were present in the apartment on that fateful day.

They confirmed that there were five other people with him at the time of his death, four boys and one girl, a Nigerian, a FrenchCanadian national, a South African and a Saudi national. The girl is British.”

08116759750 (SMS only)

•aagboa@gmail.com She continued: “They reported that close to the time of the incident, Toba was on the balcony of his flat with his alleged girlfriend and that Toba was sitting on the rail of his balcony with his feet off the floor and that he was swinging backward and forward.”

The crux of the matter and what fueled her suspicion with the narrative she was told was that the summary accounts given by the deceased’s friends were at variance from what the police reported. According to her, Police reported that his girlfriend was still there with him, warning him to be careful. She later went inside the flat and shortly after, they noticed that Toba was no longer sitting on the railings or on the balcony and must have fallen down from the balcony railings.

So why is she soliciting the assistance of the Federal Government? “My (Falode’s) findings revealed that Faisal Aldakmary Al-Nasser’s father is a major investor in Dubai and so Dubai authorities would do anything to protect the boy because of his father’s investments,” That is her deductions. Without probing deeper, it won’t be difficult to find out why her submission – if true – may go nowhere without the government’s support.

Dubai is a police state where private prosecution is not allowed except carried out by state actors. But in a climate where finance and economics plays a crucial role, this may be an uphill task, nonetheless; I strongly believe the government should approach the Dubai authorities to re-open the case.

She concluded: “I am appealing to my government that I have done much more than I should do as a grieving mother who was left with no option but to start investigating my own son’s murder myself. I implore the Nigerian government to prevail on the authorities in Dubai to re-open the

ESSAY CONTEST FOR UNDERGRADS THE Nation CAMPUSLIFE, in collaboration with AfricanLiberty.org and Network for a Free Society, is calling for entries into an essay competition.

Details are as follows: Question: Freedom creates prosperity. It unleashes human talent, invention and innovation, creating wealth where none existed before. Discuss.

Eligibility: All African Students in any tertiary institutions (university, polytechnic, college of education and technical schools) in Africa. The format of the text should be in Microsoft word and not more than 1,500 words.

Interested students can visit www.africanliberty.org for background materials. Note that plagiarism is not allowed; any text or sentences copied from other people works must be indicated in quotation marks and credit must be given at the bottom of the paper to the author. Any entry that contains plagiarised work will be disqualified.

On the first page of the completed essay, please write your full names, department, level of study and name of institution. Also include your email address and mobile phone number. Send your entries to adedayo.thomas@gmail.com Entries will be received between March 6 and June 6, 2014. Late entries will not be accepted. Winners will be announced on July 3 , 2014. All entries will get a free book titled Why Liberty by Tom G. Palmer OR Foundation of a Free Society by Eamonn Butler. Please be sure you include your postal address if different from your school address.

Prizes: 1st - George Ayittey (Platinum Prize): $1,000 and scholarship to 2014 Students and Young Professional African Liberty Academy (SYPALA)/ASFL at the University of Cape Town Business School, South Africa, from August 14-17, 2014 2nd - Anthony Fisher (Gold Prize): $700 and scholarship to 2014 Students and Young Professional African Liberty Academy (SYPALA)/ASFL at the University of Cape Town Business School, South Africa, from August 14- 17, 2014 3rd - Derenle Edun (Silver Prize): $500 and scholarship to 2014 Students and Young Professional African Liberty Academy (SYPALA)/ASFL at University of Cape Town Business School.

South Africa, from August 14- 17, 2014 4th – The Nation CAMPUSLIFE Media Prize (Bronze): $300 and scholarship to 2014 Students and Young Professional African Liberty Academy (SYPALA)/ASFL at the University of Cape Town Business School, South Africa, from August 14- 17, 2014.

We also have eight consolation prizes of $50 each.

investigation into the murder of my son Toba Falode and bring to book Mr. Faisal Aldakmary Al-Nasser and Miss Olivia Melanie Richards Evans both of whom murdered him in cold blood.”

This is one death too many and there appears to be a similar thread connecting ‘Toba’s death with the death of other Nigerian students in other parts of the world. On July 13, 2013, a 20 year old Cyprus based Nigerian student, Gabriel Soriwei, then a first year student of Electrical/ Electronic Engineering at the Cyprus International University, CIU, Nicosia, was allegedly knocked down by a female driver. He went into a coma and eventually died on September 7, 2013.

It was widely reported back then how five days after his demise; the university authorities flew his remains back to Nigeria just like a parcel, unaccompanied. “Cyprus International University authorities did not deem it fit to even send us a letter of condolence,” an uncle to the deceased, Fidelis Soriwei, lamented back then. He alleged that the police in Cyprus did not even deem it fit to disclose the identity of the woman that killed their son “and even the dollars in his account was withdrawn with his ATM card that was in police custody. This shows how corrupt the police in Cyprus are.” He painfully added.

In January of this year, the Soriwei family protested the ‘nonchalant’ manner the Cypriot government is handling his death. The family’s protest was strategically staged during a preparatory seminar organised by the university for prospective students at Rockview Hotel, Abuja.

It has become the norm now for all manner of “education fairs” to be held- almost on a weekly basis - because of the collapse of our educational system. Yet the government and other stakeholders believe the solution is to “go abroad”- even if it is a mushroom institution – and get a certificate at all cost.

This development even prompted the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Abike Dabiri-Erewa to caution Nigerian students against applying to the Cyprus International University, Nicosia, North Cyprus, for studies, saying the institution is not safe.

Still on the same trail, the Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola told students of Lagos State University (LASU) in March that

he had e-mailed the Ghanaian Parliament, requesting it to investigate the killing of a Nigerian student in that country. Fashola’s intervention followed the killing of Godwin Ayogu, a 300-level student of the University of Cape Coast whose body was dumped by the roadside.

Another Nigerian from Ekiti State, Adelabu Tunde, a student of Lagenda University, Nilai, Malaysia, was also murdered. While his murder is still under investigation, it was quite unfortunate that five Nigerian students were arrested in connection with Ayogu’s death, sadder still as they are his friends. Talk about taking our demons abroad as well.

On February 20 2014, another Nigerian student Godwin Awogbo, a 300 level student of the University of Cape Coast was brutally murdered. His body was found with some his internal organs gorged out, with his hands and legs tied together. Godwin’s death made it the fourth Nigerian student to lose his life in the space of four months in Ghana.

In addition to the killings of the students in UAE, Ghana, Cyprus and Malyasia, the House of Representative Committee on Diaspora is said to be investigating other killings in Russia, Ukraine and South Africa. This follows the death of two Nigerian students - Theresa Olaoluwa Oresanya, 300 level Electrical Engineering and Bede Olunna Ogbu, Master’s Degree Engineering - at the Donetsk National Technical University, Ukraine. They died after what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sources described as circumstances bothering on alleged negligence on the part of the hospital authorities where they were admitted for treatment.

Some may not know how it hurts when a loved one passes on until you feel it personally; I feel Aisha’s pains and will support all efforts to ensure the real reason for her son’s death are properly investigated.

Though no investigation can bring Oloruntoba back, the distraught mother can have her “peace” knowing how and why he died.

While we mourn ‘Toba and the other students, the questions that keep popping up in my mind is this: Would ‘Toba and other Nigerian students killed in foreign lands have died if we have quality institutions here in Nigeria? If there were, would our students move out in droves to mushroom institutions elsewhere? It is not late for us to start putting our house in order. Ghana did it and today the country is a popular destination for education tourism.

Travellers stranded as students protest

•The protesters on their way to the Ooni Palace

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TUDENTS of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, on Tuesday, took to the streets to protest the proposed hike in fees. Isaac Ibikunle, a 500-Level Law student and Students’ Union president-elect, led the demonstration.

The protesters caused gridlock on the Ife-Akure Highway, leaving travellers stranded for hours. The students also prevented vehicles from passing at Ipetumodu Junction, which is opposite the Oduduwa University.

The protesters played football on the

From Sikiru Akinola OAU expressway and sang solidarity songs to express their displeasure.

Travellers going to Abuja, Ondo, Lagos, Ibadan and Ekiti came down from their vehicles after they were prevented from proceeding with their journey.

They protesters, who displayed various placards, were joined by postgraduate students whose fees have also been hiked. They chanted antimanagement songs, saying that the

proposed increment was aimed at killing their poor parents.

The inscription on the placards include: “Omole’s increment is Boko-Haramic”, “Omole, There is God oo” and “Fee hike is daylight robbery”, among others.

Ibikunle said that after exploring all avenues to make the management see reason and reverse its decision, students had no option than to take to the streets. He said: “We will not destroy anybody’s property in the course of the protest. But the management must pity our parents; this is not a private school.”

The chairman of the Murtala Muhammed PostGraduate Hall, Chris Falola, said most of his colleagues applied for their Master’s degree because of their unemployment. “How would they pay the exorbitant fee?” he queried.

A protester said asked: “How could Prof. Bamitale Omole, who led a protest against anti-people policies as an undergraduate, introduced the same policies as Vice-Chancellor?”.

The students later moved through major roads in the ancient town and stopped at the palace of Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade.

They were received by 11 chiefs, who assured them that the monarch would look into their matter.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

31

CAMPUS LIFE A new Students’ Union Government (SUG) executive has emerged at the Delta State University (DELSU). The election came after two disqualified presidential aspirants withdrew their court case against the school, report PHILIP OKORODUDU (Graduating student of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering) and ESE OKODUWA (300-Level Home Economics Education).

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HE Students’ Union Government (SUG) election of the Delta State University (DELSU) finally took place last week. It held after a court injunction restraining the management or its representatives from conducting the election, pending the determination of a suit filed by two disqualified presidential aspirants was vacated.

The exercise was scheduled to hold on April 30 but was postponed till last week, because of the aggrieved aspirants’ suit.

The disqualified aspirants, Wisdom Eghwubare, a 400-Level Sociology student, and Iteveh Ekpokpobe, a 400-Level Mass Communication student, approached the Isiokolo High Court, praying for the restoration of their rights to stand for the election as bonafide students of the university.

The court issued an order preventing the school from holding the elections, pending the determination of the suit.

CAMPUSLIFE gathered that three of the five presidential candidates were barred from contesting by the management, which did not give reasons for its action. But it was learnt that the aspirants were disqualified because they did not meet the conditions set for the exercise, including the minimum of a Commutative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 2.51.

The plaintiffs argued that the management lacked the locus standi to disqualify them without stating the reasons. They prayed the court to compel the school to state the reasons for which they

•Students voting during the exercise

Union holds election as court lifts order were disqualified. The students urged the court to enforce their fundamental human rights as enshrined in the Constitution.

CAMPUSLIFE investigation revealed that after the preliminary screening to ascertain the aspirants’ CGPA, the management undertook further screening on other aspects of their life.

The aspirants said they were not told the other criteria checked by the management to allow students stand for election.

But, barely a week after filing the

suit, the disqualified students were said to have withdrawn it.

CAMPUSLIFE learnt that the plaintiffs were advised against taking the school to court but to iron out their differences with the management.

It was learnt that the students were told that their actions tantamount to a breach of the matriculation oath they swore to uphold and that the management might deal with them if they proceed with the court case.

CAMPUSLIFE was informed

that after wide consultations, the Dean of Students Affairs, Prof Timi Akporhunor, convinced the aggrieved students to withdraw the case, promising that no action would be taken against them. The management, he said, would pay for the expenses they might have incurred on the case.

The election was held in a peaceful. The security personnel covered all strategic points within the voting area.

The open ballot exercise started at 9am and lasted for four hours.

Counting of votes started immediately and ended at 4am.

Obaro Ohwojero, a 300-Level Business Administration, was elected president; Pleasure Gbakena, a 400-Level Microbiology student, is the Vice President.

Others are David Etagbedavwe, 300-Level Philosophy, Secretary General; Stanley Awo, 300-Level Library and Information Science, Director of Information; and Joshua Ezie, 400-Level Political Science, Director of Socials, among others.

Fee hike at Ife The management of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, has increased fees. The decision did not go down well with students, who described it all as an “irrational increment”. SIKIRU AKINOLA (Political Science) reports.

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NEW fee regime is coming at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State. The management has issued a circular, stating its plan to raise the fees paid by freshers when the institution resumes for a new session next month.

Students expressed shock over the development.

The circular reads: “Obafemi Awolowo University is presently the only federal university with the lowest fees in the country. Efforts to review the charges have been in the pipeline for some time now. It is now imperative to take further action on this matter in view of the following: overhead cost allocation and subvention received from the Federal Government has dwindled by over 50 per cent compared to what the university received five years ago.

“Despite the decrease in the overhead allocation from the Federal Government, inflation has eaten deep into the meager allocation to the university and therefore makes the current fees paid by fresh students unsustainable.”

Under the coming regime, fees

may go up by more than 100 per cent, depending on the faculty. For instance, the management proposed N72,400 for fresh students of the faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences against the N17,150 paid by freshers last session.

Students to be admitted in to Faculty of Sciences will pay N78,400. It was N22,150 last session. The proposed fees for freshers in the faculties of Clinical Sciences and Pharmacy are four times higher than last year’s. The students will also pay N20,000 acceptance fee.

A statement by the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr. Abiodun Olarewaju, said the Senate has approved an adjustment in the municipal charges payable by freshers.

Municipal charges include payments for utility services.

The introduction of the acceptance fee in 2011 led to a violent protest, which culminated in the closure of the university and proscription of the Students’ Union activities. The ban on the union was lifted three months ago.

The university said it did not take that decision without considering

•Students discussing their fate after the circular was released by the management

students’ plight, comparing its new fees with other universities, such as like University of Nigeria, Nsukka, the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), the University of Ibadan (UI) and the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN).

The SUG has reacted to the proposed fees hike at its emergency meeting of departmental presidents, faculty executives, hall executives council and the Association of Campus Journalists in the TV Room of the union building.

In a statement signed by the SUG

president-elect, Isaac Ibikunle, and General Secretary, Olatayo Shittu, the union described the proposed fees as an “irrational increment”.

The statement reads: “We may have all come in different ships, but we are in the same boat now as Great Ife. The leadership of the union is designing a strategy to engage the management to reconsider this shocking hike in fees.”

Reacting, Olanrewaju said: “The Senate of OAU has unanimously agreed to further improve on the ratings of the university as the best in Nigeria, especially in terms of sound and quality teaching for its

students. It, therefore, enjoins parents and guardians of new students to assist the university in this regard by being financially active in the payment of this fee.”

Olarewaju pointed out that the Senate has constituted a committee to take care of the financial constraints of indigent students, adding that OAU would continue to do its best to uplift the standard of education in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the proposed fee regime has sparked a protest. Last Tuesday, students demonstrated on Ife-Ibadan Highway, causing gridlock on the expressway.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

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CAMPUS LIFE Poly students held for ‘robbery’

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•The women displaying placards during the rally

OAU women join Bring-back-our-girls campaign

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OMEN in the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife have held a rally to lend their voices to the ongoing #BringBackOurGirls protest.

Over 200 schoolgirls were abducted

by Boko Haram insurgents in a school in Chibok, Borno State.

Decked in white and red clothes, the women, who were numbering about 100, converged on the campus Motion Ground. They later moved round the campus to express their displeasure over the abduction.

The rally, which was led by the Director of the Centre for Gender and Social Policy Studies, Prof Funmi Soetan, had the women carried placards with inscriptions, such as “#BringBackOurGirls Now!”, “Our Staff and Students Condemn the Abduction of Chibok girls”, “If it can happen to the Chibok girls, then no one is safe”, “Real men don’t buy girls”, “I am a parent and I condemn the abduction” among others.

Addressing protesters, Prof Soetan said the rally was held to support the national and international efforts to free the abduction of these future female leaders.

She said the centre was outraged by the grievous crimes perpetrated

From Sikiru Akinola and Kemi Busari, OAU by the insurgents, saying the abduction of the Chibok school girls irked them, as women.

“We are concerned about the plight of these young girls who have not committed any crime to deserve this treatment meted to them by the Boko Haram sect. They have gone to school so that they could be liberated and in the process got punished for what they knew nothing about.

It could be my child, it could be yours. Let’s join hands against insecurity in Nigeria,” said.

She appealed to security forces and well-meaning Nigerians to provide information as to the whereabouts of the missing girls.

The Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Lateefah Durosinmi, said the protest was to solidarise and show empathy for the parents and families of the abducted girls. “We don’t know what they’ve been eating or what they’ve done to them. Anybody that has information on how to get these young girls should not hesitate to provide it.”

The University Librarian, Mrs

Bukky Asubiojo, said her mind had not been at rest since the girls were abducted months ago. She said: “We are lending our voice to the national outcry. These girls have been missing for too long. This is the time to stop all these. The Boko Haram insurgency is assuming higher dimension on daily basis. If we fail to lend our voices and do nothing because it’s happening in the North, how are we sure it wouldn’t get here?”

ASUU Chairman at the institution, Dr Caleb Aborisade, who was part of the protest, said the union was against the abduction of the girls. He advised President Goodluck Jonathan to resign if he is not capable of handling the crisis.

A Lecturer in the Department of Political Science, Mrs Damilola Agbalajobi, an activist, believed strongly that females should be educated and nothing should be allowed to truncate their dreams.

She said there was need for re-orientation of the women folk, adding that there was a lot to be done to tackle the problem of insecurity.

The Director, Corporate Services, Mrs Peju Oyebisi, said the missing girls may never recover from the shock of the incidence.

HE Kwara State Police Command has paraded four students of the Federal Polytechnic, Offa (OFFA POLY) and three others for alleged armed robbery.

The Commissioner of Police, Ambrose Aisabor, while parading the suspects, said four are students of the polytechnic.

The police boss gave the names of the suspects as Babatunde Olawuyi, Matthew Osadahin, Emmanuel Bamikole and Adebisi (surname unidentified).

Aisabor added that the students, on interrogation, had confessed to being members of the Eiye confraternity cult group.

He said: “On April 18, 2014, at about 0015hrs at Atari area of Offa while on raid of criminal hide-out by eagle eyed officers of the command, the suspects were arrested after successfully robbing one Adeolu Emmanuel

From Femi Ogundele OFFA POLY of his belongings including laptops, four assorted telephones, one deck with speakers and N30, 000 cash while armed with dangerous weapons such as cutlasses, axe and mask.”

He added: “On interrogation, the suspects confessed to be members of Eiye Confraternity and also confessed to have been responsible for robberies around Offa and its environs in recent times.”

He said the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded, saying the command recovered two AK-47 rifles from some of the suspects.

He warned residents of the state to desist from lynching suspected kidnappers, adding that the command would not tolerate any mob action on suspected criminals.

2015: Islamic scholar sets agenda for INEC

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N preparation for the 2015 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other stakeholders have been urged to carry out sensitisation programme to educate voters before the exercise.

Luqman Balogun, Secretary of the Conference of Islamic Organisations spoke during the yearly symposium of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Ogba branch, Lagos.

Balogun, who represented Dr Tajudeen Yusuf, pointed out that people needed to be enlightened on the forthcoming general elections to vote with their conscience and avoid selling their votes.

He urged Nigerians to elect credible leaders irrespective of geo-political zones or religious and tribal affiliations.

Speaking on the Boko Haram insurgency, he said: “Boko Haram is not an Islamic agenda; therefore, the citizens should not view them with such eye. Boko Haram is not

From Samson Uwala NIJ OGBA

working for Islam and they are hereby rejected by the Muslim society.”

He noted that there was no compulsion in Islam, as the case of Boko Hram insurgents who were changing the religious views of the abducted girls.

Sulaiman Aledeh, a reporter with Channels TV, said it was unethical for Nigerians to make derogatory remarks about the President and his wife, following recent video footages where the First Lady cried over the abducted girls.

The Head of Department, Mass Communication, Jide Johnson, said Boko Haram was an international and political agenda of some mischievous persons and not an Islamic agenda.

The event was also attended by Abdul-Hakeem Ishola of Silverbird Television and Jubril Folami, Lagos Television.

Vehicle crushes student to death

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•Representative of Hon. Olaleye (second right) presenting the cash prize and the trophy to captain of winning team

Alumnus rewards contest winners

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HE former president of Students’ Union Government (SUG) of the University of Ibadan (UI), who is now a member of Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Olusegun Olaleye, has rewarded the Students’ Union League winner with cash.

Mode Football Cub won the contest and its captain, Ibraheem Badmus, received the prize on behalf of the club. The first and second runners up were also rewarded with cash prizes at the closing ceremony of the league, which held at the Students’ Represen-

From Hammed Hamzat UI tative Council Chamber.

The ceremony was attended by executive members of the union led

by General Secretary, Ayokanmi Akinbuluma and six teams that participated in the league.

The contest was coordinated by Sports Secretary of the union, Opeyemi Akindele, and chaired by his predecessor, Emmanuel Otto.

Opeyem announced David Adelore of Ochollo FC in Nnmadi

Azikiwe Hall as highest goal scorer for scoring 12 goals in the contest.

The Best Team of the league went to Premier FC of Mellanby Hall.

The Mode FC emerged the league winner after securing a total of 21 points in 10 matches. The Noble FC of Sultan Bello Hall came second with 18 points in 10 matches, while Premier FC of Mellanby Hall came third with 14 points.

The union praised the lawmaker for the sponsor of the contest, urging other alumni to give back to their alma mater.

HE Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU), Ile-Ife, was thrown into mourning last week when Tayo Akerele, a 200Level Biochemistry student, was knocked down by a vehicle.

The victim, it was gathered, was crossing the main road to buy water when she was knocked down.

Eyewitnesses said vehicle’s tyre burst on motion, which made the drive to lose control of the vehicle.

The late Tayo, it was learnt, was coming from the opposite direction.

An eyewitness said: “The tyre and the rim got disloctaed and moved in the victim’s direction. Though she tried to avoid the objects, but she ended up being hit by the vehicle’s tyre,” the source said.

The victim was said to have been taken to the OAU Teaching Hospital (OAUTH) but she died five days after.

Tayo’s death was described as a great loss to her department. Her colleagues said she was easy going.

A student who simply identified himself as Femi, recalled his last encounter with the deceased.

Her classmate, Theophilus King, waxed poetic, saying: “No wonder it happened, a short procession of clouds. You were beautiful, but shame on beauty that couldn’t pay the price to woo butchers.”

When our correspondent visited the deceased room in Moremi Hall, a roommate, who did not say her name, said Tayo’s death had left a

•The late Tayo

From Opeoluwa Sonuga OAU

huge hole in their hearts, adding that the pain would linger forever in their hearts. She said none of the roommates could sleep, following the unfortunate incidence.

Other students said the deceased was friendly and unassuming.

Newspaper of the Year

AN 8-PAGE PULLOUT ON SOUTHEAST STATES THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

Reward for bright pupils enlivens school

Artisans urge improved power supply

•PAGE 36

•PAGE 34

PAGE 33

Reviving a dilapidated school •PAGE 36

•Members of the Council taking their oath of office

Imo grassroots govt I takes off

F there are concerns in the state of infrastructural deficits at the grassroots, residents need not worry anymore. The Community Government Council has been inaugurated to respond to those issues. Governor Rochas Okorocha flagged off the CGC at the Ahajioku Convention Centre in Owerri, the state capital, with its members taking the oath of office.

The fourth tier, as the grassroots government is called, is one of the cardinal policies of the Rescue Mission Agenda of the state government, conceived to bring government closer to the people at the grassroots.

“It is the best way to stimulate development in the rural communities,” the governor said.

Although the CGC was fiercely opposed and criticized as an illegitimate arm of government that was not provided for in the nation’s constitution and allegedly created by the state government to stifle the local government system, several

From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

community-based projects have been co-sponsored by the CGC and the government in the last one year to the admiration of residents.

Governor Okorocha has always insisted that for Nigeria to thrive, power should be decentralised from the federal and state governments to the communities where the need for development is more compelling.

The Council which has consequently replaced town unions in the state, has a Chairman, PresidentGeneral, Secretary General, Women and Youth Leaders and a Government Liaison Officer who will be

‘The CGC is responsible for initiating projects according to the priority of the people and also educating them on the programmes and policies of the state government. This means that instead of relying on self-help for communal projects, the communities will only pay counterpart funds for identified projects, with the government providing the greater percentage of the funds’

democratically elected and saddled with the responsibility of running

the communities in collaboration with the government.

The CGC will also be responsible for initiating projects according to the priority of the people and equally educate them about the programme and policies of the state government. It means that instead of relying on self help for communal projects, the communities will only pay counterpart funds for identified development projects with the government providing the greater percentage of the funds.

Inaugurating the Executive Committee of the CGC recently, Okorocha who defined the initiative as a government of the people, by the people, for the people and with the people, charged the members to ensure that agriculture, security, infrastructure development play major role in the CGC functions so as to achieve much desired grassroots development.

He stated that the CGC will be treated as a parastatal under the •Continued on page 34

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

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THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

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RTISANS and small-scale industrialists in Aba, Abia State have called on the federal government to improve on public power supply in the commercial city.

Some of them, who spoke with our reporter, said the growth of their businesses depends on improved power generation and supply.

They lamented that six months after the federal government handed over generation and distribution of power to independent operators, majority of them are yet to feel the impact of the privatization process as they still run their businesses on power generators.

Some fabricating machine owners who spoke with our correspondent said they hardly depend on public power supply for anything.

Some said that they run generators on 24 hours because they need to meet the demands of their customers and therefore do not rely on public power supply to do that.

They said that running and maintaining a generating set is costly and as well affects the charges on jobs they do for their customers which they said sometimes prolong the completion of such jobs.

Mr. Gilbert Nwachukwu, a welder, said over-billing, persistence power outage and corruption still pervade the power sector.

“It is unfortunate that after the federal government handed over the management of power companies to independent companies, not much has been seen of them. Instead, we are still experiencing continuous power outage and when it comes, it doesn’t last long. The crazy bill that we got during the management of the sector by the PHCN (Power Holding Company of Nigeria) is what we still have now.

“The truth is that serious and business-minded persons do not depend on power generated and supplied through the public source to work optimally. The equipment we use in welding here need full voltage. Unfortunately, when the light comes, the voltage is not full for use.”

When our correspondent visited Ariaria International market, Bakkasi and SAMEK shoe plazas in Aba, many traders corroborated that position. They said that power generation and distribution in the commercial city was still far from their expectations as they said that most of them subscribed to independent electricity providers in the market to light up their shops.

They said if power generation and distribution across different zones in the market were not contracted to independent power operators within the market, business activities in the markets would have been in a sorry state.

An official of Bakkasi Shoe Line who spoke anonymously said, “You know that we are being patronised by the international community? So, for us to keep our customers and not portray the state in bad light we resorted to using our own generators or paying for power provided by others in the market. The money paid by each shop depends on the power provider. For some of us that use different agents, we pay as much as N500 or even more every day. Reason is that sometimes, the generator you subscribed to might breakdown and you have to wait for a long time before the generator comes up. Some do go for break around 2pm while others don’t. The options are there, so it is a matter of choice.

A resident of Federal Housing Estate Aba, Mrs. Iheanacho, recalled a bad experience the people had in the area when their transformer broke down. She claimed that their area contributed over N10m to acquire a new transformer after several attempts and appeals made to

Artisans urge improved power supply •These power generators are commonly used by the traders

•A shop at Bakkasi Line From Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

the PHCN. She wants government to resolve the lingering crises surrounding the Geometric Aba power plant so that power generation and supply in the commercial city will improve.

She added, saying that the availability of prepaid metres to electric-

ity consumers will end what she described as “official extortion by electricity providers to many homes in Aba and its environs through outrageous bills they brandish at the end of every month.”

Another resident Mrs. Juliana Okorie said that since they contributed money to repair their transformer at Nwankpa off Faulks Road, the state of power supply in

Imo grassroots govt takes off •Continued from page 33 Ministry of Community Government Council and will be captured in the state Budget pointing out that every community has the capacity to handle matters that affect it with government approving funds to assist them as the need arises.

The Governor explained that Traditional Rulers will act as Chairmen of the Council and must endorse all official documents before implementation, adding that the Secretary Generals will be in charge of activities related to works, commerce, industry, and statistics and planning in the communities in collaboration with the related Ministries.

The Women Leaders according to him will be responsible for women affairs, cleanliness and beautification

of the environment as well as ensure that the free health-care delivery programme for pregnant women in the Health Centres of the State is fully implemented.

He said the Youth Leaders are to take charge of the Youth Must Work programme and ensure that every community is captured in the 25,000 youths recently employed by the State Government and also to maintain peace and order in the communities by fighting robbery, kidnapping, and other vices.

Highlighting the benefits of the CGC, Okorocha maintained that partnering with the people in the actual business of governance will reorient them and change their apathy towards government, stating that “what we have done with the

their area has improved tremendously, though, according to her, they still expect improved power supply in the city.

Mrs. Okorie corroborated outrageous electricity bills at the end of the month which she said was the inability of power firm officials to take accurate metre readings.

“The truth is that we now have steady power supply since we con-

‘It is unfortunate that after the federal government handed over the management of power companies to independent companies, not much has been seen of them. Instead, we are still experiencing continuous power outage and when it comes, it doesn’t last long. The crazy bill that we got during the management of the sector by the PHCN (Power Holding Company of Nigeria) is what we still have now.

The truth is that serious and business-minded persons do not depend on power generated and supplied through the public source to work optimally’ tributed money to change our transformer. But the problem is that they still bring crazy bills at the end of the month which does not the actual amount of electricity we consume in our homes.

What they do is to just sit at home or in their offices to dish out various amount of money as our monthly bills without actually taking the actual meter reading. This is the area were they can be faulted and something urgent must be done to address this injustice and shortchange electricity consumers suffers.”

•Governor Okorocha, his deputy Eze Madumere and members of the CGC shortly after they were sworn in

CGC was to take the governance to the door step of the people and they no longer stand aloof but have moved to take ownership of government projects and policies”.

Advising other state governments

to adopt the policy, Okorocha added further that, “what we have been able to achieve with the CGC since its inception is unquantifiable. For instance the agricultural programme of the government has been a huge

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

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THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

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HE governing council and management of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) have visited a factory, Intercolour Industries Limited, Enugu for an assessment of its products’ integrity.

Led by the chairman of the governing council, Alhaji Abubakar Mohammed, members of the entourage said they were impressed by the “wonderful quality products the paint manufacturing industry turns out.”

Mohammed, who expressed satisfaction with the quality of products of the company, assured that SON would commit itself to the pursuit of beneficial policies for the manufacturing industries in Nigeria.

He said from what he saw at Intercolour, SON would continue to serve as an agent of transformation for the local manufacturing industries in Nigeria.

He told the staff of the company: “We are impressed with the qualities of your products. We will do everything to encourage serious manufacturing industries like yours.”

Mohammed commended the Intercolour industries for perseverance and tenacity towards its set goal without compromising quality of its products.

The Director-General of SON, Dr. Joseph Ikemefuna Odumodu, speaking in the same vein, said the quality of products of the company conformed with the requirements of the standards regulating agency.

He advised the company to try as much as possible not to compromise on the quality of their products.

Odumodu assured the staff of the company that standards Organisation would continue to support factories like theirs to establish branches nationwide adding that his organization was finding sustainable solutions to paint manufacturing industries’ challenges.

According to him, “Government will continue to improve on electric-

Town unions bursary for Imo pupils

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He announced that a special condolence visit would be undertaken by the Igbo governors to the family of the “fallen Igbo hero.”

To tell what manner of man Uwechue was, even those in incarceration sent their goodwill messages. Such messages came from former governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori.

At his home town, Ogwashi-Uku in Delta State thousands of people gathered to pay their last respects to the Igbo leader. These included Senator Anyim Pius Anyim who represented the President, serving and former governors, ministers, diplomats, politicians and Ohanaeze Ndigbo chieftains.

Tributes also poured from different quarters and from prominent Nigerians. Former Vice President Alex Ekwueme wrote in his tribute: “It is a •Continued on page 36

•Continued on page 37

lishing the CGC in Imo State for the purpose of bringing rural development, priding that in the near future, Imo CGC will be a reference point for other States of the Federation and beyond because of its numerous economic and social benefits.

The State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dr Theodore Ekechi, described the CGC as the approach to government in the Southeast part of the country, given their Republican nature.

He said that the passion displayed by the people during the CGC election across the state was an indication of it acceptability, noting that, “the people at the grassroots now see themselves as partners in progress with the state government and they can do more now to develop the communities because there is now a legal frame work that guides these activities”.

Outlining the benefits of the CGC, the Commissioner noted that it will bring government closer to the grassroots, “it is a concept of taking government and governance to the grassroots”.

According to him, “this government has been vindicated on both the popularity and the timing of the concept of the CGC. We have been vindicated in the sense that the turn out and the massive participation by indigenes in the last CGC election have really shown that there is a craving for participatory government at the lowest level.

“If you compare the emotional attachment in the participation with that of normal election, you will see the difference. Because there is a total commitment on the part of the people to ensure that their choice of candidates are elected unlike in secular elections”.

The Chairman of the State Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Sam Ohiri, who lauded the takeoff of the programme, recalled that many people doubted the reality of the CGC government when it was introduced but expressed relief that everyone in the 637 autonomous communities have come together as a team to develop and move their communities forward.

