The Nation May 25 2011

Nigeria’s truly national newspaper

News Briton, Nigerian engineer die in Kaduna aircrash Sport Odemwingie to sign new contract at West Brom Business More governors back out of N18,000 minimum wage

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TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

VOL. 6, NO. 1770 WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

•Skye Bank Plc Chairman Mrs Morenikeji Onasanya addressing the bank’s 5th Annual General Meeting at Oriental Hotel in Lagos ... yesterday. Listening are Group Managing Director Mr Kehinde Durosimi-Etti and Company Secretary Mrs Bimbo Izu.

N150.00

•Zenith Bank MD/CEO Godwin Emefiele reading his speech at the opening of the Iga Idunganran Comprehensive Health Care Centre in Lagos ... yesterday. Listening are (from left) Governor Babatunde Fashola, Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos and Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, Alaafin of Oyo. Stoy on page 7.

PHOTO: DAYO ADEWUNMI

PHOTO: ADEJO DAVID

House crises: Mark leads Bankole to beg Jonathan S

ENATE President David Mark has led Speaker Dimeji Bankole on a peace mission to President Goodluck Jonathan, sources said yesterday.

The goal: to tackle the suspicion between the Presidency and the House over the amendment of the voting method to pick a new speaker of the House.

It was gathered that the peace meeting also covered differences over the 2011 Budget, the House’s cash crisis and some “outstanding” issues.

Jonathan was said to have accepted the olive branch, but he told Bankole to ensure that the amendment of the voting method for the

President demands 70 sign up for retention of reversal of voting method Speaker in the Southwest From Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation, Abuja

election of the Speaker is reversed.

The President also reportedly insisted on the passage of the proposed amendment to the 2011 Budget before the House winds up.

Once the two conditions are met, the Presidency will step in to rescue the House from its financial crisis, in which some of its members’ allowances are trapped, it was learnt.

Also yesterday, a new group, the National Consensus Forum (NCF), emerged to lead the campaign for the reversal of the amendment of the controversial voting method.

The meeting at the Villa was attended by some members of the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The House, last Tuesday, adopted an Open-Secret voting system, a development which upset the Presidency and the PDP.

A source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Mark actually brokered the meeting as a result of pressure from the House, following irreconcilable differences with the Presidency.

“The President and party leaders expressed displeasure over the decision of the House to violate the zoning formula of the PDP by amending the voting method in the House to leave the contest for Speaker open.

“The President also reiterated how he had been bend-

ing over backwards to accommodate the House on the 2011 Budget. He insisted that the inflation of the vote by N700billion cannot stand.

“He called for the reversal of the Open-Secret voting amendment and the adjustment of the budget as desired by the Presidency.”

Another source, who also pleaded not to be named, said: “The Speaker explained the challenges confronting the House, including the grievances of members, nonpayment of outstanding al-

lowances, intimidation and outright blackmail of the House leadership over the controversial N10billion loan and threats from antigraft agencies.

“The House leadership actually came to beg the President, but it has to fulfil these two conditions before there could be peace.

“Do not be surprised, if in the next few days the House accedes to the President’s request to amend or adjust Continued on page 4

Why CBN plans to curb cash withdrawal, by Sanusi

W •Sanusi

ITH the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and banks spending an average of N200 billion yearly on cash management, there seems to be no going back on the cash withdrawal limit policy billed to become effective in June, next year.

The banking watchdog is to peg the daily cumulative withdrawals at N150,000 for individuals and N1

•Interest rate rises to 8%

By Ayodele Aminu, Group Business Editor

million for companies. Specifically, the apex bank said withdrawals above these limits would attract extra costs. It said the objectives of the policy are to enhance the efficiency of the Nigerian payment system, re-

duce cost of cash management and check money laundering. The measure is also meant to pull the economy from being cash-based, as well as reduce the amount of money in circulation.

CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said yesterday after the Bankers’ Committee meeting that the policy was conceived, based on the data avail-

able. He said eight per cent of the banking public withdraw above the prescribed limits daily.

“Throughout last year, less than eight per cent of cash transactions by individuals were above N150,000. We have the statistics. It costs the industry almost N200 billion to process, secure, transport, and destroy cash. The top Continued on page 4

•POLITICS P14 •LIFE P29 •MONEY P43 •SPORTS P60 •FOREIGN P62

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

NEWS

Senate, Reps okay FoI bill From Augustine Ehikioya and Victor Oluwasegun, Abuja

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•The remains of the plane after the explosion... yesterday Inset: Rescuers at the scene

PHOTOS: TONY AKOWE

Briton, Nigerian die in Kaduna plane crash

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HEY never knew the end was near. But end came for the two men at Barkalahu, a village in Igbabi Local Government of Kaduna State yesterday.

Captain David Sewell, a Briton and an engineer, Avong Ayuba, set out in a US registered Beechcraft N364UZ belonging to Shoreline Consultancy Limited. It was meant to be a routine air test for the aircraft before its departure for Europe. The plane, however, crashed, killing the British pilot and the Nigerian engineer.

An eye witness told The Nation that the plane almost crashed into one of the buildings within the premises of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) after hovering in the air for a while.

The eye witness said: “We could see the plane hovering around and from all indications, the pilot was trying to manage the plane to the nearby Air Force Base where DANA, an aircraft maintenance company, is located. But it crashed immediately it passed the Open University”.

The aircraft was said to have been brought to DANA in Kaduna for maintenance.

DANA’s spokesman Bashir Chedi confirmed to reporters that the plane was undergoing maintenance at the company when the accident happened.

Chedi said: “This unfortunate accident involves an aircraft called beechcraft, belonging to Shore-line international, an oil company. Two people, the captain and the engineer, were involved in the accident which was on a test flight after maintenance.

AIB team moves to site

By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

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HERE was anxiety in the aviation sector yesterday as an American registered aircraft Beecraft C90 crashed in Kaduna, killing its two occupants.

Confirming the accident, spokesman of the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Mr Tunji Oketunbi said the AIB has dispatched its team of investigators to the scene to ascertain the remote cause (s), of the accident.

He said the investigators would today give preliminary report on how the aircraft crashed, even as details of the crash remained sketchy at press time.

Industry sources hinted that the aircraft was carrying out its first flight after it was released from maintenance from the aircraft maintenance facility belonging to Dornier Aviation Limited, in Kaduna State.

The source said rescue operations may be difficult as the aircraft plunged into a terrain that could not be accessed by rescue personnel including the fire fighting services.

From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

“In the last one hour, we have been working with all the relevant agencies, the Air Force, police, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Immigration, Road Safety, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and other agencies. We have been able to rescue the affected victims though already dead. The victims are one Briton and a Nigerian.

“Donia Aviation Nigeria Aiep (DANA) support the maintenance of the aircraft, there are so many stages of the maintenance, so we carry out support of the maintenance. All agencies are involved, the accident investigation agency of the NCAA are already on the ground; the place has already been secured and they will

immediately go into action to get the details accordingly”.

The owner of the farm, Mohammed Musa where the plane crashed said he saw the plane hovering before crashing into the farm, crushing a mango tree.

Musa said that rescuers tried to force the door of the plane open, but could not, saying in Hausa: “We saw the unusual way the plane was flying and we know there was something wrong. We first saw the propeller crushing the mango tree before it finally crashed.

“A soldier at the scene of the accident attempted to use the butt of his gun to break the door of the aircraft but he could not. He asked me to get a digger so that we can force the door of the plane open but before you know it, the aircraft caught fire

and he (soldier) advised that we leave because the plane can explode and indeed it exploded.”

He added: “The captain tried all he could to locate the river near the farm but he could not make it and ended up crashing on my farmland.

If there were immediate proper rescue operation, the damage may not have been this much. We saw two persons through the windscreen but we tried to rescue them but to no avail.

“The military man on patrol also came around and tried using the butt of the gun to break the windscreen but could not succeed, he asked us to bring an axe but before we could do that, it became too late as the smoke was too much, so, we ran away”.

Director-General of NEMA Alhaji Mohammed Sani Sidi described the accident as unfortunate.

He said: “We were meeting when we got the information of the plane crash, so we have to rush to the scene.

“Unfortunately before we got here, the aircraft was already burnt beyond any rescue, so our men are here trying to see what they can rescue from the aircraft. We understand that there are two people inside, one Briton and one Nigerian, it is an aircraft that belongs to International Tropical Institute of Agriculture (IITA) Ibadan, it is being maintained

by DANA here in Kaduna.”

The Nation discovered that while the plane crashed at about noon and exploded about 30 minutes later, fire fighters and other rescue operators like the police, Air Force and other security agents did not arrive the place until about 12.52pm.

I’ll not scrap NYSC scheme, says Jonathan

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HAMPIONS of the scrapping of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) lost the battle yesterday.

President Goodluck Jonathan said in Lagos that he won’t abolish the one-year mandatory programme for graduates.

Instead, this administration will review the 38- year old scheme.

The review, he said, was long overdue considering the ‘’constantly

By Ozolua Uhakheme Assistant Editor (Arts)

changing dynamics which pose challenges to the survival and relevance of NYSC”.

Jonathan sad: “I will not subscribe to the scrapping of the NYSC scheme. But, it is time to review it,” adding that through the scheme he made good friends across the country as a corps member.

The President spoke at the “Youth Lunch With the President at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. It was organised by the 2011 Presidential inauguration ceremonies committee. About six leaders of youths organisations like the National Youths Council of Nigeria and the National Association of Nigerian Students, spoke on their expectations from the President. The demands included electricity supply,

quality education, infrastructure development, job creation, true fiscal federalism, youths empowerment and involvement in governance.

He said:”I want to sincerely thank Nigerian youths for their significant role in the last presidential election.”

The President said in the next four years, he would not be a ruler over Nigerians, but work with other Nigerians to ensure meaningful growth and development.

HE Senate and the House of Representatives yesterday approved the harmonised version of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill. The harmonisation followed the report of the Joint Conference Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives.

The harmonised bill is for an Act to make public records and information freely available, provide for public access to public records and information, protect public records and information to the extent consistent with the public interest and the protection of personal privacy, protect serving public officers from adverse consequences for disclosing certain official information.

As approved yesterday, the 33clauses bill from the Conference Committee adopted the Senate versions in clauses 1, 4, 8, 10, 11 and 14 while the House of Representatives version was taken in all the other clauses of the bill.

Providing that any person entitled to the right to information under the bill shall have the right to institute proceedings in a court to compel any public institution to comply with the provisions of the Act, the bill specified N500,000 fine for defaulting officer or institutions for wrongful access denial.

Clause 8 (5) states: “Where a case of wrongful denial of access is established, the defaulting officer or institution shall on conviction be liable to a fine of N500,000.”

The bill had suffered many setbacks in the current legislature.

Many lawmakers were of the opinion that it would make the media too powerful and that it may be used negatively against their interests if passed.

The Newspapers’ Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) urged President Goodluck Jonathan to immediately assent to the bill.

NPAN, in a statement, said: “On this eve of his inauguration, the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria calls on the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, to immediately sign the bill into law.

It is the greatest pre-inauguration gift that he can give to Nigeria and Nigerians.”

77 Reps bills awaiting Senate concurrence From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor

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T least 77 bills that emanated from the House of Representatives are awaiting concurrence by the Senate.

Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Ita Enang, made this known yesterday in Abuja at a press briefing.

Enang, who presented the score card of the House at the briefing said the House received 482 bills between June 5, 2007 and yesterday.

He said the House treated 187 bills including 145 passed, 46 negative and six withdrawn by their sponsors.

According to him, it is interesting that the current National Assembly is the only parliament that successfully amended the Constitution.

The House also passed many Appropriation Bills, he added.

Some of the bills are: Customs, Excise Tariff (Consolidation) bill 2007; Customs and Excise Management (Amendment) Bill 2007; Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill 2007; Chartered Institute of Capital Market Registrars Bill, 2008; National Assembly Budget and Research Office Bill, 2007; and the Revolving Loan Fund for Industry (Amendment) Bill 2009.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

NEWS

•From left: Senate Committee Chairman on FCT, Sen. Mohammed Zubairu; FCT Minister, Sen Bala Mohammed; FRSC Corps Marshal Osita Chidoka and the FCTA Transport Secretary, Mr Jonathan Ivoke, at the launching of Greater Abuja OperaPHOTO: NAN tors License Scheme in Abuja ... yesterday.

•President Goodluck Jonathan flanked from right by Akoh Chinedu, a Youth Corp members, Sen. Akinlabi Olasunkanmi, Minister of Youth Development, acting PDP National Chairman, Dr. Haliru Bello Mohammed and another Youth Corps members Anne Udojie at a meeting with President Jonathan and a cross-section of Nigerian PHOTO: STATE HOUSE Youths in Lagos ... yesterday.

EFCC invites Bankole

Why CBN plans to curb cash withdrawal

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PEAKER Dimeji Bankole is expected at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) tomorrow.

Bankole is to answer questions on the House’s accounts.

The EFCC invitation was delivered to the Office of the Speaker on Tuesday.

EFCC chairman Mrs. Farida Waziri is out of the country, but a team headed by the Director of Operations, Ibrahim Lamorde, is to interrogate Bankole over some petitions against him.

The issues, The Nation learnt, are: •alleged use of the House’s accounts as collaterals to secure a private loan; •the controversial N10 billion facility; •the N2.3billion car scam; and •the purchase of NET Building in Lagos for N4billion.

A source, who pleaded not to be named, said: “The EFCC received some petitions against the Speaker and investigation into all the allegations have started.

“We have asked the Speaker to report for interaction on Thursday with a team already put in place by the EFCC chairman.”

The Speaker has no immunity like the President and the governors.

Mark leads mission to Jonathan

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

the 2011 Budget and the Open-Voting system is reversed to the old order.”

The battle by the PDP to retain the office of the Speaker in the Southwest continued, with the emergence last night of the NCF. The group, headed by Hon. Mustapha Khabeeb from Jigawa, has embarked on a signatures collection. More than 70 members have endorsed the register seeking the retention of the zoning formula in the House.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Justice, Henry Seriake Dickson, confirmed the drive to retain the formula.

He said: “So far, 70 members of the House have signed up to retain the zoning formula and we will not rest on our oars in this latest drive.

“We are party men and the PDP has zoned the Office of the Speaker to the Southwest. We have to abide by that.

“It is normal for members from other zones to have grievances, but if we respect our party, we need to toe the party line in as much as it has not hurt national interest.

“The voting is done by individual parliamentarian, but the zoning of offices is the responsibility of the PDP. Since the zoning formula was mutually discussed and adopted at the party level, we have to respect it.”

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

Asked to clarify why the EFCC is taking on Bankole over the sale of NET Building, the source added: “The initial claim was that the Speaker’s father bought the building but some petitioners are alleging that it was Bankole.

“They alleged that Bankole bought the building with public funds. All we need to do is to investigate the veracity or otherwise of these alle-

gations.”

EFCC spokesman Femi Babafemi confirmed that the Speaker is being investigated.

He said: “We are looking into some issues against the Speaker, based on some petitions. But I cannot tell you how far because I don’t have the details.”

A group, Youth Anti-Corruption League, last week marched on the EFCC, demanding Bankole’s probe.

The League submitted a one-page petition to the

•Bankole

EFCC through its President, Jumoke Iliyasu.

A source in the House said: “All these things happening are political. This is the end of a political session which has attracted many intrigues especially the amendment of the rules on the election of a new Speaker.

“There is more to the EFCC’s invitation. It is a move to force the House to do the bidding of the powers that be.

“Bankole has nothing to hide; he will go there and answer all allegations raised.

But the main question is that the invitation is political.

“As I am talking to you now (3.30pm), the Speaker has not received the invitation. Such invitation is always routed through the Clerk of the House.”

seven banks spent over N80 billion on cash management,” he said.

Sanusi said the policy affects only a small number of people, who are rich, adding that Nigeria must stop the habit of carrying huge cash around.

“We have to stop this ‘Ghana must go’ attitude and embrace a cashless economy through the use of cards and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). We have to invest in these channels and also have regulations on them,” he said.

Sanusi however said the policy was open for debate.

“We have 12 months to debate the policy. We can make it flexible. It can be N300,000 or more or less. But we have to know that regulations are not supposed to be popular. We have to move this country from a cash to a cashless society.

“We are not saying that people or organisations cannot withdraw more than N150,000.00 or N1million daily. What we are saying is that if you withdraw more than that, it would attract some costs,” he explained.

In a bid to stabilise the naira and curb inflation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

raised its benchmark interest rate (Monetary Policy Rate) for the third time this year and doubled banks’ Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR).

The MPR was raised by 50 basis points to eight per cent.