•The visitors examine the firm’s documents

Enugu paint firm hosts SON team

From Chris Oji, Enugu

ity, security and provision as well as implementation of policies for conducive operation of local industries. There is a made in Nigeria Patronage Bill at the National Assembly to ensure that local industries and made in Nigeria products compete favourably in the market.”

The managing director of the company, Mrs. Juliet Okeke while explaining the production processes to the visitors, promised that the company would not lower its standards but

rather improve on the quality of the their products.

According to her: “Our manufacturing processes are in full compliance with the Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS) as evidenced by the award of MANCAP certificate to us by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria for which we celebrate some weeks ago. “ She said Intercolor Industries set up the manufacturing facility in Emene, Enugu inorder to bring quality products and services closer to Nigerian customers and it commenced full pro-

duction in January 2011 with an initial capacity of 6 million litres per annum with functional sales outlets in major cities across Nigeria.

The company had earlier been awarded the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) certificate by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

MANCAP was put in place by SON to ensure that all locally manufactured products conform to the relevant Nigerian Industrial Standards (NIS) before such products were presented for sale in Nigerian markets or exported.

Igbo mourn former leader, Uwechue

•The late Uwechue

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GBO intellectuals and leaders gathered at Enugu and later OgwashiUku to pay their last respects to a great Igbo son and pan-Africanist, Ambassador Ralph Chukwu Uwechue, the Ogwuluzame of Ogwashi-Uku Kingdom. Uwechue

died in an Abuja hospital on March 13, 2014 after a protracted illness.

At the Enugu event organised by the World Igbo Leadership, Education and Cultural Council (WILECC), several Igbo intellectuals like Prof Ukwu I. Ukwu, Prof Alex Nwokedi, Prof Bonny Okere, Prof Ben Obumselu, Chief Nduka Eya, Navy Commodore James Aneke, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma, Bishop Obi Onubogu, Mrs. Maria Okwor, Dr Kalu Uke Kalu, Prof Joe Irukwu, Col Ben Gbulie, Rtd Justice Agbeyeye, Dr Joe Nwaorgu, Secretary-General Of OhanaezeNdigbo , Chief Gary Igariwey, the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, women and Youth leaders and several other notable Igbos were in attendance.

Also present was a high powered delegation representing the governor of Abia state and Chairman of the Forum of South East Governors, Chief T.

From Chris Oji, Enugu

A. Orji, led by the Okwubunka of Asa, Chief Don Ubani who is also the Commissioner for Petroleum and Solid minerals in Abia state.

The LOC Chairman of the event and President of WILECC, Hon. Chuks Iegbu who was also the Senior Special Assistant to the late Uwechue, set the tone for the event by going into memory lane to eviscerate the past achievements of the Pan-Africanists.

The event featured solemn songs and numerous funeral messages.

Abia State Governor and Chairman of Southeast Governors Forum T A Orji, in his message lamented that Ndigbo, Nigeria and Africa have lost one of their finest diplomats, leaders and statesmen. He prayed God to console the family and re-iterated the support of the Southeast governors to the bereaved family.

•Female members of the council taking the oath of office

success in the communities because it is much easier to get to people to cooperate and embrace government policies through their own representatives”.

He posited that the CGC will un-

lock the economic and developmental potentials that abound in the rural areas, which had not been harnessed and improve the standard of living of the people and also enhance grassroots participation in gover-

nance.

The Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Mr. Chukwuma Machukwu Umeh (SAN) who administered the oath, said the Governor championed the course of estab-

By Uyoatta Eshiet

O fewer than 24 pupils of Imo State will be awarded scholarship by the state’s Towns Development Association (ISTDAL), Lagos Chapter as the group marks its Children’s Day. The event is scheduled for May 29 at the Basketball Pitch, National Stadium, Lagos State. Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha, Mr. Tony Iheanacho, Group Managing Director, Integrated Oil and Gas, as well as other dignitaries and thousands of Imo citizens resident in Lagos are billed to attend the event.

The President of ISTDAL, Pastor Okechukwu Anorue said each of the 24 beneficiaries, who must hail from Imo, will get N50,000 to help them in their studies.

The event, marking the association’s second anniversary, is in partnership with integrated Oil and Gas Limited.

Speaking at the Imo State Liaison Office, Victoria Island, Lagos, Okechukwu said the essence of the event was to bring all Imo State indigenes in Diaspora, especially in Lagos, together for the purpose of reviving the Igbo culture, Igbo language which is facing extinction and help the indigent ones among them as the government cannot do enough for the citizens.

The chairman of this year’s ISTDAL Children’s Day event planning committee, Nze John Okpara said the association is made up of about 500 Imo State town unions in Lagos, adding that this year’s edition is unique as a lot of activities are lined up for both the children, parents and others. He listed some of the activities as: opening of saving accounts for the children at the venue; training on the culture and benefits of saving; bursary to 24 students; visit to motherless babies’ homes, thereby imbibing in the children the spirit of care for the less privileged members of the society. Others activities include training on health issues such as H.I.V and AIDS; training on IT and training on the culture and language of the Igbo people.

Nze Okpara said they will use the event to train the children to imbibe the culture of savings early in life, adding that several experts have been lined up for the various training sessions that will be very beneficial to the children.

“It will be a day to promote the Igbo culture and every participating child is expected to dress in complete Igbo attire and the best dressed will be given a price. Other highlight of the event will be a quiz competition in Igbo language where the winner will go home with N50,000,” he added.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

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THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

Igbo mourn former leader, Uwechue •Continued from page 35 matter of pride to the Igbo nation that Ambassador Uwechue rose to the high position of president general of Ohanaeze, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation.”

Former Nigeria’s number two military leader, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe wrote: “Ambassador Uwechue has done so much for this country Nigeria and for the Igbos in the various areas his activity, talents and expertise spanned to in his service to mankind.”

The Secretary to the Federal Government, Anyim Pius Anyim said of Uwechue: “A bridge builder and quintessential intellectual, Ambassador Uwechue was a foremost Igbo, a people he proudly served as their PresidentGeneral. In his death, the Igbo nation, Nigeria, Africa and the entire world have lost a peace lover, a pathfinder, an achiever, an inspirational leader and infact a courageous dutiful family man.” And the incumbent President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Enwo-Igariey said thus: “When he appeared at the centre stage of Igbo politics in 2008, with his intimidating profile as President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, there was little or no challenge. True to expectations, he brought intellectual depth to debates, especially as it concerned Igbos in Nigeria.”

The Southeast Council of Traditional Rulers led by Eze Cletus Ilomuanya eulogized: “Your leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo restored stability and love for one another. You were a peacemaker. We mourn you with pride because you were special breed and a rare gem who made Ndigbo proud.”

Around 2-pm on that day, the casket bearing the remains of the great diplomat was laid to rest in the Garden of Peace at his Africa House amid much wailing.

Ambassador Ralph Uwechue was born in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, on May 13, 1935 (May 13 –the Blessed Virgin Mary’s Apparition in Fatima, Portugal in 1917, hence Ambassador Uwechue’s special devotion to Our Lady of Fatima). He attended St. John’s (RIMI) College Kaduna from 1949 – 1954, where he was a foundation student. Young Uwechue whose talent was quickly spotted by the school authorities, served as the senior Prefect for five consecutive years, during which he developed remarkable leadership skills. As a result of his equally outstanding academic performance – leading his class throughout – he was retained as a teacher in the school for a period of eighteen months before proceeding for further studies.

Ambassador Ralph Uwechue held a BA (Hons.) degree in History from the University College, Ibadan, 1960 and a Diploma in International Law and French Language, 1964, from the Geneva African Institute, Switzerland.

A career diplomat, Uwechue joined the Nigerian Foreign Service at its inception in 1960, and served in a number of countries, including Cameroon, Pakistan and Mali. He was Nigeria’s first diplomatic envoy to France, where he opened the Nigerian Embassy in Paris, 1966. Ambassador Raph Uwechue also served with UNESCO in Paris as Consultant on the “General History of Africa” project between 1967 and 1970, before he retired to private business in 1970, as Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of magazines and Books on Africa, published in both English and French. He was the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the KNOW AFRICA books – a three-volume encyclopedia comprising, Africa Today, Africa Who’s Who, and Makers of Modern Africa. These are textbooks for the study of African Affairs in secondary and tertiary institutions in Englishspeaking Africa. For 10 years (1980– 1990) Ambassador Uwechue lectured on Africa Affairs at the Royal College of Defence Studies, London, United Kingdom.

•The donor, Michael Odoh (sixth left); Mrs Onugha (fifth left) and the school teachers

•Some of the books donated to the students

Reward for bright pupils enlivens school T

HE recognition changed the sombre atmosphere.

Community Secondary School, Amawbia in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State had little to cheer up anyone. They have insufficient teachers and their infrastructure have dilapidated, but the students are not ones to let any of these deficits dampen their spirits and drive to succeed.

No fewer than 20 of them have shown the stuff they are made of, excelling in their academics and some even fabricating a few tools of their own.

For their efforts, they have been rewarded, and the recognition injected life into the institution as well as the community.

The 20 were were rewarded for being special students.

A philanthropist from the community, Chief Michael Odoh gave them quality bicycles in addition to a pile of books for the entire school.

Before now, the community secondary school had been abandoned by successive governments in the state, with majority of the buildings collapsing.

Also, the school lacks a borehole while the students trek to the premises of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) which is located in the community to fetch water to drink.

The community school which boasts a population of over 360 students, lacks sufficient teachers and materials to excel like

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

other urban schools, yet the students are giving others a good run for their privileges.

But the interesting aspect of the donation to the talented students on the day was the visit of the Anambra State House of Assembly Committee on education to the school led by Ebele Obi for what they called their oversight function without looking towards the direction of the students.

The attitude of the lawmakers sparked murmurings and unprintable names from the crowd that thronged the school arena to witness the good thing that was happening to the school.

The joy of the school Principal Mrs. Rose Onugha knew no bounds as she sang praise songs, clapped with the students and visitors and even danced to the admiration of the crowd.

The teachers were not left out as they danced to the rhythm of the Christian songs played by the disc jockey.

The special students were those who had consistently maintained first to third positions from junior secondary to senior secondary.

One of the students, Nsube Okonkwo, who constructed an air conditioner in the school, also won a price in the central senatorial zone in the state for his craftsmanship.

•The special students and their bikes

•One of the school blocks

‘The joy of the school Principal Mrs. Rose Onugha knew no bounds as she sang praise songs, clapped with the students and visitors and even danced to the admiration of the crowd. The teachers danced to the rhythm of the Christian songs played by the disc jockey’ Some others who made both their parents and teachers proud in the school included Mathew Okoye, Uba Dabere, Godwin Vivian, Ikebudu Perfect and Udeozor Nwamaka, among others.

The donor of the 20 bicycles and books to the community school, Michael Odoh told the Nation that his aim was for the students to know the importance of education and take it seriously instead of engaging in different

crimes.

Odoh said that the donation would be a continuous exercise from him just to motivate the students, adding that very soon, other schools in the community would equally benefit.

“This school used to be boarding but things have gone bad that no student leaves in the school premises any longer, the principal and teachers who used to leave in the buildings have no where to stay again, all these

things are painful” Furthermore, he said that the bicycles and books he gave to the students were to encourage them the more, adding that the selection was based on the academic performance of each of the students.

For the principal, Mrs. Rose Onugha, “what this means is that there is no environment a student who is serious with his studies will not learn; this is not an urban school but a community school.

“We are happy with this development, we are proud of our students and proud of our illustrous son, Chief Mike Odoh he has made us proud because he knows the importance of education”.

The deputy president general of Amawbia community, Sir Chris Nwoye, said what the donor had done should be emulated by others in the society.

He said that Odoh has been the shining light for some of the rural schools in the community, adding that only God will reward him in all his gesture.

A retired principal in the state who witnessed the distribution of the bicycles and books, Dr Godwin Okeke said the idea was

conceived some months back to give the special students a voice. ”What has been done is to give the students the sense of belonging for them to continue with their exemplary lives, this is just the beginning of good things to some of you, what this shows you is that there is reward for hard work”.

Another person who spoke with the Nation was Pastor Chris Onugbolu, the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) chairman of the school who said he was overwhelmed by the donor’s gesture.

The man who is also a member of the community’s education committee told the Nation that they were proud of Odoh who he said had done what the rich in the society could not do.

However, the Nation gathered that the children who attend the school always have their hearts in their mouth for fear of being attacked by herdsmen.

The school which is not fenced, the Nation gathered is invaded on weekly basis by the cows and herdsmen which forces the school children to run for their dear lives.

This was confirmed by two of the teachers who did not want their names in print including stu-

dents, noting that what they need are assistants from the state government by fencing the environment.

One of the recipients of the bicycles Nsube Okonkwo commended the donor of the books and bicycles from remembering some of them that have not enough from their parents.

According to him, “I did not know I will be one of the beneficiaries because we were not told the criterion to be used in sharing it but all the same, only God will reward the man” he said.

‘What this has done is give the students a sense of belonging and help them to continue with their exemplary lives; this is just the beginning of good things for some of you. What this shows you is that there is reward for hard work’ Apart from the two buildings renovated by the Peter Obi administration after years of aban-

donment, virtually all the buildings in the school are not in good condition.

Town unions bursary for Imo pupils •Continued from page 35 To enable ISTDAL open the account for the children at the venue, the President said parents are to come to the venue with: three passport photographs of each of the children; one passport of either of the parent; the child’s birth certificate; photocopy of a utility Bill and Identity Card or National ID card of either of the parent. Pastor Okechukwu said opening account for the children is in a bid to build a structural base for them and also to pass a message to the government that they are not doing enough.

Okechukwu said the 24 candidates aged between one and 18 years will be chosen through an open lottery on the venue in the presence of everybody; eight will be chosen from each of the three senatorial districts of Imo State in Lagos. There are various packages for the less

privileged ones, he added.

On the over 200 girls abducted from a Chibok school in Bornu State, Pastor Okechukwu advised the Federal Government to do everything possible to get the girls back to their parents. He said what we are experiencing today is a national embarrassment. He appeals to the sect not to harm any of the girls but to release them to their parents unconditionally, adding that the abduction is a smear. In as much as we have accepted international assistance, Okechukwu advised the government to confine their operations to the three North-Eastern States only and never to make the mistake of allowing the foreigners to come into the country from there. ‘’We are not weak as a county, we may have some hitches but we are not weak, we should not allow foreigners into our country,” he said.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

38

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

O

NCE, EZIOKPOSI High School was one of the best secondary schools in the old Ohaozara Local Government Area which currently includes Ohaozara, Ivo and Onicha local government areas in present-day Ebonyi State.

Many parents wanted their children to attend the school judging from its high standards, even as the school had some of the best infrastructural facilities. This led to the large population of the school.

But that was then.

Today, the once-revered and popular school has become a shadow of itself. A visit to the school revealed that the school has become utterly dilapidated. Almost all the structures in the school have been abandoned.

The walls of some of the buildings have fallen down while some have been taken over by bushes, even as reptiles and other animals have made the buildings their permanent abode.

In fact, only the Principal’s office, one classroom block and the laboratory seem to be in use even though they are also in dilapidated state.

The lives of the students and staff are in danger as it was discovered that the foundations of the buildings have become very weak, an indication that they could collapse at anytime.

Recently, a rainstorm blew off the roof of the Principal’s office block, destroying documents and other valuables, including documents of the old students of the school.

Principal of the school Elder John Nwachukwu blamed the awful condition of the school on the state government’s over-concentration of resources on the 27 pilot boarding schools it is building in the 13 local government areas, resulting in the neglect of other schools.

He said: “It has been bad and we have been complaining to the state government but it seems it is concerned with pilot schools and this is not one of the pilot schools. That is why it is neglected. We are managing the situation.

“Apart from poor accommodation, the school also does not have enough desks for the students.

“Hon. Darlington Okereke just donated some desks which some of them are using and the state government brought in some which some of the junior students are using,” the Principal said.

He said all efforts to get relevant stakeholders in Okposi community and the state government to come

•Another diapidated buiding in the school

Reviving a dilapidated school From Ogochukwu Anioke, Abakaliki

to their rescue have so far not yielded results.

“When I assumed duty as the Principal, I wrote to all the clan heads to come and see the decay for themselves and that prompted Hon. Paul Okorie to make a promise of renovating one block but till now nothing has been done.

“So, the wind has even added more problems by blowing off the roof of my office. All the documents, including the certificates of the old students, have been destroyed by rain.

“Those in charge do not care to visit the school to know the extent of decadence despite so many letters written to them, including the chairman of Secondary Education Board in the state.

“I have been in the school for seven years and the condition has been deteriorating every day. The place is in a shambles. The teachers are trying their best. We have qualified teachers and we have to commend them. If not for their dedication there won’t be students here.

“In fact, my complaint has been that the environment is not conducive enough for learning. The number of students has continuously

reduced. In fact, we are working and studying under pains,” he lamented.

Dr Ikechukwu Igwenyi, National President, Eziokposi High School Old Students’ Association blamed the deterioration of the school on misplaced priority by the state government.

His words: “There was a time we held a reception for some people from our community who were given appointment by the state government. The Deputy Governor, Dave Umahi was there and he made a promise. He personally promised to take up the renovation of a building here and the old students wrote to thank him and reminded him of that promise. But up till now noth-

ing has been done. It is a promise you cannot force him to fulfill.

“At our own level, there is a limit to what we can do because we just started work. We started by trying to improve on the sector by getting the students together, talking to them by way of moral instruction and counseling. We have donated three cups to the school, we have organised inter-house sports competition, we have organised essay competitions where we gave out prizes and the next area is to improve the structural status of the school.

“We have asked most of our •Continued on page 40

Abia police chief hails state poly on peace

A

BIA State Commissioner of Police Mr Ibrahim Adamu has praised the Rector, Abia State Polytechnic Aba, Sir Allwell Onukaogu, students and staff for the internal peace in the institution.

Ibrahim, who was on a familiarisation tour on all government and privately owned educational and business institutions in the commercial nerve of the state, said he was impressed on the level of peace most institutions operating in Aba have recorded so far since he assumed office as the state police chief.

The commissioner, who was accompanied on the visit by unit heads of police formations under Aba Area Command, commended Abia Poly rector and its management on the role they are playing in giving students in the school

•Abia State Commissioner of Police (fifth left); Sir Allwell Onukaogu (fourth left) and other Abia Poly and police personnel during the visit

‘The commissioner, who was accompanied on the visit by unit heads of police formations under Aba Area Command, commended Abia Poly rector and its management on the role they are playing in giving students quality and quantitative education which have equally helped them to also manage violent activities in the school’ quality and quantitative education which he said have equally helped them to also manage violent activi-

ties in the school, adding that such commitment have made them one of the reputable institutions in the

state and indeed, the country at large.

The police chief further pledged the continued support of police in Aba and the state in sustaining a crime free teaching and learning environment as he solicits the cooperation of the students, teachers and management whenever the need arises.

The rector in his response, thanked the commissioner for finding time out of his busy schedule to visit the institution and went ahead to request more police presence at the proposed Osisioma cam-

pus of the institution.

According to Sir Onukaogu, the management of the institution has worked cordially with past administrations and is still committed to work in synergy with the present police leadership in the state.

He thanked the CP for helping Abia State government to make the state peaceful for all and sundry and also for protecting some of the equipment in the school which he said cost the state government fortune to acquire from being vandalized by hoodlums.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

39

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT Lawyer urges Southeast governors: abolish non-indigene policy

F

OUNDED, run and patronised by the colonialists, Aba Sports Club has since changed hands, though it retains its long-standing prestige. It was founded in 1921 and incorporated in 1926, and used to be known as Aba European Club, with no African as members at inception.

Since then, the club has grown and has over 1,000 members with Sir Anyanso Nwachukwu, Nze C. O Maduako, Pa Sam Ikenze, Nze Macaulay Alozie Nwankwo as some of the pioneer black members.

Currently, the club, which was earlier dominated by Europeans, has become popular as it has become a melting point where the elite and business class in the commercial hub of Abia State and its environs come in for relaxation and exchange of ideas after a hectic day.

It has become a norm in the club that an incumbent president, after two years of being at the helm of affairs, steps down from office to give way for an election that will produce another president to run the affairs of the club for the next two years.

After what many described as the most keenly contested election, a medical doctor and chairman, Nigeria Medical Association of Nigeria, Aba chapter, Dr. Uwa Onwuchekwa emerged as the 62nd and 23rd Black President of the prestigious club.

The installation of Dr. Onwuchekwa as the President of Aba Sports Club not only attracted his associates from the medical profession, it also attracted friends of the club from all walks of life.

The main auditorium of the club was filled to its capacity by friends and well-wishers of Dr. Onwuchekwa. Some eminent personalities that attended the event were Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Worgu, Abia State Governor Theodore Orji who was represented by his deputy, Sir Emeka Ananaba, Hon. Mao Ohuabunwa, former member of the House of Representatives who represented Arochukwu/ Ohafia Federal Constituency, Alex Otti, Group Managing Director/CEO Diamond Bank PLC, The President, Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited and Mr. Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, among other personalities.

In his inaugural address, Dr. Onwuchekwa praised the founding fathers and efforts of past presidents for piloting the affairs of the club to its present status, even as he described the club as a “lasting legacies bequeathed” to them by “the ancestors and the colonial masters” as the club has continued to remain a place where the best minds in industry, commerce, and other professionals come to relax, discuss and as well attempt to set agenda for the government.

Dr Onwuchekwa said: “We all have a duty to preserve, maintain and indeed, improve on what was handed over to us by uncommon courage, sacrifice and tenacity of my predecessors in office, who had the audacity not to let go on the standards, the ethics and clubbing etiquette.

“The club is home to majority of the opinion moulders available to any adult generation.

Even though we are into partisan politics, individually and collectively, we should not abdicate our God-given role as keen spectators, commentators and change agents in our societies.

“The club as a socio-cultural entity is only a microcosm of the

From Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

A

•Abia Deputy governor Sir Emeka Ananaba (middle) inspecting the inaugural cake while Dr. Uwa, his wife and chairman of the occasion watches

•Some of the dignatries at the event

Aba club gets new president ‘We all have a duty to preserve, maintain and indeed improve on what was handed over to us by uncommon courage, sacrifice and tenacity of my predecessors in office, who had the audacity not to let go on the standards, the ethics and clubbing etiquette’ From Sunny Nwankwo

larger society; so together we must endeavour to set the right

agenda and elevate the tempo of good governance to enable us enjoy our great club,” he said, adding that his administration

was going to embark on various projects that would improve the image of the club and the commercial city of Aba. Earlier in his speech, Governor Orji, through his Deputy, commended members of the club for reviving social activities in the once-deserted city.

Ananaba urged them to continue in their support for Governor Theodore Orji’s administration, even as the present government was poised to continue in its efforts in extending dividends of democracy to all the nook and cranny of the state and to ensure that business activities thrive in the commercial city and its environs.

Highlight of the event was the swearing-in of Dr. Dr Onwuchekwa which was performed by the club’s lawyer and his cutting of the inaugural cake with the assistance of his wife and Abia State Deputy Governor.

N Aba, Abia State-based lawyer Mr. Onapuruagu Prince Ukaegbu has urged Southeast state governors to emulate Rivers State Governor Amaechi who, he said, displayed true spirit of nationalism by abolishing the non-indigenes concept in his state.

Ukaegbu, speaking during a courtesy call on him by some displaced workers from the Abia State civil service, wondered why issues surrounding reabsorbing disengaged Abia workers in their respective southeast states linger since 2011, describing it as “discriminatory against fellow Igbo that is only applicable in a backward society like ours.”

The lawyer and also a Human Right activist added; “personally, I am aware of this issue, but have not been aware of the magnitude of the problem and I think that may equally be the same problem with the other governors.

Before now, I never knew that after non-indigenes were sacked from the employ of the Abia State government, that subsequently, through the backdoor, some non-Igbo indigenes were recalled. That makes it more appalling. When you chased away your brother to embrace somebody one can call a stranger. So, I think the other southeast governors may not actually understand the depth of the problem and it now behooves on me to highlight this issue and bring to the knowledge of Abia State Governor who is the chairman of the southeast governors’ forum and other governors.

The other day, Governor Rotimi Amechi took a bold step by setting aside the issue of non-indigene. Nonindigene as a policy doesn’t make sense. It is only applicable in a backward society like ours. In America, once you are born there, you become an automatic indigene. The issue of indigene is a tool employ by politicians to discriminate and it is one of those antics that politicians use to cause disaffection between the various components this country. My take is that the issue of indigene-ship should be done away with once and for all, not just in Abia State, but across the country because it doesn’t make sense. If I am born in Aba, lived all my life in Aba, why will you then come up and tag me a non-indigene when it is a place I have resided all my life? It doesn’t make sense. Does it mean that if I live in Lagos and I am an indigene of Kaduna that I should be going to work in Kaduna from Lagos? Is that what it means or are we actually asking everybody to go back to their states?” He queried.

Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Mrs. Fidelia Ihejirika said that the group was on the visit to beg the lawyer to assist the group draw the attention of Abia State and other Southeast governors on their plight since their individual and collective efforts to draw the attention of Abia State and their respective governors to their plight failed.

Ihejirika who described the policy of disengaging non-indigenes from the state civil service as one that would further fasten the cord of discrimination, disunity and disintegration across Igbo Land alleged that the recent recall to the state civil service by the Abia State government only represents 2% of the total number of sacked workers.

According to her “posterity will never forgive us if we fold our arms and stand aloof watching some people destabilize and make nonsense of the •Continued on page 40

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

40

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

Reviving a dilapidated school •Continued from page 38 former students who are architects to come down and do an evaluation of the buildings and the level of decadence so that we know the ones we can go into.

“Primarily, it is lack of value system. This is the foundation of education, and you see when emphasis is in governance rather than infrastructural development, people do not realise the need for them to renovate the buildings so that they will be reinforced to last longer. So, I think it is neglect and misplaced priority that has led to this level of decadence of the school.”

On his part, the Coordinator of Okposi Development Centre, Mr. Magnus Eze promised to renovate the Principal’s office immediately to safeguard the documents.

“I have seen a letter from the principal crying for help and I felt it was very important to save the situation.

The condition is quite pathetic, particularly as it is happening to a place where I passed out about 27 years ago.

“We have been making efforts.

We will take the issues to National Assembly members to see what they will do. I sympathise with the state government because the resources at the disposal of government cannot match the expectations or demands.

“What the school needs is total turnaround. No building should even stand here again. They need entirely new structures. I don’t know how you begin to amend or repair these structures. Most of them are over 60 years old, because the place was a primary school before it was converted to a secondary school in 1982. So, there is no way it can withstand the vagaries of nature 60 years after.

“The government cannot do all this. That is why we are appealing to financial institutions, corporate bodies and public-spirited individuals to step in and assist government.

The school needs serious upgrade

‘What the school needs is total turnaround.

No building should even stand here again.

They need entirely new structures. I don’t know how you begin to amend or repair these structures. Most of them are over 60 years old, because the place was a primary school before it was converted to a secondary school in 1982.

So, there is no way it can withstand the vagaries of nature 60 years after’ before it goes into extinction. We will try to repair the principal’s office immediately to protect the documents and other important materials that are being messed up by the rains.”

•The Principal’s office with blown-off roof

•One of the buidings overgrown with weeds

Lawyer to Southeast governors: abolish non-indigene policy •Continued from page 39 unity and integrity of Ndi-Igbo fro which our past heroes like Sam O. Mbakwe, Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu, Michael Okpara, Dr. Francis Akanu Ibiam etc. worked very hard and even sacrifice their lives to secure and sustain.”

A cross-section of the group in an interview pleaded with the Abia State government to reinstate them or pay their entitlements. They also demanded that some of their colleagues who are due for retirement should be paid their

pension for which they said they have worked all their life.

When contacted, Charles Ajunwa the Chief Press Secretary to the Abia Stated Government (SSG) described as unfounded some of the allegations raised by the group.

“You know that there was an advertorial in national dailies that they should reapply which most of them did. So, those people after passing through the normal process were absorbed into the system. Even their names were published in the national dailies. Those things are there for the public to see. Their names and phone

numbers were also there. There is nothing like people coming through the backdoor.

You know that this thing is a process. It is all about documentation because it is a government policy and there is no discrimination of any kind. You are a journalist; you saw the names that were published in three national papers.

They (names of disengaged workers) are all there and are all verifiable.

These names are printed out black and white, they are not tales that were cooked up. These names are there and the people are back and they are doing their work diligently. You can come to the

•Illegal immigrants sent home by the Nigeria Immigration Service, Abia State

Umuahia, the Head of Service is there, he will give you the figures, their names, the state they are from, their phone numbers.

As a journalist, you on your own can go and at least verify about 50 or 100 of them to see whether those names are real or not. What they said is wrong, it never exists and their claims don’t hold water because this particular administration is open and transparent. Other states did it in the past and there was no eyebrow raised by anybody.

This government after some years had the temerity to say, please come back, our IGR (internally Generated Revenue)

has slightly improved. What did other states do? Abians were laid out and up till today none of them have been recalled, but the state government here reabsorbed all Abians that were disengaged from other states. We have shown that human face in whatever government policy we are implementing. This government is as I said earlier open and transparent. We don’t want to engage in some of these trivial talks, people will always want to trivialize things. Everything is going on smoothly as it has to do with this policy and even the workers have never complained.

•The clergy praying for the release of Chibok schoolgirls, at a solemn assembly organised by wife of Abia State Governor, Mrs Mercy Odochi Orji in Umuahia.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

41

CAMPUS LIFE Law students elect leaders From Hassan Otinau UNIBEN

M •From left: Dr Mobolaji; Mr Ibrahim Yahaya and Adebowale at the event.

Dept gets new leaders From Enake Richard

M

UNIBEN

EMBERS of the National Economics Students’ Association (NESA), University of Benin (UNIBEN) have elected new officers to pilot the affairs of the association for the next one year.

The election, which took place at the H9 Lecture Theatre in the Faculty of Social Sciences, was adjudged as free and fair.

Ani Michael, who was returned unopposed, emerged president.

Others were Jackson Uduak, VicePresident; Okonkwo Chniedu, Secretary-General; Ezeribe Emeka, Financial Secretary; Epelle Amuche, Assistant Financial Secretary; Anyiador Emmanuel, Treasurer; Ojugbeli Ifeanyi, Director of Sports; Okeibunor Marvelous, Editor-in-Chief; Omiunu Edekin, Public Relations Officer.

Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, Ani said his tenure would witness the return of transformation leadership in the association.

Show excites students

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I

•Cross section of female students at the event. Inset: Prof Akintola

PHOHOS: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

Why Muslims must rebuke Boko Haram, by don

SLAMIC clerics have condemned the abduction of the 276 school girls in Chibok, Borno State by Boko Haram.

They spoke at the opening of the 24th edition of Islam Propagation Week (IPW) organised by the University of Lagos (UNILAG) chapter of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN).

The guest lecturer, Isiaq Lakin Akinola, a professor of Islamic Studies, who spoke on the theme: The integrated circuit, said the best among Muslims are the ones who speak against evil. He enjoined everyone to join hands in fighting Boko Haram.

“We must condemn and fight those killing innocent people, Imams, clerics in mosques and churches. Anyone who sees evil should fight it either with hand, words of mouth or through prayer.

Boko Haram abducted over 200 girls; this has never happened in Islam and its history. We must condemn the insurgents because Islam is peace and Boko Haram is violence.”

From Ibrahim Adam LAGOS The Executive Director, Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation, Alhaji Abdullahi Shuaibu, spoke on unity in Islam, urging people of different faiths to unite. He cited unity among animals as example, saying people would have strength to tackle common challenge if there is unity.

Another lecturer, Dr. AbdulHakeem Mobolaji, from the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) in Kwara State, spoke on corruption and its effect in the country. He said lack of progress and development, social unrest and political instability are effects of corruption, urging people to have strong faith in Allah and reject unwholesome acts.

The society Amir, Yusuf Adebowale, said the Week was to celebrate Islam on campus through different programmes and to foster unity among Muslims.

The programme also feature debate contest, where three secondary schools and seven higher institutions competed in quiz and Quranic reci-

tation.

Eko Boys Senior Secondary School won the debate with 71 points. In the quiz contest, the UNILAG College of Medicine won the star prize, while the Federal College of Education, Technology and Lagos State University won second and third positions.

The Managing Director, Comprehensive Project Management Services, Mr Kadiri Adeola, praised the society for bringing up the event for Muslim students.

He said: “This is a great effort by young people. As Muslims, we have challenges but Alhamdulillah (thank God) for these young ones, who organise this event for the benefit of the Muslims. Allah has said he will take care of His religion but these young take it as their responsibility to propagate Islam’s cause; it is a great effort and we must commend them.”

Francis Amadi, a pupil of Eko Boys Senior High School, who participated in the quiz, said the event changed his views about Muslims, urging people of different faiths to embrace peace.

From Gilbert Alasa and Efe Ezekiel UNIBEN

HE Ugbowo campus of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) was agog last week when MC Casino, a comedian and former Vice President of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), held the first edition of his annual show tagged Lafta on the loose at the Akin Deko Auditorium of the institution.

CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the show was scheduled as matriculation party for freshers. But despite the postponement of the matriculation, the organisers went ahead to hold the show.

Popular entertainers, such as I Go Save, Efex, Maleke, Sean P and a host of upcoming artists thrilled the students.

Senior Special Assistant to Edo State Governor on Entertainment, Maleke Idowu, said MC Casino as a highly talented comedian who needed to be supported by lovers of entertainment.

Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, MC Casino said the show was aimed at providing a platform for students to unwind after bouts of academic stress. He also said the show was specially organised for students of his alma mater, adding that it was a platform for upcoming artists to showcase their talents.

Efosa Emmanuel Iyamu, popularly called Efex, the Senior Special Assistant to Comrade Adams Oshiomole on Protocol, thrilled the audience with his rendition of comic nursery rhymes.

An upcoming comedian and graduate of Theatre Arts from the Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, Edo Pikin, was adjudged the best artiste, who performed at the event.

A 100-Level student of Philosophy described the event as exciting, urging fellow students to support the yearly show.

EMBERS of the Law Students’ Society at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) have elected new leaders of the association. The election followed weeks of intense campaigns by various aspirants.

Prior to the election, a presidential debate was held where Imran Mujeeb and Adekunle Charles Olaniyi battled to win the hearts of the students.

Imran Mujeeb emerged President, beating his rival Adekunle Charles Olaniyi with 307 votes out of 545 votes cast. Others included Animashaun Bukola Atinuke, Vicepresident; Opasola Ahmed Adekunle, General Secretary; Eshiet Charles Eshiet, Assistant General Secretary; Ololu Ashir Toba, Social Secretary; Salami Sulaiman Olaide, Financial Secretary; Risqiat Ejiwunmi, Welfare Director; Buhari Ibrahim, Public Relations Officer and Azeez Ridwan Oluwaseyi, Sport Director.

In a chat with campus correspondents, many students said the election was the freest in recent time.

Ojukwu varsity inaugurates SUG From Victor Oguaju ANSU

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EW executives of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of Anambra State University (ANSU) have been inaugurated. The event was held at the ETF Hall of the institution.

The Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Fidelis Okafor, urged the new leaders to embrace selflessness in their responsibilities.

He advised the new executive to be diligent, saying his administration was committed to the transformation of the university.

A member of the executive, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, said he was excited to be part of the leadership team, saying he would work hard to deliver on his campaign promises.

JCI organises blood transfusion From Sanya Boluwatife OOU

T • Cross section of graduands before taking the oath

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EW graduands of the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) have been inducted. The ceremony took place at the Akin Deko Auditorium of the institution.

The Dean of the faculty of Pharmacy, Prof E. O. Osazuwa, congratulated the inductees, saying he shared in their joy as a dean and father.

The Vice Chancellor, Prof G. O. Oshodin, was represented by the Deputy VC (Academics) Prof Obehi Okojie. Others at the even Mrs Gloria O. Abumere, Registrar, Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria (PCN); Solomon Aigbavboa, Managing Director, MDS Logistics Plc; Jude E. Nosagie, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Precious Palm Royal Hotels; Sir E. A. Osadolor, CEO, Nomagbon Pharmaceuticals and Prof Vincent Iyamu, Provost of Medical College,

Pharmacists take oath From Ezekiel Efeobhokhan UNIBEN UNIBEN. Speaking on the topic: Drug regulations and national security, Aigbavboa urged the graduands to be virtuous and disciplined to avoid dealing in fake and substandard drugs. He added: “I am baffled by the flourishing herbal business in the country and our media houses are filled with all sort of jingles for alternative medicines. With a single drug, they tell us that we could cure hypertension, infertility, gonorrhoea and diabetes and yet the drug would still be NAFDAC registered even though such drugs pose great health risk to consumers,” he stated.

Emotions were high when the best graduating student, David Chukwubuikem Nwokor, was called to the podium to give his valedictory speech. Prof Osazuwa said his performance was the best in the history of the department.

One of the inductees, Dr Ferima Dornubari, expressed gratitude to God for seeing him through.

Nosagie congratulated the graduands, saying, henceforth, best graduating students from the faculty would be given a chance to buy shares from any company or public investment of their choice.

He pledged to sponsor of the best graduating student’s younger brother, Emmanuel Nwokor, a 300Level Engineering student.

HE Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) chapter of the Junior Chamber International (JCI) has organised a three-day blood transfusion programme. The event was held in conjunction with the National Blood Transfusion Service, Abeokuta in Ogun State.

Students and lecturers were present at the venue to donate blood. HIV test and blood pressure assessment were conducted for the donors.

In an interview with CAMPUSLIFE, Mrs Osofisan Oluwatosi said the aim of the exercise was to encourage voluntary blood donation and to discourage paid donors. She highlighted the advantages of blood donation, saying majority of casualties would be saved and women who bleed excessively after child birth.

A donor, Dada Abayoomi, a 200-Level student of Statistics, said: “Dr donation of blood is geared towards saving someone’s life and I am not even expecting anybody to pay me for saving a life. That is the whole essence of the programme.”

Chairperson of the Organising Committee, Olowu Modebola, 400Level Computer Science, said: “We noticed that accidents are regular occurrences in the country and we feel our students can save lives by donating blood.”

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

42

CAMPUS LIFE Students of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria, Kaduna State, are excited over the stable power on their campus. AWWAL MIJINYAWA (500-Level Law) reports.

Lighting up ABU

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TUDENTS at the Kongo Campus of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria, Kaduna State, have praised the management for the improved power supply. They now enjoy 22 hours uninterrupted electricity supply daily.

Kongo, a neighbourhood in Zaria, hosts the mini-campus of the institution. Like the rest of the country, the community is also experiencing epileptic power supply. Students have been complaining about the poor supply, saying it slowed down academic activities.

Their counterparts in Samaru, which hosts the main campus, enjoy steady power supply. Kongo campus has two faculties - Law and Administration; Samaru Campus has 10 faculties.

To ameliorate the problem, the management installed a 1,100 KVA generator in 2010 on the campus. But the generator could not power all the rooms in the hostels. Besides, it is switched on for only three hours daily.

In 2011, the management installed a 2.5 MVA transformer, but it exploded a few months after. The development affected students, who paid double for services, such as photocopying and printing.

Things have changed for good with the unveiling of a 7.5 MVA capacity power project, which has brought succour to students.

Some of them, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, praised the management for attending to their welfare. Monday Podus, a 500-Level Law student, who stays in Ali Akilu Hall, said the improved power supply would help the final year students in their projects.

For Usman Ashafa, also in 500-Level Law:

“This will enhance academic activities. We must praise the management for the feat, which is touching the lives of students.”

Pauline Nwabuike, a 400-Level Public Administration student, said: “We can now enjoy electricity like our counterparts on the main campus. Our phones and laptops were always down and the cyber cafés charged high whenever we went to browse for materials for our assignments. All these have stopped naturally.”

The Director of the Institute of Administration, Prof. M.B Uthman, told CAMPUSLIFE that the project, which began two years ago, was donated by the Federal Government.

He said: “When I became the Director last year, the power supply was nothing to write home about. We engaged the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) through our consultant engineer, M.N Garba, who was very helpful in this regard. We told them to either maintain the existing power facility on campus adequately or start a new one.

The PHCN was able to get funding to build a new power project through the Federal Government Power Committee headed by Vice President Namadi Sambo. The contract was awarded and we are here enjoying adequate electricity supply on campus.”

On how the university would sustain the facility, Prof Uthman said: “We are all optimistic that we will enjoy improved power supply. This is why the university has put in so much effort and we hope that everyone will assist us in this regard to save energy.

Every student needs to put off his light when he does not need it. This way, we will main-

•The 7.5 MVA transformer installed

tain the facility.”

Conversely, some vendors and service providers on campus are not happy. Abdullahi Tijjani, who runs a phone-charging venture, said the improved electricity is affecting his business because students no longer pay to charge their phones. “Before now, I was charging N50 per phone, but now, I no longer have customers even though the charge has been brought down to N30,” he said.

To Shehu Usman, who runs the most patronised phone-charging business, the improved electricity is making him to think of

another business he could do. “I am considering changing my business of phone charging to another,” he said, adding that he would consider selling soft drinks or a business that would make him to spend less on petrol.

Other vendors welcomed the development, saying it would boost their businesses. Nura Lawal, who runs a computer centre, said: “I am happy that there is improvement in power supply. I will no longer buy fuel every day. Before, I used to buy N700 fuel every day. But with the improved light, I will save so much money daily.”

the hostel area is enough to discourage any student from going to the complex. It is located far away from the hostel area and, besides, there is no bus to convey the school team to the complex.

The Dean of Students’ Affairs (DSA), Dr Ja’affaru Ali, admitted that the enthusiasm of students for the sport contributed significantly to the success story recorded by the institution in football.

“The passion of the students for football has been largely responsible for their victories but the management has also provided moral and financial support for the team,” he said.

Anthony Akpehe, former Sport Director, said the team’s success was due to the players’ enthusiasm and the coaches’ commitment to winning.

“We have a coach who is capable and ready to go the extra mile with us, despite all odds; we are motivated by the love of the game and the coach always gives his best. The university does very little to motivate us,” he said.

Silas Edet, a former student, said the MAUTECH students’ passion for football is strong because there are no meaningful social activities on the campus.

He said: “Football is the only means of en-

tertainment that students have after hours of lectures. It is understandable because it requires no qualification. We have a lawn tennis court but the gears are expensive and beyond the reach of an average student while most students see basketball as a game for the elite.”

Mr Ejika Sambo, chairman of the MAUTECH Sports Committee and the coach of the school team, said discipline and personal commitment were secrets that made the team to succeed. He admitted that the management was doing little to train the school team.

“I personally sponsored all the matches we played in preparatory for the NUGA Games in 2011 and gave the players bonus for each match they won. I did all this because I was committed to the team; during the competitions, there were periods I had to pay the hotel bills of the players, but when we came back with the trophy, everybody celebrated with us,” he said.

He said successive administrations in the university had shown little commitment to the development of sports, urging the management to set up an independent department to promote sporting events.

Sambo suggested that ability in sport should be made part of the requirement for admission.

Bad pitch, good players The football team of the Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH) in Yola, Adamawa State, has won several tournaments, but the field where the players train is rough. How does the team win in contests? PHILIPS OGBAJE (500-Level Information Technology) asks.

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O an outsider, it may appear like an abandoned piece of land. But on it are two corroded goalposts at both ends.

This parcel of land is on the left side of the main entrance of the Moddibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH) in Yola, Adamawa State.

There is no grass on the dry piece of land but that is where soccer-happy students train for major tournaments. Ordinary as it may appear, the pitch throbs with activities in the evening when students engage in sporting events.

The field is also used for tournaments on campus. The annual Corper’s Cup contest and the Vice-Chancellor’s Cup are played there.

Soccer champions train on the field. In 2011, the MAUTECH football team trained there, before going for the Nigerian University Games (NUGA) hosted by the University of Benin (UNIBEN). The team beat their opponents to win the football trophy.

In 2012, the team repeated the feat and won

•Students playing football on the pitch

the gold medal in the West African University Games (WAUG) hosted by the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN).

The team’s success story may sound impressive, but the pitch where the players practise is nothing to write home about. What has inspired this team to such great heights?

Joseph Succeeder, the Students’ Union Government (SUG) Sports Director, who was part of the victorious NUGA team, said it was the love students have for the round-leather game.

He said: “Football is one of the games to which students are attracted. In dry seasons, one can rarely breathe because of the dust on the pitch, yet students fight for a chance to play. It is the culture in all the male hostels; every small space is converted to a football field. We train ourselves before the management comes in. And that is after we may have qualified for a tournament; they will come in and take care of our travel and accommodation costs. But we buy boots and other training materials ourselves.”

The university has a sports complex fitted with facilities, such as football pitch, basketball court, volleyball court and spectators stand, but students hardly use the facilities.

Joseph said the distance of the complex from

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

43

CAMPUS LIFE

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EATH and sleep are two sides of a coin. When sleep takes the centre stage, our human faculties are dead; dead to reason, to smell, to fears, to the thirst for triumph, to the fear of failure, to think, to fantasise, and to glory in the vanity of Arsenal and Man United.

Though we are alive in our dream state, we lose touch with the reality of an inexorable world and our physical exertion experiences a lull.

When we sleep, it is not only a reminder that we can die, it equally demonstrates our vulnerability in the face of death just like the case of a character, Beranger in Eugene Lonesco’s Killer without reason.

Lonesco’s protagonist probed and even persuaded death to halt its onslaught on hapless humans. His result, expectedly, was futile. In our sleep, we grumble silently. We gasp.

We sigh. We snore. We bicker over hiccups. Yet we can do nothing.

Consider this. We sent some persons to Abuja to find solutions to the hitches arising from the 1914 hasty match-making orchestrated by Lord Lugard. But they surprised us all. By the time they arrived the venue of the confab, triviality trumped seriousness. They exchanged banters over a cup of coffee, argued about petty issues and eventually surrendered to the lure of sleep. Had you probed further,

To wake up a sleepy nation you would have noticed that they are not the only ones asleep. Their slumber should only prod us to the sleepy bug that permeates the soul of the nation.

Spiritually, Nigeria is asleep. Forget the growing number of churches and mosques everywhere. Or how would you explain the recent attribution of Boko Haram insurgency to spiritual warfare by Minister of Power Prof Chinedu Nebo? For Pentecostal believers like this writer, such hasty generalisation seems to be fashionable. But the delusion reminds us of the irony of a character, Underground Man, in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Notes from the underground, who, though, was sufficiently educated but yet was a victim of his own plastic superstitions.

Faith is alive; it’s never dead just like John Keats’ poetry of the earth.

So faith should keep us awake to the quest for solutions. Faith should stir our resolve to defend the dignity of the green-white-green colours. It should inspire us to retrace our steps, accept our shortcomings and collectively take the proverbial Letter to Garcia.

For many years, Nigerian youths have been sleepy. Society failed to

build them for the great challenge of leadership. We gave them no education. We gave them no example.

Rather, we handed them guns to fight political opponents. We splatter their muzzled thighs with foul semen in cosy hotels tucked away in the sleepy ambience of Abuja, Port-Harcourt and Lagos. We became their sugar mummies and daddies on campus; feeding their wild and weird fantasies. Though we have universities and polytechnics, our education system failed to educate them. But like Sam Omatseye crooned, ‘they found education somewhere else. They found an education of bloodshed, of easy fame and fortune, of cheap sex and spite; an education of failure.’

You may not have noticed it but our economy is sleepy. Or why would Nigeria continue to occupy 147th spot on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index, making it one of the worst places to do business? Of what essence are the various empowerment schemes, such as SURE-P and YOU-WIN, when stable power cannot be assured? Forget those robust GDP earnings. They seem like the proverbial beautiful sepulchre of dead bones and rotten

relics. Economists have told us that a rising GDP does not translate into a growing economy. Otherwise, 57.3% of Nigerians cannot be living below the poverty line. Until we plough the millions of dollars we garner annually from IMF into fixing infrastructure, employment generation and real sector development drive will be elusive.

Last year, our universities slept for six months. Students and parents wept woefully. But the Federal Government felt we needed to sleep even more. ASUU found a cogent ground to lure all of us to slumber.

Now, for more than eight months, our polytechnics are asleep; dead to every grumbling from the students’ quarters. The sullen sweat of protesting students and their embittered parents have failed to stir the government to action. So, the sleep continues.

In all our somnolence, the presidency tells us that all is well. They remind one of what literary critics call unreliable narrator; feeding us with their misconstrued idea of reality. Let’s all recognise that we are in one of the darkest phases of our national history. That is the first victory. And then, we would need a

By Gilbert Alasa leadership that will be bold enough to confront the insurgency. This is beyond the exuberance of party politics. This is beyond the rhetoric of press releases. We need the resolve to accept that Nigeria is too big to be brought to its knees by some persons; the willpower to exterminate whoever is involved and the courage to exploit working intelligence, wide consultations and expertise to wipe out terrorism.

America did it. We too can. To sleep when a nation boils is to die.

Gilbert has just finished from Foreign Languages, UNIBEN

Asari Dokubo’s wild utterances

By Emmanuel Shebbs

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OR a period of time, Alhaji Mujaheed Asari Dokubo was off the radar of events until lately when he found his voice to challenge statements, which he perceived to be against re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan, his fellow Ijaw man.

As has been his behaviour, Asari Dokubo lashed politicians in the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, who he sees as opponents of Ijaw agenda in 2015. The former Head of State was making a case for free and fair election come 2015, but, in reaction, Dokubo threatened fire and

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brimstone should President Jonathan not return to office in 2015.

A few weeks ago, Asari Dokubo roared again. In his usual insolent manner, he made the whole nation know his intention about 2015. He challenged the Boko Haram sect leader, Abubakar Shekau, and his comrades to come out for bloodbath in 2015. He spoke at an event organised by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

As much as I know, Asari Dokubo is not a personnel at the Nigerian Army. He is not a soldier, formal or informal. For all we know, he is a ‘repentant’ militant, an appellation that is close to calling him a terrorist.

Inviting Shekau and his terrorist gang to come out for war, in this context, could be likened to the case of a pot calling kettle black.

Each time Dokubo coughs, he coughs out threats. He breathes out threats of terror and violence. He dares anybody to come out for a battle of might and valour.

Dokubo must know that Nigeria does not belong to the Niger Delta people alone. Not even this time when a Niger Delta indigene is at the helm of affairs. No ethnic group should think that it has the power to decide

who occupies Aso Rock come 2015.

Nigeria belongs to all of us.

For clarification, this writer is from an oil-producing state and I don’t believe in politics of identity. If the people of Nigeria say Jonathan should step down in 2015, it is good; so far such decision represents the wishes of the majority and is subjected to the law of land. If the people, in their majority, say they would support the president to continue, nobody, not even a group of people, can stop him.

Anyone, who hears or reads Dokubo’s utterances, would see his blind support for Jonathan and his bid to defend the president – whether Jonathan is right or wrong. Dokubo drummed support for Jonathan’s ambition and he did it at a public function without hesitation. To him, Jonathan must be returned as president in 2015 - whether he is suitable or not. This is a wrong approach to politics.

For his utterances, Dokubo is an ethnocentric and unpatriotic element, who must be under the watch of security agencies. His statements have not been of help to the progress of Nigerian project; he is only interested in pushing the politics of identity and ethnicity down the throats of Nigerians.

If I were President Jonathan, I would advise Dokubo to keep his mouth shut till after 2015 election, because his dangerous comments may give rise to conflagration that may consume the country in 2015 and make Nigeria ungovernable for the president he is building support for.

Asari Dokubo must know that our country is not a wrestling ring for terrorists and militants. It is not a field for the display of savagery and lawlessness.

Granted, the war against Boko Haram elements is a unanimous one, for which every well-meaning Nigerian must stand up and be counted.

But winning the war does not depend on the use of one ethnic tactic or sentiment; rather, we must unite against people who want to take away our freedom. You cannot use terrorism to curb terrorism. Whether you call it Niger Delta militant group or Boko Haram, they are all terrorist groups.

After all, didn’t Asari Dokubo and his boys kidnap and kill people at the peak of the Niger Delta crisis? Didn’t Dokubo and his gang destroy people’s investments and life savings each time they blew up a pipeline in the Niger Delta? They kidnapped foreigners and staff of oil companies for pe-

cuniary gains and hid behind the façade of Niger Delta struggle. Or, perhaps, Dokubo thinks we would have forgotten his past? He would be wrong with that thought.

In fact, the only thing that differentiates Dokubo from Shekau is amnesty. Were it not for the amnesty programme of President Umaru Musa Ya’Adua, Dokubo and his men would have been in jail for crime they committed against the country.

If Dokubo feels he can challenge Boko Haram as a one-man-squad, fine.

Let him march his army of millitants to Sambisa or wherever Shekau is hiding, with AK-47 and machine guns for a fight.

Instead of coughing out threats and tension into our ears and making us feel 2015 is a going to be a black year for Nigeria, let him stand up and do something else.

Or he could join the army and go to Cameroun, Chad or wherever and bring back our 276 abducted school girls. That is a priority to us as Nigerians, not his war-mongering utterances that are capable of causing more division in the country.

Emmanuel recently finished from Political Science, UNICAL

Celebrating UI VC @ 60

ROFESSOR Isaac Adewole is a well-respected academic, in his University of Ibadan community and in Nigeria. No wonder the celebration of his 60th birthday on May 5 witnessed the influx of very important personalities from all walks of life, who came to shower encomiums and give testimonies of his unbeatable performances.

Prof Adewole has raised the standard of education in UI through his professional qualifications and leadership dexterity. One of the targets he has always pursued with vigour and vitality is making the Premier University a world-class institution.

When he came, the university began to witness a number of unparallel achievements.

In fact, UI has become an Eldorado, a peace haven and a utopia of sort. The institution remains a leading light among its peers. This is evident of his progressive leadership in UI. He is a brilliant administrator and an astute performer, who changed the face of the university.

I salute the exceptional display of humility and unwavering commitment to the service of humanity. After resuming as the VC, the glory of UI has continued to soar and the school has recorded unprecedented development and countless achievements.

Prof Adewole’s business acumen led to the establishment of UI Microfinance Bank and production of products, such as table water,

bread, honey, fish and food. The creation of a fire service unit is noble and laudable. With infrastructural upgrade, the university looks appealing to investors. The UI Fish Farm, for example, has attracted national and international delegates, who have shown interest in investing in the business. The Zoological Garden and Teaching and Research Farm have also been revamped to wear modern looks.

Adewole’s relentless effort in attaining new heights in academic excellence is beyond description. For the first time in the history of the university, all first-class graduates were offered postgraduate scholarship. That, in my view, was intended to encourage young academics to stay and to attract the best brains into the system. For the first time, the UI is offering 24 hours library services, while lecturers’ assessment has invigorated academic values for which the institution is known.

The beautiful edifice and scenery put in place for the effective take-off of the UI Business School is fabulous and the uncommon vision of the Adewole’s administration promotes partnership with international institutions on exchange programmes and encourages practical teachings and researches.

Most impressive is the partnership with Dana Motors to build Automobile Academy in UI, Pan Africa University, University of West of England in Bristol, United Kingdom.

It is notable that in his administration, payment of staff salaries and other allowances are regular. No wonder, the staff team has continued to be more committed to their services. In keeping with the saying that, ‘health is wealth’, Prof Adewole facilitated regular medical check-up for all staff. This is, indeed, meritorious. He initiated leadership symposia for students’ leaders, with a view to instilling leadership culture in them.

His vision to construct staff quarters aimed at assisting members of staff own apartments through instalmental payment is gradually becoming a reality.

Adewole’s recent appointment as a council member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), which is the world’ first and oldest international university network, attests to his rare leadership style and strategy. I am proud to say that he is the only Nigerian and, indeed, West African Vice Chancellor appointed into the council. Perhaps, the most commendable of his achievements, to me, is the involvement of students in his administration.

It is noteworthy that the VC restored Students’ Union after many years of proscription. His administration has, since inception, engaged students in decision making, project implementation and development plans. He believes so much in students’ sense of dialogue and constructive contributions to the

By Ayokanmi Akinbuluma affairs of the university.

In all, Prof Adewole deserves special appreciation and commendation from the students for his commitment to their welfare.

As he basks in the celebration of his 60th birthday, our prayer is that God should grant him more wisdom to lead and direct the affairs of the university to a stage where we would all be proud of. Long live Prof Adewole.

Ayokanmi, 400-Level Law, UI

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

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CAMPUS LIFE

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Students honour Oputa

AW students at the University of Lagos have been told to emulate the ideals of the Late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, a Justice of the Supreme Court between 1984 and 1989.

Mr Wahab Shittu, a lecturer in the department, gave this admonition during a memorial session held in honour of the late legal luminary at the Faculty of Law Lecture Theatre.

He encouraged students to embrace pupillage to enable them gain insight from senior colleagues. He said: “You need to embrace pupillage so as to prepare yourself for higher responsibility because that is the way to go.

Though, while serving a master, you may think your principal is cheating you. But, no!

He’s only making his money and all you need to do is acquire the knowledge you need from him, because when you get there, you will also do the same. And that was just what Oputa did.”

During the programme, the Chairman-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch,

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From Olusesi Oyindolapo UNILAG Mr. Wahab Farounbi, charged the students to be of good conduct and be courageous like the late legal icon.

Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, Farounbi said: “there are lots of things to be picked from Justice Oputa : his humility, uprightness, brilliance and many more. My advice to every legal enthusiast is to take Oputa as a dictionary and emulate every single thing about him.”

The Head of Chambers, Cornelius Gabriel, advised aspiring lawyers to carry on the legacy of Justice Oputa and hold on to his values, saying “those of us who are aspiring lawyers should carry on the baton of justice bequeathed to us by the activist-Justice.”

When asked what she learned from the programme, Tsetse Harris a 300-Level student said: “it has really heightened my zeal for justice as I’m ready to help the layman and write my name on the sands of time.”

VC interacts with students

HE Multipurpose Hall at the Kongo campus of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, was filled to capacity last week when the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof Abdullah Mustapha, held an interactive session with students.

Prof. Mustapha, decked in white kaftan, arrived with principal other principal officers.

The programme was formally declared open by the President of the Students’ Representative Council (SRC), Attahiru Alfa Abdulmalik.

He highlighted some of the on-going projects at the institution. He noted that the university needed to create a teaching environment that was vibrant and conducive for learning and providing other welfare and academic needs of students.

When asked about the issue of hostel accommodation, the VC explained that the school was undergoing a project on its main campus known as Excellent Centre. He said the school deemed it expedient to expand the structure in the Faculty of Administration, especially the Department of Accounting and Business Administration but later realised there was not enough space in the Kongo campus. Prof Mustapha said provision had been made for them in the Excellence Centre in Samaru Main campus.

From Rilwan Balogun ABU He assured students that provision had also been made for the demolition and reconstruction of Sardauna and Bedde female hostels in the Kongo campus to solve the challenges of hostel accommodation.

Speaking on the late release of students’ results, the Vice-chancellor assured students that it would soon become a problem of the past, saying the school was set to launch its Computer Base Test (CBT) system of examination, which would enable the students to see their results instantly after their exams.

A student from the Faculty of Law, Adamu, pleaded that the school management should extend the library service hours to promote sound scholarship.

The VC said plans had been made to erect a befitting edifice for the SRC secretariat, said the building would be ready before the expiration of his tenure.

Also present at the event were Deputy VC (Academic) Prof Naiya Sada; Director of the Institute of Administration, Prof M. B. Uthman, Dean of the Faculty of Law, Dr Kabir M. Danladi and other officers.

On and Off Campus By Solomon Izekor 08061522600

•Prof Egboka (right) being presented with a gift by a member of the staff

Contest for my seat competitive, says UNIZIK VC

T

HE contest for the position of ViceChancellor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) has been described as competitive as no fewer than 32 persons have indicated interest in occupying the position.

The disclosure was made known by the outgoing Vice-Chancellor, Prof Boniface Egboka, at the send-off ceremony organised by the Continuing Education Programme (CEP) unit in his honour.

Prof Egboka whose tenure expires next month said the position was a sensitive one.

He urged the candidates to have the interest of the students at heart, saying his administration was be committed to its objectives.

He promised that staff who were due for promotion would be considered and all untreated files would be attended to before leaving office.

He thanked the CEP unit for organising the ceremony, stressing that the CEP programme in the school was an opportunity for traders and craftsmen who could not meet up with higher academic learning owing to lack of finance, the opportunity to acquire education.

In his address, Director of CEP unit, Prof Emmanuel Akuezilo, who described the

From Oby Okeke UNIZIK achievements of Prof Egboka as enormous, said the Vice-Chancellor had been of immense assistance to the unit.

“The CEP is undoubtedly the cash cow of the university. We at the CEP unit have resolutely committed our energies to ensuring that the expected revenue accruable from the centre to the university is maximally harvested,” he stated.

Prof Akuezilo said meetings with departmental CEP coordinators and course representatives which were introduced by the management have increased cross pollination of ideas among stakeholders in the CEP business, saying “Semester results are now released on time because departmental coordinators have taken full responsibility for this function”.

The Deputy Vice-chancellor (Administration), Prof Greg Nwakoby, described the university head as a great man who, through thick and thin, has moved the institution to enviable heights.

During the ceremony, gift items were presented to Prof Egboka by members of the CEP unit.

Foundation holds health seminar

H

EART of Gold Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, has held its 2nd health conference with the theme: “Educating the 21st century lady on health consciousness.” The programme was attended by health experts drawn from the University of Benin Teaching Hospital UBTH. Initiator of the scheme, Faith Uwaofure Ogbe, a final year Mass Communication student of University of Benin, said poor hygiene was a threat to sound health.

“It pricks my heart most times when I visit some hostels on our campuses and discover that the hygiene standard of most female students is appalling. Some have long bought into the “shot-put” mode of defecating which poses great threat to the environment,” she stated.

The guest speaker Mrs Clara Ogbeide, Head of Department of Public Health and Nursing, UBTH, stressed the danger of self-medication and urged the youth to shun drug abuse.

She said: ‘’Drug abuse has to be discouraged in our society. This health seminar will af-

S

From Hassan Otinau UNIBEN ford the youth to learn the medical implications of drug abuse as well as self-medication.”

Senior Special Adviser to Edo State Governor on Local Government Affairs, Hon Henry Omobude, praised the initiator of the programme for organising a forum to discuss health-related issues. ‘’This is a right step in the right direction.

By this, Faith has been able to enlighten people on key health issues and I urge everyone to partner with her,” he said.

A lecturer in the department of Theatre Arts and Mass Communication, Mr Daniel Ekereafor, said the exercise was timely, saying: ‘’proper hygiene remains critical to healthy living. I am proud that one of our own is organising this health seminar today.’’

High point of the event was the presentation of free antiseptics and air fresheners to participants.

Law students elect leaders

TUDENTS of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, have elected new officers of the Students’ Union Government. This followed long week of campaigns at various faculties, reading rooms and classes.

The election, which was held on Friday penultimate week, was preceded by a presidential debate and the manifesto night.

Voting began at 9.a.m on and ended at 5pm the same day. The Moot Court, which was the venue of the voting, was a beehive of activities as students queued up to exercise their franchise.

The election recorded a low turn-out of voters was low, a development which made many aspirants to arrange for vehicles to convey students who reside off campus.

From Caleb Adebayo OAU The counting of votes began immediately with the votes of the aspirants for the legislative house.

Shouts of joy rented the air as soon as the results were announced. Okiji Bola emerged as President and Oluchi Emmanuella, Vice-President. Others included Adebayo Oluwaseun, Principal Liaison Officer; Oyekanmi Bolaji, Sports Director; Falade Dimeji, Social Director; Ayobami Olarinde, Assistant General Secretary; Ebenezer Adeojo, General Secretary; Jesutowo Adeniji, Public Relations Officer A party hosted by MC Headies was held in the wee hours of the morning to celebrate the victories.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

45

CAMPUS LIFE

Students lament relegation under health ministry

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TUDENTS of the Lagos State College of Health, Yaba, are seeking transfer of their institution from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Education.

They have attributed the nonaccreditation of the institution’s programmes to their management under the Lagos State Ministry of Health, which they claimed has refused to give the school autonomy.

In an interview with The Nation, some of their leaders lamented that despite being in existence since 1920, the institution has not been recognised and could not boasts of a proper campus, requisite facilities and teachers.

Speaking on their behalf, the

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

Students Union President of the school, Comrade Mustapha Maruf claimed products of the institution suffer discrimination because their certificates are not recognised.

Maruf, a 300-Level student of Health Information Management said: “The college has been in existence since 1920 meaning it is the oldest institution owned by Lagos State. The school cannot provide just a sick bay for students.

We cannot boast of enough lecturers, yet they keep admitting more students. Because of that they hold lectures for us online when what we need are practical classes.

“We have no space for expansion; we cannot go on NYSC because of

VC laments Petroleum varsity’s obscurity

accreditation problems. The courses are not accredited. The Ministry of Health has not given the school autonomy. The Commissioner for Health has not visited the school once. Our certificates are not recognised.

“If we were under the Ministry of Education, our accreditation would have been sorted out since and we would go for NYSC. They are just collecting school fees and not rendering any service,”he said.

Refuting this, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, said programmes of the institution are accredited.

He added that a governing board was recently established for the institution to ensure effective management. He said the board is

restructuring the institution for better service delivery to primary health care institutions in the state.

Idris also said he has visited the institution before and it is now under the purview of the Special Adviser on Public Health, Dr Yewande Adeshina.

“There is a board in charge of the school to handle their matter. I know a lot of their programmes are accredited. The number of courses they run have increased. What they are asking for is a larger facility and I will try to find out the plans of the board members. They are doing a re-organisation and restructuring of the courses to reflect the need of the state at the primary health care level. It is not true that their courses are not accredited,” he said.

•Matriculates 421

B

EING the unusual one among many comes with some level of unsought attention, which bestows a garb of celebrity on such an 'uncommon one'. For instance, there had been several senior lawyers invested with the silk gown of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) before the first woman SAN, Mrs Olufolake Solanke, broke the jinx in 1981. The feat transformed the image of the first 'Lady Silk' from just a senior advocate to something of a celebrity.