The key borrowing and lending rates climbed by the same amount to six per cent and 10 per cent. The reserve requirement on banks was increased to four per cent from two per cent with effect from June 8, to align with the next reserve averaging maintenance period, Sanusi spoke at the end of the 76th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.

The MPR is the interest rate at which the banking watchdog lends to commercial banks, while the CRR is the proportion of banks total deposits held in cash balance with the CBN. Essentially, the implication of this development is that by raising its rates, the CBN, which is taking a preemptive move to cage inflation, is encouraging people to save by adding interest to their savings. At the same time it also discourages people from spending.

Sanusi said the committee members at the meeting voted 9-1 to reduce interest rates with six of the nine backing a 50 basis point hike and the other three recommending a 25 basis point rise.

Presidency slashes National Assembly budget by N112b

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has signed the 2011 Appropriation Bill into law.

But the amount to be spent in this fiscal year is N4.407,052,200,582 trillion, down from the N4.971 trillion passed by the National Assembly.

The President slashed N464 billion from the amount passed by the National Assembly.

Jonathan also reduced the National Assembly budget to N120 billion from N232 billion.

House of Representatives Speaker Dimeji Bankole, announced the signing of the budget in its reduced form by the President during yesterday’s plenary session.

But he did not elaborate.

Bankole also read an Appropriation Amendment Bill which he urged the House to pass.

The 2011 budget passed by the National Assembly was earlier described as “not

From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor

implementable” by the Minister of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga.

The situation almost degenerated to a budget row between the Presidency and the National Assembly.

However, a source said Jonathan and the leadership of the National Assembly struck a deal at the weekend which made him to sign the budget and immediately forwarded the Appropriation Amendment Bill to the lawmakers.

The House suspended its relevant Orders so as to give the money bill which passed first and second reading accelerated treatment.

This may not be unconnected with the financial crisis the House is facing in recent times.

The National Assembly budget, which the lawmakers raised to N232 billion, was reduced to N120 billion, a reduction of N112 billion.

Jonathan had in the original budget pegged the National

Assembly’s budget at N111.244 billion but the lawmakers increased it to N232 billion.

Jonathan had last December presented a budget proposal of N4.226 trillion to the National Assembly based on a benchmark of $65 per barrel, an expected crude oil production of 2.3mbpd and an exchange rate of N150 to a dollar.

But the parliamentarians raised the figure by N745 billion from N4.226 trillion to N4.971 trillion. The lawmakers also raised the benchmark from $65 to $75pb of crude oil.

The National Assembly increased the N1.16 trillion proposed by the executive as capital expenditure to N1.7 trillion, injecting figures for constituency projects.

The Appropriation Amendment Bill reads: “a Bill for an Act to authorize the issue from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation the total sum of N4,407,052,300,582 only of which, N387,824,288,743

only is for statutory transfers, N495,096,682,115 only is for debt service, N2,401,330,677,943, only is for recurrent (Non Debt) expenditure while the balance of N1,122,800,651,781 only is for contribution to the development fund for capital expenditure for the year ending on the 31st December, 2011.”

Some highlights of the amendment include: National Judicial Council N95bn; Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) N56.076bn; Universal Basic Education N64.567billion; National Assembly N120bn; Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) N52.180bn; Defence, Ministry of Defence, Army, Air Force, Navy N291.692bn.

After reading the covering letter of the Money Bill, Bankole mandated the Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Ita Enang, to print a supplementary Order paper to enable the House consider the bill.

House Leader Tunde Akogun said the bill was straight forward as members already knew its importance.

He urged the House to give the bill expeditious treatment.

Chairman House Committee on Finance John Enoh said there was no disagreement on the oil benchmark of $75 per barrel.

He urged the House to pass the Bill in the interest of the nation.

The Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Ayo Adeseun, said the budget had been a subject of discussion for some weeks.

He said he had no problem supporting the passage of the Bill “so that the nation can

•Dr Jonathan

move forward.”

The House later referred the bill to its Joint Committee on Appropriation and Finance.

As the bill was being read on the floor of the House, President of the Senate David Mark also read it on the floor of the Senate.

CORRECTION In our April 14, 2010 edition we published a story titled: “A.B.U legal officer declares VC appointment illegal”. Our attention has been drawn to an error in the publication. Even though he wrote the advice, the legal officer did not mention that the VC appointmen was illegal as captioned in the story. We regret the error and any embarrassment caused to Barr. S. A. Barau and apologise accordingly.

– Editor

ADVERT HOTLINES: 01-280668, 08070591302, 08052592524 NEWSROOM: LAGOS – 01-8962807, ABUJA – 07028105302 COMPLAINTS: 01-8930678

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

NEWS More governors back out of N18,000 minimum wage From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

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OME state governors are backing out of their earlier pledges to pay workers in their respective domains the N18,000 National Minimum Wage, it was learnt yesterday. They are changing their positions following the stand of their fellow colleagues who said they have no fund to implement it.

The President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Abduwahed Omar, made the disclosure to reporters in Abuja yesterday after the congress’ National Executive Council (NEC) meeting .

He warned the governor’s against reneging on the implementation of the new pay package as approved by the Federal Government.

His words: “We have made it clear that those who accepted earlier and are beginning to be disturbed by the reluctant ones will put them into trouble,” said the NLC boss.

NLC, said Omar, has insisted that any governor, who cannot pay the new minimum wage must quit.

He specifically urged the Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi who has reportedly complained his inability to pay to resign. He said “Let him quit if he cannot pay.”

Asked whether it was right for the out-going Oyo State Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala to implement the new wage even as the incoming governor has complained he cannot pay it, Omar said “the incoming governor is the one who must comply.”

He noted that the meeting, which was the first since the new congress came on board, was delayed because it had to conclude the elections of the state councils.

According to him, eventually the NEC met to deliberate on the modality for the payment of the minimum wage.

The NLC helmsman disclosed that the congress has already met with the National Salaries and Wages Commission on the guidelines for the implementation of the new aw.

Soldiers kill police officers in Lagos

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HE Divisional Police Officer in charge of the Badagry Division, Lagos, Mr Saliman N Samue, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) and his Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) were killed yesterday by unknown gunmen.

They were shot on their way to Badagry Barracks where they were billed to meet with the commanding officer over the crisis between policemen and soldiers in the area.

The two senior police officers were ambushed by the gunmen who opened fire on them some meters away from the barracks around 11:30am.

As at 3:30pm yesterday, the bodies of the two slain officers were still lying where they were killed.

The driver and the orderly of the DPO were missing.

It was thought that those who killed their boss may have killed them at an unknown place.

Trouble started on Sunday when some policemen attached to the state crimefighting outfit -the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) - had altercations with a soldier who

Ringim orders investigation into clash From Sanni Ologun, Abuja

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HE Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Hafiz Ringim yesterday ordered a high-powered investigation to unravel the cause of the killing of two police officers by soldiers in Lagos.

Ringim in a statement signed by the Force spokesman Olusola Amore in Abuja said the officers had gone on a peace mission to the Commanding Officer 242 Recce Battalion in Badagry over the alleged killing of a soldier by a policemanwhen they were ambushed and killed by the soldiers.

He, however, appealed for calm, saying that altercations would undermine the cordial relationship existing between the two sister services.

The statement reads: “The attention of Inspector-General of Police, Hafiz Abubakar Ringim, NPM, mni has been drawn to the unfortunate killing of two police officers and attacks on other police officers serving in Badagry, Lagos State by men suspected to be soldiers from 242 Recce Battalion of the Nigerian Army.

“The incident occurred on May 24 (yesterday) when the two senior police officers paid a peace mission to the Commanding Officer 242 Recce Battalion in Badagry as a result of the alleged unfortunate killing of a soldier by policemen attached to the RRS (Rapid Respond Squad) on May 22. The two officers were ambushed and killed when leaving the barracks.

By Jude Isiguzo

refused to identify himself at a police check point.

It was gathered that the soldier called his colleagues on

thephone. They moved in immediately with an OPMASSE vehicle to rescue him from the policemen.

During the confusion that

ensued, one of the policemen shot the soldier in the leg and he was rushed to a nearby hospital by his colleagues.

The four policemen on duty at the check point were arrested by the police authorities when the matter was reported and handed over to the army.

The shot soldier died at the hospital on Monday evening, a development that triggerd a crisis in the area between the police and the soldiers.

It was after the police was able to restore peace in the area that the DPO and his DCO agreed to meet with the Commanding Officer of the 424 Barracks to brainstorm on how to fully restore peace between the police and soldiers.

Sources disclosed that all the policemen at the Badagry police station and those manning the Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) stationed at the round-about, abandoned their duty posts yesterday and fled.

Police spokesman, Sam Jinadu, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), declined comments on the matter.

Jonathan, Soyinka, others for NANS’s convention

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu, Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka and Prof.

Pat Utomi are expected to be part of the 57th National Convention of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).

The convention holds between June 27 and 29.

NANS’ President Bassey Etuk Williams told reporters that the convention billed for

Eagle Square in Abuja, has “Leadership and good governance in the face of economic and security challenges- the role of the Nigerian students”as theme.

The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and his Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) counterpart will also feature at the convention.

The leadership of the association will hand over power to a new administration at the convention.

ASUU flays National Assembly’s stand on retirement age From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

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HE Academic Staff Union of Universities yesterday said it would not hesitate to go on strike, if the Federal Government fails to implement the 2009 FGN/ ASUU agreement.

The union, in a statement by the Chairman of University of Uyo branch, Dr. Ashong Ashong, lamented that part of the reason why some components of the 2009 FGN/ ASUU agreement had not been implemented was because the National Assembly foot-dragged in amending the law on the retirement age for members in the professional cadre.

Ashong explained that the union had exercised enough patience over the non-implementation of the 2009 agreement.

The statement reads: “We therefore call on the government to do the right thing by implementing all aspects of the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement. We want Nigerians to know that the government should be held responsible for whatever legitimate actions the union would take soon to ensure the implementation of the agreement.

“We think that such unsavoury consequences can be averted if government acts with despatch. Another issue of concern is that of the dismissal of some vice chancellors and the dissolution of university governing councils without recourse to due process.”

•Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, his deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori, a member of the Korean Agriculture Investment Model, Mr. Woo Chung Kim (left) and his colleague, Mr. Moon Kung Soo, during the Korean Investors’ visit to the Governor’s Office, Abere, Osogbo...yesterday

Court bars ex-Finbank MD Nwosu from foreign travels

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LAGOS High Court, sitting in Ikeja, yesterday barred a former Managing Director of Finbank Plc, Mr Okey Nwosu, accused of stealing the bank’s N10.9 billion from foreign travel, until the case is decided.

Justice Lateefat Okunnu granted Nwosu, Mrs Agnes Ebubedike, Mr Danjuma Ocholi and Dayo Famoroti bail for N50 million each with

Jonathan, Buhari in game of mind

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HE legal battle on the validity of the April 16 presidential election shifted to a game of mind yesterday.

The game was at the sitting of the presidential election petitions tribunal that is hearing the petition filed by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) which is asking the panel to nullify the results of the election in 20 states.

President Goodluck Jonathan was the PDP candidate in the poll while Gen. Muhamadu Buhari (rtd) was the candidate of the CPC.

From Kamarudeen Ogundele, Abuja

The mind game forced the five-man panel of Justices chaired by the Court of Appeal President, Justice Isa Ayo Salami to adjourn indefinitely the ruling on a contentious application filed by Jonathan and his running mate, Namadi Sambo.

The duo through their counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), who led Mr. Damian Dodo (SAN) and other lawyers are asking the CPC to provide cer-

tain information on an application.

Although the tribunal stood down the matter for 45 minutes, the contending parties could not reach a consensus.

The panel had on Monday advised parties to meet and make concessions on some of the pending applications.

But at the hearing yesterday, it became evident that the meeting between the senior advocates could not resolve all the pending issues as the could not agree on the contentious application.

•Dismisses application to quash charges

By Joseph Jibueze

two sureties in like sum. They were arraigned at the Lagos High Court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 26 counts of stealing.

The court said they must not leave the country, except on its express permission and ordered them to deposit their international passports and other travel documents with the registrar.

One of their sureties must own a property worth N50 million in either Lagos or Abuja; must be in the Federal Civil Service or in the employment of Lagos State but not below Grade Level 14; and the sureties must be resident in Lagos or Abuja.

Either surety must be a member of the board of directors of a financial institution or corporate organisation with head office in Lagos or Abuja. The sureties are also to produce evidence of three years’ tax clearance.

The defendants are to re-

port to the EFCC every first working day of the month.

An officer of the agency is to verify the sureties’ addresses and documents.

Justice Okunnu said the law was that a person is presumed innocent until found guilty. “It is the person who opposes an application for bail that ought to prove to the court why bail should be denied,” she said.

The judge said the EFCC did not prove beyond mere assumption that the defendants would jump bail or interfere with witnesses.

According to her, the defendants had complied with the bail conditions earlier granted to them by the Federal High Court, Lagos. The second defendant travelled abroad for medical treatment and returned.

Justice Okunnu had earlier dismissed the defendants’ applications to quash the charges against them, which were filed separately by their lawyers.

They had urged the court to dismiss the charges because

they amounted to double jeopardy; because the court lacked jurisdiction and they were already facing similar charges at the Federal High Court and at the Investment and Securities Tribunal.

Dismissing the applications, Justice Okunnu held that they lacked merit and said the offences for which they were charged at the Federal High Court were different from the ones before her.

She pointed out that in the case at the Federal High Court, they were not accused of stealing, but of money laundering and violation of banking rules.

Her words: “None of the defendants has provided particulars to controvert these facts that the charges are not similar. I don’t see any evidence of malice or bid by the prosecution to deny the defendants fair hearing.”

Justice Okunnu added that the cases at the Federal High Court and at the Investment and Securities Tribunal are not prejudicial to the charges before her, and that they do not amount to double jeopardy.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

6

NEWS Mimiko charges legislators-elect on true Federalism, State Police OVERNOR Olusegun Mimiko yesterday urged newly-elected legislators from Ondo State to facilitate the passage of bills that will enthrone true Federalism, devolution of resources and create State Police.

He spoke in Igbara-Oke, Ifedore Local Government, during the opening ceremony of an induction workshop for national and state legislators-elect, tagged: “Labour Party Agenda: A new paradigm for governance in Ondo State.”

The workshop was organised by the Leadership Institute of the Adekunle Ajasin University (AAU), Akungba-Akoko.

The new legislators included three senators, nine members of the House of Representatives and 26 members of the House of Assembly.

Mimiko said true federalism would facilitate the review of “the current lopsided revenue allocation formula” and the enactment of State Police to adequately address insecurity.

He said: “A situation where a disproportionate percentage (52%) of the national revenue goes to the Federal Government in a multi-ethnic federal arrangement is oppressive to the constituting states.

“The states need more funds to attend to decayed infrastructure and the social services, especially education and health care.

“New jobs need to be created and the issue of appropriate remuneration for workers, which has led to a lot of workers’ restiveness and industrial problems, must be addressed with the restructuring of our federalism.”

Mimiko said the LP was committed to good governance.

LP National Chairman and Chairman of the opening ceremony Mr. Dan Nwayanwu urged the new legislators to open constituency offices and hold regular meetings with their constituents.

He said their impacts on the lives of the people would be evaluated on a regular basis by the party.

Vice-Chancellor, AAU, Prof. Femi Mimiko said the workshop would acquaint the legislators-elect with the various challenges of their job.

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Policeman ‘rapes, impregnates’ 12-year-old A POLICE corporal serving in Ekiti State, Lasisi Olalekan, was yesterday arrested for allegedly raping and impregnating a 12-yearold orphan, simply identified as Bimbo.

Bimbo, a JSS 1 student of Anglican Grammar School, Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, is six months pregnant.

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

Olalekan, who was attached to Oke-Ila Police Station in Ado-Ekiti, was arrested following a petition to the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olayinka Balogun,

by a lawyer, Mrs Rita Ilevbare, on behalf of a Human Rights Organisation, The Community Law Centre, and Bimbo’s guardian, Mrs. Juliana Olajiga.

The petition alleged that Olalekan raped Bimbo twice

and threatened to deal with her if she tells anyone.

When Mrs. Olajiga discovered that Bimbo was pregnant and confronted Olalekan, the corporal was reported to have beaten her up.

Balogun confirmed the incident. He said Olalekan had been arrested and the petition was being investigated.

Lagos to stem maternal deaths

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HE Lagos State Government yesterday reiterated its commitment to preventing maternal and child mortality.

It said it would soon begin the full implementation of the Integrated Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (IMNCH) Strategy designed by the Federal Government.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Femi Olugbile stated this during a press briefing to mark the MNHC Week in Lagos.