It is natural for the world to notice the uncommon one, to find out what stands it out and why it exists; and, most times, to tap into and exploit what makes it unusual. This is the sort of life expected of the only university for petroleum studies in Africa - the Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), Effurun. But, sadly, it is not so.

Its Vice Chancellor, Prof John Ovwata Etu-Efetor, who disclosed this at the seventh matriculation of FUPRE, said not many outside Nigeria know of its existence, despite being one of the five petroleum

•From left: Ag. Principal, Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Effurun, Mr. Urukele; Étu-Efeotor and FUPRE Ag. Registrar Mr. Amiso Iniowuari at the event.

From Bolaji Ogundele, Warri

universities world-wide.

Etu-Efetor, who welcomed the 421 freshmen, said the institution only exists on paper at the Federal Ministry of Education, adding that he felt sad to realise that some of his friends and associates outside Nigeria had not heard about it.

"FUPRE exists only on paper in the Federal Ministry of Education. My friends in India don't know FUPRE and this is the only petroleum varsity in Africa. Even in Nigeria, majority do not know whether

EKSU VC inducted NAS Fellow

they would have to be of good behaviour through their years or they would be shown the way out.

"I will therefore admonish you to do your bits as committed students.

You must avoid the pitfalls that are often attendant in the environment you now find yourself. Such pitfalls include examination malpractice, cultism, indiscipline, non-committal to your studies and sexual abuse, which of course goes with a price of either unwanted pregnancy or viral diseases, including HIV/AIDS," he said.

FUTA don wins N10m World Bank grant

A

I

T was cheers and congratulations all the way as the Vice Chancellor of the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti, Prof Patrick Oladipo Aina, was inducted a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) Tuesday, last week.

He was among 10 other notable scientists honoured at a grand ceremony in Abuja.

Aina graduated with a first class degree in Soil Science from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife in 1972 and earned a Ph.D. in Soil Physics from Ohio State University in 1977. He became a Professor of Soil Physics in 1989.

The VC was found worthy by NAS given his work in Agronomy-Soil investigations which has yielded high quality publications over the years.

Aina has made notable contributions to the physics of soil environment, soil processes and dynamics in relation to tillage-induced changes in soil quality as indicated by soil structure and productivity. His research into soil erosion processes, soil water retention, transmission and use efficiency of crops, assimilative capacity of soils to pollutants and environmental quality has also been lauded.

FUPRE exists. We are ready to change the story", he said.

He, however, said during his tenure, the action plan would aim at putting the institution on the global map through cooperation with local and international partners, citing Exxon Mobil's readiness to build a Petroleum Engineering/ Geosciences Department in the school.

He charged the new students to work hard to justify their admission, reminding them that matriculating is easier that graduating and that

•Prof Aina

Reacting to the induction, Aina, who was appointed EKSU VC on December 2, 2011, said becoming a Fellow means that all his research and contributions to the field of science have been recognised. He promised to continue in the path of research.

The induction featured a lecture titled: Achieving an end to the AIDS Epidemic: Laying the Ground Work

by Prof John Alechenu Idoko, Director General, National Agency for the controls of AIDS, (NACA).

The Lecturer declared at the occasion that AIDS could be prevented or managed through Biomedical, Behavioural and Structural approach.

The induction was attended by Prof Aina's wife, Prof Olabisi, two of their children, and several professors and non-teaching members of staff of the university.

LECTURER in the Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal University of technology, Akure (FUTA), Dr Ayoola Olalusi has won a World Bank Research grant of N10.2million for his proposal titled: "Development and Evaluation of a floating fish feed extruder."

Olalusi won the grant through the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPPNigeria), an initiative under the World Bank.

A letter signed by the National Project Coordinator, WAAPPNigeria, Prof D.O. Chikwendu confirming the award reads in part: "Your project proposal entitled: "Development and Evaluation of a

floating fish feed extruder" has been approved for funding by the World Bank. This is consequent to your submission of more detailed proposal, in line with the concept of Integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4D)".

Congratulating the lecturer, the FUTA Vice-Chancellor, Prof Adebiyi Daramola, said the grant has further confirmed FUTA's leadership ability and competence in cutting edge research.

He said the University, which is a World Bank Centre of Excellence in food security, will continue to strengthen its research capabilities and structures to enable it contribute meaningfully to solving societal problems and global needs.

UNILORIN FILE

School excites council chair THE Chairman of Ilorin South Local Government, Alhaji Adisa Usman, has said the location of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) School of Preliminary Studies at Fufu, the Council headquarters, has brought tremendous development to the area. Usman, who made the observation last Friday when he led other members of the council on a visit to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof.

AbdulGaniyu Ambali, said the school has improved the economy of the area.

While pledging the Council's continued support for the School, the Chairman solicited for further cooperation between the council and the University.

In his response, Ambali thanked Usman and the Fufu community for being wonderful hosts. He assured them that the university would not relent in its efforts to discharge its community service mandate.

Meanwhile, Usman announced the award of a Jerusalem pilgrimage slot to Prof A. T. Ande of the Zoology department.

The council boss was impressed when he met Ande teaching the students with the aid of an electronic board during his visit to the UNILORIN School of Preliminary Studies.

Usman, who said he was highly impressed by the development, said if those who are yet to become full-fledged students could be receiving lectures via an electronic board, then he could imagine the stuff the main university students would be getting.

Students thank VC for iPads

BENEFICIARIES of the UNILORIN iPad Initiative have thanked the Vice-Chancellor, Prof.

AbdulGaniyu Ambali, for fulfilling his promise to distribute PC tablets, otherwise known as iPad, to them last Thursday.

The new students, who lauded the UNILORIN administration on the initiative, said that the device would enhance their educational pursuit and boost the ICT drive of the university.

Ogungbile Phebean, a 100-Level student of Performing Arts, said, "I feel happy because they promised us and they fulfilled it. Generally, I will use it for educational purposes as well as for social purposes. I appreciate the management of the University of Ilorin, especially the Vice-Chancellor for making us the first set of students to receive this gesture. In fact, I am so happy.

Please, Mr. Vice-Chancellor, continue the good work you have started."

147th Inaugural Lecture today THE 147th Inaugural Lecture of UNILORIN will be delivered by Prof Adekunle Solomon Olorundare of the Department of Science Education, Faculty of Education today.

The title of the lecture to be chaired by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. AbdulGaniyu Ambali, is Theory into Practice: Beyond Surface Curriculum in Science Education.

British Council, Virgin Atlantic promote entrepreneurship

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HE British Council, in partnership with Virgin Atlantic Airways, have announced a competition called 'Enterprise Challenge' aimed at promoting entrepreneurial skills in Nigerian youth.

"Enterprise Challenge" is an online competition which seeks to give young, brilliant entrepreneurial minds the opportunity to further develop their skills and breathe live

to their innovative ideas.

The organisers expect the competition, which is open to Nigerians resident in Nigeria and those studying in the UK who fall within the ages of 18 to 35 to be intensive.

The participants will have to complete three tasks within a fiveweek period.

The best of them will win flight tickets to the UK on Virgin

Atlantic Airways and an opportunity to meet and be mentored by one of the UK's foremost entrepreneurs and Chairman of the Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson.

To participate, a statement from the British Council noted that interested persons can download application forms from: http:// www.britishcouncil.org.ng/ enterprise-challenge.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

46

CAMPUS LIFE SCHOLARSHIPS

AAUAFILE

DVC prods women on research THE Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, (AAUA) Ondo State, Nigeria, Prof Rotimi Ajayi, has counselled women to mentor their subordinates and speak with one voice to make their aspirations for leadership positions attainable.

Ajayi gave the advice at a oneday seminar organised by the university's Women Studies and Development Centre (WSDC) for all senior female staff of the university as part of activities marking this year’s annual International Women's Day Celebration.

He said: "There is also the need for women to mentor their subordinates and assist them climb the corporate ladder without compromising competence, hard work, commitment and all other kernels of leadership."

The DVC, who described the theme of the international event: Inspiring women for leadership positions, as timely considering the paucity of women occupying leadership positions in AAUA, also charged the organisers, to engage in gender research in line with the vision of management.

"Part of the mandate of the centre is to engage in research on gender studies and I don't think you have any limiting factors.”

Security booth for varsity

IN a bid to further strengthen its security measure, the university has inaugurated a new security post for its car park.

The Registrar Mr Bamidele Olotu, inaugurated the station on behalf of the DVC Prof Rotimi Ajayi.

Mr Olotu handed over the keys of the facility to Mr. Adesuyi Acting Chief Security Officer of the university.

Responding, Adesuyi thanked the management for the gesture, adding that the facility would further enhance the effective operations of the security personnel.

Don heads Deans of Education THE AAUA Dean of Faculty of Education Prof Sunday Amuseghan, has been appointed the Acting General Secretary of the Committee of Deans of Education, CDE, of Nigerian Universities.

Amuseghan was unanimously appointed at the CDE meeting held on April 23, at the University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State.

In a statement, Prof.

Amuseghan thanked the AAUA management and staff of the Faculty of Education for their support, which he said culminated in the appointment.

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•Continued on next edition

The Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University (LASU), Prof John Oladapo Obafunwa, has said there is no justification for the indefinite strike declared on Tuesday by the university's Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Obafunwa, who spoke through LASU PRO Kayode Sutton, said it was not too late for ASUU to backpedal on its decision. In this interview with ADEGUNLE OLUIGBAMILA, Obafunwa also debunk insinuations that the recent inauguration of the Lagos State University Students Union (LAUSUSU) was to frustrate ASUU's planned strike.

T

There is no cause for ASUU strike, says LASU VC

here are insinuations that the management deliberately inaugurated the SU to nip ASUU strike in the bud.

That cannot be true! The Student Union Government was sworn in on May 2, not because management really wanted it like that, but it was simply circumstantial.

You will recall that on January 20, there was an election that produced the present executive, and it was a landmark event that witnessed the first e-voting facilitated by the management and was also lauded by speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly Ikuforiji. The management wouldn't have allowed the election in the first place if it was opposed to it. But on the 23rd of same month, there was a protest in LASU that saw the entire students out of the campus, and the school was shut.

Remember, the school was reopened in three phases; the first set of students came in on February 28, and those were the final year students. The second phase was the fresh students and that came in and did their matriculation. The 200/ 300 level students were the last to write their exam and actually finished penultimate Friday. So, we felt that Friday April 24 was the most appropriate day the SU can be inaugurated because most students were on ground and we knew once they go on break after their exam it would be difficult for their inaugu-

ration again. And do not forget that the decision for the resumption was in conjunction with the Lagos State House of Assembly which waded into the January crisis, did estimate of damaged items and recommended the resumption.

Why has LASU management unable to resolve the tuition despite repeated agitations by students and ASUU? There was a Visitation Panel that was brought into it and made recommendation part of which was an increase in tuition. The problem is beyond the vice chancellor. He can't do it not because he is unwilling but because he doesn't have what it takes to do it. When government came in with a panel, students and workers supported it because everybody was clamouring for change. If you now say what the government has offered (tuition) is on the high side, we can sit down at a roundtable and say this is what we want and overtime we will get results. Now

‘

We are appealing to ASUU not to go on strike. This is not the best time; in fact we don't really need it. LASU has suffered and has been battered enough.

LASU is on its way to achieveing greater things if this planned strike is reversed

From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

institution's 67th inaugural lecture.

He said there is no profession that has the capacity to engage the burgeoning youth population like agriculture, adding that of the 67million figure of the unemployed Nigerian graduates, agriculture alone can absorb 62 million of them if governments provide the right support.

Adeokun said: "If it is because of jobs prospect that is making students of Agriculture to switch over to other courses, then they are ignorant. Is there any profession that can employ many people like agriculture?

"It is only for government to take active position and support people, provide lands, finance and encouraged them. Now we have about 67million unemployed graduates looking for jobs but agriculture alone can employ almost 62 million of them."

In his lecture entitled: Travails of weaver birds: Whither the agricultural extensionist delivered last week, Adeokun noted that the future development of any nation depends on the vibrancy of its children and youths. He frowned that Nigerian youths have no interest in agriculture.

He said the situation is not helped by parents who insist that their children and wards should become pharmacists, engineers, lawyers and medical doctors at a

•Prof Obafunwa

if the students say they don't want it, then there must be correspondents, or a way to prompt the governor; and he was magnanimous enough to bring students and others stakeholders to as roundtable.

The governor has collected the proposal and will still need to sit on it.

(Cuts) But ASUU says management is hardliner and does not want to accommodate divergent views.

That is not true. In this instance, the idea we are talking about is that I cannot reverse it as a Vice-chancellor. It takes a process.

On the part of VC, he is simply saying, the people have taken up a stance by sending a proposal. You, as an academic staff, you can equally do same rather than grounding the institution. All of these things take a process; it has to go back to the cabinet where that decision was ratified. We have a listening government. I cannot determine how long but what I know is that in due course things are going to work

‘Agriculture can absorb 62m unemployed youths’

ROVOST of the College of Agriculture, Olabisi Onabanjo University(OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Prof. Oluwatobi Adeokun, has advised students against dropping agriculturebased courses out of ignorance or pressure. He said the courses are lucrative.

Adeokun also counselled prospective university students not to be discouraged or dissuaded from choosing agriculture as a course or discipline at the higher institutions, saying agriculture still holds the key for their future and the country.

The professor of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development gave the advice at the OOU permanent site while speaking with reporters after delivering the

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•Prof Oluwatobi

time where everybody wants Nigeria to be "self sufficient in food production and even export same to the outside world."

He said:"As far as agricultural

Do you agree that there are three outstanding issues?

There are three main issues: reversal or reduction of tuition, University Miscellaneous Provision Act approved by President Jonathan in 2012 increasing retirement age 65 to 70 implemented. I know some universities have done that but the question is: Did they achieve that using strike? The third one is the 'no vacancy; no promotion' there is nothing like that. But what I know is that some people were promoted last year, that simply says there was promotion. This year 256 positions have been declared for ASUU. So there have been vacancies and promotion.

As ASUU is hell bent on the strike, what message has the management for them?

We are appealing to ASUU not to go on strike. This is not the best time; in fact we don't really need it.

LASU has suffered and has been battered enough. LASU is on its way to achieveing greater things if this planned strike is reversed. This university has not been positively reported enough. Other universities hear mostly negative things about LASU. ASUU should consider the plights these students under which we are all here. We don't want our students to stay in school longer than expected. It is true that there are issues; but do not make the university the battleground. practice is concerned in Nigeria, studies indicated that Nigerian children and youths are not interested in agricultural practice. This is evident in the low patronage of agriculture as a course of study in our high institutions.

"Even at the tertiary level, students admitted to study agriculture always indicate interest to change to other courses. Right here(OOU) in the College of Agricultural Sciences, students often indicate willingness to change from core agriculture programmes to social and management oriented courses in agriculture.

"Some of the factors responsible for students bias against agriculture include the issue of using the farm as a punishment to the students, the issue of parents who do not want their children or wards to take to agriculture and students who prefer management courses to agriculture."

47

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

EDUCATION

Expert seeks equal status for special pupils

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ELPING Hands Special School, a school for special children, has maintained that no child must be denied sound and quality education irrespective of his or her social class, developmental challenges or physical disabilities.

Its Director, Miss Chinenye Okoye, is also seeking a more attention from the society to further cushion the effect of the social stigma special people are often exposed to, and which sometimes hampers their education progress.

Mrs Okoye said this during a courtesy visit to the Chairman, Amuwo Odofin Local Government Comrade Ayodele Adewale. She said over 70

By Mojisola Clement

per cent of children have developmental delays, learning challenges and disabilities. Besides, she said they are poor and live in rural areas where they have little or no access to facilities and therapy services and they are often victims of stigmatisation and abuse by their rural communities.

Okoye, an Occupational Therapy, expert explains that Nigerians love playing the ostrich in the sense that they often assume nothing is wrong in any child that has no physical challenge. Meanwhile, there are many physically fit children who are slow learners, and, therefore, deserve special attention to get them out of their

weak points and learn with the same tempo as their contemporaries.

Citing a regular school setting, Okoye said a teacher can teach 20 children, noting that the scenario is the reverse in Special Schools where three teachers can be dedicated to a child; one focusing on speech, another on learning, and yet the third takes on physical therapy all which shot up the cost of training.

She added that aside the new branch of the school now located in Festac, the school also has two other branches in Abuja. She said boarding facility for the new arm will be opened this session to children with autism, dyslexia, cerebral palsy, down syndrome and other related

special cases. Once the school is able to perfect a child weakness, such child will be incorporated in regular schools.

“Though it has not been a smooth ride this past five years, it has been very challenging. However lots of differences have been made because these children are no longer locked up at home so that visitors will not see them; now they can go to school, improve on their developmental delays and challenges, have therapies and still be incorporated into the society without being treated differently,” Okoye said.

Comrade Adewale said he was impressed by what the school is doing for the children. He, however,

•Miss Okoye

sought collaboration of both parties towards encouraging less privileged children with special challenge to be incorporated into the school either at a subsidised rate or no none at all.

Amosun honours Ogun 20 best students

O

GUN State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has decorated the 20 best students in the 2012/13 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) with the state brooch and gave them the opportunity to be part of the State Executive Council (SEC) meeting.

The governor counselled the students to make hard work their watchword in their quest for academic excellence, saying it's the highway to be the best in life.

Amosun stated this while receiving the 20 best students in the 2012/ 2013 WASSCE from the public schools in the 20 local government areas of the state who were sponsored on Leadership Training abroad by the First Lady of the state, Mrs. Olufunso at the Governor's Office, Oke-Mosan in Abeokuta.

Welcoming the beneficiaries after their 10-day sojourn in the United Kingdom (UK), the governor said the programme has offered them a great opportunity to acquire new knowledge, which is better than any financial reward.

"If we had given you money, it would have been exhausted but a gesture of this kind will remain with you forever. It is now your turn to leverage on all you have learnt dur-

T

HEY were part of the thousands who were displaced following the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon as a result of the International Court of Justice ruling in 2002.

• Governor Amosun (middle), his wife, Olufunso (7th right) and some government officials in a group photograph with the 20 best students.

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

ing your training abroad. This is a very encouraging way to begin your academic career. You have the responsibility now to excel the more in your academic endeavour to demonstrate to the world that you're not a push-over. Your best is yet to come," he said.

The governor, who added that Ogun State is noted for its various trailblazers in different areas of human life, urged the students to make sure they give back to the state in the nearest future without compromising the tenets of sacrifice and challenges which come with service to humanity.

‘

If we had given you money, it would have been exhausted but a gesture of this kind will remain with you forever.

It is now your turn to leverage on all you have learnt during your training abroad

Earlier, Mrs. Amosun revealed that the students emerged from the 2012/ 13 WASSCE based on the analysis from the West African Examination Council (WAEC), adding that the programme was designed mainly to motivate them to work harder in their studies.

She noted that the gesture has gone a long way in improving the standard of education in the state, assuring that

best students from each of the 20 local government still stand the chance to accompany her for a leadership training programme in the UK. Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Olayinka Rosenje of Ijebu Northeast; Israel Animashaun of Abeokuta North; and Funmilayo Adebayo of Imeko-Afon Local Governments thanked Mrs. Amosun for her kindness, saying that they

the homes. However, their seemingly bleak future got a lifeline through when they were adopted

by Senator Florence Ita Giwa.

The adoptees, Robert, Sandra, Inyang and Precious, who now

bear the lawmaker's surname, graduated last weekend from the prestigious Access High School (AHS) in Calabar.

They also formed a part of 13 others who were brought from the creeks of Bakassi and had their education bankrolled by the lawmaker.

Speaking at their graduation, the lawmakers said she was only moved by passion to help the children out of their predicaments.

Mrs Ita Giwa said: "These are the children of Bakassi, the one I adopted from the creeks about 10 years ago. Today, I am so happy that one of them is actually a fourtime star student which is unbelievable. Only God knows what would have happened to the children in the creeks. They are about 11 of them here and I think I brought them to the best place.

Education, I believe, is a major investment that is going to pay off for them. At the end of the day, these children can become whatever they want to be.

"This is my pilot programme. I can't take so many because I want to give them the best."

One of the beneficiaries, Robert who won several awards at the event, said he had to put in his best considering the rare opportunity given to him.

’

dreamt of travelling abroad.

They recounted that their training abroad and visits to famous places in the UK including the Houses of Parliament; Travalgar Square; Chartwell - the home of Winston Churchill, among others have helped in boosting their confidence and widening their horizon. They promised not to let the state down in whatever they do.

‘We never believed we would go to school’ From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

They were little children then and knew little of all the confusion that preceded the ruling. It only dawned on them to give up

• The Secretary, Lagos State Association of Yoruba Language Teachers and Culture, Mrs Oluwatoyin Kuye (middle) presenting a gift to Taiwo Toyosi (second left), Olotu Blessing (second right) and Mariam Lawal (right) all of Ewutuntun Senior Grammar School for winning the World Poetry Day celebration organised by the Oshodi Noble Heritage in conjunction with Egbe Akomolede Yoruba ati Asa Yoruba. With them is the school's Yoruba teacher, Ambassador Hakeem Akani Opadijo.

His words: "I am very happy to graduate today this is what I never expected. Ever since I came here in JSS One I have had different experiences and was able to adapt. My challenging moments is when I am competing with my mates but I am happy when I do well. I work hard because this is the only chance I have."

Sandra said: "I thank God for the life of my mother. Without her, I would not be here today.

God made her to bring me to this world. But for her, I would not have entered school and I don't know where I would be now.”

A tearful Inyang also said: "I am so grateful to God because he made her (Senator Giwa to make it possible. Where would I have been now?

“We got here from Bakassi in 2006 and since then I have been with my mum," said Precious.

She (Ita Giwa) has brought me to the best school in Calabar and I am so joyful. She has made me realise my dreams; and when I grow up I want to be an employer of thousands of people by God's grace. I am so fulfilled. I pray others can also do the same for so many children out there who don't have anyone to cater for them."

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

48

EDUCATION

B

And ‘Two Brain’ dies

ORNO State has lost one of its finest mathematics teachers, Adamu Shaibu, popularly known as Two Brain.

The Principal, Government College, Maiduguri, Ibrahim Joji, told The Nation that Shaibu was unarguably the best Further Mathematics teacher in the state as his students used to make 100 per cent.

Shaibu, who was in his mid-forties, was battling with acute blood pressure problems which he managed till he slumped and died last Saturday.

From Abodunrin Kayode, Maiduguri

"I first met him in 1987 and I have known him for over 20 years. As a matter of fact, I encouraged him to enroll for his master's degree which he was pursing till his death.

"He was nick named two brain because of his dexterity in handling mathematics where he was before I brought him to the Government College, Maiduguri.

"As a matter of fact, he was one of those sent to India to study the new KIA projector used by contempo-

rary teachers for instruction in classes. And just when the government imported 500 of the machines for people like him to come train the trainers, he died," said joji.

Shaibu first studied mathematics at the College of Education Oju before entering the University of Maiduguri where he had a second class upper in Applied Mathemetics.

If there is any regret Joji is going to live with, it is the fact that Shaibu did not write any book on Mathematics before he died.

EDUTALK

with

A lingering problem

L

AST week, Caleb University, Imota in Lagos State was forced to close because of student unrest. The students vandalized university property following a misunderstanding said to be related to rules and regulations.

This brings to three the number of private universities shut because Kofoworola of protest by students in recent times. Earlier this year, it was Bowen University located in Iwo, Kofosagie@yahoo.com Osun State that had to send the stu08054503077 (SMS only) dents home when a feeding schedule was forced on time. Two years ago, it was Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo over the unfortunate death of a student at the university's medical centre.

If nothing, the protests demonstrate that students' unrest is not a public university thing, unlike what many faith-based institutions would want us to believe. It can occur anywhere there is disaffection about any issue priced by the parties involved.

Our schools administrators need to learn from this and nip such needless violence in the bud because our universities, private or public, can ill-afford crisis that further reduce the facilities that are grossly insufficient in the first place.

By now, academics ought to have commissioned a study on violence protests by students with a few to identifying factors that lead to them and how they can be avoided.

Belo-Osagie

Speed up work on National Vocational Qualification Framework • Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya unveiling the brand new Kia Picanto Car, grand prize in the 'Airtel One Mic' Talent-hunt show which was launched in Lagos on Monday to discover music talents in tertiary institutions in Ogun and Lagos State.

Book industry gets govt attention

I

F there is anything the Nigerian Book Fair Trust (NBFT) is grateful happened at this year's edition of the Nigeria International Book Fair (NIBF), it is attracting for the first time in a long while the presence of high level officials from the Federal Government.

Chairman, House Committee on Education, Hon Lawal Suleiman graced the conference organised as part of the one-week event that held at the Multipurpose Hall, University of Lagos, while the Registrar, Librarian Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN), Dr Victoria Okojie, was the keynote speaker.

Their presence gave stakeholders in the book industry (made up of publishers, booksellers, authors, librarians and printers' groups.) a platform to raise issues they wanted addressed by the Federal Government.

They included the slashing of the 50 per cent duty on book imports, establishment of a commission to address the challenges of the book industry, high cost of production that makes local production unattractive, foreign incursion into the book industry, and piracy, among others.

To address them, Hon Suleiman urged NBFT to reach out to the lawmakers for them to legislate on it.

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie and Mojisola Clement

Regarding the theme of the conference, Emergence of the E-Book and the survival of Physical Book in Africa, the NBFT chairman, Mr Samuel Kolawole said the digital book has been slow in developing in Africa because of various challenges.

He noted, however, that African publishers are rising up to the challenge by taking some measures, including printing on demand, inclusion of CD with paper back, presentation of e-version and sale of e-version on select websites.

Describing the conference as a success, Executive Secretary, NIBF, Mr Biodun Omotubi, said the yearnings of the book industry stakeholders to get government attention is finally yielding results.

"The conference was fantastic.

Over the years, we have been clamouring for government participation, especially at the federal level. But this year, we were able to get Hon Suleiman to attend. He added colour to the event and assured us that having heard of the challenges in the book industry, he would do his part to address them,"

he said.

Meanwhile, exhibitors and visitors at the fair, which is the 14th edition, expressed satisfaction about the programme.

Mr Emeka Benjamin, one of the exhibitors was happy about the high turnout of people despite the economic hardship, as well as the presence of many foreigners, which he said was better than last year.

Another exhibitor, Mrs Adesanmi Brown described the organisation as wonderful.

"I have been attending every year and this year is so organised and perfect and my company has satisfied its purpose here," she said.

Bimpe Ogunmefun, a student of UNILAG, said books were cheaper at the fair than market price, while Suliat Musabaudeen, a guardian said she was also glad to get original copies.

"I was able to buy different books today at cheaper rates and in good quality. I am not afraid that it would not stand the test of time because I bought quality and not pirated copy" she said.

Okeleye Peter, another exhibitor however gave a contrary opinion, "Though last year was better than this year in terms of the crowds and sales, I think the publicity was not enough" he remarked.

Elizade varsity students make case for govt funding

S

TUDENTS of Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, Ondo State have urged the Federal Government to contribute to the funding of private universities.

Airing their views on a Radio programme, "Citadel Radio", on Orange 94.5 FM, Akure, the students, Gift Silas, 200-Level, Business Administration, Esther Ezenwoye, 200-Level, Microbiology and Iyanu Oluyale, 200-Level, Accounting, called on the Federal Government to allow private universities benefit from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund).

They said owners of private uni-

versities, who are mainly industrialists, contribute significantly to the fund, and wondered why their universities cannot benefit from the grant.

They also argued that since all universities (public and private) answer to the same regulatory bodies and produce graduates for the same labour market, it would be necessary for both institutions to benefit from the Trust Fund.

With the emergence of private universities in Nigeria, they said more access has been provided for thousands of candidates seeking university admission.

Similarly, they advised the relevant regulatory agencies of the Federal Government to do an audit of the existing private universities in the country with a view to identifying those doing very well and assist them accordingly.

This, they argued, would go a long way to improve quality of education at the tertiary level.

They lamented the poor quality of education in some of the nation's tertiary institutions, which unlike their own, do not provide for world-class lecturers and instructors who have made learning in the university very conducive.

The National Vocational Qualification Framework (NVQF) has been in the pipeline since the tenure of Mrs Oby Ezekwesili as Education Minister in 2006. The framework is meant to help us measure skills gained in the course of working which can be equated with recognized qualifications depending on the level of competency of the bearer.

The NVQF holds such promise that when in use, we expect to be able to assess what a skilled worker can do by knowing his qualification. The framework is meant to allow people with technical and vocational skills to advance in their field, use their competency to get into tertiary education for academic qualifications, and promote an appreciation for skills in general.

For a country that loves to be able to present certificates to back up our qualifications, the NVQF has taken too long in rolling out, considering that people keep getting all kinds of training daily. An example is the Samsung Engineering Academy, an institution that trains technical college graduates to repair home appliances, IT devices, mobile phones, televisions, etc.

After one year of intensive world class training, these graduates have such skills that set them apart even from engineering students that pass through our conventional tertiary institutions. It is a shame that they do not have a nationally recognised qualification for the kind of training they have received. It is only those organisations that deal with their services that know their worth when they should be well recognised wherever they go to. Those in charge of breathing life into the NVQF should waste no further time so that many deserving skilled people in our labour force can get the recognition they deserve for their expertise and services they render.

‘After one year of intensive world class training, these graduates have such skills that set them apart even from engineering students that pass through our conventional tertiary institutions. It is a shame that they do not have a nationally recognised qualification for the kind of training they have received’

From my Inbox Re: In pursuit of public order (Thursday, May 15, 2014) Dear, I read your article in The Nation newspaper today. It is a very interesting article on the issue of motorists. Thanks. From 07067859---.

Sister Kofo, thanks for the write-up of 15th. The problem is with the police. From your paper in the last two years, how many conviction have we heard of all the people caught with human heads and parts?

Please let the police do their work to convince people and the jungle justice will stop. O. Kuponiyi, Ilorin.

Hello Lady, I just digested your education-based moral article in The Nation newspaper: In pursuit of Public Order (15-05-2014). I appreciate your idea and as a writer too, would like to meet with you. Don Pidomson, Abuja.

What happened to Clifford Orji? People take laws into their hands due to past experience. May God protect the innocent ones. Albert Simeon, Seme Border.

50

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

51

POLITICS

52

THURSDAY MAY 22, 2014

THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

NATIONAL CONFERENCE Pan-Yoruba socio-political groups have renewed the Southwest’s agitation for autonomy within the Nigerian federation. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI, who witnesed the launch of the coalition’s book titled: ‘Regional Autonomy or Nothing’, captures the collective vision for regional integration.

Southwest’s agitation for regional autonomy

I

T is regional autonomy or nothing. That was the message passed across at the Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota, Lagos, when a coalition of pan-Yoruba youth organisations addressed a press conference on the state of the nation. At the event, a publication, which embodies the summary of the agitations of the Yoruba within the Nigerian political space, was unveiled. It is aptly titled: Regional Autonomy or Nothing. For the avoidance of doubt, regional autonomy was defined as: the control of the natural resources within the region; developing and establishing appropriate governance structure for the region; and devolved authority, responsibilities and span of control to manage and ensure the sustenance of the region.

The position of the coalition, which is made up of groups like the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), the Yoruba Assembly, the Yoruba Academy, the Atayese Yoruba Group and the Oodua Foundation, is that the unity of Nigeria is negotiable and must be negotiated. It is predicated on the fact that over the years, the forced marriage of the diverse ethno-national groups that were brought together in 1914 has produced tension and difficult moments for the country. Indeed, it is a clarion call for the Yoruba Nation to take hold of their destiny.

The Chairman of the Atayese Yoruba Group and son of the first civilian governor of Ondo State, Prince Tokunbo Ajasin, who reeled out the Yoruba demands at the press conference, warned delegates to the National Conference to utilise the opportunity that has been handed to them to negotiate the future of Nigeria, by building a consensus to reclaim the country from wrong-footed ideas and practices that have brought it to where it is today.

He threatened that the Yoruba might be compelled to resort to other means, such as breaking away from Nigeria, if the Conference does not accede to their demand for regional autonomy, saying: “anybody that does not want a change in the statuesque does not wish the country well.”

In the preface to the publication, the need to revisit what was ‘agreed’ at the various constitutional conferences that led to the First Republic and Nigeria’s independence was stated. The group noted that prior to the British invasion and conquest, of the different ethnic nationalities that make up the present-day Nigeria, they were independent nation-states. In the light of the tension and difficult moments being experienced in recent times, the group said it is imperative to review the journey so far and chart a new course.

“The next step in charting a course for the future is to safeguard the destiny of the Yoruba people, and reconstruct the Nigerian federation. This is the first intent of this publication; that is, a revisit and restating of the agenda of the Yoruba people … what Yoruba

•Ajasin (centre), flanked by members of the coalition at Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota, Lagos.

people want,” the group noted.

Ajasin said it is inconceivable that northern leaders are the ones leading the campaign against devolution of power and restructuring of government. He argued: “If any region needs a stronger federating unit with greater capacity to provide education, health, security, wealth creation and other social amenities, it is the North where strong links exist between the level of poverty and conscription of innocent youths into extremist tendencies. It appears Northern leaders are not concerned, and indeed have no plan for the teeming youth from the region, as long as they are able to continue clinging to their hold on power.”