The theme of the week, which was flagged off on Monday and would end on Sunday, is: “A Total Package for a Healthy Family.”

Olugbile said: “With full implementation of the IMNCH, we could prevent up to 72 per cent of neonatal deaths; more than 70 per cent of deaths of children under five years and two thirds (62 per cent) of maternal deaths. “In absolute terms, more than 200,000 mothers and 6 million children can be saved by 2015.”

He urged local government chairmen, community and religious leaders and

By Sunday Ogundugba

parents to mobilise pregnant women and children to take advantage of the services provided in health centres across the state.

The services include routine immunisation; Vitamin A supplementation; growth monitoring; screening for malnutrition; counseling; among others.

Olugbile said: “Anti-tetanus will be given to women of child-bearing ages and they will be counseled exclusive breastfeeding, hand washing, oral rehydration therapy and home management of fever. Antenatal and family planning services will also be provided.”

He said plans are underway for the launch of Maternal Mortality Reduction (MMR) Program, adding that strategies mapped out for its implementation include infrastructural development and supplies across the primary and secondary health care levels, advocacy, public enlightenment and health promotions, capacity building, strengthening of referral system and quality services.

•Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi (middle); Patron, Ekiti Parapo, United Kindom (UK), Pa Micheal Akosile (left); President, Ekiti Parapo, UK, Deacon Bayo Ajayi and other officials of the association in the UK...at the weekend

F

Oyinlola fails to appear before Osun Truth Commission

ORMER Osun State G o v e r n o r Olagunsoye Oyinlola yesterday failed to appear before the Osun State Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The eight-man panel had, in a letter signed by its secretary, Nurudeen Ogbara, invited Oyinlola to appear before it yesterday to respond to petitions against his administration.

But in a letter to the panel’s Chairman, Justice Samson Uwaifo, on May 16, Oyinlola turned down the invitation, saying he had responded to the petitions through his counsel, Temitope Elusogbon.

It reads: “I would have loved to honour your invi-

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

tation, but I have a very tight schedule between May and July, ranging from personal appointments which cannot be shifted to national assignments .

“Therefore, I would be unavoidably absent from the public sittings of the commission.

“I have received a number of petitions from your commission, many of which are meant to assassinate my character for reasons best know to the petitioners.

“I believe my absence will not in anyway affect the proper determination of

‘My responses are already before your commission. I wish to adopt them as my reply and nothing more.’ those petitions, because if I am opportune to be present, it would not change my positions as contained in my response, since I have nothing to add or subtract.

“My responses are already before your commission. I wish to adopt them as my reply and nothing more.”

Hundreds of people, who trooped to the Osun State High Court Complex, Osogbo, venue of the sitting , to witness Oyinlola’s testimony were disappointed.

As early at 8am, security agents besieged the court premises, screening vehicles and humans.

There are more than 50 petitions on political victimisation and abuse of public office against Oyinlola’s administration.

The panel did not sit, owing to Oyinlola’s absence.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola is expected to testify before the commission today.

Ministerial nominees are retrogressive, says Falana From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

•Falana

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AGOS lawyer Femi Falana has said the list of ministerial nominees sent to the Presidency by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) contained names of “retrogressive individuals,” who have nothing to offer Nigerians.

Speaking in an interview with

The Nation, Falana urged President Goodluck Jonathan to have a rethink on the nominations.

He said: “The list of ministerial nominees is retrogressive and disappointing. It is a ‘business as usual list’ of grey hairs and spent ideas.

“The nominees are supposed to have served the party, but regrettably, have not and can never serve the people. Such a list would further plunge Nigeria into retrogression and underdevelopment.

“We need a crop of highly dedicated and committed patriots in the middle class, who will commit what I will refer to as ‘class suicide’. They will do the unusual and reverse the trend of non-performance.

“I was reading in the papers yes-

terday that Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola directed that no one should celebrate his six months in office with government funds. Infinitesimal as this may seem, it is the beginning of some sense of decency. Given the roiling tangle of underdevelopment that confronts the country, impunity is at the root of it all.”

Falana described the governing class as “selfish, short sighted, dangerously unpatriotic and lacking respect for the Rule of Law. “When a robbery suspect is arrested by the police, before he is taken to the station, one or two ‘big’ men would have called the Inspector-General of Police to intercede on his behalf.

“On the highways, it is total lawlessness on the part of governors, ministers, traditional rulers and government officials. They chase people off the roads and are as-

sisted by law enforcement agents to violate traffic laws. People get away with anything because of the ‘big man syndrome’.”

He said it was an irony that government officials, who disregard the laws, become law abiding outside Nigeria, adding that no modern state can be properly administered under an atmosphere of impunity.

Falana said: “Two weeks ago, a senator was to be arrested by the police for forging documents. He rushed to the Federal High Court, Abuja, and succeeded in obtaining an injunction preventing him from being arrested.

“Yet, every law student knows it is only the President, Vice-President, Governors and their deputies, that cannot be arrested. Even these people can be investigated in law.

“Look at the issue of the application for bank loan by the House of

Representatives. Only the President or a Governor can ask for loans with the approval of the legislature.

Under no circumstance should a legislative house take loans.

“Same applies to the shooting up by the legislature of budgets prepared by the executive. Why should they increase budgets submitted to them by the President or Governors?

“Under section 81 of the Constitution, the President has the exclusive power to prepare and submit the budget to the National Assembly for vetting.

“In the discharge of its oversight functions, the National Assembly cannot re-write the budget because it has no power to prepare it and lay same before itself.

“It is clear mockery of separation of powers which is at the core of the Presidential System that we claim to practice.”

7

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

NEWS Fire at Jega’s office

Oyo health workers give Akala ultimatum over new wage

•CPC: we’re worried

T

IMELY reaction by alarmed workers saved the office of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega, and valuable documents from being burnt yesterday.

Although fire fighters raced to INEC Headquarters, the fire, which started around 11.20am, was extinguished.

The fire partly consumed the visitor’s room of the INEC chairman, burning window glasses, air conditioners and other equipment, including window blinds, chairs and tables.

Other equipment like photocopiers, printers, and computer systems were evacuated from the adjourning INEC Chairman’s Secretary’s office as the fire was being put out.

The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) reacted to the incident.

From Jide Babalola, Assistant Editor, Abuja

In a statement by the spokesman of the party’s presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, CPC said: “While it is possible for accident to happen at any time, we are a bit worried that this incident took place the very day the Justice Ayo Salami Tribunal granted the request of the CPC to do forensic examinations of the ballot papers used for the April 16 presidential poll.

“As the nation waits to know the cause of this fire, we call on the electoral body to take necessary measures to prevent a recurrence at this crucial period and at all times.

“We suggest that it is incumbent on INEC to double its efforts to ensure the safe keeping of all materials used for the elections.”

Election tribunal begins sitting in Ekiti

•Governor: we’ve not reneged on our promise From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

•Alao-Akala

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OUR days to the end of the outgoing administration, the Joint Action Committee of Oyo State Health Professionals yesterday gave the Adebayo Alao-Akala administration a seven-day ultimatum to address the alleged lopsidedness in the implementation of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) or face a strike.

Members of the union

started an indefinite strike last December but suspended it in March after the intervention of some prominent residents.

In a statement yesterday, the union alleged that the government breached the agreement it signed with it on March 10 on the implementation of the new salary scale in various ways.

It urged the government to fulfil its promise within the stipulated seven time, saying failure to do so may lead to another strike.

The statement by representatives of various unions under the committee said members’ salaries were downgraded by two levels despite the 70 per cent approval of the new package.

The union also alleged that teaching allowance was unilaterally removed without consultation with the union, adding that “tax of about 300 per cent of the former amount was applied” against the promise

by Alao-Akala.

It said: “At this juncture, we can conveniently say that we are being deceived with all the promises and our members can no longer stomach the gross breach of agreement and empty promises.

“We have exercised restraints all these while hoping to get maximum cooperation from all those ministries that were involved in the negotiations.

“We therefore wish to state that all these issues

should be addressed and resolved within seven days of receiving this letter, failure of which could make our members to resume the suspended strike action.” It read in part.

But the governor, through his Special Adviser on Public Communication, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said his administration had not reneged on its promise to the health workers.

He said: “We promised to pay 70 per cent increase, to which they agreed, only to come up with an unrealistic projection. We are not owing them for the January, February period because they refused to work, even after the government threatened to apply the ‘No-work, No-pay’ rule.”

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-kiti

E

LECTION Petitions Tribunal yesterday held its inaugural sitting at High Court Four, art the state High Court, Ado-Ekiti.

Its Chairman, Justice Ibrahim Bako, sought the cooperation of petitioners, lawyers and the media.

Three petitions on last month’s elections have been submitted to the tribunal for consideration. One on them is on the National Assembly elections and two from on the state Assembly.

Justice Bako said the tribunal’s sittings would be restricted to between 8am and 4pm on working days only.

In a petition, Prince Bamigbale Adekola of the National Transformation Party (NTP), is seeking the cancellation of the victory of Mr. Ojo Oladimeji of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), alleging unlawful exclusion of his names from the ballot paper by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

‘Don’t blame Obasanjo for PDP’s loss’ From Oseheye Okwuofu, Ibadan

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HE only Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senator-elect in the Southwest, Chief Hosea Agboola, yesterday said the defeat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the April elections should not be attributed to former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The senator-elect, who was until last December the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters in Oyo State under Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, blamed some PDP leaders in the Southwest for the loss because he said they refused to heed Obasanjo’s counselling.

He said: “Obasanjo has suffered enough criticism after the election. But the man has tried his best for the South west and Nigeria. Let the man alone, he is not daft .He remain our leader and nobody can take this away.”

Agboola addressed reporters in Ibadan, the state capital, urging party members who were calling for the head of the former President to exercise restraint.

He said nobody should blame Obasanjo for the defeat of the PDP “because he (Obasanjo) really tried his best to ensure that the party came out victorious in the keenly contested poll”.

Lagos inaugurates health centre

By Miriam Ndikanwu

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AGOS State Government yesterday celebrated the eighth year anniversary of Oba of Lagos, Oba Riliwan Akiolu I with the launch of the Iga Idunganran Comprehensive Health Care Centre.

The project was established in collaboration with Zenith Bank Plc under the state’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme.

Governor Babatunde Fashola said his administration would prioritise policies that would match the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in education and healthcare delivery.

He praised Zenith Bank for partnering with the state in its programmes, promising that the state would have four of such health facilities before the expiration of his second term in 2015.

Fashola praised the bank for contributing to the success of the state’s Security Trust Fund (LSSTF.) The governor noted that the bank’s assistance to the LSSTF had earned the state many laurels at home and abroad.

Oba Akiolu said he was criticised for acquiring the land on which the multi-million naira centre is built, adding that his critics were enemies of progress.

He said though the land belonged to his palace, some people were not disposed to his releasing it to the government for the project.

The monarch said when he was installed, he promised to attract no fewer than three of such projects to the state, adding that yesterday’s launch was a fulfillment of the promise.

•From left: Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr Aliyu Hong; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCH) Representative in Nigeria, Mrs Gogo Hukportie; and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Odein Ajumogobia, after the envoy PHOTO: NAN presented her letters of credence in Abuja…yesterday

Ogun spends N9b on debt servicing, says Daniel

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UTGOING administration of Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel said it spent N9billion servicing debts in the last one and half years.

It also admitted owing CSIN (WA) Limited, a Chinese electricity and machinery firm, N346million.

Daniel spoke yesterday when he inaugurated the seven Megawatts minipower plant at the Govern-

From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

ment Secretariat, Oke–Mosan, Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.

Although Daniel did not state the amount the state was owing, Finance Commissioner Kehinde Shogunle, had on March 22 given the state’s debt profile as N22billion as at December, 2009.

He said N5.1 billion was expended on loan servicing during the period.

Daniel said the “wastage” resulting from monthly payment of N400million interest charges on debts incurred from from banks could have been avoided if his administration’s bid to access loans through the bond market last year had not be thwarted by those hen described as “irresponsible” members of

the House of Assembly.

Lamenting his inability to obtain the proposed N100billion bond, which he said could have been used to settle the debt and execute capital projects like the power supply, Daniel said those who ought to have approved it did not only “disappoint his administration,” but also “by extension disappointed the Ogun people.”

NDLEA arrests three suspects with 122.65kg cannabis

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HE Lagos State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested three suspected drug dealers and seized 122.65kilogrammes of cannabis when it raided Iddo Motor Park; Oyingbo Railway Terminal; and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Ejigbo, a Lagos suburb.

Its state Commander, Alhaji Aliyu Sule, gave the

By Kelvin Osa-Okunbor

suspects’ names as Gambo Amadu (28), with 90.3kilogrammes; Fidelis Mike (19), 7.35kilogrammes; and Diana Gabriel (22), with 25kilogrammes.

Sule said: “The command will continue to raid drug flash points within the metropolis. Investigation is ongoing into the cases and the suspects will be charged to court.”

NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive Ahmadu Giade urged Lagos residents to give the agency information about drug syndicates, adding that the Agency is interested in apprehending every drug dealer in the country. “raid operation is a daily affair in the Agency and I am pleased with the results of this operation. The Agency is determined to bring every drug dealer to book.

We are interested in taking

away all drug users and addicts in our society” Giade stated.

Gambo Amadu a native of Kano State was nabbed at Ido area with 90.3 kilogrammes of cannabis. The suspect who claimed to be a commercial motorcyclist in his confessional statement said that his role was to safeguard the illicit warehouse. He is said to be working with one Isa who hails from Sokoto.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

8

NEWS Group blames Jonathan for diesel scarcity

By Joseph Jibueze

A GROUP, Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum (YRLF), has blamed President Goodluck Jonathan for the scarcity of kerosene and diesel.

It said the Federal Government’s explanation on the cause of the scarcity was unconvincing.

In a statement by its Secretary-General, Akin Malaolu, YRLF said the President should be made aware that in the past seven months, kerosene has been sold for N1, 000 per four-litre gallon where it is available, while diesel sells for N1,200 for the same measurement.

It wondered why President Goodluck Jonathan still “tolerates” the Minister of Petroleum and the Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

“It is a shameful neglect on the part of government to still accommodate the duo,” the group said.

YRLF added: “As it is today, it is unfair on the generality of Nigerians and most especially our helpless millions of people that Mr. President could still tolerate the egregious nonsense coming from the petroleum minister as well as from the group MD of NNPC over the escalating cost of kerosene and diesel with no solution in sight.

“Statements emanating from government officials on this general scarcity are untrue with all the boldness which breeds failure and a sure way for encouraging overreaching.

“We now begin to wonder how our dear President can achieve appreciable reduction in cement price if these oil officers remain on their seats.

“We, however, wish to remind our dear President that our people are terribly poverty-stricken in all towns and villages and all the promises he made must translate to improving the welfare of the people.

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ACN condemns arrest of its Benue governorship candidate

HE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday condemned the detention of its Benue State governorship candidate, Prof. Torkuma Ugba, at the Police Headquarters in Abuja.

It described the action as a brazen act of victimisation.

A group, Benue Professionals for Democracy (BPD), criticised Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam for instigating Ugba’s detention at the Police Headquarters in Abuja on Monday for allegedly inciting disturbance in the state.

In a statement in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, ACN condemned the Police for allegedly being “so quick to act” when a petition alleging the breach of peace and complicity in the murder of Prof. Ugba’s aide, Charles Ayede, was submitted to the Police by Suswam.

It said: “This is the same Police Force that has bluntly refused to act in all the complaints by Prof. Ugba and the ACN in Benue against the killing, harassment and intimidation of the party’s members. It is now clear that Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Hafiz Ringim is turning the Nigeria Police into a highly partisan force, which can only lead the security agency to perdition”.

The party noted that the Police had turned the victims into villains by arresting

Ugba, two others arraigned in Makurdi

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ENUE State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate Prof. Torkuma Ugba; his Security Adviser, Adaa Maagbe; and former Chairman, Gboko Local Government, Chief Simon Abua, were yesterday arraigned before a Makurdi Chief Magistrate’s Court for alleged criminal conspiracy and rioting.

They were, however, granted bail by Chief Magistrate Cecilia Bakare and released on bail in less than 20 minutes.

The prosecutor’s attempt to get Ugba remanded in prison, failed.

The prosecutor had told the court that the offence was not bailable, but Ugba’s counsel, J.S. Orkuma, with 20 other lawyers, argued that the offence was bailable.

Bakare granted each of the accused N200,000 bail with a surety in the like sum .

Hundreds of ACN supporters besieged the From Tayo Owolabi and Genevieve Ajewole, Abuja

Ugba, who reported the murder of his aide to the Police.

It said the Police also detained Adaa Maage, who narrowly escxaped death because he was in the same car in which Ayede was killed, adding that some 15 young men in Ayede’s village “have been herded into the gulag”.

ACN reminded Ringim that Nigeria is in a democracy, where every action is guided by the rule of law and every Nigerian is guaranteed his

From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

Police Command’s Headquarters to catch a glimpse of Ugba, who is challenging Governor Gabriel Suswam’s victory in the April 26 governorship polls.

Ugba was driven from Abuja to Makurdi in an air-conditioned bus and arrived at the Police Command Headquarters about 11:30am in company of over 200 armed mobile policemen in 15 trucks.

Activities at the Police Headquarters were halted as officers and men of the command trooped out to see Ugba.

The same scenario played out at the premises of the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Northbank, where ACN supporters demonstrated against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government in the state .

right to associate freely under the Constitution.

It said: “It baffles us, as it should all right-thinking people, why a Police officer of the calibre of the IG cannot see the lack of fairness in what the Police are doing in Benue, where Suswam is hell-bent on running ACN members out of town simply because the party has challenged his spurious victory in court.

“Suswam said he won April’s governorship election in Benue. The ACN is contesting the election through the appropriate legal channel. But instead of waiting for the chal-

lenge to run its course, the governor, aided and abetted by a partisan Police, decided to take the laws into his own hands, instigating the arrests, killing and maiming of opposition members.

“Yet, the Police boss pretends that all is well; and President Goodluck Jonathan, who has been preaching violence-free politics, feigns ignorance. This is baffling.”

The party said the danger of what was happening in Benue was that if left unchecked, it could trigger a civil disorder, “if those who are

FCDA demolishes illegal civil servants’ estate From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

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Boko Haram kills policeman THE Police yesterday said some suspected gunmen, believed to be members of the Boko Haram sect have shot a policeman dead in a rash of killings targeting security officers.

Borno State Police Commissioner Mohammed Abubakar said the policeman was on patrol on Monday evening near St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Maiduguri, the state capital, when he was shot.

Boko Haram members have targeted Police and clerics in a string of killings over the past one year. They have also attacked churches and engineered a massive prison break.

The sect, whose name in Hausa means “Western education is sacrilege,” has campaigned for the implementation of strict Shariah, the Islamic law.

being daily harassed and intimidated decide to fight back”.

The party noted that Suswam’s impunity and Police backing could send the wrong impression that anyone with the Police in his pocket could rig an election and turn against whoever dares to challenge him.

ACN said: “We in the ACN are sure that this is not the kind of Nigeria that President Jonathan wants to preside over in the next four years. We hereby urge him for the umpteenth time - to move quickly to stop the systematic decimation of the opposition in Benue as well as in several other states across Nigeria by members of his party, the PDP, in a devilish collusion with Hafiz Ringim’s Police.”

In a statement by its Chairman, Michael Iyange, the group noted that Ugba’s arrest was on the orders of Suswam, adding that it was the latest in the series of coordinated harassment of ACN members by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

BPD said detaining Ugba could lead to a breach of the peace, adding that the voice of calm and restraint was being gagged.

It sought clarification of the alleged breach of peace because “there has not been any reported case of breach of peace arising from the activities of ACN in any part of Benue State.”

•Representative of President Goodluck Jonathan and Minister of State for Education Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi (left) presenting an award to Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, whose state won the Ist National Position in good performance award for State Universal Basic Education in Abuja... yesterday

‘Bomb’ thrown into bank premises in Niger

A

N object, suspected to be a bomb, was yesterday thrown into the premises of Nigerian Agricultural Cooperative and Rural Bank (NACRB), Bida, Niger State, from a moving vehicle.

But the suspected bomb did not explode.

An eyewitness said the object began to emit smoke, which drew the attention of those at the bank and passersby.

The explosive would have been the third in the state in

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

the past three months, if it had gone off.

It was gathered that the management of the bank informed the Police Area Commander, Mr. Ayo Olatunji, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), who was said to have gone to Minna, the state capital, for a meeting with the Police Commissioner.

Olatunji, who intimated the Police Commissioner about the incident, directed

his men to ensure that there was no breach of the peace.

A team of policemen was drafted to the scene to remove the substance.

The area was cordoned off and people were barred from the bank premises.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Richard Oguche, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), said the Police received information about the incident.

The bank is close to the house of a former Commissioner in the state,

Alhaji Musa Baba.

Oguche said the Police cordoned off the area and prevented entry into the bank premises, after confirming that the object was harmless, to forestall chaos.

The substance, he said, was no longer active, adding that people were also prevented from entering the area to avoid unforeseen circumstances.

Oguche said the bomb had been given to the Anti-Bomb Squad for analysis.

Efforts to reach the bank’s manager were unsuccessful .

HE Development Control Unit in the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Abuja, yesterday demolished an illegal civil servants’ estate behind the Federal Housing Estate, Lugbe.

The Director, Department of Development Control, Yahaya Yusuf, who addressed reporters at the demolition site, blamed those he described as unscrupulous elements for the development of illegal estates, thereby creating the impressions that they were official layouts.

He noted that such developers deceived the public to participate in the projects.

According to him, the area is an urban fringe where there is no already laiddown plan.

Yusuf said: “As you are aware, we have a master plan, which we try to implement. In implementing it, there is supposed to be a detailed land use plan for this particular area. The detailed site development plan, the engineering infrastructure design, infrastructure design with the provision either by the government directly, especially for the primary infrastructure; then beneficiaries of such an estate will provide the secondary infrastructure.”

He said there was a laiddown plan for approved estates, adding that this has a clinic, educational facilities, like primary and secondary schools, recreational facilities and commercial.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 , 2011

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

In less than 24 hours, the Federal Executive Council is expected to wind up after a valedictory session as prelude to the inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday for a fresh term. In this last report of a three-part serial, our Correspondents, GBENGA OMOKHUNU, NDUKA CHIEJINA, BUKOLA AMUSAN and FRANCA OCHIGBO, who covered the activities of some of the outgoing ministers assess their performances.

Ministerial scorecard (3) Ministry of Education

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HOUGH the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufai, joined the cabinet shortly after the then President Goodluck Jonathan became a substantive President, she was one of the few new ministers who hit the ground running. Immediately she resumed at the Federal Ministry of Education, she ensured that everybody was kept busy on how to improve the sector.

Most of the parastatals under the ministry have been engaged in several developmental activities which, according to sources, were left unattended to before the arrival of the woman who many describe as hardworking.

Her latest achievement is the recent public presentation of the nation’s education data survey and the launch of the Digest of Education Statistics for the period, 2006 to 2010 which gingered President Goodluck Jonathan to assure Nigerians of increase in budgetary allocation to the sector.

Performance: Good

Minister of State (Education) Olorogun Gbagi:

AlhajiAbubakar Sadiq A. Mohammed Immediately Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Mohammed resumed at the ministry, his first step was inviting all heads of parastatals to seek the way forward. At a point, he invited reporters to seek advice on how information would be passed on to the public.

In just a year, the minister has transformed the ministry even if not much of publicity is being given to its activities.

He also saw to the sealing of several bilateral relationships with other countries.

Ministry of Agriculture Prof Sheik Abdullah The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Prof. Sheik Abdullah, may have been the right man for the job. But it

Performance: Average

Ministry of Science and Technology

•Prof. Rufai

Performance: Average

•Mohammed

is obvious that the ministry has not in any way lived up to the expectations of Nigerians, especially farmers, in the last four years. It has failed to deliver on policy implementation.

For example, farmers have complained that up till now, the N250 billion agricultural intervention fund earmarked by the Federal Government cannot be easily accessed by small-scale farmers . They say most of the funds have been diverted to other agricultural ventures different from the purpose it was meant for. The last National Council on Agriculture meeting came up with some measures that will enable small-scale farmers have access to agricultural input and also produce food and cash products for rural and urban dwellers, the effect is yet to be seen.

One area in which the ministry appears to be performing is the provision of fertilisers to farmers at highly subsidised rates. The Minister has always complained of paucity of funds which, he said, had been slowing down activities in the ministry.

Performance: Below Average

Minister of State for Finance, Yawaba Lawan-Wabi Not much can be said o or attributed to the performance of incumbent Minister of State for Finance, Hajiya Yabawa Lawan-Wabi. She was drafted from Borno State where she was said to be Commissioner for Finance before President Goodluck Jonathan appointed her Minister of State for Finance and the in-law of Governor Ali Modu Sheriff. When Remi Babalola left the ministry as minister of state he left a very big shoe to be filled by his successor. The appointment of Yabawa Wabi took the shine off the office which oversees the monthly disbursement from the Federation

• Abubakar

Ministry of Culture and Tourism

Performance: Average

The Minister of State for Education, Mr. Olorogun Gbagi, has been supporting Prof. Ahmed Rufai to achieve laudable goals. Many have also described their working relationship as cordial.

Young, energetic and vibrant in his field is perhaps the best way to describe Prof. Mohammed Abubakar who, on assumption of office, hyped the message that all experimental materials in the country’s laboratory should be exposed to the world for technological development to thrive. He said Nigeria must grow beyond the level of experimenting without results, particularly in manufacturing sector. The challenge of promoting indigenous inventions remains with us.

ministry. Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Nenadi Usman performed well.

Performance: Below Average

Account to the three tiers of government.

As chairman of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting Wabi has demonstrated a weak grasp of the details of the allocations, bungling on several occasions figures for disbursement and amounts in the excess crude account. On some occasions, she was saved by the then Account General of the Federation (AGF) Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo.

Now that Dankwambo has been elected governor of Gombe State, less details of the disbursements and exact amounts in the excess crude account are released with difficulty, if they can be relied on to be accurate. Yabawa Wabi is not helped further by the Acting AGF who prefers to be in the shadows rather than be seen to give details of the FAAC figures, apparently because his position is not secured or he may be steeped in the civil service tradition of remaining in the background while the politicians take the fire. Whichever way he has not helped the minister of state.

The performance of Wabi is below that of other women who have run the

Ministry of Housing: Chief Nduase Essien Minister of Housing came into the ministry with the mindset of reducing high cost of rent in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and other parts of the country where he feels Nigerians are facing challenges of housing. He inspected projects all over the country, and ensured that proper materials were used so they would not collapse in the future. He was particular about building low cost houses that the masses can afford to buy and pay for in future.

The Minister, at a time, insisted that vacant houses in the highbrow areas of the FCT should be taken over by the government and given out to poor Nigerians that could not afford accommodation, since the owners were reluctant in renting them out. His tenure saw him reach out to the poor. But in spite of all this, no housing project was developed under his tenure.

Performance: Average

Ministry of Works

•Essien

The Minister of Works, Sanusi Daggash, expressed readiness to work, especially on roads and other infrastructure. That was immediately he assumed office. He took his time to go on road inspections, worked on major bad highways and took up major challenges of creating roads where necessary to aid smooth transportation. He has remained passionate about the state of roads in the country, though he has not done much to change the situation during his tenure to ensure that roads are put in good shape .

Performance: Average

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

POLITICS

Oranmiyan: When birthdays are not for the visionless

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LA The Legendary Oranmiyan, The Powerful Son Of Mythical Oduduwa, On Whose Heroic Exploits The Political Energy Of Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola Is Molded, The Whole Gamut Of Osun State Now Has The Tinge Of A Territory Enamoured

By A Protective Embrace Of Service, Responsiveness, Responsibility And An Insatiable Hunger For Transformation.

There is a new, inspiring breath of life into a hitherto arrested sociopolitical environment. When on Saturday November 27, 2010 Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola took oath of office before a much-relieved populace, he left no one in doubt on his readiness to bring back the old philosophy of service to the people, popularised and left behind by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Of course, the nostalgic feelings in those who witnessed the sage’s days in action and in power and those of the generation that only grew up to meet the imperishable legacies of the egalitarian society that he built in the defunct Western Region, could not but see the governor as the new beacon in for a hitherto depressed and oppressed populace.

Re-awakening the Awolowo philosophy of service to the people would however neither be through the symbolic rendition of the Unity Party of Nigeria’s anthem which now reverberates in the airwaves of Osun and adjoining states; the re-introduction of the seal of the old Western Region as the seal of Osun State nor by the repeated mentioning of the late sage’s name at fora. It would also not just be because the state has been given a new facelift by the re-branding which enunciates the cultures, virtues, enterprise and the industry of the people. It is through ideas whose implementations touch directly the lives of the people who had for almost a decade been subjected to abject.

That therefore explains the phenomenal engagement of 20,000 youths under the Osun Youths Empowerment Scheme, (OYES). ‘Ooh Yes! Aregbesola is getting the rhythm right’ seems to be song on the lips of many who have seen the impact being made by the previously idle youths; many of them graduates of many years who had experienced humiliation in their quest for positive engagements.

The agenda to banish poverty, banish hunger, banish unemployment, restore healthy living, promote functional education and enhance communal peace and

Ijesa, ACN leaders mark birthday with book launch

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TATESMEN, frontline politicians, traditional rulers and businessmen will today converge on the Centre for Arts and Culture, Osogbo, Osun State capital for the presentation of a book entitled, ‘Ijesa Icons and the making of modern Nigeria’.

The book, edited by history teacher Prof. Siyan Oyeweso, showcases the profiles and contributions of selected Ijesa indigenes to the socio-economic and political development of the country from pre-colonial days. Its presentation is part of activities for the 54th birthday of the governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

Oyeweso, Provost of the School of Humanities and Culture, Osun State University, Ikire Campus, Osogbo, said “Essays in honour of Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola” captures the ijesa’s sociology, disdain for injustice, political corruption, imposition, tyranny and maladministration.

He spoke with reporters in Lagos on the significance of the work, which he described as an addition to the existing literature on the history of Ijesaland.

The first section details the contributions of ijesa’s illustrious grandsires, including the famous warrior, Balogun Ogedengbe Agbogungboro, who became the Prime Minister of Ilesa, and legal giant Sapara Williams. The second section examines the path-finding commercial exploits of the Osomaalo traders and modern business moguls-Chiefs J.D.E Abiola, Isaac Ajanaku and Lawrence Omole.

The third section of the book comprises essays which examine the contributions of the sub-race to government and politics. The section focuses on three eminent sons who have attained the position of governor in the history of Nigeria; Sir Odeleye Fadahunsi, governor of Western Region (1963-1966), Chief Bola Ige, governor of Oyo State (1979-1983) and Aregbesola, governor of Osun State.

Tributes are paid to education statesmen from Ijesaland. They include Professors Hezekiah Oluwasanmi, Olusegun Oke, Wale Omole, Rogers Makanjuola, Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, Oyewale Tomori,

By Semiu Okanlawon

progress therefore illustrate the zeal to transform the state to one that could be held aloft as a showcase for the capacity of the Black man for excellence.

A purely agrarian environment but one where agriculture, which Awolowo used as the source of his strength for modern development, was relegated to the background, there is a new light showing farmers the new way to make decent living.

The Osun Rural Enterprise and Agriculture Programme (O-REAP) which is the vehicle to drive the vision of the revolution in farming is already giving new hopes to farmers in the same form that farmers became kings in the defunct Western Region giving rise to the maxim, agbe l’oba in the Yorubaspeaking parts of the region.

Those who are yet to get a full grasp of the coming fortune for farmers only need to wait a few months now when food items pro-

By Emmanuel Oladesu

and Isaac Adewole.

“The book also focuses on select medical icons who have made significant contributions to medical profession, particularly Oladosu Ojengbede, Oye Gureje and L.M. Oginni”, Oyeweso added.

Among prominent Ijesa women examined in the book are Prof. Bolanle Awe, Mrs titi Atiku Abubakar, Prof. Grace Adebayo, Dr Joanna Olutunbi-Maduka, Dr Irene Thomas and Erelu Olusola Obada.

Oyeweso highlighted the contributions of Justices Kayode Eso, Emmanuel Ayoola and Omotunde Ilori.

The roles of Ijesa professionals, including the former President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (19661969), Chief S.O. Fadahunsi, Chief of Defence Staff Air Marshall Oluseyi Petinrin, Prof. Olusegun Oyewole, Director General of the National Agency for Science Engineering Infrastructure, Prof. Olusegun Oyewole, advertising expert Chief Olu Falomo, Captain Ademola Haastrup and Law School Director Chief Babatunde Ibironke, are discussed.

Two traditional rulers - Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran, former university teacher and publisher and Owaloko of Iloko-Ijesa, Oba Oladele Olasore, prominent banker and former Minister of Finance – are mentioned.

There is a section that pays tributes to Ijesas in the foreign service, including Ambassador Dapo Fafowora, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi, Ambasador Isaac AlukoOlokun, and Dr Christopher Kolade. Two indigenes; Chief Babatunde Olowofoyeku and S.T. Adelegan.