The present round of Yoruba agitation for autonomy was sparked by a recent publication, titled Key issues before Northern delegates to the 2014 National Conference, where the North claims to be “the backbone and strength of Nigeria”. According to the coalition of youths, the Northern reasoning can be summed up thus: “Nigeria is two countries of Northern and Southern Nigeria; oil exploration in the Niger Delta was financed by Northern groundnut proceeds and the North feeds the rest of the South with daily supplies of cows… therefore the North is equally entitled to Niger Delta oil proceeds as the Niger Deltans themselves.”

Regional Autonomy or Nothing concludes that the North’s obsession with revenue sharing from the proceeds of oil has exposed a jaundiced vision of the developmental aspiration of the people of the region. On the North’s claim that Nigeria is de facto two countries

of made up of two countries of Northern and Southern Nigeria, it described the claim as false, stating that the ‘North’, as defined and described in the publication, ceased to exist the day Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd) created 12 states in 1967. It equally debunks the claim in the Northern publication that the North is 80 per cent of the Nigerian landmass.

Ajasin reeled out the demands of the Yoruba people, as contained in the publication, as follows: a regional government with its constitution and unfettered political and fiscal autonomy, except on issues it agrees to cede to the federal government; a negotiated legislative Exclusive, Concurrent and Residual list; a unicameral legislature at the centre; a parliamentary form of government at the centre; the right to self-determination or the right to secede; establishment of regional police; fiscal federalism and resource control; and a special status for Lagos.

The region also wants the outcome of the 2014 National Conference to form the basis for a new people’s constitution. “The Southwest region must include all Yoruba people outside the imposed artificial boundaries in Edo, Delta, Kogi and Kwara states,” the Chairman of the Atayese Group added.

Against this background, the Yoruba publication said a national conversation, which has been a popular demand since the first military coup of 1966, had been long overdue. It said that despite the pervasive cynicism about the real intentions of President Goodluck Jonathan and the doubts about the political will of

his administration to deliver the radical restructuring that are necessary to resolve the fundamental problems of legitimacy of the ‘Nigerian Project’, the Conference is perceived by many delegates, including those from the Southwest, as a golden opportunity to undertake a holistic transformation of the Nigerian federation.

The publication, Regional Autonomy or Nothing, is divided into three main sections. Section A, with the theme ‘Our stance as Yoruba people’, outlines specifically what the Yoruba people want from the National Conference.

These demands, which are already listed above, are regarded as the irreducible minimum that the Yoruba people of Nigeria would accept. Section A goes on to trace the history and experience of the Yoruba race and the challenges it is facing in modern day Nigeria, particularly the structure of the federation, which is not oriented towards development.

Section B is addressed specifically towards debunking some Northern claims and assertions, particularly the fallacies and ‘hyperbolic self-assessments’ of the region, some of which have equally received attention in this article. In addressing this issue, it goes into the history of oil exploration in Nigeria; noting that from early beginnings in 1908 till date, all initial expenses for prospecting and producing oil are borne exclusively by the foreign multinational oil companies. It adds: “The Nigerian Federal Government spends nothing of its own funds in the industry, except for cash calls which are paid for by proceeds of petroleum…

‘The present round of Yoruba agitation for autonomy was sparked by a recent publication, titled Key issues before Northern delegates to the 2014 National Conference, where the North claims to be the backbone and strength of Nigeria’

“While the North produced groundnut and cotton, Western Nigeria produced cocoa, Mid West Nigeria produced rubber, palm oil, palm kernel and timber, Eastern Nigeria which included the present day Niger Delta produced palm oil, palm kernel and timber.” It goes on to say that each region sold its produce and kept the income for its use. “Only the export duty of the agricultural products was shared on the basis of 50 per cent derivation, 30 per cent distributable funds for the regions and 20 per cent to the Federal Government,” it recalls.

Under the revenue allocation formula of the First Republic, “it was the North that benefitted financially from the contributions of the other three regions and not the other way round.” It states, for instance, that the North received a disproportionate share in the allocation of 30 per cent from the Distributable Pool Account.

It adds: “Out of the 30 per cent of the resources of all the four regions paid into that account, the percentage paid into each account was as follows: Northern Nigeria, forty ninety-fifths; Eastern Nigeria, thirty-one ninety-fifths; Western Nigeria, eighteen ninetyfifths; and Mid-West Nigeria six ninety-fifths (Section 141, pp.66, 1963 Nigeria Constitution]. Thus, documented evidence indicates that since 1914, the North has been and continues to be a major beneficiary of the financial output of the whole country.”

The third section spells out the kind of government the group is agitating for, in specific terms. It comes under the following headings: good governance, devolution of power, form of government, structure of government, resource control and taxation, fiscal federalism, revenue sharing and resource control, policing and fundamental human rights.

In conclusion, the coalition of Yoruba youth organizations said the onus is on the delegates at the National Conference to do the needful, to ensure that the country returns to the regional system of government, which could be based on the current six geo-political zones.

National Publicity Secretary, Afenifere Renewal Group, Mr. Kunle Famoriyo said regional autonomy is the most viable instrument for a stronger and united Nigeria, because it would create the enabling environment for the different ethnic nationalities to develop at their own pace. He noted that “it is not a mistake that God brought together people who have the same thinking process, the same worldview.” Famoriyo said Nigeria is the only country in the world where people go to the centre to collect allocation. In contrast, he said “when you look around, money is just begging to be made on our streets, but the unitary system we are operating in Nigeria has not allowed us to be able to think and come up with the necessary strategy that would push us ahead.”

53

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

NATURAL HEALTH THE NATION

E-mail:- health@thenationonlineng.net

As the wet season sets in, OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA writes that essential oils can combat the cold and catarrh that come with it.

Burst that cold, catarrh, cough with essential oils T

HE rainy season is here again. It is a period cold, cough and catarrh thrive. To be on the safe side, individuals, especially those prone to it, should take adequate precautionary measures to avoid respiratory tract infections.

To combat the ailments, several oils with anti-viral activity become handy in boosting the immune system.

The natural oils known as essential oils have been used in the treatment of common cold over the years; even for therapeutic healing.

According to a Phythotherapist, Dr Francis Elegbuo, essential oils are natural aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants. “They can be both beautifully and powerfully fragrant. If you have ever enjoyed the gift of a rose, a walk by a field of lavender, or the smell of fresh cut mint, you have experienced the aromatic qualities of essential oils. In addition to giving plants their distinctive smells, essential oils provide plants with protection against predators and disease and play a role in plant pollination.”

He said: “Essential oils are non water-based phytochemicals made up of volatile aromatic compounds.

Although they are fat soluble, they do not include fatty lipids or acids found in vegetable and animal oils.

Essential oils are very clean, almost crisp, to the touch and are immediately absorbed by the skin. Pure, unadulterated essential oils are translucent and range in colour from crystal clear to deep blue. Essential oils abound around us and are readily available. Try this at home; squeeze the peel of a ripe orange. The fragrant residue on your hand is full of essential oils.”

According to Dr Elegbuo, “In addition to their intrinsic benefits to plants and being beautifully fragrant to people, essential oils have been used throughout history in many cultures for their medicinal

•Orange peel a source of essential oil

and therapeutic benefits. Modern scientific study and trends toward more holistic approaches to wellness are driving a revival and new discovery of essential oil health applications. For fever, sinus/catarrh, cough and cold that turn up with rainy season, essential oil can be an affordable and accessible solution. But I must caution that nobody should overdo this.

Prolonged inhalation of essential oils can cause an enlarged liver.”

For prevention For maximum effectiveness, Dr Elegbuo said it is important that you use them to boost your immune system as a preventive step, such as at the earliest indication of symptoms or in some cases before contracting the condition such as cold.

For instance, essential oils of basil, eucalyptus, peppermint, curry, thyme and, ginger or garlic can help to ease nasal congestion.

Choose one to three of these oils and use them as inhalants or in

steam inhalation treatments.

“For chest congestion, it is good to combine two or at most three essential oil. A steam inhalation treatment made with basil, pine, and/or tea tree oil can help to clear mucus and ease breathing. Rubbing oil prepared with these oils as massage over the chest may also be helpful. An aromatherapy bath prepared with ginger, Eucalyptus and/ or tea tree oil can help to soothe achy feeling all over your body that accompanies cold. Use a lukewarm bath for fever, a hot bath for chills.”

Treatment When the cold and feverish condition is in full swing, the Phytotherapist said some of the more important essential oils are capable of bursting them and restoring one back to stable health.

“If the cold has progressed to chills with a fever, the best oils to reduce the fever are chamomile; black pepper; peppermint; tumeric; lemon and tea tree. These oils can

be applied by means of a cool compress to the head or a few drops can be added to a lukewarm bath. I read about an interesting technique used in the old days where you soak cotton socks in a solution of a few drops of essential oils and cold water and place the wet socks on the feet, then wrap the feet in plastic bags. The coolness of the socks pulls the heat from the core body to the extremities and the fever abates.

“If you have reached the achy joints and sore muscles stage, then the best way to apply essential oils is through massage. Up to six drops of oil can be rubbed onto the sore, achy places and then covered with a heating pad or warmed towels.

The best oils for massaging stiff sore areas are tea tree, eucalyptus, ginger, black pepper, rosemary, cypress and lavender. They can be obtained in health shops,” said the Phytotherapist.

“And if the cold has progressed to the congested, mucous stage, then massaging the oils onto the chest and burning them by the bedside in an aroma lamp will help break up the catarrh. Some recommended oils for congestion are Gongronena (Igbo, Utazi); eucalyptus, peppermint, ginger; garlic; Fenugreek; Golden root; frankincense; clove and any of the back of citrus fruits. Another very useful method is the old head over bowl method. Fill a bowl with hot water and put a few drops of essential oil into the bowl. Place a towel over your head and lean over the bowl, breathing the vapours in deeply. It is amazing how quickly you can clear up congestion with this method,” said Dr Elegbuo.

He said if the germs have already invaded the body and you are at the sore throat stage, then the best method for using essential oils is in a gargle. I know I have said many times that essential oils should not be taken internally, but with gargling, you expectorate most of the solution, so it is considered safe. In half a glass of warm water, place only

one or two drops of the essential oil, and gargle as normal. The best oils to use in a gargle are tea tree, sage, eucalyptus, garlic and ginger.

A practitioner, Dr Theophilus Lambo, gave some further hints on using essential oils or aromatherapy to knock off wet season blues: “My first advice is to keep your environment clean and free of germs. This can be easily done by burning an essential oil in an aroma lamp. An aroma lamp is usually a small bowl filled with water and five to eight drops of essential oil, which sits over a tea candle. The heat from the candle evaporates the water and tiny molecules of essential oil become suspended in the water vapors, which then fill the room. By inhaling the mist, you ingest the essential oil (aroma) into the nasal passages, which then kills off germs in the nasal cavity, trachea, bronchial tubes etc. The essential oil vapors are also able to destroy germs floating through the air, say from a sneeze for instance. So by humidifying the room using essential oils, you can alleviate the introduction of most germs. The best essential oils for an aroma lamp are: Lavender, Eucalyptus, Camphor, Rosemary, Pine and Sage.

“To prevent further spread or contact, essential oil can also be added to a spray bottle full of water and misted in the area, especially around doorknobs and other multi-use surfaces, or likewise you can put essential oils in a solution with water and wipe the surfaces with a cloth. Any of these methods will keep germs at bay. I will caution that if you are on homeopathic remedies, the stronger menthol oils will antidote the remedy, in which case it is best to stick with lavender. Although, lavender is a sedative oil and may not be the best choice for an office area since it will make you sleepy and unfocused. Lavender is best for the bedroom area, whereas rosemary, pine and eucalyptus are better for cleansing work place.”

•Ogunshakin

•Koloko

show side effects in relation to sexual activity, plant based products such as Prostatonin have a wider spectrum of action which works in a safe and effective way.

“Using Prostatonin will help alleviate early symptoms of BPH so that the bladder empties better; the urge to urinate is less frequent; the frequency of urinating, especially at night, is reduced (thereby improving the quality of sleep); the urinary stream becomes nor-

mal.”

She said to date, “Prostatonin has shown a very low number of adverse effect. It contains two highly active plant extracts, Urtica dioica and Pygeum africanum, therefore it is natural and safe. It does not contain sugar and it is safe for diabetics. It is suitable for long-term treatment. One capsule contains 300 mg UR 102 Urtica dioica extract and 25 mg PY 102 Pygeum africanum extract.”

Managing prostate gland condition

Some men in their 40s and above find it difficult urinating. OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA writes that they can find succour in a natural medication - Prostatonin.

W

ITH ageing comes changes in the body.

While women have menopause, men have benign prostatic hyperplasia BPH. BPH is a nonmalignant (noncancerous) enlargement of the prostate gland. It is a very common occurrence in older men. Men between 40 and 49 years are 25 per cent more at risk while for those aged 70 to 79 years it is 80 per cent.

BPH is not a precursor (a forerunner) to prostate cancer.

According to Francis Koloko of Benjamin Michael Limited, Lagos, men above 40 years should understand BPH, screen for same and understand there is a way out. “The prostate gland is a small organ about the size of a walnut. It is found below the bladder (where urine is stored) and surrounds the urethra (tube that carries urine away from the bladder). The pros-

tate makes a fluid that helps to nourish sperm as part of the semen (ejaculatory fluid).

“In BPH, the prostate gland grows in size. It may compress the urethra which passes through the center of the prostate. This can impede the flow of urine from the bladder through the urethra to the outside. It can cause urine to back up in the bladder (retention) leading to the need to urinate frequently during the day and night.

Other common symptoms include a slow flow of urine; the need to urinate urgently and difficulty starting the urinary stream. More serious problems include urinary tract infections and complete blockage of the urethra, which may be a medical emergency and can lead to injury of the kidneys.”

Koloko said BPH is easy to diagnose and thereafter managed, “as a doctor can detect an enlarged prostate by rectal exam.

“The doctor also may examine the urethra, prostate, and bladder using a cytoscope, an instrument that is inserted through the penis.

There are drugs which can be used to prevent or combat early symptoms of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). One of the best is Prostatonin, a natural solution for men over 40 who actively want to prevent and/or combat early symptoms of BPH. Prostatonin brings about a natural relief from the burden of early BPH symptoms without affecting a man’s sexual activity. It is thus, the first step to an improved quality of life.”

A Manager with Benjamin Michaels, Miss Nike Ogunshakin said prevention of development of BPH is possible with natural preparations such as Prostatonin, “Unlike synthetic and hormonal drugs, which have a highly selective pharmacological action and

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THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

NATURAL HEALTH

Fear of occult blood, beginning of bowel wisdom

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NE of the friends I made on this page is, literally speaking, still waltzing over the moon, in respect of two laboratory test results he received last week. The two results suggest he no longer has occult blood in his stool. Occult blood in the stool may suggest anything from ulcer anywhere in the small or big intestine, intestinal polyps, ulcerated colitis (inflamed and ulcerated colon), pre-cancerous colon or cancer in the colon lesions, among several other bowel troubles.

Before these encouraging lab test results, which still require a colonoscopy procedure on the advice of his doctors to keep his mind at rest, he had had a colonoscopy done which revealed ulceration and bleeding somewhere in the colon. You cannot blame such a man for worrying himself almost unto death over occult blood in his stool. Occult blood is blood that cannot be detected by ordinary laboratory stool analysis but by special assays or methods. It was the beginning of the problems of a friend of his who had to have about three surgeries to avert what could have been terminal problems in his colon. And when he had his first colonoscopy, this friend of mine was all the more scared by the computer pictures of his colon which revealed inflammation of the tissue and a large red patch which indicated bleeding tissue. As stated earlier, the disappearance of occult blood in the latest stool tests, will have to be confirmed by a new colonoscopy to make assurances doubly sure. Colonoscopy is a medical probe or investigation of the colon with a device called the colonoscope.

This device is a flexible tube which can be as long as 48 inches or 122cm or 72 inches (183cm). Fitted with a video camera, ailments in the colon, large intestine and lower parts of the small intestine such as ulcers, colon polyps, inflammation, tumours, bleeding precancerous lesions and cancer can be observed.

It is not for nothing that the Royal Society of Surgeons warned in the United Kingdom a few years ago that death begins slowly but surely in the intestines. Many people who appear healthy on the surface have one intestinal problem or the other and may, in fact, be bleeding in the bowels without knowing it, but an observant person who does not joke with hospital visits will catch it early. Abdominal bloating is a sign that something is amiss. Many bloated men parade the streets of Nigeria and even make light of their serious condition with light jokes such as that they are pregnant or flaunting evidence of "good" living or "good cooking" by their wives. Farting or "spoiling of the air", as we describe it in Nigeria, is evidence that food isn't digesting properly and is decaying to produce not only foul gas for a bloat, but, also, food for bacteria, Candida, viruses and other parasites whose metabolism adds more gas to the gas filled bowels. Parasites which latch on the lining of the bowels may damage it. The stress of their toxins cause inflammation of the lining, and over secretion of mucus. Many people experience mucous stool but pay only passing or feeble attention.

The next stage of the discomfiture may be ulceration and bleeding. When Candida, a specie of yeast, and bacteria and viruses inhabit the injured tissue and live on it, the stage may be set for precancerous growth.

There are more early warning signals which often go unheeded. Belching is one. Constipation or diarrhea is another. Yet another is irritable bowel syndrome. In this condition, constipation and diarrhea exchange balton in a relay race. Years ago, I treated a gentlemen resident in Badagry for this condition. Within one hour, he could feel pressed to void about 10 times. Each voiding would not produce much. Just a little, foamy dropping.

At that time, the Alternative Medicine Market did not parade a wide array of Botanical medicines available today for this condition, such as NG4 Parasite formula, Parasite Cleanse, Benabiotic, Aloe Vera gel, Kaslys Propolis Syrup, Propolis tablets, Golden Seal root, Edunacea Supreme (Golden seal root 4 Edunacea + Grape Seed Extract), colloidal silver, Maria Treben Bitters, Floor Essence, Pau d'Arco calamus root and comfrey root, among others. Some other signs of intestinal malfunction include color, shape and density of the stool. Stool from a healthy intestine has the shape of banana. It is discharged with little or no effort, has a dark brown colour and sinks in the water closet. Where stool is expelled with strain, dehydration has occurred. Where the toilet paper is smeared during the cleaning of the anus, the colon needs a pep up. Where the stool is shaped like a lead pencil, inflammation or blockage of the colon may have taken place. If you study the diagrams on this page, you would notice why the healthy colon produces banana - shaped stool, and the blocked or narrowed one produces lead pencil shapes. There are people who void pellets, so much that is how awful they may have occurred in their bowels.

In considering a therapy for the occult blood case in reference, thought was given to the possibility of Aspirin, which he took for high blood pressure, causing lacerations in the intestines. Aspirin, extracted as a drug from the willow herb, thins the blood and may cause bleed injury in the stomachs and intestines of some people. Fish oil is a safer and better acting alternative, as many doctors have discovered in clinical work and reported in books. Cayenne and Curcumin 2000X are

develop into cirrhosis (hardening) of the liver, a condition in which the cell salts may play helpful role, and cancer of the liver.

equally good. To seal any such leaks, the gentleman was advised to try Horsetail, one of the richest sources of Silica, a natural substance which, like collagen, strengthens connective tissue, aids digestion, dissolves growths, hardens the nails, hair and firms the skin. I advised the use of a product called Silica Complex. The Silica in it is complexed to Betaine hydrochloride, which promotes digestion in the stomach. At that time, the homeopathic and biochemic form of Silica was scarce in the market. It is the 12th of the 12th cell or tissue salts. It may be taken by placing it under the tongue or by dissolving it in little water which is drunk on empty stomach. Happily, this form of Silica is returning to the market in a complex of all 12 cell or tissue salts known as BIOPLASMA. In homeopathy, it is believed that if the human body is burned to ash, the ash would be found to be composed of 12 basic salts, hence the name- cell or tissue salts. These salts are present in all cells in varying ratios based on their nature and work. The naturopath Cyric Scott, for example, theorises that eye problems develop from a deficiency of the phosphate tissue salts. There are five phosphate salts among the 12 cell salts. They are made in three options‌ as individual phosphate cell salts, all phosphate cell salts combined under one umbrella, or as part members of all 12 cell salts.

I was taught a serious, though not bitter lesson, by my digestive system in the 1980s. Those were maddening newsroom deadline days and late dinner tension years.

The average journalist likes to soak the tension in beer and pepper soup. I wasn't different. I liked red wine besides, and could drown a whole bottle while thinking out the peg of a copy. I was alarmed when, periodically, rich red blood began to appear on my tissue paper. My doctor wanted me to have a barium meal check. I didn't like the idea, and, so, did not agree. I wonder if the bleeding was caused by polyps or internal heammorhoids.

A polyp is a small bulge of the intestine. It is like the bulge one sometimes finds in the children's balloon.

Many of them may manifest on intestinal tissue, leading to diverticulosis (a syndrome of diversions). Bursts may create bleeding, anaemia, low red blood count and tiredness not related to low or high blood sugar count. Luckily for me, I got over this condition by avoiding red wine and by going on a therapy with Calamus Root and Pau d'Arco. I am writing this column on a first Sunday meal after 2p.m. This morning, I sipped till lunch time one 75cl of Lasena alkaline water to which I added some tablets of BIOPLASMA. My lunch is guinea corn pap to which is added wheatgrass powder, Calamus root powder and Pau d'Arco powder.

DIGESTIVE AIDS For an overhaul of suboptimal digestive system, I always advise a comprehensive overhaul which may include the following: MOUTH Bitters or soups before meals STOMACH Apple Cider Vinega, Maria Treben Bitters, Silica complex or Betaine HCL PANCREAS Digestive enzymes, one or two glasses of water 30 minutes before a meal; fenugreek, Chromium or Bitter melon to lower blood sugar.

LIVER Maria Bitters, Milk thistle, Artichoke (combined in NG4 Liver Health along with Milk Thistle), Liver Balance, Carqueja, Garlic (natural or kyolic Aged Extract), Bitter kola, Dandelion, Vervain, Chanka Piedra. Care of the liver, especially with antiviral herbs, is important because many people are afflicted in varying degrees by Hepatitis B virus without realising it. This condition may

INTESTINE The bowels sound the death knells of many people, slowly but surely. Often, this column features the congested bowels as the "pit toilet inside all of us". Anyone who has defecated in a pit toilet should have a good picture of what I am trying to describe. Maggots, cockroaches and other life forms inimical to human life grow radiantly in the pit toilet where the environment is acidic and toxic gasses such as methane abound. Methane is plentiful, also, in the bowels of many people. It may be a cause of incessant headaches and migraine when it escapes into the bloodstream and poisons the brain. The other parts of the body react adversely to it as well.

There is a young woman near my office who sometimes empties her bowels once or twice a week. She suffers from headaches, abdominal pain, and her menstrual cycle is irregular and painful. Such people may also complain of lower back pain. When I cannot wear my pair of trousers or boxer shorts, standing, when I feel tension in the waist-line, or when I feel one of my legs is sinking as I walk, I realize it is time to do a colon cleanse. All it requires is adding a good dietary fiber to the diet and taking probiotic (friendly bacteria) supplements. A nerve tonic, Vitamin B Complex and a Calcium is Magnesium supplement important as well for healthy peristalsis or bowel motion. Fiber stimulates the hair-like projections on the lining of the intestine to flagellate on one another in a wave-like forward motion. Calcium tightens the soft muscles while magnesium relaxes them to promote this motion.

The nerves power the muscles. Vitamin B1 helps the nerves. Lion's Mane helps the brain to produce Nerve Growth Hormone or Nerve Growth Factor which repairs damaged nerves, improves nerve energy and nerve (electrical) flow. For fiber, vegetables, like the pith of citrus fruits, are good. I enjoy the proprietary product FORTIFLAX, which comes with lignans, anti-cancer agents slippery elm herb and Millein (also a good herb for the lungs and asthma) supports good bowel motion.

To help the liver and the bowels, the diet has to knock out alcohol, bread, white flour foods, sugary and fried foods, biscuits and other packaged foods. Herbs such as Calamus root, which stops bleeding and dissolves growths, should be taken as tea or added to food along with Pau d'Arco, which is antimicrobial, destroying Candida, bacteria, viruses and helping against cancer. I would like to briefly say something about wheatgrass, Pau d'Arco and Calamus root.

WHEAT GRASS Best taken on an empty stomach, it helps the liver release toxins, and this may cause nausea in allergic persons. Providing a huge energy rush which sustains energy, it is a mineral powerhouse, with over 90 minerals, including high amounts of alkaline minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium and sodium. It has more Vitamin C than oranges and two times Vitamin A as carrot. There are about 19 amino acids. In Amino acids are, the building blocks of proteins which helps repair and maintenance of the body. There are also enzymes that break down fat. It is also a rich source of chlorophyll, which detoxifies the body, rebuilds the blood and strengthens immunity. It is also good for maintaining healthy blood sugar level and can double red blood count.

PAU D'ARCO Used to treat a wide range of infections which includes viral respiratory problems, including colds and flu, sexually transmitted diseases (STDS) such as gonorrhea and syphilis, infections of the prostate and urinary bladder, Pau d'Arco is also used in cancer therapy. In medical uses, it is safe, but over dosages may cause internal bleeding, nausea, vomiting and dizziness.

CALAMUS ROOT It is widely used for gastro-intestinal troubles, such as ulcer, gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining), gas in the intestine, upset stomach and appetite loss. It is calming, induces sweating and eases rheumatoid arthritis and stroke. Like Pau'd Arco, it removes phlegm. Its substances relax muscles. It relieves digestive disorders, bronchitis and sinus. It is a good anti-instamine in cough and sore throat therapies Like all plant medicine, these ones should be used in medicinal dosages of between a quarter to a half teaspoonful of powder in one or two glasses of water.

We shouldn't forget vitamin A, Wheat germ oil, Vitamin E and Zinc for their healing properties. Ditto Glutamic Acid. Guardian Angel (GA) can be a wonderful experience. It calms the nerves and makes them effective, as evidenced in insomnia. It has received great testimonials from Eno Asam in Abuja, Dr. Isaac Idehen of Benin, Mr. A.A. Iriferi of Abraka, Dr. Alagbe, a medical doctor in Osogbo and Mr. Segun Shoboyede, of Lagos to mention a few. When I wish to drown in sleep, I only need to hold it in my hand for a few minutes‌and, off I go.

As you may have now realised, occult blood is the beginning of wisdom for blood care.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

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e-Business

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Rural telephony project hits brickwall

HE rural telephony project of the Federal Government designed to take telephony to all the nooks and crannies of the country may have run into a ditch because of the liberalisation of the telecoms sector and subsequent issuance of global system for mobile communication (GSM) to operators, sources have said.

According to them, while the equipment installed during the first phase of the project in many parts of the country have been vandalised, the technology that the project was to ride upon at conception has become obsolete.

Another important issue, which would have been crucial to the success of the project, is spectrum which was at the time the project was being conceptualised, was usually granted

Stories by Lucas Ajanaku

at the discretion of the Federal Government.

The source said: “This contract was awarded as far as 2005 and it was a loan arrangement between Nigeria and China Exim Bank. The first phase was completed with the exemption of one or two areas where they could not secure land to build the master stations and the idea was that, at the time it was conceived, it was Nigeria Telecommunication Limited (NITEL) that was to take it up and use it as a spreading chip for services. So, most of the transmissions, NITEL was supposed to be the transmission hub, so they were to hook up to NITEL exchanges, but subsequently, the liberalisation policy came. GSM came and government’s focus changed, NITEL

was meant to be privatised or at least sold to the public, so the question of NITEL becoming a carrier for rural telephony jeopardised the system then. So, efforts shifted. The government was no longer budgeting for telecoms because it has been liberalised and the government did not want to partake in any form of telephone service.”

He added: “But about four years later, there was no budget on it because it was not a priority of the government to partake in telephony service and the rate at which GSM was consuming the system everybody felt that rural telephony will be not be a priority.”

The source said since investment had been made and there was need to allow it go down the drain, the government said the best way to go

Ekiti Samsung Engineering Academy coming soon

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HE Samsung Electronics Engineering Academy being built in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital will be opened before the end of the year, Managing Director, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Bravo Kim, has said.

He said the institution would achieve its target of training 10,000 electronics engineers in Africa.

Kim, who spoke on the sideline at the graduation of the first set of students from the Lagos academy, said work was ongoing by the state government, assuring that before the year ends, the project would be completed.

He said: “At Samsung, we are determined to create a large pool of skilled electronics engineers.

The target is that we train 10,000 across the whole of Africa by next year and we are committed to achieving this target.

“We have centres in Kenya, South Africa. We are going to open another centre in Ekiti before the end of this year. The government has done the ground breaking ceremony of the project and they are working to get it running.”

The Samsung Electronics Engineering Academy provides handson, vocational skills training for Grade 10-12 students, opening up skilled, well-paying job opportunities for its students; differentiates Samsung’s quality of service to its customers as we build a workforce

of technicians and exclusive service experts in line with the government’s drive of creating decent jobs, especially for young citizens.

Students undergo a year’s programme, which comprise basic, intermediate and advanced engineering skills, aligned to their set curriculum at a corresponding technical school.

Upon completion of the programme, students earn themselves an opportunity for an internship at Samsung or Samsung’s Channel Partners. Outstanding performers participate in a year’s Learnership opportunity at the firm’s headquarters in South Korea as part of the 100 African young leaders programme.

was to give it out to private operators.

“So, the country was divided into six zones and private operators were appointed. The process was almost concluded when it was said the Ministry should seek the buy-in of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) because it was meant to be a concession arrangement. Remember when it was conceived, there was no ICRC, so ICRC came with all sorts of conditions that were not precedent to the establishment of the rural telephony and for in past three years, the ministry had not been able to get the buy-in of the ICRC. They were coming up with things that were not part of the conditions when the project was created.

“There was no way to backdate what was done then to meet what ICRC is doing today. ICRC has not given any concession and the project

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is almost like moribund; the six operators have been selected; they have gone through bidding.”

But speaking in with The Nation, Director, Posts & Telecommunications, Ministry of Communication Technology, Engr John Ayodele admits that the situation is complicated but said all hopes are not lost.

He said: “ It’s a bit complicated but not insurmountable, it just means that we have to reengineer the whole scheme from the beginning and that is what we want to discuss with ICRC even start from scratch, then it will be like selling scrap and we want to avoid selling scrap. Its national issue and anyway we can get it done to add value to what we already have is the best for the nation and we need to move forward to see how it adds value to the system and we are getting there gradually.”

Enugu to partner NCS on confab

NUGU State Governor Sullivan Chime has promised to partner the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) on its forthcoming Annual Conference and Annual General Meeting (AGM).

The governor spoke when he received the President of NCS, Prof David Adewumi, who led a delegation on a courtesy call on the governor whre he intimated him of plans by the group to hold their conference in Enugu between July 23 and 25.

The governor said: “Enugu is a very peaceful state and we have very good facilities, which will adequately take care of your over 1,000 local and international delegates coming for the conference.”

Adewumi told the governor that Enugu was chosen as host because

of the great strides it is making in the use of technology to drive service delivery.

He said: “We are aware that Enugu State has decided to make the public service technology-driven and your excellency has embarked on the training of all civil servants in other for them to have basic computer skills. This, indeed, will ensure better governance and transparency.”

He said the activities of the state government were in line with the conference theme which is: Building a Knowledge-Based economy in Nigeria: The role of Information Technology.”

On the delegation were Moses Braimah, NCS chairman of Conferences; Chinedu Onuoha, NCS executive secretary; Dadson Nwakalor, chairman NCS Enugu Chapter.

Phase3 Telecom canvasses internet access

T •From left: Director, Channel Department, Huawei Technologies, Nigeria Limited, Mr. Vincent Zhou; Abegunde and Odegbami at the CWG/Huawei IP surveillance session at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos.

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Deploy technology to tackle insecurity, urge firms

NDIGENOUS technology firm, Computer Warehouse Group Plc (CWG) and Chinese telecoms equipment vendor, Huawei, have said the deployment of advanced information communication technology (ICT) tools will address the security challenges confronting the country and the Africa.

The firms said tools, such as surveillance internet protocol (IP), could help end the era of impunity by criminals who are unleashing terror on innocent people.

They spoke during a special breakfast meeting on IP surveillance in Lagos. It has as theme: Detect and curb physical security threat in your environment.

Huawei Enterprise Solution Manager, Mr. Joseph Olayemi, said IP surveillance tool is an Intelligence Video Surveillance (IVS) surveillance solution that is digitised and networked, adding that it is the networked version of well-known closed-circuit television (CCTV).

He said the video surveillance systems have undergone significant changes, shifting from the earliest analogue surveillance to digital surveillance, which was prominent

in the past few years, to the burgeoning IP video surveillance.

According to him, there has been a shift from the use of CCTV systems to the IP surveillance globally owing to its greater efficiency. He added that coupled with its coverage advancements, IP system allows for remote viewing and control, sharing images and footages with security officials and ease of communication through the internet for security alerts, improved search capability, greater ease of use, better quality images and the possibilities of recording, playing-back and storing video clips for future usages.

He argued that the tool may further be integrated into Nigeria’s and Africa’s peculiar environment and better exploited for the safety of personal and corporate assets.

He cited the success the tool has recorded with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) mega-stations, insisting that the IP surveillance solution can reduce vandalism and construction and maintenance costs of similar systems across the country.

He observed that the pilot city-

wide installation project in Bayelsa State has shown that the IP surveillance solution can be used to monitor terrorists.

Associate Vice President, CWG Plc, Mr. Adedayo Abegunde, said the forum was orgnaised to bring the IP surveillance technology to the fore as an answer to the challenge of insecurity in the nation.

Olayemi said the IP surveillance package comes with low bandwidth consumption, the possibility of accessing its data from anywhere, larger storage capacity, better video resolutions, wider perimeter coverage, capturing of fast moving objects and intelligent analysis capacity.

The Assistant General Manager, DCC Networks, Mr. Gbenga Odegbami said CWG has the required capacity to install and maintain all categories of end-to-end IP Surveillance solution. He added that the firm operates a global quality standard that is driven by trained professionals and procedures that would tailor the solution to suit the needs and specifications of prospective customers at the minimum total cost of ownership.

HE provision of infrastructure that provide stable and reliable internet access is an important element that must be addressed if Africa is to quicken the pace of economic development and ensure that citizens are enabled to compete with others.

Chief Executive Officer of Phase3 Telecom, Mr. Stanley Jegede, spoke during his firm’s participation at Cyber Nigeria Forum and Innovation Awards and his firm’s decision to support the event.

According to him, the investment of millions of dollars in network development across Nigeria and other African countries is

based on the belief that Africa had a lot of untapped potential “At Phase3 Telecom, we have, for long, believed that developing the right communications infrastructure in Africa is what will open up the continent’s economic potential and make its citizens globally competitive. That is what informed our decision to build a regional optic fibre network using the best technologies available in the industry.

“Today, we are ready to take our network to other regions not yet reached by high-capacity transmission network to provide the best communications experience to people in the continent,” he said.

‘Ericsson emerges LTE leader’

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RICSSON has announced that the world’s leading information technology research and advisory company, Gartner Incorporated has positioned itself as leader in long term evolution (LTE) within the “Leaders” quadrant of its Gartner 2014 Magic Quadrant for LTE Gartner, evaluates end-to-end vendors of LTE equipment (including Radio, Evolved Packet Core for voice over LTE) based on their ability to execute and completeness of vision in the LTE market.

Vice President/Head of Product Area Radio, Ericsson, Thomas Norén, said: “Ericsson LTE is differentiated by its performance, enabled through innovative products such as Ericsson AIR and Radio Dot System as well as industry-leading solutions including LTE-A Carrier Aggregation, LTE Broadcast and our industry-leading VoLTE solution.

“Ericsson’s end to end LTE offering, large footprint and worldwide service capabilities have enabled us to serve 50 per cent of all LTE smartphone traffic worldwide.”

Ericsson has signed more than 190 commercial contracts for LTE and Evolved Packet Core (EPC) in more than 70 countries on six continents, of which over 140 networks are working.

Ericsson has supported all the world’s first commercial VoLTE launches and is the IMS market leader with more than 115 IMS contracts worldwide for both fixedand mobile accesses. Ericsson is present today in all high traffic LTE markets including US, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Canada, and has been selected by the top 10 LTE operators as ranked by LTE subscription worldwide. Today, 50 per cent of the world’s LTE Smartphone traffic is served by Ericsson networks which is more than double the traffic of our closest competitor.

Ericsson is the prime driver of open standards and has had the most significant impact on the LTE specifications released to date.

Ericsson expects to hold 25 per cent of all essential patents for LTE, both for TDD and FDD mode, making it the largest patent holder in the industry.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

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Your Sexual Health & You: Novelty Tips, Questions & Answers

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ello everybody. We have a whole new set of new products to tell you about. Although Zee Virtual Media has researched and introduced a wide range of novelties to the adult public over the years, new novelties continue to be manufactured. So the list of what is available out there continues to grow with adults bound to benefit from the increasing variety and improved quality of these products.

So first on our list is a product designed to stop premature ejaculation. You all read our column every other week and you will agree that premature ejaculation is a major area of complaint for men. This is why we cannot ignore such a big issue as premature ejaculation. So today, we are introducing yet another solution to quick ejaculation called the Genie Magic Delay Spray. It is a fast acting numbing gel that is applied on the penis minutes before intercourse to enable men last long enough to have meaningful and satisfying intercourse. Genie Magic is reusable, suitable for all adult men and has no side effects. Thanks to the Genie Magic Delay Spray, many men will not have to suffer the embarrassment of premature ejaculation any longer. Even the best lovers tend to release quickly once in a while so men everywhere can really benefit from this wonderful novelty.

Next on the list is a product that makes dating easier for men. It is called Adam’s Cologne. Approaching a woman that you like can be uncomfortable for a lot of men. This makes dating a nightmare. Well, how will you like to have women attracted to you even before you approach them or say anything to them? That is the beauty of the Adam’s Cologne pheromone delay spray. The pheromone content of this Adam’s Cologne is a sexual attractant for the opposite sex and makes a man’s job easier when he is interested in a woman. This is powerful and revolutionary.

And while on the subject of pheromones, we also have the Pheromone Firming Bust Gel for women. Simply put, the Pheromone Firming Bust Gel firms up the breasts, smoothens out wrinkles and attracts men to the woman

who applies it. It is not magic. It is down to the science of pheromones, a powerful sexual attractant. This is one novelty that will interest a lot of women for different reasons.

Last but not the least are three brand new performance enhancers for men and women. Sexual performance is a big deal, especially for men. Erectile dysfunction is a common ailment that wrecks a man’s ability to satisfy and keep his woman. Make no mistakes about it; a faithful but unsatisfied wife will eventually get sex elsewhere, if she has the opportunity. Men think their women don’t cheat because they don’t get caught or because they don’t brag about it openly, but women cheat too especially if they are unhappy or sexually dissatisfied. We don’t want this happening and that is why today, we are introducing Dragon 2000 performance enhancer for men. Dragon 2000 belongs to an elite category of male performance enhancers that does it all. It enlarges the penis, stops premature ejaculation, strengthens weak erections, gives performance energy and the ability to perform again minutes after ejaculation. One pill of Dragon 2000 also works for five days. It is that powerful, infact, if Dragon 2000 were a car, it would be a Rolls Royce.

Another performance supplement for men is the Extenze Cherry Shooter. It is a male sexual energy drink and is ideal for men who feel too tired to have a second or third round of intercourse.

And for women, we have a new libido boosting supplement called Pure Desire supplement and it is designed for the woman who has little or no sexual desire especially after child birth. It is of top quality and comes highly recommended.

And that’s it for today. We will discuss more new novelties in the coming weeks. There is something new for everybody.

Adults in need of these treatments/novelties can call 08171912551 or 08027901621for help or visit www.zeevirtualmedia.com. Zee Virtual Media delivers all over Nigeria.

For enquiries email us at custserv@zeevirtualmedia.com-Uche Edochie, MD, Zee Virtual Media.

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THE NATION

BUSINESS INDUSTRY

industry@thenationaonlineng.net

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) under which benefiting countries can export products to the United States (US) duty free for 15 years will expire in September, next year. As Nigeria joins other qualified Sub-Saharan African countries to push for the extension, experts warn that unless certain steps are taken, Nigeria may yet again fail to benefit optimally from AGOA. CHIKODI OKEREOCHA and OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE report

Should Nigeria quit AGOA? T

HE Director-General (DG) of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr. Muda Yusuf, is one of those who subscribes to the Federal Government’s plan to promote the non-oil sector, especially agriculture, to diversify the economy.

However, Yusuf regrets that Nigeria has failed to ride on the crest of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to boost the non-oil sector and stimulate growth.

AGOA is a United States Trade Act enacted on May 18, 2000 to encourage Nigeria and other qualified sub-Saharan African countries to export non-oil products to the US duty free. The Act enhances access to the US market for Sub-Saharan African countries. It allows countries to export over 6,000 products to the US duty free.

To qualify for AGOA, each country must improve its rule of law, human rights, and respect for core labour standards.

But Yusuf said Nigeria has not benefited much from AGOA. This, he said, was because Nigeria’s capacity in export, especially non-oil, is weak.

“As far as the export business is concerned, our capacity is weak because of our poor operating environment and weak infrastructure,” the LCCI chief told The Nation, adding: “We can only benefit in future if we improve on our competitiveness.”

The future, which Yusuf hinged Nigeria’s hope of possible improvement in the competitiveness of her export business, refers to the 15-year extension being sought by the African Union (AU) after the expiration of AGOA on September 30, 2015. Initially, the Act covered eight-years October 2000 to September 2008, but amendments signed by former US President George Bush in July 2004 extended AGOA to 2015.

In other words, the legislation, which extends duty-free preferences to about 40 Sub-Saharan African beneficiary countries (the actual number fluctuates yearly, in line with the US Presidential determinations), will expire on September 30, next year.

While African countries, including

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•Yusuf

•Aganga

•Isemede

Nigeria, are pushing for the extension of the Act for another 15 years, it will be up to the US Congress to accede to their request.

At an Extra-Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) Trade Ministers, the ministers agreed that Africa should push for the extension because most countries, including Nigeria, have not fully gained from AGOA. If the extension gets the nod of the US Congress, the LCCI chief argues, the only way Nigeria can benefit from the programme, “is for us to export finished products to the US”.

He advised that Nigeria should improve on her poor business environment and weak infrastructure to build a robust non-oil sector.

This, he said, should not be like the oil sector where the nation exports over 90 per cent of her crude oil and imports refined petroleum products at high rate. “As long as we continue exporting a few raw materials, such as raw cocoa, hide and skin with low capacity utilisation due to harsh operating environment and inadequate infrastructure, the nation cannot enjoy any benefits from AGOA,” he said.

Yusuf insisted that Nigeria can only benefit from the programme if local production of raw materials into finished goods improves.

The Director-General of Nigeria Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dr. John Isemede, said Nigeria and other African countries should work out their own economic salvation. He said after achieving independence a wise nation should take its independence in her hands and not depend on hand-outs and foreign policies to exist.

The NACCIMA chief said there was not much to gain from AGOA, because it was not meant to benefit

African countries.

“AGOA is not an African agenda.

Unfortunately, African governments have signed a lot of agreements and treaties with other nations but none has benefited her because from the beginning, they are not designed to benefit them,” he said.

Dr. Isemede recalled that before AGOA, there was the Lome Convention, which was designed to get produce from Africa and transport them to Europe. “They (AGOA) instituted all manner of standards and quality that no African nation can meet except Ghana that said they have created over 200 jobs from it. As far as our nation is concerned, we have not gained anything from it so its continuation will not make any difference,” he said, claiming that AGOA was set up to counter the Lome Convention.

He said this was why under AGOA, Americans buy products, such as

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

underscoring the nexus among the economy, investment, private sector performance and security situation.

He said the Chamber welcomed the strong global support and assistance in the fight against insurgency. “We should take full advantage of this robust support not only to rescue the over 200 abducted Chibok girls, but also to address the capacity gaps in our military in dealing with the peculiarities of terrorism and insurgency. Evidently, there is an international dimension to the insurrection, which is why the global support at this time should be embraced and encouraged to

‘

“The only export product from Nigeria that the US has largely encouraged is crude oil. This is not in line with the advocacy of the Nigerian Government to focus on the nonoil sector, especially agriculture.”

cashew nuts, sesame seeds, and cocoa from their agents in Ghana and send them to the biggest crushing plant in Netherland and the biggest chocolate factory in the world in Switzerland without any benefits to African countries.

“AGOA is modern day slavery,” Isemede alleged, urging Nigerian ambassadors to market the nation’s products, such as Gum Arabic, sesame seeds, cashew nuts and cocoa, which are found in Japan and the Far East without any trace that they are from Nigeria.

Insisting that “our government should work hard to ensure that our produce exported albeit indirectly to the advanced economies is traced and documented,” the NACCIMA chief said rather than hoping on benefiting from AGOA if the Act is extended, African nations should make the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) a success.

He said apart from Ghana and a few others, no country has praised AGOA. He listed those which gained as Mauritania, Gambia, Lesotho, South Africa, Mozambique and Kenya.

According to the Nigerian ConsulGeneral to Atlanta, US, Mr. Geoffrey Teneilabe, “The only export product from Nigeria that the US has largely encouraged is crude oil. This is not in line with the advocacy of the Nigerian Government to focus on the nonoil sector, especially agriculture.”

He said Nigerian exporters ferry their goods to neighbouring countries to take them to the US because restrictions are less in those countries.

He said Nigeria had not benefited from AGOA because the US Government had not encouraged the import of non-oil commodities from Nigeria, hinting that AGOA could be extended next year.

Obiora Akabogu, a lawyer, said: “Nigeria has not benefited significantly from AGOA,” blaming the

‘ Boko Haram is killing business, says LCCI

HE Boko Haram insurgency is affecting investors’ confi dence and limiting the economy’s potential in the wake of the rebased gross domestic product (GDP), the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has said.

In a statement in Lagos, the Chamber’s president, Alhaji Remi Bello said it would be difficult to attract investors because the risk of long-term investments had become enormous.

Blaming it on the prevailing insecurity, Bello said: “The tempo of economic activities in the Northern part of the country has declined, access to the markets

by companies in the southern part of the country has reduced resulting in loss of sales; while many enterprises have relocated.”

He said security of lives and properties was crucial to stimulating investments, adding that investment growth is imperative for job creation, poverty reduction and social stability. “Persistent insecurity impacts negatively on the economy, just as declining private sector performance could result in job losses, which could aggravate the state of insecurity,” he added.

Bello explained that it was a case of mutually reinforcing conditions

strengthen the capabilities of the Nigerian Armed Forces in tackling terrorism,” he added.

The LCCI boss urged the government to intensify efforts to eliminate local factors that predispose the citizens to extremism.These conditions include poverty, inequality unemployment and illiteracy.

“The LCCI urges all citizens to rally round the government and refrain from amplifying political, ethnic or religious sentiments on the issue. The single most important common objective at this time is to bring back our girls and restore lasting peace in the country,” the statement added.

Federal Government for its “uncoordinated diplomacy that places more emphasis on playing the ‘Big Brother’ role in Africa instead of tapping into AGOA”.

He blamed the President’s foreign policy advisers, who he accused of encouraging him to continue with former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s shuttle diplomacy to woo foreign investors instead of tapping from the benefits of AGOA. The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, also admitted that African countries, including Nigeria were not utilising the opportunity provided by AGOA. “We believe that Nigeria can do far more than it is doing under AGOA. Although Nigeria exports some agricultural products to US under AGOA, some of the products do not meet the required standards for export to the United States market,” he said.

The Minister, who spoke at the recently concluded World Economic Forum for Africa (WEFA) in Abuja, however, added that the Federal Government was partnering with the US government to boost the export of Nigerian products to US. “To address the challenges militating against Nigeria’s quest towards taking full advantage of the AGOA initiative, we are working on a new strategy that will enable increase in Nigeria’s volume of export to US,” he said, adding that as part of measures to enhance access to the US market, there was the need to develop and deepen private equity and venture capital.

Indeed, the issue of products not meeting the required standards has been a thorn in the flesh of manufacturers, especially the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Experts said Nigeria is not making progress under AGOA because of poor standards arising from poor packaging, which makes it difficult for SMEs to penetrate the US markets.

To solve the problem, Dr Aganga said the government hopes to work with the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) to ensure that SMEs raise money from the second tier market and then get private equity players who can come in and build skills and help with their businesses.

At moment, he said, the ministry was looking at areas where it could have clusters for SMEs to make it easier for them to have shared facilities to boost their productivity. “The SMEs sector is one area that we want to grow as much as possible because, naturally, Nigerians are entrepreneurs. They know how to work hard to make money. Moreover, the return on investment in the country is quite high because there are so many opportunities that are yet to be fully explored,” Aganga said.

Also, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, James F. Entwistle has assured that the US Diplomatic Mission would partner stakeholders in the US and Africa, and in particular with the Congress, on AGOA. Entwistle, who spoke at the recent ‘Borderless Conference’ in Lagos, added the AGOA is the cornerstone of US trade and investment in Africa.

The renewal and extension of the AGOA is expected to give African countries ample time to build capacity in global markets.

For Nigeria to key into it this time, Akabogu said the nation must readjust her economic transformation agenda to gain from AGOA. “Even the on-going fight against insurgency must not distract Nigeria from lobbying for an extension of AGOA,” he added.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

61

MONEYLINK

AMCON receives 25 EoI for Mainstreet Bank

N200b DMO bonds for agric funding

T

HE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) will be funded through a N200 billion bond to be instituted by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

According to the guidelines for the CACS operation released yesterday, the apex bank explained that it is collaborating with the Federal Government, represented by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) in the establishment of the CACS, for promoting commercial agricultural enterprises in Nigeria. The guidelines noted that this is a sub– component of the Federal Government’s Commercial Agriculture Development Programme (CADP).

It said the N200 billion will complement other special initiatives of the CBN in providing concessionary funding for agriculture such as the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGS) which is mostly for small scale farmers, Interest Draw-back scheme, Agri-

cultural Credit Support Scheme, among others.

“The scheme shall be financed from the proceeds of the N200 billion three-year bond raised by the Debt Management Office (DMO).

The fund shall be made available to the participating bank(s) to finance commercial agricultural enterprises.

“In addition, each state government could borrow up to N1.0billion for on-lending to farmers’ cooperative societies and other areas of agricultural development provided such initiatives/interventions are in line with the objectives of CACS,” the CBN said.

The apex bank said the scheme was created to fast track development of the agricultural sector of the economy by providing credit facilities to commercial agricultural enterprises at a single digit interest rate. It is also expected to enhance national food security by increasing food supply and effecting lower agricultural produce and product

He said this spanned a diverse group of interest which included local and foreign banks, and local and foreign investment groups. ‘’It is worthy of note that the number of requests received for this advertisement exceeded expectations and the corporation is impressed with the profiles of the entities,’’ he said.

He stated that the bidding process has not yet begun, adding that all successful EoI applicants will be required to submit further information in order to enable the advisers perform due diligence on them.

T

HE Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has announced the successful completion of the submission of Expressions of Interest (EoI) phase of the divestment of its shareholding in Mainstreet Bank.

In a statement signed by its Head, Corporate Communications, Strategy & Research, Kayode Lambo, said sequel to the earlier comment made by the corporation that the time frame given was adequate for serious interested parties to submit all requested documents, a total of 25 EoIs were received.

Stories by Collins Nweze

•CBN Acting Governor, Mrs Sarah Alade

prices. This, it said will promote low food inflation as well as reduce the cost of credit in agricultural production to enable farmers explore the potentials of the sector.

It will also increase output, generate employment, diversify the revenue base, increase foreign exchange earnings and provide input for the industrial sector on a sustainable basis.

The scheme shall be under the management of the CBN through the Board of Directors and the Committee of Governors while the Committee of Governors shall be responsible for the overall administration of the Scheme while the day-to-day implementation of the Scheme shall lie with the Development Finance Department.

FirstBank supports Ogun Investment Forum

F

IRST Bank of Nigeria Ltd is supporting the Ogun State Investment Forum which started yesterday and ends in Abeokuta, tomorrow.

In a statement, the bank said the forum which is in its second edition is organised by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the Ogun State government. It explained that this year’s theme- “Ogun State – Open for Business” will focus on the enhanced agricultural production sectors and accelerated urban development areas of the state, highlighting the abundant agricultural resources and investment opportunities which abound.

The forum, it added, will have in attendance sector experts, financial institutions, investors and investment brokers, local and interna-

BUA Group’s CEO reappointed BOI’s chair

T

HE chairman of BUA Group, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu has been reappointed as the Chairman of the Bank of Industry (BoI) by President Goodluck Jonathan. He is to complete a four year tenure and his appointment takes place with immediate effect according statement.

This is coming on the heels of the appointment of Rasheed Olaoluwa as the new Chief executive of the Bank.

Abdulsamad Rabiu is founder of the BUA Group, a conglomerate that spans different sectors of the Nigerian economy, including real estate, manufacturing and commodities.

Also approved were the Boards of the Nigerian Investment Promotions Council (NIPC) and the Boards of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF).

•Rabiu

tional organisations, development and technical partners, with high level state and federal government officials representing the focused sectors and other spheres of interest.

Its Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Folake AniMumuney said: “Coming on the heels of our recent sponsorship of the Oyo State Summit, FirstBank, will remain steadfast in its promotion of thought leadership and building economic development in various states of the federation. With our support of the Ogun State Investment Forum and the various opportunities that are embedded in the development of agriculture in the state, we aim to build wealth creation as well as boost revenue generation of the state.”

DATA BANK Tenor

Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year

35m 35m

11.039 12.23

19-05-2014 18-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount Amount Offered ($) Demanded ($) 400m 400m 400m 400m 400m 400m

MANAGED FUNDS

NIDF

Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33

Price Loss 2754.67

Amount Sold ($) 399.9m 399.9m 399.9m

Exchange Rate (N) 155.75 155.8 155.7

Date 2-5-14 2-3-14 1-29-14

EXHANGE RATE 6-03-12 CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Currency OBB Rate

INTERBANK RATES 7.9-10%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day

Amount 30m 46.7m

Rate % 10.96 9.62

Date 28-04-2012 “

C/PRICE 0.81 16.59 0.66 15.50 1.82 2.40 0.52 0.53 0.81 3.29 1.02

Current Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

147.6000 239.4810 212.4997

149.7100 244.0123 207.9023

150.7100 245.6422 209.2910

-2.11 -2.57 -1.51

149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

152.0000

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

(S/N)

GAINERS AS AT 21-5-14

SYMBOL O/PRICE IKEJAHOTEL 0.75 OANDO 15.80 COURTVILLE 0.63 ETI 14.81 LEARNAFRCA 1.74 UBCAP 2.30 IPWA 0.50 OASISINS 0.51 WAPIC 0.78 AFRIPRUD 3.19 NPFMCRFBK 0.99

NGN USD NGN GBP NGN EUR NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N) (S/N) Bureau de Change

Year Start Offer

CHANGE 0.06 0.79 0.03 0.69 0.08 0.10 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.10 0.03

DISCOUNT WINDOWx Feb. ’11

July ’11

July ’12

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

12%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00%

LOSERS AS AT 21-5-14

SYMBOL

O/PRICE

CAVERTON CONOIL MAYBAKER REDSTAREX DEAPCAP WEMABANK UTC AIICO COSTAIN ACCESS

9.50 49.20 1.69 4.71 0.95 1.00 0.53 0.84 1.29 9.29

C/PRICE 8.58 46.74 1.61 4.50 0.91 0.96 0.51 0.81 1.25 9.04

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days

Rate (Previous) 4 Mar, 2012 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917

6-2-14

28-10-11

% Change

CAP Index

N13.07tr 40,766.16

N6.617tr 20,903.16

-1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS Name AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH BGL NUBIAN FUND BGL SAPPHIRE FUND CANARY GROWTH FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CORAL INCOME FUND CORAL INCOME FUND FBN FIXED INCOME FUND FBN HERITAGET FUND FBN MONEY MARKET FUND FIDELITY NIGFUND INTERCONTINENTAL INTEGRITY FUND KAKAWA GUARANTEED INCOME FUND

Rate (Currency) 6, Mar, 2012 10.17% 11.46% 11.96%

Offer Price Bid Price 155.90 156.93 9.17 9.08 1.06 1.05 1.17 1.17 0.72 0.71 1.39 1.33 1,646.05 1,634.24 1,646.05 1,643.24 1,081.88 1,081.39 116.74 115.95 1,087.30 1,087.00 1.67 1.62 1.05 1.03

LEGACY FUND NIGERIA INTER DEBIT FUND PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND STANBIC IBTC ETHICAL FUND • • • •

CHANGE -0.92 -2.46 -0.08 -0.21 -0.04 -0.04 -0.02 -0.03 -0.04 -0.25

NSE

UBA BALANCED FUND UBA BOND FUND UBA EQUITY FUND UBA MONEY MARKET FUND

Movement

143.11

142.62

0.78 1,944.64 12.72 1.07

0.76 1,936.31 12.40 1.05

1.2655 1.3132 0.9270 1.1597

1.2543 1.3132 0.9098 1.1597

OPEN BUY BACK

Bank

Previous 04 July, 2012

Current 07, Aug, 2012

8.5000

8.5000

Movement

62

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 21-05-14

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 21-05-14

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

63

EQUITIES

US states conditions for investing in Nigeria

N

IGERIA needs to take the tough steps to create an operating environment devoid of corruption, government interference, unethical practices and abuse of the judicial system in order to win international confidence and increase inflow of investments into its economy, the United States (US) has said.

Speaking yesterday at a forum for some 20 leading American companies and business leaders in Nigeria, US Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker, said American companies would invest in countries that observe the rule of law, follow ethical standards and have good work environments.

According to her, Nigeria needs to take the tough steps that allow businesses to truly thrive as US companies want to do business in countries that follow the rule of law, maintain ethical standards, abide by workplace safety, encourage workforce training and protect intellectual property.

•Elumelu seeks investors in non-oil sectors Stories by Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

She noted that businesses must be able to operate freely and devoid of unnecessary regulation, government interference and corruption stressing that “these are the conditions that will increase confidence among international and local business leaders and encourage further investments in Nigeria”.

Pritzker is leading 20 American companies on an energy business development trade mission to Ghana and Nigeria.

She also advised the government to sign the Government Procurement Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO) adding that Nigerian government, business and civil society leaders must join hands in developing home grown solutions to challenges facing the country.

“I believe that together we can, must, and will move toward strengthening our security, promote democracy, spur more trade, investment and economic opportunity to benefit Nigerian citizens,’’ Pritzker said.

Speaking on behalf of the Nigerian private sector at the same forum, chairman, Heirs Holdings and founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation, called for more investments by the US companies in Nigerian non-oil sectors.

According to him, while the Nigerian people are proud that their oil is helping to power the biggest economies in the world, the country is about so much more than oil resources and it has buoyant non-oil sectors in agriculture, telecommunications, real estate and hospitality, entertainment, and banking and financial services among others.

CSCS lists shares on NASD

I

NVESTORS in the Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, the clearing, settlement and depository company for the Nigerian stock market, now has the opportunity to trade on their shares with the listing of the company on the NASD Plc yesterday.

Formerly known as the National Association of Securities Dealers, NASD Plc is a registered over-the-counter (OTC) trading platform for unquoted securities including equities and bonds. NASD is owned by several investment and financial institutions as well as strategic investors. It is registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an organized trading platform for unlisted securities.

CSCS, a subsidiary of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), listed a total of 5.0 billion ordinary shares of N1 each under the financial industry sector. CSCS is the 16th securities and eighth financial industry security to be admitted to trade on the NASD. With the listing of CSCS on the market, operators and investors can expect to see better price discovery and more transparency around transactions. It also makes the security more acceptable to portfolio investors who before now only had an informal reference price.

More companies are making efforts to join the OTC platform in order to beat the June 30, 2014 deadline set by SEC for all public limited liability companies to register their status as a Plc. SEC had in February 2014 issued a circular reminding public companies of their obligation to comply with Section 54 (1) of the Investments and Securities Act No. 27, 2007 and Rule 279 (1) (a) of the SEC Rules and Regulations.

Under these rules, companies that have more than 50 shareholders or who have registered as a Plc with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) must register shares they issue to investors. The directive also indicated that companies that fail to comply with this market rule on or before June 30,2014 may face sanctions.

As a result of this rule, many non-registered public companies are trying to complete their registration and avoid such sanctions.

NASD only trades on fully-dematerialized and freely transferable securities that must have been registered by the SEC, ac-

cording to admission requirements of the newly inaugurated market.

A 19-point admission requirement showed that securities will be categorized broadly into two categories or tiers-pink and blue, based on their financial reporting and corporate governance standards.

Companies under the pink tier are companies with appreciable growth potential but either with little and insufficient information or are too young. These are somewhat high-risk, high-potential securities.

NASD will tag these companies with caveat explaining the conditions of the companies. The blue tier consists of companies with track record of high corporate governance and financial reporting standards.

However, 13 admission requirements will apply to all securities for trading on the OTC market while six requirements differ, according to the level and categorization of the securities.

According to the document, all companies for admission on the OTC market must be public limited liability (Plc), registered or exempted from registration by SEC, fully dematerialized and freely transferable and must come onboard through a NASD sponsor or agent.

Other preconditions for admission include acceptance that the securities must be traded through NASD registered brokers and dealers, opening of an account with the Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) and having international securities identification number (ISIN), provision of

company ’s business profile and trading history as well as provision of information on profitability and growth prospect.

Also, the companies must sign on to continuous disclosure of new and any change in their business and corporate information, hold annual general meetings and other meetings and they should hold annual general meeting within nine months of year-end.

Besides, all companies are expected to have minimum annual revenue equivalent to at least 20 per cent of their shareholders’ funds. The two tiers are also similar in terms of minimum public float, stipulated at 10 per cent of the issued and paid up shares.

Meanwhile, companies under the pink tier must have been in operations for between one and three years as against minimum of five years required for blue-tier companies.

Pink-tier companies are only required to provide audited report while blue-tier companies are required to provide quarterly reports in addition to audited reports.

Also, companies under pink tier can have minimum of 50 million issued shares and seven shareholders while blue-tier companies are required to have 250 million shares and 150 shareholders.

While pink-tier companies are not required to have any daily trade and minimum proportion of equity funds to total paid up capital, blue-tier companies are required to have average daily trade of 25,000 and their minimum shareholders’ funds must be equivalent to 50 per cent of their paid up capital.

He noted that the trade mission was very strategic and underscores the importance that the US attaches to Nigeria.

Acknowledging that there have been sectoral reforms, rebuilding of regulatory capacity by the Nigerian Government, Elumelu said efforts are being made to tackle the manufacturing sector which at just five per cent of the national economy still has a lot of room for growth.

“We need investors and partners and technical expertise to develop our supply chains, infrastructure and work force skills and American firms and entrepreneurs can help us to accomplish this and gain significant value for themselves,” Elumelu said.

Resort Savings disburses N102m NHF funds

R

ESORT Savings and Loans Plc disbursed about N102 million to qualified subscribers and contributors to the National Housing Fund (NHF) during the first quarter of this year. The disbursements were made in partnership with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN).

Managing director, Resort Savings and Loans Plc, Mr. Abimbola Olayinka said the NHF opens window of opportunities for all Nigerians from the ages of 18 years to 65 years with modest incomes to access loans and build their houses.

According to him, NHF caters for the private sector employees, public servants, selfemployed individuals, businessmen and tradesmen with the minimum requirement of at least 10 per cent equity contribution of the cost of the house.

He outlined that with six months continuous savings, the individual becomes automatically qualified to access the fund noting that while the maximum loan ceiling is N15 Million, the repayment period is 30 years at six per cent interest rate per annum, which is the most affordable mortgage facility available in Nigeria.

“One of the advantages of the NHF is the fact that the property is the sole collateral and the individual’s contribution does not also determine the loan amount to be accessed, and the monthly repayment is almost equal to the rents being paid by most tenants,” Olayinka stated.

He therefore urged Nigerian to take advantage of the most convenient opportunity to own a house in any urban centre in Nigeria without stress.

Custodian wins top 25 CEO award

C

HIEF executive officer, Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc, Mr Wole Oshin, has been adjudged as one of the top 25 chief executives in Nigeria.

Oshin was honoured at the Businessday Top 25 CEO Award as one of the top 25 distinguished chief executives of companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The Top 25 CEOs Award is a yearly event which is meant to appreciate the contributions of the 25 CEOs who contributed the most to the growth of the capital market in a particular financial year.

The Top 25 CEOs were honoured for hav-

ing contributed 68 per cent of the gains in the capital market capitalisation in 2013. They ensured that their companies’ share price outperformed the All Share Index (ASI) of the NSE which closed the year at 47 per cent.

According to the panel of judges, the contributions of the top CEOs amounted to 58 per cent of the nation’s budget in 2013. Custodian and Allied Insurance was among the only two companies in the insurance subsector which contributed to this achievement.

The company worked tenaciously in 2013 to increase shareholders’ profit to N4 billion.

Commenting on the award, Oshin said the award was a remarkable endorsement of the

company’s growth.

“This is an encouraging development. I am truly elated to receive this award. I would like to state that this achievement would not have been possible without the support of the Board, Management and Staff of Custodian, who worked as a team to get us to this level. We are glad that Custodian is contributing her quota to the GDP of the Nigerian economy and towards the improvement of the insurance sub –sector,” Oshin said.

Custodian and Allied Insurance, a member of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), is a member of the Custodian and Allied Plc Group, a wholly owned Nigerian investment holding company.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

64

NEWS (SHOWBIZ)

Thrill, frill at Zinny Night of Style

I

T was a celebration of avant-garde fashion as a number of top Nigerian designers hit the runway recently at the Zinny Night of Style held at Juanita Hotel, Port Harcourt, River State.

Notable designers, including Abbi Moise, C’est Prim, Ton Chris and Akpos Okudu held the crowd spellbound with their eye-popping designs.

The memorable event, which was anchored by the duo of Rhythm FM’s Iphie and Nnamdi, started with an allure of purple carpet hosted by Miss Chioma and Chuck.