A section is devoted to Ijesa icons in the arts and entertainment. They include Kehinde Dairo, Moses Olaiya, Orlando Julius. Madekodunmi Fasheke, Dapo Adelugba and T. M. Aluko.

Significantly, the spiritual exploits of Ijesa clergymen-Pastor Enoch Adeboye, Pastor William Kumuyi, Apostle Timothy Obadare, Pastor S.K. Abiara, and the late Sheikh Abdul Ajagbemokenferi are discussed.

duced in Osun State flood metropolitan markets such as those of Lagos State in a carefully thoughtout plan to create larger demands for produce from the state as a way of encouraging the growth of a new generation of farmers.

The quick convocation of an education summit was to determine the extent of the rot in the school system. Of course, it was found out that promoting functional education would remain a dream with the subsisting structures.

Therefore, total overhaul in infrastructure, personnel and orientation are the tasks which the administration has set for itself if only to bring back the lost glory in the education sector.

Dr. Stephen Ayo Fagbemi, in a December 2, 2010 article, had stated that “By declaring that Awolowo’s government is back, he (Aregbesola) seems to be striking the right chord with his people.”

He went further to say: “But in a similar vein, he has presented himself with an agenda on which his

•From left: Members-elect South-East Houses of Assembly, Mrs. Blessing Nwagba, Abia; Dame Lydia OmejeOgbu, Enugu, and Mrs. Rita Maduagwu, Anambra, at a retreat in Enugu ... yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

government will be assessed and challenged in the very near future.

How truly UPN or Awolowo his government will be would be tested by his ability to deliver to the people what matters to them, just as Awolowo did in his own time.”

It is obvious that Osun deserves a new breath of fresh political air.

The mission to bring that air was completed on April 26 after the House of Assembly election which gave all the seats in the 26-member House of Assembly of the state to the Governor’s party, the Action Congress of Nigeria.

Before then, the state’s electorate had demonstrated a total rejection of poverty when they gave victory to the ACN in the National Assembly election and the presidential poll.

There is an air of re-assurance in the estimation of the people in that a higher degree of cooperation and understanding is anticipated from among elected political office holders in the state.

Even at the level of representations, Osun looks set for representation of development. The very process that threw up the three ACN senators that will be representing the state at the Senate targeted complementing the works at home through competent representation at the national level.

Babajide Omoworare, who will represent Osun East, was Majority Leader in the Lagos State House of Assembly. He had been part of the legislative culture that saw to the transformation of Lagos which remains a point of reference till date.

The academic-turned politician, Prof. Sola Adeyeye, was also a member of the House of Representatives with records of robust contributions before he was ousted in the flawed election of 2007. He will be taking back to the Senate as the representative of the Osun Central district, the ideology of service to the people.

Mudasiru Oyetunde Hussein, who will be representing Osun West district, was a two-time member of the House of Representatives; completing the trio of lawmakers at the upper chamber of the Federal Legislature and the newly

•Aregbesola

elected members of the House of Representatives that would enhance the task of building a new socio-economic and political heaven for the people.

The outcome of the last general elections in the state remains a reward for the focused, energetic electioneering which took the state by storm.

At 54, Aregbesola has given ample indications within a short period in the saddle that governance can be made much more meaningful by being responsive to the yearnings of the people.

Of course, it took the responsiveness of a government to know that indigenes of the state serving in troubled stops in the northern part of Nigeria needed to be evacuated; setting the tone for the need to protect others’ sons and daughters who had equally been caught in the post-election cross-fire in the North.

It was the same story for the over 2,000 returnees from war-ravaged Cote D’Ivoire who were not only evacuated but helped in many areas they required to resettle with their families.

When the governor chose to be addressed simply as Ogbeni (Mr.), it was his simple message to leaders and the led that governance is not about self-aggrandizement but humility and service.

Two weeks ago, a commentator drew the ire of Nigerians from across the world for ‘advising’ the Governor to become much more flamboyant by changing his wardrobe. It was over an interview granted by Aregbesola to the online publication, Saharareporters. Scores of respondents made it clear very furiously to the commentator that the readiness to serve, rather than the nauseating display of opulence, should be the hallmark of politics; giving kudos to the Governor for his simplicity of style and elevation of service.

Therefore, when family members and associates gather to give the Governor his deserved honour this week as he clocks 54; coinciding with 180 days of assumption of office, the celebration that will be in the air will be that of service to the people. Birthdays are not for the visionless. *Semiu Okanlawon is the Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Osogbo.

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

CITN calls for speedy review of tax laws

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HE President of Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Kunle Quadri, has called on the Federal Government to speed up the review of tax laws.

He said the review would make the provisions of the tax laws in tune with current reality.

Quadri, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos, that some of the provisions of the tax laws are obsolete and not in tune with the reality of today.

The CITN president said, an example of obsolete provisions in the tax laws, is the tax relief in the Personal Income Tax Act, 1993 (as amended) that provided for yearly tax relief for children.

“For instance, the N2,500 per child for the maintenance in a tax year is too small due to the prevailing inflation in the country.

“Also the N2,000 for dependents and N20,000 per annum for transport and N5,000 for meal, among others are no longer realistic,” he said.

Quadri said that although these provisions might be okay at that time but not in Nigeria of today.

“It is, therefore, better that consolidated allowances of say 40 per cent increase be taken into consideration to guarantee a better future,” he said.

He said that although these issues were already being discussed at the National Assembly, the Federal Government and the law makers should accord them priority when they resume.

“One of the advantages of the tax restructuring is high level of voluntary tax compliance.

“And until the attendant changes are effected, tax invasions will be on the rise,” Quadri said.

We have to make America the best place in the world to do business.

- Dick Cheney

‘Why kerosene will remain scarce, expensive’ •NNPC, Chevron, Mobil to build three cooking gas plants

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IVERSION of kerosene from retail outlets by marketers to the airports where it is sold as aviation fuel (JET A1), is the reason the product is both scarce and expensive, The Nation can authoritatively reveal. A top official of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), said it is unlikely that the current kerosene shortage would abate anytime soon, explaining that the much needed kerosene by the low income group and the middle-class, also serves as aviation fuel for aircraft.

The NNPC senior executive, who spoke on the sidelines with The Nation during the meeting of the Petroleum Resources Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison Madueke’s meeting with the press in Lagos, admitted that

By Simeon Ebulu, Deputy Business Editor

there is considerable diversion of the product by marketers from filling stations to the airport terminals, where it is sold at a much higher price.

In response to the question of compatibility of kerosene with aviation fuel, the official affirmed that there is no difference whatsoever between kerosene (DPK) and aviation fuel (JET A1). “ What you use for cooking in your stove, is what the airplanes use to fly, there’s no difference,” he stressed.

He said the corporation is spearheading moves, in conjunction with Chevron and Mobil, to establish three natural gas cooking plants in the country. One of the plants to be built by NNPC, would be

cited in Lokoja, while Chevron and Mobil are expected to build one each for the western zone and the eastern axis respectively. The LPG plants, the official explained, would serve the consumption needs of the respective geo-political zones.

He said: “ The NNPC has opened discussion with Chevron to explore the option of the oil conglomerate building the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plant, “ somewhere in the west,” to serve as a feedstock to consumers in the south western zone, while Mobil is been prompted to build a similar one in the east, to address the need of users in the south east and the adjoining states.”

The executive, who spoke with the understanding that he would not be quoted, said

the NNPC has undertaken to actualise the projects, to encourage widespread usage of gas in view of the lingering nationwide shortage of kerosene.

The official admitted that it would be difficult for NNPC to control the price of kerosene since it is determined by market forces. Nevertheless, he said, the corporation would ensure that all its mega-stations are stocked with the product to ensure that it is readily available at an affordable price. He however pointed to the limited number of the mega-stations, which he put at 39, as another constrain that both the corporation and consumers have to contend with.

“I must confess that most marketers are diverting the product meant for their outlets to the airports, because

NEPC, Nollywood in Kenya to attract investors From Franca Ochigbo, Abuja

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DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$115.9/barrel Cocoa - $2,856/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢78.07.pound Gold -$1,161/troy ounce Rubber - ¢146.37/pound MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE JSE NYSE LSE

-N8.1 trillion -Z5.112trillion -$10.84 trillion -£61.67 trillion

RATES Inflation -11.3% Treasury Bills -2.64% Normal lending -24% Prime lending -18% Savings rate -3% 91-day NTB -6.99% Time Deposit - 6% MPR -7.50% Foreign Reserve -$33.86bn FOREX CFA 0.281 • 216.9 £ 248.4 $ 153.05 ¥ 1.5652 SDR 245.85 RIYAL 39.3

that is where they make much profit. What we intend to do to meet up with government directive, is to stock our mega-stations with the product so the public can have access at the required price,” the official said, but quickly added, “ the challenge remains that we have only 39 mega-stations across the country.”

The NNPC executive explained that the other naughty issue with kerosene, is that crude oil contains just only about 10 per cent of the product which puts a limit on the quantity that can be obtained from the refineries, coupled with the fact that it is widely in use, both domestically and in aviation.

At the moment, kerosene and JET A1 command almost the same price of N160 per liter at most points of sale.

•From left: Chairman, Chemical and Allied Products (CAP) Plc, Mr Larry Ettah; Managing Director, Mrs Omolara Elemide and Director, Mr Solomon Aigbovboa, during the 46th Annual General Meeting of the Company, held at Golden Tulip Hotel, Festac Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.

Shell contributes $34.8b to Fed Govt revenue

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HELL Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and its deepwater operator – Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), have earned revenues of about $34.8 billion for the government in the past five years..

The Managing Director of SPDC and Country Chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria, Muitu Sunmonu, disclosed this to newsmen in Lagos yesterday.

Sunmonu, said while SPDC was able to rake in about $31 billion, SNEPCo, which manages Shell’s offshore business in deepwater, also paid about $3.8 billion in taxes and royalties over the same period.

Sunmonu said: “In addition

From Emeka Ugwuanyi Asst. Editor

to our revenue payments, we support and finance community development initiatives in the Niger Delta. In 2010, Shell run operations contributed over $161 million to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), as required by law, adding that an additional $71 million was directly invested by SPDC and SNEPCo towards addressing social and economic development challenges in the region.

“Our sustainable community development initiatives focus on economic empowerment for youths and women, education, community health, and capacity building and development through the Global

Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU).

The Shell boss, said in 2010, Shell-run companies awarded contracts worth more than $947 million to Nigerian companies. He explained that the figure represented more than 96 per cent of the overall contracts, which value is over 94 per cent of the total amount the company spent on contracts, a figure he put at slightly higher than the $892 million awarded in 2009.

He said as of December 2010, SPDC and SNEPCo, employed around 6,000 direct employees and contractors, about 90 per cent of them, noted are Nigerians. Our projects help create tens of thousands of jobs for contractors.

Sunmonu, said SPDC and

SNEPCo awarded contracts to Nigerian-owned Caverton Helicopters Limited to provide helicopters and associated services.

“In total, this five-year contract is worth $694 million. We also awarded a $26.7 million contract to Sonar Limited for ocean bottom node seismic acquisition. An operational insurance policy contract worth $7.6 million was awarded to Sovereign Trust Insurance for the Bonga deepwater production vessel, while Dorman Long Engineering, an indigenous Nigerian company, was awarded a contract worth $41 million for brown field maintenance of the Bonga and EA floating production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs).

HE Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) in partnership with Nollywood and the Nigeria High Commission in Kenya, has embarked on a road show to promote the Nigeria Movies Industry in the East African country.

The Executive Director, David Adulugba, disclosed this while briefing the press on the forth coming KenyaNollywood road show in Abuja. He said the effort is geared towards enhancing the nation’s foreign earnings through non-oil export, especially, services.

He said: “The road show is part of the council’s strategy in sustaining the unprecedented growth in the movies industry. The rave of review in international media on Nigerian movies lays credence to the fact that the industry boost of massive potentials and growth.

“The road show is primarily intended to promote our fast growing movie industry.

The programme will also promote and sensitize the industry by exposing the potentials of Nigerian artists whose services will generate foreign exchange earnings,” he said.

“The road show will feature participants from Kenya Film Commission, Censorship Board, Actors Guild of Kenya, Media, scholars, workshop at US International University which has about 100 Nigerian students,” he stressed.

Artist who have confirmed their participation at the event are Sam Loco, Francis Duru, Patience Uzokwor, Desmond Eliot, Monilisa Chinda, Uche Jumbo and John Okafor.

16

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

BUSINESS NEWS Flight Schedule MONDAY - FRIDAY LAGOS – ABUJA Departure Arrival 1. Aero 06.50 08.10 2. Associated 07.00 09.30 3. Air Nigeria 07.00 08.20 4. IRS 07.00 08.20 5. Dana 07.02 08.22 6. Arik 07.15 08.15 7. Chanchangi 07.15 8. Air Nigeria 08.15 09.35 9. Dana 08.10 09.20 10. Aero 08.45 10.05 11. Arik 09.15 10.15 12. Chanchangi 10.00 11.00 13. IRS 11.15 12.35 14. Dana 12.06 12.26 15. Aero 12.20 13.30 16. Air Nigeria 13.25 14.45 17. Chanchangi 13.30 14.30 18. Arik 13.45 14.45 19. IRS 14.00 15.20 20. Aero 14.10 15.30 21. Air Nigeria 14.50 16.10 22. Dana 15.30 16.50 23. Chanchangi 15.30 16.30 24. Arik 15.50 16.50 25. Aero 16.00 17.20 26. IRS 16.30 17.50 27. Arik 16.50 17.50 28. Dana 17.10 18.30 29. Chanchangi 17.30 18.30 30. Air Nigeria 17.35 18.55 31. Air Nigeria (T/TH) 18.30 19.50 32. Arik 18.45 19.45 33. Aero 19.20 20.40 1.

2.

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LAGOS – BENIN Arik 07.30 Associated 08.30 Aero 10.50 Arik 11.45 Associated 13.00 Aero 14.25 Arik 15.30 Associated 16.00

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Arik Aero Arik Aero

1. Arik 2. Aero 1.

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LAGOS – CALABAR 07.30 11.20 12.50 16.00 LAGOS – JOS 10.55 11.15

LAGOS – KADUNA Aero 08.00 Chanchangi 10.00 Arik 10.00 Arik 15.10

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2.

3.

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Arik Aero Arik Aero

LAGOS – WARRI 08.15 11.50 11.55 14.55

09.15 12.50 12.55 15.55

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LAGOS – KANO Air Nigeria 07.10 IRS 08.00 Dana 08.10 Arik 12.20 IRS 14.00 IRS 18.15

08.50 09.45 09.40 14.00 15.45 19.55

LAGOS – OWERRI 07.20 14.00 16.30

08.30 15.10 17.40

LAGOS – UYO 10.35

11.35

LAGOS – MAIDUGURI 11.15 13.15 15.50 18.00

LAGOS – ILORIN 1. Overland 07.15 2. Arik (M/T/TH/F) 17.30

The Upper Legislative Chamber, also appropriated N58.9 billion for the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and N9.647 billion for the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF).

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Communications, Senator Patrick Osakwe, who presented the reports of the agencies, urged the Senate to pass the

recommendations.

He said the USPF generated N9.75 billion revenue, against an expenditure of N7.646 billion, resulting in a budget surplus of N102million.

Speaking after the passage, David Mark berated the service providers for the poor services in the country.

‘There are too many problems in the communications sector today and I think the operators are taking consumers for granted.’ he stated

09.10 11.00 11.10 16.20

08.40 08.40 14.55 15.10 17.40

1. IRS 2. Arik

From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

12.15 12.45

LAGOS – OWERRI Aero 07.30 Arik 07.30 Air Nigeria 13.40 Arik 14.00 Arik 16.30

1. Dana

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HE Senate yesterday passed a N236 billion budget for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The 2011 appropriation, comprises of N157.65 billion for Capital Expenditure, N42.24 billion for personnel cost and N36.22 billion representing overheads costs.

The Senate President, Senator David Mark, urged the FCT authorities to ensure that the budget is utilized to tackle the needed amenities for the FCT residents.

08.50 12.40 14.10 17.20

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2.

3.

4.

5.