First designer to hit the runway was Abbi Moise, with her African collections.

She was followed by C’est Prim, who paraded her hand-made accessories. Ton Chris later came up with his

By Ovwe Medeme

creatively designed male corporate shirts. Akpos Okudu eventually took the event to a climax with her array of dresses, which cut across a wide range of age bracket.

As part of the activities that made the most memorable, two ladies, who wore the best creative outfits, were rewarded with vouchers for three months of free hairstyling from Gab Signature Saloon.

Out of the four nominees, Miss Somiari and Gesiye Tabai emerged winners. Other nominees got branded gifts as consolation prizes.

The Special Guest of Honour, Engr. Emeka Unachukwu, who is the president of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, said his organisation would continue to support young entrepreneurs to

achieve their dreams and aspirations.

According to him, the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce is not all about oil and gas and foreign businesses, but is also interested in entertainment, fashion and style and sports, among others.

“The Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce has become the toast of everyone, from the business community to the intelligentsia and the academia. Every one of them is on our heels to be identified. They are also in pursuit of our invaluable services and contributions to every endeavour in the society,” he said.

Unachukwu explained that the need to support enterprising and budding entrepreneurs was responsible for the body’s presence at the show.

He also assured that PHC-

•Cutting of the event cake to unveil the Zinny Style Guide

CIMA would continue to support every other initiative that increases the society’s economic potential.

The MD/CEO of Zinny Styles, Miss Esther Nweje,

explained that the company had to put the basics of personality styling in a book titled Zinny Style Guide. This, according to her, is to educate people on how to look

good.

The highpoint of the occasion was the launch of the book, which many described as an “invaluable companion”.

GAF supports Beasts of no Nation

F

OLLOWING permission by the Ghanaian government, New York-based Red Crown Productions, in collaboration with Deal Real Productions Limited, has begun the shooting of Beasts of no Nation.

In a statement by Major Evelyn Asamoah, Deputy Director of Information and Press Relations, Ghana Armed Forces, the shoot, which started from May 16, will run till July 1, in the Eastern and Western Regions.

According to him, the filming will involve movement of some military equipment and personnel from Accra to Koforidua, where the major part of the film will be shot.

“The general public is, therefore, urged not to panic at the site of the movement of military personnel and equipment to Koforidua within the stated period of the film shooting,” the statement stated.

Beasts of no Nation centres around a film on the civil war

•Flavour

A

S the stage is now set for the 10th anniversary of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) on Saturday, a number of famed musicians will be thrilling the guests who will be coming from across the world to witness the ceremony.

Among the popular artistes who will lighten up the stage with their performances are Afro-hip hop super star Fally Ipupa from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigerian acts Flavour and J-Martins and Ghanian musical group, 4x4.

The director of Administration of AMAA, Mr. Tony Anih, said that Nigerians and international guests who would be in Yenagoa for the awards should be prepared for a great time.

“As an African brand, AMAA always parades the best of our musical stars and celebrities to perform and host the awards. We are continuing in that tradition again and for our 10th anniversary, we went for the best available within the continent.”

The awards, which is being sponsored by Glo, MRS Oil and Sterling Bank as platinum sponsors, will also have Nigeria’s Segun Arinze, Ni-

•Fally Ipupa

By Mercy Michael

gerian-British born Lloyd Nathaniel, Ghana’s Nana Asokor and a yet-to- be announced South African as hosts.

According to the organisers, the Red carpet will be anchored

by Kenya’s Mariam Kaptuiya, Ghana’s Igantius Annor and Mamavi Owusu.

Also, Nigerians who will be part of the red carpet anchors are John Mike Nwadibie, Chike Osigwe Emamuzo and Ogbeta Huldah.

Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has assured the organisers as well as the guests of adequate security.

Other corporate organisations that have lent their weight behind the awards ceremony include FCMB, Skye Bank, CCECC, Atlas Oranto Petroleum International, Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation, Dan Etete Foundation, Skymit Autos and BUA Group.

Meanwhile, Globacom chairman Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr. has congratulated African actors, actresses, producers, cameramen and other movie practitioners for raising the bar as they project cultural values, norms and philosophies in their works.

Adenuga, who stated this in

a message to the organisers of the 10th edition of the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), thanked the practitioners for what he described as the robust development of the movie industry on the African continent.

He said: “It is remarkable that our movie industry has rapidly grown in stature and is today ranked amongst the top three in the world. To be placed in the league of the highly successful Hollywood and Bollywood is, indeed, not a mean feat. This development has earned Nigeria the status of the movie capital of the African continent. It also explains why this event is being held in the country.”

He expressed satisfaction that Globacom had played a pivotal role in the development of the movie industry through its pioneering role in brand ambassadorship, adding that the effort had encouraged excellence, professionalism, versatility and resourcefulness in the industry.

Adenuga also charged movie practitioners not to rest on their oars by continuing to project the continent in a positive light, while focusing more on developmental issues.

He urged them to de-empha-

sise scenarios that could inadvertently project the continent as the epicentre of violence and crime.

“It is imperative for Africa to tap into the awesome power of the movie industry to shape opinions, lives, character and values. The industry is a veritable medium of mentoring and moulding opinion. We must seize the moment,” he said.

Adenuga, who described the movie industry as one of the key growth drivers in African economy, said: “The movie industry, like sports, can and should be fully exploited to fight the scourge of unemployment on the African continent. I enjoin all stakeholders in government at all levels and the private sector to tap into the opportunities offered by the industry to de-populate the army of the unemployed who are ready recruits for armed robbery and even terrorism”.

He congratulated the nominees, including the duo of Desmond Elliot and Chioma Chukwuka-Akpotha, who are Globacom ambassadors, for being outstanding in their chosen professions.

By Dupe Ayinla-Olasunkanmi

in Liberia in the 1990s, is adapted from a novel written by Uzodimna Iweda, a Nigerian. It is about a young boy forced to join a rebel group as a child soldier in West Africa.

PUBLIC NOTICE

BAIYEWU I, formerly known and addressed as Oluwabunmi Olasunkanmi Baiyewu, now wish to be known and addressed as Oluwabunmi Olasunkanmi Oloniyo. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

LOSS OF DOCUMENTS

This is to inform the general public that land certificate dated May 18 1965 under the registration of Titles Law, Cap 121, Laws of Lagos state, with Title no MO.4554 belonging to Alhaji said Gbolahan Olaosebikan is hereby declared missing and all effort to trace proved abortive.

The General public should please take note.

AUCTION! AUCTION!! AUCTION!!!

On the instruction of Nigeria Custom Service there will be an Auction of the following Cars and Generators Equipment at Ogun State Command tomorrow by 10am prompt.

1. PEUGOT 2. MITSUBISHI JEEP 3. NISSAN JEEP 4. SUZUKI M/CYCLE 5. CD 125 M/CYCLE GENERATOR 1. JET/LISTERPETER - IMEKO 2. PEKINS - IJOFIN 3. ULTRAL SOURCE - IDIROKO 4. PARSUN - IDIROKO Government Licensed Auctioneer (TRUSTEE) ALHAJI . F. MOGBOJUBOLA (08034538497)

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

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THE NATION THURSDAY MAY 22, 2014

66

NEWS

Man arrested for impersonation

Rivers council chair freed From Clarice Azuatalam, Port Harcourt

THE Chairman of Ahoada-West Local Government Area of Rivers State, Awori Miller, who was abducted four weeks ago, has been released.

A source said the council chairman was dropped off on the East-West Road yesterday.

The source could not ascertain if any ransom was paid.

The Commissioner of Police, Tunde Ogunsakin, said: “The Ahoada-West Local Government Chairman, Awori Miller, was freed at 0300 hours yesterday.

“We have never encouraged payment of ransom. We are not aware of any ransom. What we did was that we mounted pressure on the kidnappers to release him.”

•From left: Member, Enugu Coalition of Professional and Business Associations (ECOPBA), Lady Claire Asogwa; Vice President,

Fire guts cinema in Calabar From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

A SECTION of Filmhouse Cinema located within the Marina Resort in Calabar, Cross River State, was gutted by fire yesterday.

The incident, which occurred at 7am, was suspected to have been caused by an electrical fault.

Workers said they noticed smoke and then fire inside the cinema. According to them, a movie theatre was affected.

A security man posted at the entrance said the place was closed down for cleaning and would resume activities today.

Rain of pains in Edo From Osagie Otabor, Benin

OVER 300 houses, including a secondary school block, at Okokhuo in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State have been destroyed by a rainstorm that lasted over three hours.

The lawmaker representing the constituency in the House of Assembly, Osazemwinde Sunday, said this during plenary yesterday.

Sunday said he visited the community and was moved to tears when he saw the devastation in the community.

He said many of the villagers were staying with him in Benin City.

Crisis looms in Edo PDP From Osagie Otabor, Benin

A CRISIS is brewing in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, following alleged automatic tickets promised defectors from the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

Some old PDP members, who pleaded for anonymity, said they were not happy with the agreement reached with Ize-Iyamu and his co-defectors.

A PDP stalwart said IzeIyamu was promised the deputy governorship ticket while the four lawmakers were promised juicy appointments or return tickets.

It is being rumoured that the PDP has zoned the governorship slot to Edo Central where Chief Tony Anenih hails from and Minister of Works, Mike Onolemenme is the favoured candidate.

The members vowed to resist any attempt for the PDP party structures to be handed over to the defectors.

Ozo Ramsy Onyia and Secretary, Sir Emeka Okereke, briefing reporters on decisions reached at their conference in Enugu…yesterday

Don’t cause trouble, Uduaghan warns

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ELTA State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has warned politicians against over-heating the system for personal ambition.

Uduaghan spoke yesterday at a briefing in Asaba, the state capital. The governor urged aspiring politicians not to cause trouble, adding that the state is peaceful and he will ensure that it remains so.

He warned that it was his responsibility to “guide the 2015 electoral process in the state to a logical conclusion and in a peaceful manner”.

His words: “Whoever has told you that he cannot come out to move around politically because I have clamped

From Shola O’Neil, Okungbowa Aiwerie and Bolaji Ogundele, Asaba

down on aspirants is not fit to be a governor.

“I have not told anybody not to consult; people are moving around, people are consulting but they are doing it peacefully, what I have said is that if you consulting, if you are moving around ,you must do it peacefully.

“The race has started and I continue to appeal to the “gladiators” and those interested, we are not against any ambition. What we are against is over-heating the system as a result of personal ambition.

“This state has remained peaceful and we intend to ensure that it remains so. My responsibility is to guide the 2015 process to a logical conclusion in a very peaceful manner.”

He warned appointees in the executive council to resign, if they have any political ambition, adding if such ambitions are not checked it could destabilise the administration.

Uduaghan said: “If you are in the executive council do not scatter the council and that is why I have said if you declare openly; I want you to give us space.

“You know the implication of someone who is an exco

member and is campaigning openly; you know what it can do to the council.

“I experienced it under former Governor James Ibori’s administration; many of us in the council were struggling for positions.

“It affected the council and it will affect any council. I have not clamped on anybody. If you accuse me of clamping on some who overheats the system then I have no apology.

“But do not incite people either by your publication or by your word or by your action, do not accumulate weapons because you will not have the opportunity to use it.”

Safe journey, Oshiomhole tells defectors E

DO State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has said he will not surrender state resources to service individuals, who do not have the interest of the people at heart.

He said the administration would work for the masses and not for godfathers.

Speaking at the inspection of the Storm Water Masterplan Project in Benin yesterday, the governor said he wished those who have defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) “safe journey” to their new desti-

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nation.

His words: “I am aware that some people have left our party. We wish them safe journey. When I came, I was clear and I said we will work for the people. I did not say I was going to work for individuals.

“So if individuals feel angry that I have not helped them in what they call ‘individual personal empowerment’. I have the choice to make and I choose to work for the peo-

ple.”

Oshiomhole went on: “Day or night, come rain or shine, I know that the voice of the people is the voice of God and when God stands by us, who can we be afraid of?

“I know that with time, water will find its level.

Those who cannot cope will leave and many have left.

Those who are happy with progress will stay and the overwhelming majority of the people have stayed.

•Oshiomhole

“I know that many people were deceived and they are returning because they were told come for a meeting only to hear people say they are leaving the party. We will not defect. We will continue to do what God asked us to do.”

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

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MAN, Charles Obaseki, has been arrested for allegedly impersonating a late employee of the Edo State Traffic Management Agency (EDSTMA), Omon Adegua.

The agency’s Head of Operations, Amadin Owas, said the suspect was found with the late Adegua’s identity card.

He was arrested after he reportedly apprehended a driver.

Amadin said: “I was on a routine patrol within Benin City, when I noticed an EDSTMA official arguing with a driver.

“I moved in to settle the matter but was shocked to discover that the suspect had an identity card belonging to the late Adegua.

He will be handed over to prosecuting agencies.”

Police arrest 814 suspects From Precious Dikewoha, Port Harcourt

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HE police in Rivers State arrested no fewer than 814 kidnappers and robbery suspects between February and April, Commissioner of Police Tunde Ogunsakin has said.

He said the command recorded 49 per cent crime reduction in the last three months, with 31 cases as against 21 cases recorded in January.

Ogunsakin said: “Twenty seven robbery suspects were apprehended in February, as against only two arrests made in January.

“In March, 171 cases were recorded of which 213 suspects were arrested. Of these, 99 cases were charged to court alongside 166 suspects, out of which 36 suspects were convicted; 72 are awaiting trial, 16 were discharged and acquitted.

“In April, 198 cases were recorded of which 344 suspects were arrested. Of this number, 128 cases were charged to court alongside 243 suspects, of which 84 suspects were convicted; 135 are awaiting trial, 24 were discharged and acquitted.”

Court strikes out Bayelsa’s suit against EFCC

FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit brought against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and its Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, by the Bayelsa State Government.

The government is suing the commission for its alleged refusal to remit funds recovered from ex-Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha.

The court’s decision followed a sudden change of mind by the government, which filed a notice of discontinuance through its Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.

The suit was instituted on behalf of the state by the Managing Director of Panic Alert Security System (PASS), George Uboh and a lawyer,

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

Anthony Agbonlahor, who were mandated by the state to help recover the funds N1.4billion and $1.3 million.

The funds were said to have been recovered from Alamieyesiegha upon his conviction by a Federal High Court in Lagos on July 26, 2007.

The state had asked the court to among others, order EFCC to pay 21 per cent interest on the N1.4 billion and the $1.3 million from November 1, last year, until judgment was delivered by the court.

It prayed the court to “direct EFCC to pay to it $400,000 being the amount forfeited by the former governor and the funds had since been repatriated by the United States Government to the EFCC”.

Baylesa urged the court to declare as corrupt acts, the re-

fusal of the commission to remit back to it, the recovered funds, and that the decision by the EFCC to continue “trading with the funds by way of funds placement/ fixed deposits, is an act of corruption and an economic crime contrary to sections 6 and 7 of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004.

The state also asked the court to declare that Lamorde who took part in the investigation and prosecution of Alamieyesiegha should not have allowed the looted funds to be traded with.

It urged the court to hold that Lamorde was not qualified to continue as EFCC chairman, having violated his oath of office.

Uboh averred, in a supporting affidavit, that the suit was informed by the EFCC’s refus-

al to honour an earlier request for the funds as contained in a demand letter he wrote as the state’s agent.

Uboh said subsequent to his December 19, last year letter, he met with EFCC officials and the commission asked him for a short time to comply.

He said the commission failed to remit the monies, following which the state instructed him to file suit.

When the case came up for mention on Tuesday, a lawyer, I. M. Akhame, who announced appearance for the plaintiff was surprised when Justice Adeniyi Ademola told him about the notice of discontinuance.

He told the court that he was not aware that the state had taken a decision to withdraw the case. Akhame said

it was unfair of the Bayelsa government not to have sent a copy of its notice of discontinuance to its lawyer and wrote him to debrief him properly as required.

Akhame indicated his intention to proceed with the case, arguing that the state’s Attorney General lacked the power to discontinue a civil case without the knowledge of the private lawyer engaged by his state.

But Justice Ademola said: “The notice of discontinuance automatically terminates the case and the court is to make the final order. It is settled law that the plaintiff can discontinue before hearing.

“The plaintiff, represented by the Attorney General of Bayelsa State, has a right to discontinue this case. The case is struck out without cost.”

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THE NATION THURSDAY MAY 22, 2014

NEWS

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group, Oko Peoples’ Union (OPU), has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to set up a judicial panel of inquiry to unravel the cause of the crisis between the Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Prof.

Godwin Onu and the Oko community.

The OPU National President, Ike Nwammuo, spoke yesterday during a visit to the head office of Vintage Press Ltd, publishers of The Nation and Sporting Life, in Matori, Lagos.

Represented by the union’s legal adviser, Uchenna Okonkwo-Okom, he decried the indiscriminate arming of Oko unemployed youths to perpetrate violence, alleging that Prof. Onu was behind the action because the community opposed his second term bid.

Nwammuo said a petition dated May 6 had been sent to the President detailing Prof. Onu’s offences, which had allegedly led to a breakdown of law and order for more than two years.

OPU demanded that Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Abubakar should tender an apology to the Oko monarch, Prof. Laz Ekwueme, for denigrating him during the Anambra security summit.

Oko crisis: Community seeks judicial panel

•Okonkwo... yesterday.

By Precious Igbonwelundu

According to Nwammuo, OPU wants the President to direct the Education Minister to begin processes for the constitution of the school’s Governing Council as well as the appointment of a new rector.

The group said the police

PHOTO: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

should live up to their responsibilities by arresting and prosecuting those involved in the attempted murder of the monarch, his wife, as well as the destruction of property in Oko and Amaokpala communities, “who are moving around still armed and dangerous.

“To forestall further breakdown of law and order

and to know the causes of the crisis, we demand the setting up of a judicial commission of inquiry headed by a High Court judge, serving or retired, with men and women of integrity from the clergy and traditional institution as members, to unravel the truth about the situation in Oko.”

Anambra ex-commissioner kidnapped

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NAMBRA State former Commissioner for Science and Technology, Chike Okoli, has been abducted by unknown gunmen.

The incident occurred yesterday at Agulu in Anaocha Local Government.

Okoli was a commissioner during ex-Governor Peter Obi’s administration.

Members of the State AntiRobbery Squad (SARS) have foiled the kidnap of a businessman in Onitsha.

Police recovered three AK47 rifles from the suspects.

The Nation learnt that the excommissioner was kidnapped by gunmen, who operated in a black Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).

•Abductors demand N16m From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

Sources said he was travelling to his town, Nanka, a community in Orumba South Local Government, when the incident occurred.

A family source, who preferred anonymity, said the abductors had begun negotiations with the family.

The source said they demanded N16m ransom.

He said the kidnappers warned the victim’s family not to involve the police, or else he would be killed.

Police spokesman Emeka Chukwuemeka confirmed the

incident.

He said the command under the leadership of Police Commissioner Usman Gwary had arrested suspects and recovered arms and ammunition.

The prompt intervention of policemen foiled the kidnap of an Onitsha businessman, who was whisked away from his shop on Awka Road, Inland Town, by men of the underworld.

The man was taken to an unknown destination in Onitsha before the police swooped on the abductors and rescued the victim.

It was gathered that the

gunmen trailed the man to his shop and ordered him to enter his Honda Accord, leaving behind their SUV. However, luck ran out for the kidnappers as they approached a police checkpoint on their way to Otuocha in Anambra East Local Government.

The victim made a noise from the car’s boot, prompting the police to stop the vehicle. Three young men escaped from it.

The suspected abductors reportedly ran into the bush, while the policemen rescued the victim and recovered three AK47 rifles.

The police are trailing the suspected kidnappers.

Activities paralysed as masqueraders take over Awka

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OMMERCIAL activities were paralysed yesterday in Awka, the Anambra State capital, as the Imo-Awka masquerader festival begins.

Traders at the Eke-Awka and Amenyi markets operated partially, as the masqueraders visited Umuokpu, their religious home.

Police Commissioner Usman Gwary has deployed more than 400 policemen to keep the peace.

The traditional ruler of the kingdom, Obi Gibson Nwosu, had warned youths, especially non-indigenes, to avoid fomenting trouble during the festival.

Speaking with The Nation yesterday, the Chairman of Awka South Market Amalgamated Traders Union (ASMATU), Chief Anayo Nweke, said the closure of the markets was to respect the culture of the land, adding that it was also to prevent security breach.

The Imo-Awka masquerader festival has been a source of worry to the residents and the government, as it resulted

From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

in violence in the past.

Following the interven-

tion of Governor Willie Obiano, Obi Nwosu, the police and the State Security Service

(SSS) led by Mr. Alex Okeiyi, this year’s festival has been peaceful.

Jonathan, AGF fault suit challenging Bulkachuwa’s appointment From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) have faulted a suit seeking to void the appointment of Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, as the president of the Court of Appeal (PCA).

Jonathan and the AGF, in their notice of preliminary objection to the suit, asked the court to dismiss it on the ground that the plaintiff lacked the locus standi to initiate it.

They argued, in the objection filed by their lawyer, Ahmed Raji (SAN), that the suit did not disclose any reasonable cause of action.

They equally contended that the necessary parties were not before the court, and that the plaintiff’s case is “hypothetical, academic and of no practical utilitarian value.”

The plaintiff, Nkereuwem Udofia Akpan, filed the suit before the Federal High Court, Abuja about two months ago to challenge the appointment of Justice Bulkachuwa by the National Judicial Council and President Jonathan.

The plaintiff asked the court to immediately withdraw the recommendation made to the President for the appointment the matter on the grounds that the recommendation did not conform with the age-long tradition of appointing heads of courts in the country on the basis of seniority.

He also asked the court to order that the name of the most senior justice of the Court of Appeal be sent to the president for appointment as the substantive PCA. Justice Gabriel Kolawole adjourned to July 3 and ordered that hearing notice be issued and served on the NJC before the next adjourned date.

Bomb blasts: CAN urges Nigerians to pray From: Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

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HE President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, yesterday described Kano and Jos twin bomb explosions as a dastardly act.

He urged Nigerians to pray to overcome insecurity.

Oritsejafor said CAN supports government’s directive for additional deployment of troops in conflict-prone areas and the distribution of relief materials to victims.

He said in a statement issued last night: “On behalf of my family and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), I condemn the recent bomb explosions in Kano and Jos in which many lives were lost and property worth millions of naira destroyed.

“The dastardly act reminds us of the evil, which has ravaged communities, villages and other productive segments of our society.”

CAN decried the unprovoked attacks on innocent Nigerians in the name of religion, politics or ethnic ideology and enjoined people to rise against such acts.

“I commiserate with the victims of the two attacks, while praying to God to give the families of the deceased the fortitude to bear the losses.”

Man to die by hanging From Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

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High Court in Aba, Abia State has sentenced a middleaged man, John Onuabuchi Isaac, to death by hanging.

The court presided over by Justice C.O. Onyeabor ruled that the accused will be tied on the neck until he is certified dead.

He was convicted of kidnapping Mrs. Uchenna Nwogu for a ransom.

Isaac on February 21, 2011 was arraigned at the High Court, Ukwa on a three-count charge of kidnapping, conspiracy and armed robbery. He was accused of kidnapping Mrs. Nwogu, a resident of the state.

The prosecutor said the offence contravened Section 3 (a) of the Kidnapping and Hostage Taking Law No.10 of Abia State 2009.

It was learnt that on February 26 the court struck out twocount charges against him in line with the provisions of sections 151 and 180, which is in compliance with Section 333 of the Criminal Procedure Laws of Abia State, which states that not more than one charge punishable with death shall be charged in the same information.

Insecurity: Traditionalist advocates spiritual solution From Jeremiah Oke, Abeokuta

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•Senator Ganiyu Solomon and Doja, widows of the late former Governor of Lagos State, Sir Michael Otedola, when the Senator visited the Epe, Lagos State home of the Otedolas.

PHOTO: ISAAC AYODELE JIMOH

traditional believer, Hounagan Aidji Michoagan, has urged the Federal Government to embark on a spiritual approach to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency.

He said the gods are angry with the country, adding that this is the cause of the misfortunes it is experiencing.

Michoagan, the Ogun State president of a religious group, Tron Mekank (Toran), who spoke during the Iweeta festival in Ipokia area of the state, said spiritual approach should be taken to combat the insurgency.

He said Nigerians should pray and appease the gods to solve the problem. “It is unfortunate that we are in this mess. The gods are angry with us. We need to pray and offer sacrifices to restore peace,” Michoagan added.

Speaking on the powers of Tron to tackle man-made problems, he said it could cure diseases and solved the difficulties caused by human beings, especially witches and wizards.

THE NATION THURSDAY MAY 22, 2014

68

NEWS

Bauchi workers give ultimatum From Austine Tsenzughul, Bauchi

PUBLIC workers in Bauchi State have given the government a three-day ultimatum to pay their outstanding two months’ salaries.

The workers said the contract between them and the government has no bearing on availability or non-availability of resources.

The State Chairmen of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), Hashimu Mohammed Gital and Mohammed Usman, said workers deserve their pay.

The labour leaders in a NLC Bulletin described the delay in the payment of workers’ salaries as unethical and morally wrong.

“April and May salaries must be paid on or before tomorrow. “Government must pay workers as and when due and it should restore all illegal deductions from workers’ salaries.”

PDP desperate for relevance, says Ahmed K R

Mixed feelings on motorcycle ban From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

WARA State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has described the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s)’s criticisms of his achievements as cheap and desperation for political relevance.

PDP Chairman Iyiola Oyedepo challenged the governor to disclose the state’s debt profile before taking another bond.

“They should let us know how much the state owes before they can take another loan.

“Ahmed should not take a loan without accounting for all he has taken since 2011,” Oyedepo said.

A statement by the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Muideen Akorede, said: “The PDP is des-

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

perate for relevance in the political space of Kwara State.

“That is why it will ask the government to provide answers that are in the public domain and are accessible to all.

“As a government focused on transparency, the Abdulfatah Ahme-led administration has explained the utilisation of N17billion and the N10 billion loan.

“Every Kwaran is proud of the State University, the International Aviation College, the Advanced Medical

Diagnostic Centre, the Ilorin urban road and electrification projects and other key projects funded with the N17billion.

“Five general hospitals at Ilorin, Offa, Share, Kaiama and Omu-Aran have been remodelled and modernised, rural roads built, the acclaimed International Vocational Centre, Ajasse Ipo, the capitalisation of Harmony Holdings Limited and the completion of Ilorin Cargo Terminal Airport also testify to the optimal utilisation of the N10billion loan.

“For the record, the new Ilorin General Hospital is perhaps one of the best in the

North Central today.

“We point the opposition party towards the 5,400 youth jobs issued by the government, the 5,000 youths engaged since 2011, the more than 30,000 small businesses that have benefited from the N640million micro credit scheme and the 189 communities that now enjoy electricity under our electrification programme, as some of the other laudable life-changing programmes we have embarked on and continue to implement.

“Finally, the Ahmed administration should be applauded for its prudent plan to refinance the state’s debts through a bond issue which will save the state N500million monthly for other beneficial projects.

‘Kano council polls a fraud’ From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

CIVIL society observer groups have described last Saturday’s council elections in Kano State as a fraud.

The spokesman of the 10team observers, Victor Kalu Onyedikachi, said the elections were stage managed and lacked credibility.

His words: “To exonerate himself from all the inadequacies recorded in the exercise, Governor Rabi’u Kwankwaso should as a matter of integrity and conscience cancel the election.

“For only one of the 19 parties that participated in the election to win all the 44 chairmanship seats and 484 councillorship positions show fraud, malpractices and compromise.”

But the spokesman of the State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), Idris Ismail Garba , said: “The allegation is not true. I challenge them to substantiate their claims with evidence.

“Election materials were supplied to all the respective polling booths on time, while •The scene of the incident...yesterday. there was level playing ground for all the political parties.”

Birth attendants warned From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

BIRTH attendants have been urged to work on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) by counselling expectant mothers.

A doctor, Ebunlomo Walker, gave the advice during a re-training programme held for Community Birth Attendants (CBA) organised by Initiative For Integrated Community WelfareIn Nigeria in Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State.

She said: “We know that mother-to-child transmission is one of the routes of HIV transmission, and we know that presently in Nigeria, we have large number of children living with HIV because they were infected during pregnancy, labour, delivery and breastfeeding from their infected mothers, who did not know their status.”

Gombe grains market on fire From Vincent Ohonbamu, Gombe

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ROPERTY worth millions of Naira was destroyed in a fire yesterday at Gombe grains market.

Caretaker Chairman of Gombe Grains Merchants Association Usman Adamu said the fire started at 3am and that many of his members were affected.

His words: “Over 200 stores were fully stocked with grains.

We are yet to assess the damage but millions of Naira were lost, because most of the produce were beans, bambara nuts and such bags cost between N15, 000 and N18, 000.

“We suspect that the disaster was caused by an electrical fault in one of the shop. I urge government to please come to our aid.”

Aliyu accuses opposition of buying votes

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IGER State Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu has accused members of the opposition of financially inducing voters.

He advised electorate not to sell their votes or compromise their position.

The governor spoke when a delegation from Magama Local Government Area visited him.

He cautioned the people,

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•APC: PDP guilty of allegation From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

saying if they succumb to such antics they would be compromising the future of their children and development of the state.

Aliyu said the PDP will not embark on the illegal act of inducing voters or buying

their votes, adding that the party’s performance is enough to endear it to the electorate in 2015.

The governor said the administration will continue to judiciously use all the financial resources available to improve the people’s lives.

The Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Con-

New VC for UNIMAID

HE Governing Council of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) has announced the appointment of Prof Ibrahim Njodi as the new Vice Chancellor.

The appointment will take effect from June 3, when the current VC, Prof Mala Dauram, leaves office.

The appointment was announced after a special meeting of the Council held in Abuja.

Prof Njodi scored 90.1 per cent in the selection interview conducted by the joint council and senate selection board, which made its recommendations to the council.

ESIDENTS of Kaduna have expressed mixed feelings on the ban on commercial motorcyclists, which took effect yesterday.

Our reporter observed that motorcyclists stayed off the road and security operatives were noticed at strategic places.

Tricycles were carrying passengers but many people were still stranded at bus stops across the city.

A resident, Barnabas Adam, said: “I am the happiest person today, because I can drive freely without the hassles of motorcyclists, who are very reckless.

“In fact, Governor Ramalan Yero has really impressed me with the ban, these guys are major security threats.”

Mrs. Beatrice Danladi said: “The governor has done well but I want him to do more by providing adequate alternatives to alleviate the sufferings of the people.”

Yero’s Director-General on Media and Publicity Ahmed Maiyaki said the government was working to reduce the suffering of the people.

He said the government will sell tricycles to interested buyers.

From Bodunrin Kayode in Maiduguri

The new VC joined the university in 1987 as a graduate assistant in the Dept of Physical and Health Education of the Faculty of Education and rose through the ranks to become a professor in 2006.

Prof Njodi is a widely published author and has held various academic and administrative positions in the university.

Njoji, who is from Gombe, is also a member of the League of Researchers in Nigeria.

Prior to his appointment he was the Deputy Vice - Chancellor Academic Services.

gress (APC), Jonathan Vatsa, said the governor was unfair to the opposition.

He said only the ruling party has funds to buy voters.

Vatsa said the governor was making a self confession of what the PDP has been doing in the past elections.

“The PDP is afraid of the imminent electoral doom in 2015, hence the callous allegation. PDP is guilty of the allegation.

“The governor knows that we don’t have that kind of money. In the last 15 years, PDP has been controlling the vault. It is the only party that can boast of such idle funds.

“What we are proud of is the goodwill among the people. It (PDP) has seen this and is threatened by the rise and acceptability of the opposition. It now has to resort to blackmail.”

PUNCH man bereaved

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COMMUNITY leader, Mrs Grace Ajuweh Ajaja (née Olokor) is dead. She died on April 20 after a brief illness. She was 87.

The late Mrs. Ajaja is survived by five children, nine grandchildren, two brothers, two daughters-in- law and two sons-in-law, among who are Friday Olokor, Chief Correspondent, Punch, Abuja.

There will be a service of songs and social wake keep at the Ajaja family compound, 14 Palace Roa, Abavo Central, Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State on May 30.

A funeral mass will hold at the Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Abavo Central on May 31. There will be a thanksgiving service at same church on June 1.

•The late Mrs Ajaja

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

69

NEWS

Anguish at Jos hospitals

Boko Haram kills 48 in attacks Continued from page 9

Continued from page 4

Police anti-bomb squad officers were yesterday digging into a crater left by one of the two bombs that exploded in the bustling marketplace.

Rescuers were waiting for earthmovers to demolish buildings weakened by the blast and move heavy debris so that they could safely search for more bodies, he said.

“We expect to find more bodies in the rubble,” Abdulsalam said.

Security forces cordoned off the area of mounds of rubble, burned-out vehicles and razed buildings with the debris of panic scattered around — a sandal here, a hat there.

Gloria Paul was among a handful of people at Bingham University Teaching Hospital, searching for her husband. All she found was his car parked near Terminus Market, all the windows shattered.

The search for survivors was halted on Tuesday night by fires ignited in buildings by the massive blasts that were heard miles (kilometers) away. Firefighters fought through the night to douse the blazes that collapsed buildings.