08.00 18.00

LAGOS – ABUJA SAT/SUN Arik 7.15; 10.20; 2.20; 5.20pm – 7.30; 9.15; 10.20; 2.20; 4.50; 6.45 Aero 07.30; 09.35; 13.10; 14.50; 20.20 – 07.30; 09.35; 13.10; 14.50; 20.20 Air Nigeria 08.15; 14.30; 17.15; 18.30 – 08.15; 13.30; 14.30; 17.15; 18.30

Skye posts N10.22b profit

By Akinola Ajibade and Eshiet Uyoatta

•Approves N58.9b for NCC, N9.6b for USPF

08.30 09.10 11.50 12.45 13.40 15.20 16.30 16.40

LAGOS – PORT HARCOURT (CIVIL) 1. Aero 07.15 08.35 2. Arik 07.15 08.35 3. Arik 09.00 10.20 4. Dana 09.27 10.40 5. Aero 10.50 12.30 6. Arik 11.40 13.00 7. Air Nigeria 12.00 13.10 8. IRS 13.30 15.00 9. Arik 14.00 15.20 10. Dana 15.03 16.20 11. Air Nigeria 16.00 17.10 12. Arik 16.10 17.30 13. Aero 16.15 17.30 14. Arik 17.10 18.30

1. Arik 2. Arik 3. Arik

Senate passes N236b FCT 2011 Budget

•From left: Brands Manager, Butter Mint, Abiola Adedeji; Marketing Manager, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Bukky Bandele; Chief Operating Officer Worldwide, Bunmi Oke and Sales Director, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Paul Udochi, during the unveiling of PHOTO: ABIODUN WILLIAMS new Trebor Butter Mint Communication Materials by Cadbury Nigeria Plc in Lagos...yesterday.

Tanker drivers threaten strike

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ARING any last minute intervention, the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD) arm of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG), would begin a nationwide strike next week in sympathy with their sacked colleagues. NUPENG’s decision was informed by the sack of some workers in the oil industry.

General Secretary, Comrade Elijah Okougbo, said NUPENG had earlier written to some erring employers, giving them an ultimatum to reinstate the sacked workers or face the union’s wrath. The ultimatum according to him has expired. The union has however resolved to commence the action immediately after President Goodluck Jonathan’s inauguration.

The Lagos Chairman of

By Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu

NUPENG,, Alhaji Tokunbo Korodo, said the strike is to protest the unilateral decision of two employers to sack workers without consulting the union.

He named MRS which allegedly disengaged 36 workers and SNEPCo, a subsidiary of Shell Petroleum Corporation, that he alleged sacked 15 staff without recourse to the union. Korodo, said the union had earlier written to the affected companies, expressing its disagreement with the action, and demanded the reinstatement of the workers.

He said: “We have written to them to demand the reinstatement of the sacked workers. The ultimatum given to them has expired. If

by next week, our demand is not met, we are saying that Nigerians should not hold us responsible for whatever happens.” The union leader also hinted of a fresh plan

by Agip Oil to declare redundancy, saying, “we are totally opposed to this because they recently carried out a similar exercise.”

He also accused the LFA, a consulting firm to Chevron Nigeria Limited of persuading its workers to join the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) as against NUPENG, where they rightly belong.

Kosoko, said the affected workers have told the company clearly that they want to belong to NUPENG.” So we are at a loss as to why the management is imposing NURTW on them,” he added.

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KYE Bank has posted a Profit After Tax (PAT) of N10.22 billion during the financial year ended 2010. Also, shareholders have consented to the 40 kobo dividend declared by the bank during the period under review. However, a section of the shareholders failed to agree with the decision of the bank to raise N50 billion bond for operations.

They spoke during the bank’s 5th annual general meeting in Lagos yesterday.

The National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Mr Sunny Nwosu, advised the bank to exercise restraint on the issue of N50 billion. Nwosu said the bank should now be thinking of how to consolidate the achievements recorded in the past few years.

He said shareholders would be interested in buying shares in the yet to be divested subsidiaries of the bank.

He cited Skye Insurance as one of the subsidiaries that shareholders would like to buy into.

He advised the bank to grow organically, by developing new products and services that would improve their earnings.

According to him, the N150,000 minimum withdrawal policy issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was aimed at reducing the cash flow in banks.

He said: “The N150,000 minimum withdrawal directive would affect the banks negatively.

Therefore, the bank needs to redouble their efforts by improving on their savings deposit.

The bank must introduce new products to improve its balance sheets in the future”.

Also, the Chairman, Dedicated Shareholders Association(DSS), Engineer Olayiwola Tobu, urged the bank to carefully handle the issues of N50billion and divestment from its subsidiaries to ensure growth.

He said any attempt on the part of the bank to rush the issue of N50 billion, among others, would not augur well.

In a related development, the Bank’s Group Managing Director, Mr Kehinde Durosinmi Etti, said the decisions of the bank to issue N50billion bond was borne out of the needs to strengthen the bank.

Etti said investors are skeptical of putting their money in shares, following the crisis in the financial industry.

“What we are proposing to raise bond of between five and seven years tenor, with a view to improve on.

The performance of the bank. On the issue of our subsidiaries, we are still waiting for CBN’s approaval. We have started the process of divesting our shares from the subsidiaries. As a bank grows, there is the needs for the bank to be more cost conscious. That is what we have been doing”, he added.

AU, NEPAD launch Africa innovation outlook

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HE AU Commission and the NEPAD Agency on Tuesday launched the Africa 2010 Innovation Outlook as part of the 10-year anniversary of NEPAD. The outlook, jointly published by the AU and the NEPAD Agency, was presented in Addis Ababa by Dr Ibrahim Maiyaki, the Chief Executive Officer of NEPAD Agency.

It contained the Africa’s Science, Technology and Innovation indicators in 2010.

The Six-Chapter, 136-page document was the first in the series, and intended to inform Africans and other interested parties about the level of Science, Technology and In-

novation (STI) in Africa.

The publication highlighted the economic growth and human development challenges for science, technology and innovation in Africa.

Speaking at the launch, Aton Johnston, Counselor for Regional Cooperation, Embassy of Sweden in Ethiopia said in the present globalised and knowledge-driven world, Africa remained at the margin of an accelerating technology revolution.

Johnston said despite accumulated evidence on the role of science and technology in development, investment in science and technology remained very low in Africa.

He said expenditure on research and development in many African countries was far below one per cent of the GDP compared to the EU average of 1.8 per cent, 3.0 per cent in Sweden or 3.5 per cent in South korea.

Johnston, however, said that Africa has in the last three years made a significant progress in STI, as a result of the provision of a common set of indicators and guidelines for data collection.

He added that the validation and reporting was approved by participating countries and focal points established in 19 countries.

He encouraged the two organi-

sations to continue to provide up-todate data on science and technology as it was essential for research evidence-based policy making.

“Regular publication of data on science and technology, data analysis and dissemination will undoubtedly be a major task of the soon to be established African Science Observatory in Equatorial Guinea,’’ Johnston said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Correspondent in Addis Ababa reports that the session was Chaired by Dr Dere Awosika, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, who led Nigerian delegation to the meeting.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

THE NATION WEDNESDAY,MAY 25, 2011

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EDITORIAL/OPINION EDITORIAL FROM OTHER LAND

COMMENT

When treatment is also prevention

Towards May 29

Paying the cost •With the burden of federalism comes the prohibitive sums we pay to maintain a corrupt system

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O doubt, the federal system of government is expensive. But the challenge of running it in Nigeria is not just its expense. It can be dreadfully ineffective. Indeed, the slow pace and or total lack of meaningful development in the country can be explained through the profligacy of government and its extrabudgetary appropriations. The restrictive provisions of the 1999 Constitution notwithstanding, the Federal Government or the President, being the chief executive, spends and allocates unappropriated funds, only to look for the National Assembly’s approval later.

Oftentimes, such spending is not only unnecessary, it also reflects misplaced priorities. This is the sad story of governance at the federal level (especially) within the last 12 years of our nascent democracy, such that in some instances we spend over 70 percent of revenue on overhead costs. This should not be so.

Over-bloated bureaucracy, staggering overhead costs, contract scams, project racketeering, etc, did not impose themselves on us. The country’s leadership often initiated them, and allows them to fester through a corrupt and corruptible structure of administration. Over-bureaucratisation of government’s administrative processes becomes a veritable means of nurturing political patronage (job for the boys); an avenue for fulfilling (irrational) political campaign promises.

Impunity, sustained through the psychology of habit forming by the actors of the state, who continually manifest flagrant disregard for law, and contempt for constituted authority becomes the rule

rather than the exception! Unless the extant orientation of political patronage is eschewed by the political gladiators and public office holders-cum party loyalists, the cost of running government at all levels will always be over-bloated. The implication is that Nigeria may never exit the vicious cycle of ‘right-sizing’ the federal bureaucracy even when a new government is sworn in. The opportunity cost of this waste of government resources is the various missed or squandered opportunities for development. President Goodluck Jonathan should show leadership example by right-sizing the number of ministries vis-à-vis the ministerial appointees; he should work towards constitutional amendment where this is necessary. The states should follow suit.

Another monster to be confronted is the bastardisation of the federal structure, which reflects itself in the warped national resource allocation formula and spending control of the federating states in Nigeria. Unless and until the federal structure pays attention and responds to the collective will of the federation, accountability, transparency, and equity will continue to elude the country while corruption, poverty, and underdevelopment continue to thrive, thus leaving the people in want in the midst of plenty.

The continued agitation of the federating states over revenue allocation is borne out of perceived inequity in the sharing of the nation’s common wealth.

The overbearing tendency of the Federal Government in regulating the affairs of the states (being a hang-over of the military era) must be thrown out. It is

tendencies such as these that give the Federal Government the thinking that it could decide who gets what, when, and how, outside the provisions of the law.

This is an anomaly in federalism. Granted that the Nigerian federalism has its own peculiar limitations, we must always strive to meet up with the best practices all the time. We must of necessity return to the past when each federating unit in the country was in control of the resources in its area while paying royalty to the Federal Government. The present system where some states that contribute the largest amount of money in say, Value Added Tax (VAT) but receive far less in return after sharing, is inequitable and unsustainable.

All that is needed is for the Presidentelect to chart a new course that shows strong will for fiscal discipline, collective vision, and candour in leadership. This country needs a national rebirth, a new orientation, and a change of attitude to governance.

‘All that is needed is for the President-elect to chart a new course that shows strong will for fiscal discipline, collective vision, and candour in leadership. This country needs a national rebirth, a new orientation, and a change of attitude to governance’

No sentiment, please •Ministerial job is serious national business, not party largesse

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OT a few Nigerians must have been hit by immediate revulsion at the idea of rewarding fallen Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors with ministerial appointments.

As it is the usual practice, the presidentelect had called for ministerial nominations from state party offices.

Expectedly, the party leaders at the state and zonal levels had filled the‘ hot’ list with their names and those of their protégés.

Chief among such people are all the governors who have just been freshly rejected by their people at the recent poll, notably, Governors Adebayo Alao-Akala (Oyo State), Ikedi Ohakim (Imo), Gbenga Daniel (Ogun) and Akwe Doma (Nasarawa). The list included the likes of

‘Ministerial appointment is about the most important job in the land and it must not be made based on sentiments nor must it be given out as largesse. Indeed, now that President Jonathan has come of his own, his soon-to-bereleased team list will reveal a bit of his persona and his leadership acumen’

Segun Oni, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Olusegun Agagu who had also been previously booted out of their stolen gubernatorial stools in Ekiti, Osun and Ondo states, respectively.

They then topped it up with the names of their ilk also shunned by the people in the National Assembly election, then wrapped it all up with the names of serving ministers and some political drones who are perpetually loitering at the corridors of power.

Unless President Goodluck Jonathan seeks to unleash kakistocracy (government by the worst) on Nigerians in the next four years, the very PDP list as reported in newspapers last week is an affront to the sensibilities of Nigerians.

We understand that the party must play a role in the forming of a new cabinet; but when the leadership of such a party becomes extremely selfish and selfserving to the detriment of our national survival, then the President would be left with no choice than to take drastic measures to remedy the situation in the overall interest of the nation.

Apparently, the PDP at the state level has no capacity to carry out this crucial national assignment. We wonder why all the former governors - both those who served out two terms and those recently shunned by their people must all make the list? The senators, too, whom their people have found not fit to return to the upper chamber, are good enough to represent them at the Federal Executive

Council?

And then, all the serving ministers must keep their seats? Even those who in the last one year could not articulate the essence of their job? Who gave us nary a sound bite, all must return to the bazaar?

In as much as President Jonathan must work with the party on this task of picking a cabinet, he must listen to the generality of the people even more. No doubt this is one of his toughest assignments; but it is also, probably the most important. If he misses picking a crack team that will help him get the job done now, he will get bogged down and he will lose time. He does not have the luxury of time.

Mercifully, we hear that he had junked all the former governors. Great move. He must go a few steps further: he must consider striking out the names of all the failed senators; drop most of the serving ministers as none showed any spark in the last one year. Lastly, he must save Nigerians (and himself) from aging and/ or retired ministers (Jubril Martins-Kuye and Shamsudeen Usman, for instance,) who have been taking up our public space in the past quarter century with nothing to show for it. Ministerial appointment is about the most important job in the land and it must not be made based on sentiments nor must it be given out as largesse. Indeed, now that President Jonathan has come of his own, his soon-to-be-released team list will reveal a bit of his persona and his leadership acumen.

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HE discovery of a near-perfect way to halt sexual transmission of the AIDS virus has the potential to change the way international agencies and nations cope with the epidemic. But that can only happen if troubling issues of cost and practicality can be surmounted.

The study involved more than 1,700 couples in nine countries, the vast majority of them heterosexuals. One member had the virus that causes AIDS; the other did not. It demonstrated conclusively that if infected partners are treated with a cocktail of drugs immediately — instead of waiting for their immune systems to deteriorate — the risk of transmitting the virus to the uninfected partner drops by 96 percent. The only reported health benefit of early treatment for the infected partner was a reduced risk of tuberculosis spreading beyond the lungs.

Infected partners would have to start early on a lifetime of taking drugs mostly for altruistic reasons — to avoid infecting their partners. Further research may document greater health benefits. It seems likely that earlier treatment that keeps immune systems strong should further slow the progression of the virus to full-fledged AIDS and ward off other devastating co-infections.

International organizations don’t have enough money to treat all those who qualify for drug therapy under current guidelines. They will be hard-pressed to find additional money to treat millions more people to slow the spread of the virus. With most industrialized economies still lagging, there is little appetite for increasing aid.

A strong moral case can be made for protecting millions more people from infection, but there may be an economic case as well. We need valid, well-documented estimates as to whether a big investment in prevention now might pay for itself in the long run by greatly reducing the number of sick people who have to be cared for.

- New York Times

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

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EDITORIAL/OPINION

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IR: I find the reply of former Osun State Governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, to the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami, on the purported call log between the latter and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) chieftains very sickening.

Prince Oyinlola and his party have turned this charade into an ordeal for the courageous judges of the Court of Appeal who upturned his election and ordered the swearing in of Governor Rauf Aregbesola in his place.

Oyinlola and his cohorts alleged that there was improper communication between the judges and this affected their decisions on the election petition appeal on Ekiti and Osun states. They buttressed this spurious allegation with infantile sentiments of calls from persons believed to be ACN big shots to the

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Phantom versus real call logs judges, including Justice Salami.

Oyinlola also claimed that the cancellation of the election in 10 local governments amounts to disenfranchising the people of the local governments concerned. But this is high mischief and ignorance of the law that says the result of two thirds of the local government in a state is sufficient.

The tragedy of the entire exercise is that the NJC curiously lent itself to this charade. Who does not know that those who wrote the petition

have chosen to dance naked in the market place? While others are looking at them tearfully, they are looking at themselves joyfully.

What a shame!

I still cannot fathom where the NJC got the audacity to take immediate action on this ludicrous petition and remain silent on an authentic one that had been lodged with it more than one year earlier.

There has been a petition with the NJC bordering on the allegation that Oyinlola’s lawyers, one Kunle

Kalejaye, exchanged communication with Osun’s first election petition tribunal chairman, Justice Thomas Naron while the court was in session. The details of the call log were published in national newspapers and a certified true copy was obtained from MTN and deposited with the NJC. This was killed with silence by the NJC and the content discountenanced. But no sooner had Oyinlola’s petition arrived that the NJC took it up. The first reaction was

A case for the dead corps members IR: The story of late youth corps members murdered in the course of service to the nation is a narrative of pains and regrets. The violence that dispatched them to the great beyond bespeaks of fundamental problem with the reasoning faculty of the perpetrators of the act. In that one moment of crazed violence, 10 promising Nigerians on national assignment went still in death.

Overwhelmed by grief, members of the deceased families have since gone home to bemoan their fate.

The state now battles with the compensation of the deceased family members and the fishing out the blood-sucking urchins for punishment. It is expected that the report of the Lemu-led 22-man post-post violence panel empanelled to investigate the matter would not go unimplemented. The state must see fit to effect punishment on any person or group of persons indicted on the matter. An end must be put to the morbid desires of those who bay for the blood of their fellow country men.

The value of life in Nigeria depreciates by the day. The decline is such that people may soon find it difficult to venture out of their enclaves to work or trade in states with high volatility.

The prevalence of this crime in the Northern part of the country should be looked into to see how far illiteracy has contributed to the frequency of its occurrence.

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“Society…prepares crimes;” wrote Jacques Queletet, Belgian astronomer and statistician, “criminals are only the instruments necessary for executing them”. Every society is guilty of a particular crime and the crime of sectarian violence appears peculiar to the North. At one point it was a crime of kidnap in the East even though it sauntered down the zone from the Delta. In the latter it is hostage-taking and oil bunkering while ritual killings were rampant in the West at some point. The low level of literacy among the masses of the North has a lot to blame because a trained mind will hesitate to spill blood at a slight provocation.

It has been suggested in some quarters that the scheme (NYSC) be scrapped if the lives of members

cannot be protected by the state. But it goes beyond that. The violent death of the gallant 10 is one in a long haul. It is a recurring decimal, especially in the North where sojourners now live in fear of an eruption. That is why President Jonathan should pry deep into the causes of the constant spilling of blood with the view to nipping it in the bud. It is one thing to punish a crime but another is to get to the factors that engender it.

Anybody indicted in the violence must be punished no matter how highly placed. The unguarded utterances of Isa Yuguda in whose state (Bauchi) the corps members met their waterloo deserve presidential reprimand apart from the media bashings he has already received.

Those who murdered the gallant

corps members and the detonators of bombs at nooks and crannies of Nigeria are all blood suckers who should not consort with humans.

Their place is in a penal colony.

The case of the corps members should not end on the note of N5million blood money given to their family members. Government must ensure the job offer to members of the deceased families should not run into a ditch. Beneficiaries should not be made to experience another round of trauma before getting the jobs. No amount of money given to the deceased families would assuage the pains of loss or close the vacuum. Let the state immortalize them by naming streets after them.

• Ejike Anyaduba Abatete

the plot to arbitrarily remove Justice Salami as President of the Court of Appeal and now, this farce is being investigated.

Of course, it will lead nowhere.

The extant laws are explicit. The Court of Appeal is the terminal place for governorship election petition and there must be an end to litigation. It was however targeted at obtaining two ends. The first is to smear the judges with the tar of corruption as payback for not playing ball. The second is to distract the people and mitigate the shame and disgrace of their being removed from office for being electoral robbers. They want to create moral doubt.

But again, it is an exercise in futility. The decision of the judges is a mere confirmation of what is generally known among the people whose votes were manipulated in the first place. The elections in April has removed any doubt on the elections of 2007 if there was any.

ACN crushed PDP in Osun, even in the presidential election where President Goodluck Jonathan won in the other South West states.

Prince Oyinlola was soundly defeated in his local government.

Senator Iyiola Omisore was pummelled in his ward. Senator Isiaka Adeleke got the whacking of his life in his senatorial district. It was reckoning time for the men of yesterday who had turned themselves into Lord of the Manor and put an oppressive yoke on the people.

But deliverance has come and like Pharaoh’s army, they will all be destroyed in electoral Red Sea. Justice Salami is not on trial, it is the NJC that has become the laughing stock of the people of Osun State and those interested in justice.

• Dr Olu Joseph, Ilesa, Osun State

Igbo’s should wake up from their slumber

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HE legendary Lady of Songs, Christy Essien Igbokwe, waxed a musical record some years back, which included a song literarily meaning “Igbo nation, wake up from slumber”. This could easily pass for Igbo nation’s theme song.

All that the Igbo need to know and do, could be clear by studying the lyrics properly and act them and it shall thenceforth be well with them.

What is happening with the present ding-dong relationship between the presidency and South East upon the resultant massive support for

Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency in the just concluded presidential election is regrettable. The zone gave Jonathan more than 98.5% of total vote cast. Now in the name of the so-called zoning (which Jonathan earlier said never existed in PDP), the agreed Speaker-ship of the House of Representatives is being denied the South East.I feel that Igbo leaders and not Jonathan should be blamed. While Southeast governors and APGA were busy trading blames, the South East is said to have been offered the

position of Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). Meanwhile, South-east Senators are clamouring for PDP national chairmanship even as some other groups are asking for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives. A friend asked me some relevant questions which I could not offer sincere answers as I looked foolish with my argument at the end. He asked: When the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo was busy canvassing for the Jonathan presidency, didn’t they

know that Ambassador Uwechue (Ohaneze Ndigbo presidentgeneral) and Dr. Ebegwei (President of Aka Ikenga) were fighting for Jonathan because they come from the same South-south as Jonathan? Since they were given to believe that Jonathan was part of them, what on earth makes them believe they could get the Speakership position or that Igbo would be President in 2015?

Obidigbo Mgbachi, Ekwulobia, Anambra State

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

EDITORIAL/OPINION

ZOOOWABIA; Library boxes pls; Inaugurating ‘Weapons of Mass Development or More Destruction’?

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LL surviving ‘Godfathers’ must please step aside.

A good leader knows when to let fresh ideas flourish for the growth Tony of the country and the party! Internal oppresMarinho sion will bring ruin. Nigerians again advise incoming politicians standing at the crossroads. WAZOBIA is dead. Long live Nigeria! But is WAZOBIA or more correctly ZOOOOOWAABIA dead or just regrouping? Can Nigeria ever respect all its ethnic groups? Where ZOOOWAZOBIA has failed the Nigeria Project, GEJ must succeed in the minefield called Nigeria.

Until they earn ‘Excellency’, ‘Distinguished’ and ‘Honourable’ titles, all Nigerians must call them simply Mr. President, Mr. Governor, Senator, Representative and Assembly person to combat political arrogance. The swearing-in is May 29, 2011. Swearing for what? ‘Damage or Development’?

‘Bribes or Books’ for the children smiling from empty classrooms in pigsty schools on NTA in 2011? Is it ‘Maternal Mortality or Medical Morality’? Do Nigerians take bribes to put a book on a school teaching list? Will our new employees be swearing-in or swearing? What will their score card be in 2015? Once again Nigeria can, but may not, take giant steps in power, education, rail, roads, bridges, health, security etc.

The very late hyperactivity at NASS passing post-mature bills, confirms the failure, or 20% pass, of the 2007-2011 NASS. Many governors covered their tracks by last minute contracts.

In spite of long pension queues, arrogant NASS members arrogate to themselves massive severance pay and maybe pensions -N30m and N50m- while NYSC martyrs’ families get a paltry N5m. And then we dare to complain about John Campbell, former American Ambassador, and apparently refuse him a visa. Do you kill the messenger while the real problems, identified in every newspaper, go un-remedied?

Foreigners know where Nigeria’s women and children would be with good governance and weep; giving dollars to replace stolen funds. Nigeria has been dancing on the brink for a long time. Face the truth. The federal structure, the rev-

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EXT Sunday is May 29, 2011.

It is a day that has been set aside in Nigeria since 1999 for marking an epoch-making event. Christened “Democracy Day,” in the last 11 years, the day has enjoyed some sort of national revelry. It is the day in which politicians – at national, state and local levels – have come to regard as theirs. Every year, events of all kinds are featured on this day to commemorate the advent of democracy in the country after many years of harrowing military interregnum.

The military has always interfered in the governance of the country in the past by staging ‘coups’, sometimes bloody, to overthrow ‘legitimate’ governments. They do this under the guise of coming to address some perceived wrongs in the administration of the country. Since the first military coup by some middle-level officers in the army in January 1966, more than a dozen coups have been staged, foiled or nipped in the bud. During this period, military adventurers have come up with one allegation or another to justify their intervention.

Such military incursions into politics have often been predicated on the need to properly manage the resources of the nation as well as stamp out corruption, nepotism and others.

At the beginning of such orchestrated military manoeuvres, efforts are made to coerce the populace into submission. A few months after the seemingly braggadocio, the same vices that have been widely denounced and condemned, start rearing their ugly heads. Goaded by a tiny coterie of friends, relatives, political jobbers and hangers-on, the

enue formula and the number of LGAs in Lagos State still stink from ZOOOOOOOOOOOWAAABIA! Will they change?

Dancing on the brink is a dance of death and injury for the Okada victim, the NYSC riot victim, the 419 victim, the maternal mortality victim, the 80% examination failure – victims of a bookless education presided over by the well-fed politicians of Nigeria.

The solution is not to deny the John Campbells of this world a visa out of ‘false patriotism’. Let them all in. A biography is more critical and better than a self-praise autobiography.

The solution is the study of his book in university, the corridors of power and by personal assistants. The question in 2011 remains ‘Why is Nigeria’s ‘false federalism’ so warped that most Nigerians are uncomfortable being Nigerians unless their ‘ethnic’ man is President or Minister?’

Imagine a country that has UBEC, N120b allocated for primary/secondary education and the Education Tax Fund, without an emergency plan for functional libraries in every school within three months. But books, not bricks and blocks, build brains immediately, even under a tree. From almajiris to child hawkers, the obvious missing link is books. GEJ and governors: Give Nigerian children in 70,000 schools the needed 10,000,000 books by Sept 2011 and watch the education miracle.

President GEJ knows that only governments can Bring Back Books in 1,200,000 classrooms. What excuse can government have for not allocating an annual N1-200,000/ school for a ‘library box’ when a solitary senator gets N30m for what?

Imagine the impact on every single Nigerian Youth by President GEJ if he and the governors declare ‘libraries as an emergency need’ and provide ‘2011 Emergency Education Library Boxes’ within the first 100 days-before the students resume in September/October 2011. The books are in publishing houses and bookshops. The children of Nigeria need about N100-200,000 per Emergency Library Box/school or N7-14,000,000,000 for the entire 2011. Emergency Library Box Project repeated in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 to build a respectable school library. N7-14b projected is not too much to budget for Nigerian youth. The Abuja airport road cost N54b.

What is education worth to a country? Is it the price of future peace or the cost of war? When school, community, ward,

LGA and city libraries are built, NYSC and other martyrs names should feature prominently.

But this 2011, GEJ government and children cannot afford to wait four years for examination improvements. GEJ is aware of crash and revision courses and should lead the ‘2011-2015 Education Revolution’ to get better results starting with the 2012 students. A compulsory summer holiday camp course August/ September 2011 in all schools for the 8 -12 weeks holiday for the 2012 examination will help. Efforts must be poured into the Common Entrance and SSS3 final year 2012 classes. The ‘precious’ Nigerian child is a walking miracle receiving only 20% of the educational stimulation available abroad. Will GEJ and other employees of Nigeria deliver the missing 80% difference? Do Nigerians know that PhDs teach very young children in Sweden because ‘early learning’ is the key to national development?

We wait in hope and much expectation. Please kill all potholes in 100 days. Nigeria needs ‘mass’ not ‘mass murder’ Okada transport. Good Luck, President Jonathan and all political leaders. Are you ‘Weapons of Mass Development or More Destruction’? Do not become rulers. Read the papers not political summaries. Wishing us all Goodluck and hard work. God Bless Nigeria. Always remember and remind them we employed them to serve us!

‘The ‘precious’ Nigerian child is a walking miracle receiving only 20% of the educational stimulation available abroad. Will GEJ and other employees of Nigeria deliver the missing 80% difference? Do Nigerians know that PhDs teach very young children in Sweden because ‘early learning’ is the key to national development?’

Next Sunday new military rulers are soon entrapped and encouraged to dip hands into the public till to dole out political patronage. At this point, the whole essence of the intervention in politics is reduced to a huge bizarre where anything goes.

By 1999, the situation had become so appalling that the populace united to fight a common enemy – the military – through the ballot. It was, therefore, a relief when new democratically elected governments were sworn in, both at the national and state levels, on May 29, 1999. The day signaled the dawn of a new era in the governance and administration of the country. Promises were made by those elected into office.

They all vowed to open a new chapter in the administration of the country, and contribute their quota to development through selfless, visionary efforts in order to assuage the feelings of neglect and abandonment pervading the populace.

But 11 years down the line, what have we seen? Most of the political players have dwarfed the military adventurers in reckless spending of the meagre resources available for development; and new colony of billionaires have sprung up overnight through padding of contracts, contracts splitting and every other despicable methods of acquiring wealth illegally.

This is not to say that there have not been outstanding men and women who have rendered selfless service to their fatherland. The worry is that they are in the tiny,

‘Nigeria today is so maggoty that, without being blasphemous, even the reincarnation of Jesus Christ or the coming again of Prophet Mohammed may not be able to change anything.’

almost insignificant minority. Their individual sacrifices have been rendered ineffectual by the plethora of thieves masquerading as leaders in the polity. Take a roll-call of those who at one time or another have been opportune to be along the corridors of power since 1999. What you will see is that quite a large number of these people have become stupendously rich while the people they governed have become so pauperized and even dehumanized. It is the rule of two extremes – one so powerful, so rich and the other so powerless, so poor.

Within this period, many families have slipped into the poverty bracket. Many more have been corralled into the ever-increasing unemployment market. The roads have become unmotorable all over the country due to lack of adequate maintenance culture and embezzlement of funds. Hospital structures have dilapidated while their services have gone below primitive level. In government hospitals, patients pay for drugs. Even when the patient dies due to poor treatment, lack of good facilities and all that, the cost of mortuary services has hit the roof. Schools’ enrolment has dropped while quite a lot of those who enrolled, in the first instance, have quietly dropped out of school, many of them due to poverty and hunger.

Besides, the country’s educational standard has also taken a plunge for the worse. While the teachers have embraced the culture of get-richquick, the pupils and students have devised various ingenious means to outsmart examiners. Many of those who finish tertiary education today can hardly defend the qualifications they possess.

Yet, we all know where the shoes are pinching. We know the ills that have bedeviled us. We know our

inadequacies, our follies, our misfortunes and our failures. We also know those who are responsible for our woes. They live among us. They are our brothers and sisters. Sometimes, we tolerate them because they stuff our mouths with crumbs from their loot. Sometimes, we cover them up because they are our relations, friends, children or other acquaintances without actually taking cognizance of the general harm they wrought on the society.

Have we ever stopped to think about the total breakdown in morals and norms in the country? Have we really been sincere to ourselves, our children, our friends, our neighbours and the country as a whole? Each time we think of a virile and prosperous country, do we know that our individual contributions in the right direction could do a preponderance of good fortunes for us and the nation? Think, we must do; work, we must work.

Nigeria today is so maggoty that, without being blasphemous, even the reincarnation of Jesus Christ or the coming again of Prophet Mohammed may not be able to change anything. Again, by next Sunday, our politicians will turn out in their Sunday best to take or renew their oaths of office. As usual, their families, friends and others will also turn out in regal dresses to celebrate. The trumpets will sound to high heavens, the drum-beats will be deafening. So also are the singing and dancing. But what will be the purpose for singing and dancing? Are we sure we know what we are doing either as individuals or groups?

Sunday is a holiday day, at least, for Christians. A day set aside for humility, forthrightness, obedience and remorse. A day to keep away from the vanities of life. A day to atone for our sins. Since this year’s

Dele Agekameh “Democracy Day” is Sunday, will it be possible for us to make a solemn promise to our country to right the wrongs of the past, to save our country from an impending catastrophe and doom?

Truly, through our actions and inactions, the country is approaching the precipice. Now is the time to save it from an impending implosion. Perhaps, the April polls were not as free and fair as we all profess all over the place. Deep in our hearts, we all know what happened in many places. If the ordinary man in the street does not know, the politicians surely know.

They know how they got their landslides, seaslides, moonslides, spaceslides, atomic and ballistic results.

One thing we should probably ask our politicians to do, from next Sunday, is to look at the plight of the common man and effect some improvement in his life. Let us have those who will genuinely serve the people and not rulers who are more concerned about what they will get from government. We should stop deceiving ourselves. This country is approaching a major disaster.

Something must be done, and quickly too. May God help us!

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

22

EDITORIAL/OPINION FROM THE CELL PHONE ‘Tunji, remember that even in the Garden of Eden, it was Satan that lured Adam to eat the forbidden fruit when he was initially cautioned by the almighty. As long as self-restraint and caution could not be exercised in times of obsession and emotions, then man will continue to inflict selfdestruction unto himself, not only on sex but on everything in life. Self-restraint and selfregulation is what human life is all about. Man is no better than animals without these attributes. Anonymous’

• Jonathan For Segun Gbadegesin Re: Transformational Times Again. Yes the President can lead the nation to transform only if he focuses his mind on spending one term in office. However, if he is already eyeing second term in office, it will be business as usual. I pray he remains focus on transformation. From Abdulsalam Ndamodu The issue you raised in your column of May 20 is not debatable. What we need urgently as a nation just as Prof. Wole Soyinka demanded in his news conference recently, is a national conference to address issues in the present constitution that stagnates this country since 10 years. God bless you. From Anayo Okoronkwo, Ishiagu,Ebonyi state Segun, I have just read your column and related it to Jonathan’s ministerial list. Then, I came away with the feeling that the Ijaw man is more than ready to take Nigeria back to the stone age. Anonymous Segun, there is no other way Nigeria would measure Mr. President’s success than his courage and ability to draw from the well of abundant goodwill of the electorate.