The Plateau State government delegation led by the deputy governor Datong Longjan toured the scene and visited hospitals. The government promised to foot the medical bills of all victims of the blast.

A statement signed by Commissioner for Information and Communication Olivia Dazyem, put the death toll at 75. It said citizens affected by explosions were 126.

Giving the breakdown of the figures, Dazyem said: “In Plateau Specialists Hospital there are 35 injured, 44 bodies. At Bingham University Teaching Hospital (BUTH), there are 30 injured, six bodies. At Ola Hospital, there are 10 injured victims and no body. At the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), there are 45 injured and 25 dead bodies. At FOMWAN Clinic there are five injured.

Dazyem said: “Preliminary investigations have revealed

•Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Muhammed Sidi (left) with the IGP Mohammed Abubakar, sympathising with a victim of Jos bomb blast, at Jos University Teaching Hospital…yesterday

human rights have been violated? This only continues to fuel their sense of injustice.

“The heavy-handed approach of security agents is so counterproductive and with that, all counter-insurgency attempts are doomed to fail,” she said.

The group also expressed “serious concerns” about sending security forces to secure schools, saying it could increase the possibility of such places being attacked.

“Protection should be community-based. Schools should be de-militarised so as not to increase the likelihood of being targeted. Early warning systems should be developed. Besides, sending troops to protect schools could create a security imbalance,” Segun said.

HRW’s European Media Director Andrew Stroehlein called for caution on the part of foreign countries providing technologies that Nigeria does not have access to in the bid to rescue the abducted schools girls.

He said: “Does the involvement of these countries - the US, UK, Israel - give Boko Haram another argument? There is a concern if these issue of drones goes beyond surveillance drones.

“There were drones used in Yemen and Pakistan. Fighting insurgency with them is not made easier. Imagine a drone strike on a wedding. Besides the crime that it is in itself, it drives recruitment of more terrorists.

“What I’m saying is that it’s a double-edged sword. Its good to

have the support. Now they (foreign governments) in Paris are actually discussing the kind of cooperation that should have been years ago.

“We all have been reporting on these problems, but where was the rest of the world? We and other organisations have been saying much the same thing.

“This enormous spotlight that has been put on this particular problem by this latest turn of events in the last few weeks - is there a risk that you will see more foreign (terrorist) fighters coming in?

“Is there a risk that this whole scenario provides them with more resources and more fighters who could see this as an opportunity to conduct jihad in another theatre of operations?

“I think there’s a risk. If we move from surveillance activity of drones to weaponised offensive drones, then we’ll be very worried that we’re going to see the same sort of problems that we have seen in Yemen and Pakistan, which have caused abuses there, and which have really acted as advertising for more recruits.

“If people see injustice like that - the bombing of a wedding for example - if it happens to your friends, to your family, even your countryman or people you feel some affinity or identity with, the injustice of that just drives people to want to fight back; not everybody, but some small percentage of people will want to see justice done by their own means, which then leads to more atrocities in a circle that unfortunately are too common.”

Tambuwal orders resumption of probe on N10bn jet expenses

T •A victim is treated for wounds at Plateau State Specialist Hospital in Jos…yesterday.

that the congestion of the areas of the blast contributed to the high casualties as it hampered evacuation efforts.

“It is a moment of sorrow in the state. All citizens are affected, the state government and its citizens are mourning the loss of lives in the attack.

“Meanwhile, the deputy governor has conveyed an emergency security council

meeting in reaction to the situation. The security council is appealing to citizens to cooperate with security agencies in this operation.

“Investigation on the source of attack has commenced in earnest, preliminary report is being compiled, assurances has been given by security chiefs of more elaborate investigation to ascertain source of the explosions. Some arrests may

have been made, but the security chiefs will reveal that at the appropriate time.

“Citizens should please cooperate with government and security agencies in the interest of safety of lives and properties.

The commissioner called for donation of blood so as to safe more lives. “I wish to commend the courage of citizens who voluntarily went to the hospitals to donate blood.”

HE investigation into the alleged N10 billion spent

by Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani AlisonMadueke to charter aircraft by the House of Representatives will resume, Speaker Aminu Tambuwal said yesterday.

The Speaker ordered the Public Accounts Committee to resume the investigation which was stalled after a controversial court pronouncement.

The Solomon Adeola-led committee was mandated by the House on March 27 to investigate the allegation that the minister spent public funds to charter jets for private trips.

Tambuwal yesterday debunked reports that he ordered a stop to the probe of the minister.

According to him, an earlier directive halting the investigation was not hinged on a court injunction but was a bid to peruse the court process served on his office and the House by the petroleum minister.

The Speaker recalled that the presiding High Court Judge denied granting any restraining order stopping the House from

From Victor Oluwasegun, Abuja

carrying out the investigation.

“I directed that the investigation should be put on hold until some of the legal issues were sorted out.

“Therefore, direct that the matter should continue and the committee should turn in their report,” he said.

The probe, which was expected to begin on March 28, was suspended over an alleged court order.

Tambuwal at plenary on April 29, 2014 said in spite of the court action instituted against the House by the minister, the investigation into her N10 billion alleged bill on chartered jets had not ended.

He spoke while ruling on a point of order brought on the floor by a member, Omosule Eniolorunda.

The lawmaker brought the attention of the House to the Court ruling on the suit filed by Alison-Madueke and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which he said was insufficient to stop the House from continuing with its probe.

Brand New Car to be won in Konga.com and Infinix splash

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•Human Rights Lawyer, Femi Falana (right) , former Minister of Information, Frank Nweke (left) and a National Conference delegate, Is’haq Modibbo Kawu during a debate and consideration of the National Conference Committees’ reports in Abuja...yesterday.

PHOTO ABAYOMI FAYESE

IGERIA’S online marketplace, Konga.com in collaboration with device makers, infinix wants to reward loyal shoppers this month by giving them opportunity to win a brand new Hyundai with an ‘infinix-wina-car and gift vouchers’.

This promo which is part of the many bumper packages including free nationwide delivery and shipping-nationwide which Konga.com has just recently launched will till the end of May. To win, customers are to buy the new Infinix 8s tablet on the konga website. The tablet is exclusive to Konga.com; it comes with a free Bluetooth

By Tonia ‘Diyan

headset and free 100% bonus data for 12 months from MTN. Gabriel Gab-Umoden, Head of Marketing, Konga.com said, “Some months ago in collaboration with infinix, we started a promotion to make sure every Nigerian has a tablet, and we are showing further commitment with this vision by rewarding Nigerians with a car, free delivery and shopping vouchers this May “ The new infinix 8S tablet is state of the art with a wide 8inch touch screen, super fast quad core processor, crystal clear 5 Megapixel camera,back facing camera and a 2 mp front facing camera.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

70

FOREIGN NEWS Italy rescues child migrants from seas

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HE Italian navy has rescued nearly 1,000 illegal migrants from the seas off southern Italy inside two days, with 170 children among them.

In the latest rescue, 462 migrants including 37 children and 148 women were rescued off Lampedusa.

On Monday, 488 migrants including 133 children and 62 women were found off Capo Passero in Sicily.

The number of unaccompanied minors arriving this year has alarmed the Save the Children charity.

While most children under 10 who arrive in Italy are with families, many adolescents are travelling alone and Save the Children says there are not adequate facilities to accommodate and protect them.

There has been a huge in-

crease in migrant numbers. Italy has taken in at least 26,644 so far this year compared with 3,362 during the same period last year, the Associated Press news agency reports.

The number of people detected trying to enter the EU illegally last year rose by nearly half on 2012, with nearly one in four from Syria, the EU’s frontiers agency reported last week.

Many of those rescued this week are believed to be Syrians, fleeing the civil war at home. Others come from Egypt and Bangladesh.

On Tuesday, the Italian patrol boat San Giorgio found and assisted the boat carrying 462 migrants off Lampedusa, and is due to transfer them to the Italian coastguards, the navy told the BBC News website.

South Sudan crisis: Donors pledge $600m at conference

Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak jailed for embezzlement

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COURT in Egypt has sentenced former President Hosni Mubarak to three years in prison after finding him guilty of embezzling public funds.

His two sons, Alaa and Gamal, were also convicted and given four-year terms.

The three were also fined $3m (£1.8m) and ordered to repay the $17.6m they were accused of stealing.

Mubarak, 86, is also on trial for abuse of power and conspiring in the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that forced him to resign.

He was found guilty of the charge relating to the protesters in 2012 along with former Interior Minister Habib al-

Adly, and sentenced to life in prison.

But in January 2013 the Court of Cassation upheld an appeal by the two men against their convictions on technical grounds and ordered a retrial.

In August, a court ordered Mubarak’s release from prison and transfer to a military hospital in Cairo, where he is being held under house arrest.

Gamal, the president’s onetime heir apparent, and Alaa, a wealthy businessman, are also being retried on separate corruption charges In February, the Mubaraks were accused of diverting $17.6m meant for maintenance of presidential palaces to renovate their own private resi-

dences in Cairo and on the Red Sea coast, as well as a family farm.

They denied the charge and asserted at the trial that the prosecution’s case was “completely unsubstantiated because it never happened”.

But yesterday, Judge Osama Shaheen told the court: “He should have treated people close and far from him equally.

“Instead of abiding by the constitution and laws, he gave himself and his sons the freedom to take from public funds whatever they wanted to without oversight and without regard.”

Mubarak sat in the caged dock in a wheelchair, wearing

•Mubarak

a grey suit. His sons stood beside him in white prison uniforms.

Mubarak will be moved to prison from the Maadi Military Hospital, where he has been under house arrest It was not immediately clear whether the 23 months that Mubarak and his sons have spent in custody would count towards their sentences.

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ONORS including the US and the UK have pledged more than $600m (£360m; 440m euros) in aid to South Sudan at a conference in Norway.

The sum raised will go towards the target of $1.8bn the UN says is needed to help millions facing starvation.

UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos says it is still possible to prevent a famine in the conflict-torn country.

More than a million people have fled their homes since fighting erupted in December. Thousands have now died in the crisis that started as a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his sacked deputy Riek Machar, but escalated into ethnic violence.

The conflict has left people unable to farm and with little access to food, aid experts say.

The violence has forced people to abandon their livestock Nearly four million people in South Sudan are now at risk of serious food insecurity, according to the UN.

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Libya to hold elections amid chaos in Tripoli

IBYA will hold parliamentary elections on 25 June, the election commission has said, amid fears that the country is descending into a civil war.

Earlier, Libya’s embattled government proposed that parliament go into recess after voting on this year’s budget.

The government accuses renegade general Khalifa Haftar of planning a coup, a charge he denies.

Fighters allied with Gen Haftar attacked the parliamentary building in the capital, Tripoli, on Sunday.

His militia, the “Libyan National Army”, called for the suspension of parliament.

Gen Haftar accuses Islamists of taking control of Libya, and says his offensive is aimed at flushing them out.

Secular parties won elections in 2012 for a 200-member General National Assembly.

It was the first election since the overthrow of long-serving ruler Col Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

However, the country has remained unstable with rival militias fighting for power.

The planned new constitution remains unwritten and the country has had three prime ministers since March.

On Friday, Gen Haftar’s militia launched a major air-andground attack against Islamist militants in Benghazi.

The government condemned the attack and declared a no-fly zone in the city, threatening to shoot down any military aircraft.

At least 70 people died in the fighting.

The government insists it remains in control, but as the security situation worsened, Saudi Arabia and Algeria have closed their embassies in Tripoli.

Pakistan’s strikes ‘kill 60 militants’

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AKISTAN says it has killed 60 militants in North Waziristan in the deadliest air strikes in months, throwing peace talks into doubt.

A military statement said the dead included “important commanders” and foreigners, but did not specify who.

Local residents in the Mir Ali area described hearing huge explosions after helicopters and jets flew overhead in the early hours.

North Waziristan is a stronghold of Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants.

It is one of seven lawless tribal agencies, but the army have pushed the militants out of their bases in most of the other ones.

The government has been pursuing peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban, but the country’s powerful military remains hesitant about the move.

Senior military officials said Wednesday’s air strikes were launched after they had “confirmed intelligence information about hideouts of the militants and their top commanders”.

Although they did not name the targeted commanders, officials said the strikes were aimed at those involved in recent attacks against Pakistani armed forces and Pakistani soldiers.

At least nine soldiers were killed and several critically wounded by a roadside bomb in the region earlier this month.

It is not possible to confirm the details of yesterday’s attacks because independent media are unable to access North Waziristan.

But local residents reported dozens of homes being flattened.

Tens of thousands of Pakistanis have been killed since the Pakistani Taliban began their insurgency against the state in 2007.

•Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller (centre) and CNPC Chairman Zhou Jiping shake hands as Russian President Putin looks on during PHOTO: REUTERS the signing ceremony in Shanghai...yesterday.

Russia signs 30-year gas deal with China

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USSIA’s President Vladimir Putin has signed a multi-billion dollar, 30-year gas deal with China.

The deal between Russia’s Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has been 10 years in the making.

Russia has been keen to find an alternative energy market for its gas as it faces the possibility of European sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine.

No official price has been given but it is estimated to be worth over $400bn.

President Putin said in a statement to the Russian news channel Rossiya: “The price is satisfactory for both sides.

“It is tied, like it is envisaged in all our international contracts with Western partners, specifically our partners in Western Europe, to the market price on oil and oil products. It is an absolutely calibrated, general formula for pricing,” Mr Putin added.

Gazprom shares rose 2% on the news. The agreement, signed at a summit in Shanghai, is expected to deliver some 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year eastward to China’s burgeoning economy, starting around 2018.

The main argument has been over price and China is thought to have been driving a hard bargain.

Over the last 10 years it has found other gas suppliers. Turkmenistan is now China’s largest foreign gas supplier, and

last year it started importing piped natural gas from Myanmar.

Rain Newton-Smith, head of emerging markets at Oxford Economics, said: “The whole tenet of the deal has a symbolic value - it says that the two countries are prepared to work with one another. For instance there were other elements such as Chinese participation in Russian transport infrastructure and power generation.

“It is similar in many ways to China’s investments in Africa where they drive a hard bargain over the price of raw materials but then provide infrastructure for the econo-

mies they are doing business with.

Jonathan Marcus, the BBC’s defence and diplomatic correspondent said tensions between Russia and the west were not just over Ukraine: “There are fundamental differences over Syria and about the whole direction in which President Vladimir Putin is taking his country.

“Thus this deal could symbolise an important moment of transition - when both in economic and geo-political terms, Russia’s gaze begins to look more towards the East than towards the West.”

Another sticking point on the

deal has been the construction of pipelines into China.

Currently there is one complete pipeline that runs across Russia’s Far East to the Chinese border, called “The Power of Siberia”. It was started in 2007, three years after Gazprom and CNPC signed their initial agreement in 2004.

But financing the $22-30bn cost of sending it into China has been central to the latest discussions.

China is Russia’s largest single trading partner, with bilateral trade flows of $90bn (£53bn) in 2013. The two neighbours aim to double the volume to $200bn in 10 years.

Pakistan PM Sharif invited to Modi ‘s inauguration

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NDIA has invited Pakistan’s leader Nawaz Sharif to Narendra Modi’s inauguration as prime minister, Mr Modi’s BJP party has said.

This is thought to be the first time a Pakistani leader has been invited to such an event.

Other leaders from the South Asia Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) are also on the guest list.

But analysts say Mr Sharif’s inclusion is of special significance given tense relations between India and Pakistan.

Mr Modi, who led his BJP party to a landslide win in the recent election, will be sworn into office on 26 May. Results show the BJP won the biggest victory by any party in India for 30 years, gaining a majority in parliament and trouncing the outgoing Congress Party.

Yesterday Mr Modi Modi stood down as chief minister of the western state of Gujarat, a post he has held for 12 years.

Mr Modi is seen as an uncompromising hardliner on national security issues, and his BJP par-

ty has long advocated a tough stance on Pakistan.

But correspondents say his huge election victory gives him a mandate to reach out to Pakistan in a way the previous administration could not.

Mr Sharif will be under pressure to attend Monday’s swearing-in at the presidential palace in Delhi, the BBC’s M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad reports. Last year he invited Manmohan Singh to his inauguration but his then Indian counterpart did not attend.

According to Pakistan’s high commission in Delhi, it has yet to receive an invitation for Mr Sharif, and analysts say is unclear how he will respond to the offer.

But the very fact that an invitation is being offered by Mr Modi is being seen as a gesture of friendship - and perhaps a clever tactical move by the new Indian leader.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947 - and, more recently, bilateral ties suffered badly in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed

by Pakistani gunmen.

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THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 22, 2014

CITYBEATS

CITYBEATS LINE: 08023247888

‘My husband is a gambler’

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38-year-old woman, A m i n a t Adebowale, has told the Customary Court in Oshodi, Lagos, how her man, Adeoye Adebowale, 37, used her hard-earned money for gambling, abandoning their children.

“We never got married under the native and custom law, but we have been living as a couple. Since we started producing children, he has never taken responsibility of them. He steals money from my wardrobe to gamble over-night. His lifestyle is affecting the upbringing of my children,” she told the court.

Her marriage to Adebowale, which produced two children – Rachael, 6 and Ezekiel, 4, the woman said, was about to hit the rocks.

She further narrated how he threatened to beat her and forcefully put the chil-

T

By Basirat Braimah

dren in his custody, adding: “He is not capable financially because the money he collects at bus parks cannot sustain the family; if he has our children with him, they won’t be brought up well.”

Adebowale, who confessed to beating his wife, said: “I was at work when she brought a court summon. I thought it was to resolve our issues. How can I be irresponsible and she bore me two children? She is very disrespectful and has no courtesy for anyone. Her attitude has rendered me homeless because the landlord gave me a quit notice because I was planning to bring her back.”

The court’s President, Mrs Remi Ekundayo, advised them to maintain peace. She adjourned the case till June 6 for judgment.

Church seeks development

HE Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has implored the federal government to make its presence felt in Isoko Local Government Area of Delta State owing to its contribution to the national economy.

The demand is among the 12-point communiqué issued at the end of the third session of the synod of the Diocese of Oleh, which was held at Igbide in Delta State.

The communiqué, which was signed by the Lord Bishop Rt. Rev. John Usiwoma Aruakpor; the Diocesan Chancellor, Justice Joshua Ikede and the Clerical Secretary, Venerable U.R. Emamezi, decried the neglect to Isoko sons and

By Basirat Braimah

daughters in federal appointment. It, therefore, urged President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to ensure that Isoko sons and daughters are appointed into key federal positions.

On the 2015 elections, the synod condemned the rising insurgency in the country, urging all Christians to be prayerful for a peaceful election.

The synod expressed shock at the kidnap of over 200 secondary school girls in Chibok, Borno State and the bomb blast in Nyanyan, Abuja, describing as welcome, the intervention of the international community.

Customs probes ‘erring’ officer

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•To pick medical bills of acid bath woman

HE Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has promised to foot the medical bills of a woman, Tope Fadipe, who was allegedly bathed with acid by a custom official two weeks ago.

It has also promised that the erring officer, Nwaeze F.C, a Chief Superintendent of Customs (CSC), who is serving in Seme Command, would not go unpunished if found guilty.

Fadipe, 24 is currently receiving treatment at the General Hospital in Badagry, Lagos State.

Nwaeze, The Nation learnt, was rebuked by the Comptroller General of Customs, Mr Abdullahi Dikko, who sent a delegation led by the Area Controller of Seme Command, Mr Willy Egbudin, to the victim at the hospital.

The Deputy Public Relation Officer of the NCS, Mr Joseph Attah, also told reporters that its management would not condone any act

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

of indiscipline from any official.

Attah said: “The CGC is saddened by the report and has expressed his readiness to pick the medical bills of the girl. The officer involved in the case has been placed on suspension pending the conclusion of police investigations.

“The NCS and its management do not condone any act of indiscipline from its officers and disciplinary actions would be dished out to offending officers.”

Meanwhile, the family of the victim has agreed to withdraw the case. In a release by Mr Fadipe Lucas of Itoga Road, Alagbonmeji in Badagry, on behalf of the Fadipe family, said: “The family hereby withdraws the case taken to Nigerian Police on May 10, involving my daughter, Tope Fadipe and her boss, which resulted in her hospitalisation.”

Titled: Withdrawal of assault

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HE alleged killing of a boy by members of a local vigilance group at Igbogbo in Ikorodu, a Lagos suburb, has led to the death of two other persons during a protest by irate youths in the area.

Five houses and two vehicles, belonging to

By Jude Isiguzo

members of the group, popularly known as ‘Won yabo Boys,’ were destroyed in the community.

Residents accused members of the vigilance group of always taking laws into their hands while handling

• Residents claim bird turned woman

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By Jude Isiguzo

ing in Lagos.

Another eyewitness said: “I have never seen this kind of incident in my life. I used to hear it, but this is terrifying.

So these things truly happen?

God will save and protect us”.

At Layeni Police Station, the crowd was so uncontrollable that the officer in charge ordered the woman’s transfer to the Command Headquarters, Ikeja.

Police Command spokesperson Ngozi Braide, a Deputy Superintendent of police (DSP), confirmed the incident, but said the police do not get involved in supernatural cases.

She said: “The residents said they saw a bird that suddenly hit an electric pole and landed on the ground and turned to an old woman.

They wanted to lynch her but she was rescued by operatives from Layeni Police Station who were on patrol. The residents besieged the police station and wanted to set it

case involving Tope Fadipe, the statement further reads: “That the matter has been amicably solved within the two parties’ involved. The Fadipe family did not and has not given anybody the right to continue any case related to the matter under discussion.

The letter written to this effect by the Fadipe family was not written under duress.”

The victim’s mother, Mrs

Janet Fadipe and her elder brother, Tunde, in telephone chats with The Nation, confirmed that the matter had been resolved with a condition that compensation be paid the victim.

“We did not agree on any amount to be paid as compensation. We want my daughter to get well first and see what next,” Mrs Fadipe said.

security matters in the area.

Trouble started Monday afternoon, when members of the “Won yabo boys” arrested a member of the community, who was identified as Habeeb Babalawo, accusing him of being an armed robber.

The group was said to have killed Babalawo without handing him over to the police for proper interrogation and investigations.

Some residents, mostly youths, mobilised against the killing, leading to a clash between them and the group.

An eyewitness, Bose Oluwole, said areas mostly affected by the clash include Igbo Olowo, Merry Junction and Asibunolau. Broken bottles and bonfire made during the clash still littered the road yesterday.

Another eyewitness, who simply identified himself as Durojaye, said apart from the alleged armed robber who was killed, another unidentified person was killed during the clash.

He blamed the clash on the high-handedness of the vigilance members, who had allegedly been maiming and harassing people, in the name of securing them.

Durojaye accused members of the “Won yabo boys” of being in the habit of wrongly tagging somebody an armed robber and killing the person without properly investigating him.

“They have no respect for the police. Even with police presence at the scenes of any incident, they would continue to attack their victims.

Now everybody is tired of their activities,” he said.

Two killed, homes destroyed as youths clash

Crowd storms police station to see suspect

OLICEMEN were battling yesterday to keep away a crowd that stormed their station at Layeni in Ajegunle, the popular Lagos suburb, to catch a glimpse of a suspect. The suspect is an old woman who residents described as a confessed witch.

They said a bird turned into a woman who they claimed, seemed to be in her 80s.

Among residents who gathered on Ojo Road, Ajegunle, to see the “shocking” scene was Emeka Christian,who said he was with his girlfriend when they saw three flying black birds in the air.

“I jokingly told my girlfriend – Kemi - that two of the birds could be males fighting over the only female among them. We both laughed it over, but we could not believe our eyes when suddenly one of the birds fell and began to transform into an old woman who appeared in her 80s. The two other birds flew away. While some waited in disbelief, others took to their heels,” said Emeka.

As the woman rolled on the road, with blood gushing out of her forehead, according to Emeka, she confessed to being a witch, adding that she was returning to her Ibadan, Oyo State home from a meet-

• Fadipe... after the attack

We’re not faceless, Fed. Task Force defends action

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• The woman ... yesterday

ablaze but were prevented.

The woman is still in our custody and investigation is ongoing to ascertain where she was coming from and what she came to do in Lagos.”

Braide advised the public against jungle justice, adding that people should learn how not to take the law into their hands because it is criminal.

Learn skills to be self-reliant, youths advised

THE President, Community Zone of Nigerian Association of Hairdressers, Barbers and Cosmetology (NAHSCO), Mrs Adebiyi Elizabeth has urged the youth to learn skills for self-reliance.

Adebiyi, who made the plea at the association’s first-year anniversary at Ilupeju Iloye Community Development Association’s Hall, Adalemo, a suburb of Ogun State, said: “Every child should be involved in skills acquisition when he is young as entrepreneurship has taken a good shape in Nigeria today.

She advised parents to encourage their wards to learn a trade to make them self-reliant and reduce the rate of unemployment.

ARELY 24 hours after they incaded major highways in Lagos State, men of the Federal Task Force yesterday vacated the roads.

The officials, who had been undergoing some forms of training at their old Tollgate office along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway a year ago, swooped on the roads on Tuesday, taking on commercial drivers and other road users, including government officials.

Their unannounced appearance at the old Tollgate, Ojota, Ikorodu and other parts of federal highways in the state met a stiff resistance from the state government monitoring officials.

The men displaced officers the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA), who had to

By Adeyinka Aderibigbe

keep a distance to avoid crisis on the roads.

Checks by The Nation yesterday revealed that the men had been moved out of the roads.

The National Coordinator of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) and Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) Task Force Alhaji Abdulrazak Rafiu however said his men did not invade Lagos as wrongly accused by the state government.

He said the deployment on Tuesday was an attempt by the new intakes to practicalise what they had been taught before they were finally deployed.

He said the task force was established last year to maintain law and order on all federal roads.

TODAY IN THE NATION

THURSDAY, MAY 22 2014 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

‘How does one explain the use of the kidnapping to ridicule and denigrate our country as a land where there is no effective government or where the military is inept and where, according to CNN, there are 700,000 slaves?’

VOL.9 NO.2856

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

N

OW it’s official: the Western world is horrified about the kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls. It might have taken weeks for the outrage to erupt but Michelle Obama says she and her husband are heartbroken and David Cameron is proud to join the campaign to bring them back. Celebrities compete to show concern and social media is ablaze with anger.

It is easy to sneer at pop stars and politicians who presume that holding up a sign on Twitter passes for a profound challenge to a terror group that has brought five years of carnage to parts of Africa’s most populous nation. But I guess we can be thankful that the fleeting gaze of the globe has fallen on Boko Haram, which has slaughtered and maimed so many innocent people while driving thousands more school pupils from burned-out institutions.

Inevitably, there are questions over whether “hashtag activism” really changes anything. The brilliant NigerianAmerican writer Teju Cole compared it to lighting candles as a cure for cancer, while Sudanese journalist Nesrine Malik satirised the five stages of Western reaction to such events: Ignorance, Wikipedia wisdom, outrage, #solidarity hashtag, tedious self-obssession. There is truth to such criticisms.

In the last few days a major US broadcaster told viewers that Boko Haram was operating in Kenya, one broadsheet columnist wrote that she had never heard of the group until a few weeks ago and several supposed experts used the abuse of these girls to smear the whole of Africa with the usual stereotypes. In the same way that alarming events in Donetsk tell us little about daily life in Dusseldorf or Derby, the complexities of northern Nigeria should not be used to generalise about an entire continent of immense complexity and diversity.

Meanwhile the cry goes up in the West that “something must be done”, although solutions to the grinding poverty, unemployment and social dislocation that gave birth to Boko Haram must come from within Nigeria itself. The burgeoning conflict-resolution industry, which one participant admitted to me was something of a misnomer, senses a new opportunity.

And Western military forces fly in to help.

Hopefully their expertise and technology

OPEN FORUM IAN

By BIRRELL

Stop funding Nigeria’s corrosive politcal system

‘

Instead of pumping money into a corrosive political system that fails to deliver decent public services and allows poverty to fester, how about taking steps to stop the crooks in charge from stashing their stolen loot in our banks, our cities and our tax havens?

•The mother of one of the kidnapped Chibok girls crying.

can help find the kidnapped schoolgirls quickly. But it is worth recalling there are still American special forces in Uganda hunting for Joseph Kony, the warlord who became the sudden focus of social-media outrage two years ago. Indeed, there should be rather more questioning of the soaring Western military presence across Africa, the new frontline in the war on terror, with which we prop up some dubious allies with often-damaging consequences for their citizens.

RIPPLES I DON’T HAVE TO VISIT CHIBOK–Jonathan

Never worry, OGA would come when it’s time for CAMPAIGN

‘

Look at Uganda, where we back a hideously kleptocratic government, or Ethiopia, where we fund a repressive one-party regime. It seems we have learned few lessons from the Cold War. Will the West now give military and financial support to the bungling Nigerian security forces that inflamed turmoil in the north with brutal crackdowns and extra-judicial killings?

The US talks about boosting Nigeria’s military to fight Boko Haram, yet just last year officials condemned its “gross human rights violations”.

British ministers last week spoke of the

HARDBALL

H

ARDBALL will start this note with a quick digression, which is: thank heavens that corruption is not being politicised by the politicians. As you may already know, every issue of public concern has been converted into a matter of hot electoral contention between the two leading political parties. Even matters of life and death and the abduction of little girls are being viewed by all from an electoral Perspex.

We are however relieved that it is not so for corruption in Nigeria. Regardless of the fact that Nigeria still maintains her pride of place among the leading nations in the world corruption table, nobody has been accused of politicising corruption. Even though we all tend to agree that corruption is the monster trying to upend this very house of ours, it has not become an instrument of serious political machination, overt or covert.

As you may have guessed, however, corruption is being glowingly semanticized and going by the very high quarters from which this hardy distinction is being made, we may soon bequeath the world with a special lexicon on corruption. Recall that it was no other personage than President Goodluck Jonathan who told us during a

Semanticizing corruption live television chat that there is no corruption in Nigeria but mere stealing. A baffled world still had its mouth agape when Mr. President got a validation to his thesis from a most distinguished quarter.

It was from no mean a personality than Mr. Ekpo Nta, chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC. Nta of gray eminence, signposted by his billowing white hair and beard, took Nigerians through some English Language lessons recently. Speaking when members of the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN) visited his office in Abuja recently, Nta made it known that Nigerians,including supposedly educated ones, cannot distinguish between corruption and stealing.

Hear him: “Stealing is erroneously reported as corruption. We must go back to what we were taught at school to show that there are educated people in Nigeria.

We must address issues as we were taught

JIDE OSUNTOKUN

need for “capacity-building” in Nigeria.

As evidence they can point to giving it the biggest aid increase of any major recipient nation. Yet even our own aid watchdog has pointed out that the huge sums of money thrown at schools there have failed to lead to any improvements in learning.

This is unsurprising since the country’s core problems, revolving around poor governance and social justice, are worsened by handing over huge sums of free cash.

Meanwhile our vile visa regime deters entrepreneurs trying to create wealth through trade (along with those wishing to visit their relatives in this country or spend money in our shops).

Yet there is something significant Britain could do to help this fast-growing west African state and dampen support for Boko Haram’s child traffickers and killers. Nigeria is a wealthy nation, the world’s 24thbiggest economy, with lucrative deposits of oil. Instead of pumping money into a corrosive political system that fails to deliver decent public services and allows poverty to fester, how about taking steps to stop the crooks in charge from stashing their stolen loot in our banks, our cities and our tax havens?

The World Bank believes £240bn went missing from state coffers post-independence, an obscenity in a country in which most people still live in poverty. A significant share of this flows through Britain and its dependencies. After former military ruler Sani Abacha helped himself to an estimated £2.5bn, nearly £200m was found recently in Jersey bank accounts and another £60m is believed to be in Britain. When a former state governor was jailed for money-laundering two years ago, his properties included seven homes in the UK. Instead of pouring money into the pockets of a thieving political elite, we should divert it into a sustained clampdown on British bankers, lawyers and property barons who launder the dirty money leached out of nations such as Nigeria. Instead of holding up signs on Twitter, our politicians could tackle the pin-striped pimps who corrode communities with their greed, and the tax havens flying our flag.

But hashtag activism is so much easier than real action.

•Culled from The Independent of May 12

•For comments, send SMS to 08111813080

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above in school to do.” Though he did not favour us with further elucidation or definition, he merely drilled home his point with a telling analogy. He likened the mistake of referring to theft as corruption to the layman’s error of calling a roadside mechanic an engineer.

To Mr. Nta’s position, which naturally aligns with his boss’, Hardball would have been happy to just say “Hmm”; which as the legendary Fela sang, “that the question has eaten up its answer”. Or if you prefer Wole Soyinka’s interpretation and I paraphrase: that the proposition has swallowed its position. But we must not keep quiet in the face of semantic tyranny lest they brand us cowards. We must carry this inglorious fight to their corner by letting our dear Chairman Nta know that when two brawlers start throwing sand at each other, it only means they are battle-weary.

It appears Mr. Nta is tired of this corruption thing so he chooses to be a lecturer.

Since he and his boss seem to love thieves, how many real corrupters has he caught?

Lastly, if he thinks a thief in a system does not pervert and debase such a system, then Hardball prays someone steals his next subvention. That sure would corrupt his commission, won’t it?

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