Nigeria is clearly in a time for transformation. If we miss this chance now, whence come another? From Clem I share in toto your idea of constitutionalising the six geopolitical zones with a view to empowering them for efficiency. From George C. Erugo Jonathan administration will be the best because it is God ordained. From Eld P Okon Changes! There are a few big and influential crowing cocks in our polity who do not want the upcoming cocks to crow and prefer a cosmetic aproach to changes.

They care not. Anonymous Uncle Segun, you have hit the nail on the head. Truly these are desirably transformational period. It is not that our leaders are unaware of this fundamental default and the need for fundamental change. Anonymous Good-day sir, your article that appeared on The Nation of May 19 2011 was very educative as usual. As regards women palaver, I recommend that you watch an old but very interesting film KO SE GBE by Akinwunmi Ishola. It contains hard facts of life. Regards and God bless. From Michael Bamidele, Kaduna I read your column of 13-05-2011 and found same to be loaded with meaning.

Sovereign National Conference now becomes imperative! Anonymous Sir, thanks for your piece ‘Transformational times again’. I hope and pray that Jonathan or his aides are reading.

I also hope that ultimately, he makes use of your ideas. From ADEYCorsim, Oshodi-Lagos I do not think Jonathan is serious about transforming this country. Look at the composition of his new cabinet with people of questionable characters. All these people can not make any positive contributions to national development. Their people have rejected them outrightly in their various states. It has now shown clearly to us that Jonathan is not ready to move this country forward. Well, I am not dissappointed. From

Tayo Tola Agbaje,Garki, Abuja I cannot agree with you more on your article Transformational Times Again. We need a Moses of our time to lead us out of this Egypt. Just as Jonathan was understandably angry about the riots after the election, he should be angry about the present contraption and declare ENOUGH is ENOUGH and move in the direction to fundamentally change course working with the National Assembly. Anonymous I wish the president’s media aide could just smuggle this to him. He needs to deal with these fundamentals to be able to transform. Like you asked, can he? From Alex Sir, I read your article “Transformational times again’. I am enraptured by the salient issues raised therein. Thank you for constantly reminding us how we got here.

Since we pretend our yesterday does not exist, how do we guarantee our tomorow?

From Ikurite B. Ikurite Re: your comment of 20/5/11. You have said it all. The truth is bitter. Nigeria kingdom will surely come in no mean time, when the progressives take over the reins of power at the centre. From Olasunkanmi Oyewole, Ibadan Sir, the answer to that question on Jonathan’s ability is ‘no’. The president appears so unsure of himself and there is nothing to suggest he has a clear direction for the country except the usual PDP rhetorics. So the rot continues. Welcome to another wasted tenure; praying to be proved wrong. From Makinwa.

For Gbenga Omotoso I appreciate your insight in your ‘Editorial Notebook’. As a fellow journalist, I must however point out a few unacceptable slips in ‘...And woman palaver’. Silvio Berlusconi is Prime Minister of Italy and not President.

He is head of government because Italy runs a parliamentary system of government. And a strong man who cries on the death of his daughter is only expressing an emotional feeling which takes away none of his strength to kill a lion with his bare hands.

From Omale The creator has not made the day if you do not talk about Baba. Olorun aje kio dagba.

Ronu e wo. Anonymous I am surprised that sane and intelligent people like you keep repeating fallacies.

While agreeing with much of your analysis, I find your recitation on Abubakar Malami untenable. Pray, if I Omotoso is accused of an offence and he says ‘no not me but Mr X’ does that amount to justification? Whatever happened to the phrase ‘blame game’? From Ben Pever, Zone 5 Abuja Hi Gbenga, awesome piece and a conclusion that can’t be faulted. Anonymous ...And woman palaver is a mastepiece. More grease to your elbow. I am highly fascinated and inspired by it. From Bro I B Bulus, Lafia Sir, again like a gospel book, I have read today’s notebook. It is not only rich in message but super in coinage. You are indeed a model. From Raheem Akingbolu ‘Wo(e)man palaver’ is every man’s albatross. Why did you forget the big oneAbacha and Indian ladiesl? From Aduge A. We go to other nations and become citizens of such countries but in our land we are considered as strangers. We are deceiving ourselves. Think of 2015 according to U.S.A reporting on disintegration of Naija. Thanks. From Ibrahim. M Sir, God has just spoken to me through you in your “Tongues of trouble” and a case

that bothers on marital undfaithfulness. I rest my case, in order not to be entangled in”woman trouble”. From James, PortHarcourt Don’t confuse issues. The violence broke out in the North before the announcement of the elections results. They were not spontaneous but pre-planned. From Dr Lole, Kaduna Gbenga, in your write-up on Thursday May 19, 2011, titled And Woman Palaver, you forgot to cite our own local example- the Osun monarch, Oba Adebukola Alli, who raped a youth corper. Oh, how a king falleth. Anonymous Why did all this have to come after many years? Why must she wait for so long to tell the world? From Oliver Ezeonyekesi Onyenwe Port-Harcourt Gbenga, you have said it all in your Woman Palaver article. The list even goes back further into the Bible. Do you remember Samson? That is what happens when you have a weak mind and a strong back. God help us. From Engr I Equere. Uyo AK I do enjoy your comment. Tongues of Trouble is another wonderful piece. Thanks.

Anonymous Re: And woman palaver. What is the big deal? Strauss Khan was under stress with worries of IMF and decided to relieve himself, what better way to do it than to hop on the immediately available sex pot.

It happens here everyday in Nigeria and no one has been charged. From Idris, Abuja Gbenga, your editorial today is a masterpiece but you forgot the religous line that it was a woman that led to the downfall of Samson and Solomon. Good work, keep it up. From Clement Only God can save us from woman palaver. Oba of Akure was dethroned due to woman palaver; Samson the most ever powerful man was caught by his enemy through a woman; presently, Oba Alowa of Ilowa in Osun State is facing trial in court because of a woman and in all, man cannot do without a woman. Only God can help us. Anonymous ‘Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles’. ‘Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one who is perverse in his lips’. ‘Looking for life and death? It is in the tongue’. We all must learn from these proverbs. From Semande, Badagry Good morning, your write-up of 19th May refers. Firstly,I think it was wrong to have addressed the NYSC 10 as “boys and girl”.

There is a presumption that they are adults.Secondly, the Ikeja cantonment bomb explosions actually took place on January 27. I stand to be corrected, though. Cheers.

From Oluwafemi Idowu,Esq.Ibadan .

Dear Bro. Gbenga, your ‘editorial’ of today May 19 is a masterpiece. How I wish the youths, especially, would take time to ponder on the lessons of the write-up! It was more than a mere comment. It was a sermon in practical terms. The lessons are : one, circumspection and wisdom in sensitive matters. Two, ‘woman palaver’.

May your annointing never diminish. From Olaluwoye, I.D. Osogbo Gbenga, your article ‘Tongues of of May 19, was very apt. How I wish our leaders can learn how to use their tongues in order not to incure the wrath of fellow citizens.

Remember that votes now count. From Dr. Charles, Owerri, Imo State.

Unfortunately, these women/girls are everywhere. EVERYWHERE! Anonymous Good write-ups, but sir one can tame the

•Strauss-Khan

tongue which is the most dangerous part of the human body. Anonymous Chief, it is quite late but I only just finished going through the papers I got earlier. Your- Woman palaver has recalled some old stories, but you did not mention oga’s matter. I mean ABA in the presidency 93 to 98. I beg no be me talk, na the phone CHA. Gbenga, thank you for your piece yesterday ( it is for keeps). Strauss-Khan has finally bowed out. From Andrew Onwubuya, Anambra State.

For Tunji Adegboyega Despite the lyrical rhythm of your piece in The Nation of May 22 titled “Strauss-Khan: the danger down below”, I take exception to the fact that you referred to the hotel maid as ‘a nobody’. Because she is a maid?

Anonymous.

You wrote thrash today (May 22), Tunji.

How could you use such words as ‘fondles her succulent breasts or ask her to hop on the bed for a quickie’ in a national newspaper? And describing hotel maids as nobodies in Nigeria? Quite preposterous.

This offends sensibilities and puts a dent on your worth-reading piece. From EDU. Tunji, I make sure I read your column every Sunday. If Dominique Strauss-Khan is a Nigerian there would have been no case.

The family of the hotel maid will even celebrate that their daughter has got a big fish that would finally get them out of poverty. From Sina Awelewa.

Tunji, remember that even in the Garden of Eden, it was Satan that lured Adam to eat the forbidden fruit when he was initially cautioned by the Almighty. As long as selfrestraint and caution could not be exercised in times of obsession and emotions, then man will continue to inflict self-destruction unto himself, not only on sex but on everything in life. Self-restraint and selfregulation is what human life is all about.

Man is no better than animals without these attributes. Anonymous.

The Anonymous article which appeared under your column on May 15 needs to be documented for future reference. From Adekunle Ifeoluwa, Babcock University, ……….

To say the truth, I am highly impressed with the well analysed article published in your column on May 15 titled ‘Bode, tibi nko’? From Oloidi Akintunde-John, Ekiti State.

Tunji, the article in your column of May 15 was just too much. I fancy the intellectual imagination. ‘Bode, tibi nko’? OBJ himself would be amused if he read it. Anonymous.

‘Bode, tibi nko’ should not be limited to the page 15 where it was published on May 15. I would want you to dramatise the piece.

Great job. From Jimi Solanke.

Dear Tunji, the make-believe write-up published in your column on May 15 made my day. Kudos! More of it please. But, instead of tibi nko, let it be ohun tunda? From Pastor Bounty.

Bode, tibi nko was a very good one. From Kayode Soremekun.

Tunji, na wa for you o! Were you there? If Baba catches you…. From Fadare, Surulere, Lagos.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

23

24

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

FUNDING

600 vehicles given to workers

N30m spent on water project

.

MOTIVATION

Sokoto 27

Bauchi

37

INSPIRATION

Physically challenged legislator-elect reveals motivation Jigawa

40

Email: news_extra@yahoo.com

WEDNESDAY MAY 25, 2011

Page 25

Hope for ex-militants as one emerges legislator W

INNER of the Bayelsa State Assembly election for Brass, Akassa Constituency Abraham Ingobere has received a certificate of return. He has also unveiled his plans for his constituency.

But Ingobere is not just another legislator-elect. He once numbered among the militants that mounted an unrelenting armed struggle against the Federal Government in what was generally known as a war to redress the neglect of the oil-rich Niger Delta. When the government granted amnesty to the combatants, promising to rehabilitate those who laid down their arms, Ingobere was also among those that embraced the reprieve. Scores of ex-militants have been trained in different skills since them. Some were taken overseas for such trainings.

Most of the former combatants have been relishing a new lease of life. But Ingobere’s election seems to be the icing on the cake. He won the election on the platform of KOWA Party, denying the only female legislator in the House, Mrs Ruby Benjamin a second term.

But speaking with Newsextra shortly after receiving the certificate of return, Ingobere said his election would bring hope to the other ex-militants. They too, he said, can one day make it to the legislative chambers, or even beyond.

Ingobere stood out during the presentation of the certificates. At the mention of his name, a thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

New lawmaker unveils plans for constituency

Militants who laid down their arms From Isaac Ombe, Abuja

A crowd of well-wishers thronged the Independent National Electoral Commission

(INEC) office to witness the occasion.

“My people believe in me and my philanthropic gestures,” the legislator-elect said. “They

My people believe in me and my philanthropic gestures. They believed in my candidature.

They believe that if I could do a lot for them when I was not even in government, I would do more for them when in government

believed in my candidature. They believe that if I could do a lot for them when I was not even in government, I would do more for them when in government. This led to the overwhelming victory.”

His philanthropy endeared him to the people. He has helped many parents to pay their children’s school fees. Also, a number of schools in Akassa Kingdom have benefited from his kind gestures.

Continued on Page 26

Ingobere

Sokoto provides 600 vehicles for workers

S

Wamakko

OKOTO State has continued its drive to enhance worker’s productivity, with the procurement and distribution of 600 vehicles valued at N1.6b to the state workforce.

The Aliyu Wamakko administration has embarked on various measures to boost workers’ welfare and productivity.

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

Farmers have received different packages of incentives, including working tools. Civil servants also have got loans. Now the government has given assorted cars on loan to the state workers.

The brand new cars given out to the workers included 50 KIA Cerato, 100 Rio, 200 Hyundai Accent and 250 others.

Eight hundred and fifty other workers from Grade Level 07 to 10 got various sums of money ranging from N150,000 to N800,000; some others got N500,000 each and N800,000 each.

Speaking at the ceremony, the state Head of Service, Alhaji Abdullahi Wali said, “This event has shown that the state government has not rescinded its decision on the loans scheme.”

Wali said the beneficiaries were drawn from 102 Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the state government, adding, “each of them got between one to 20 vehicles”.

He explained further that the state government has subsidised the loans scheme by 20 per cent apart from defraying the insurance cost of the vehicles.

Continued on Page 27

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

26

Amaechi to meet traders in battle for cleaner environment

•Amaechi

A

S part of moves to clean up Port Harcourt, Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi said he would hold a meeting with traders at the Creek Road Market and other markets in Port Harcourt to stop them from trading on the roads.

Amaechi said this while speaking at an Interdenominational Church Service, marking the 2011 Children’s Day celebration in the state, at St. Cyprian’s Anglican Church,

Port Harcourt.

The governor hinted that the meeting with Creek Road traders would afford him the opportunity to know why the traders prefer to sell their wares on the road rather than enter the main market, pointing out that Creek Road is a dualised road, but traders had blocked one lane with trading.

He explained that the interactive meeting with the stakeholders in the market would be part of the process to clean up Port Harcourt and restore the glorious past of the city as Nigerians “Garden City”.

“I will clean up the city of Port Harcourt, the city is very dirty and there is need to make a change in the system”, he said, adding, “traders of the Creek Road Market should undertake their business within the confines of the market and leave the road”.

In the same, the governor said other areas in Port Harcourt and its environs would be affected by the exercise, such as the Flyover Park, which constitutes an eye sore, as refuse is disposed off indiscriminately.

The State Chief Executive, remarked that any society which plans to change must purge itself of abnormal practices, arguing that non-payment of taxes was responsible for Nigerians not been able to hold government accountable, emphasizing that “if you pay your tax and the government fails to utilize the funds to provide social services, you will ask questions as a matter of right”.

In the area of electricity, the governor said “we have assured the federal government

that if given the right to distribute power within the state, we shall ensure 24hours power supply, noting that a committee inaugurated by government has commenced work on the process.

He used the opportunity to thank Rivers people for voting him back to office, promising not to let them down, and urged them to attend the inauguration celebration scheduled for May 29, 2011 at the Liberation Stadium Elekahia.

Earlier in a sermon at the Church service, the Vicar in-charge of St. Cyprian’s Anglican Church, Port Harcourt, Venerable Amavey Abbey-Kalio, commended Governor Amaechi for the priority given to the education sector as it would produce a mul-

tiplier effect in building the future manpower base of the youths.

Ven. Abbey-Kalio who spoke on the theme of this year’s celebration, “Good Governance: The Impact on Children”, said children should fear God and obey those in authority, adding that those in government must lead with the fear of God and uphold the rule of law, transparency, equity and justice at all times.

In another development, Governor Chibuike Amaechi, represented President Goodluck Jonathan at the wedding ceremony between former Miss Rita Benjamin and Mr. Erefagha Turner, son of HRH King Amalatei Turner the Chairman of Federal Inland Waterways Authority at St Cyprian’s Anglican Church, Port Harcourt.

I will clean up the city of Port Harcourt, the city is very dirty and there is need to make a change in the system. Traders of the Creek Road Market should undertake their business within the confines of the market and leave the road

Hope for ex-militants as one emerges legislator •Continued from Page 25

He has also engaged medical doctors from South Africa who treated his constituents for different eye, ear and dental ailments. He clothed the needy and gave jobs to the unemployed, some even in oil companies.

A football enthusiast, the new legislator had participated in the 2009 Inter-Local Government Admiral Porbeni Football competition and won the trophy for Akassa in the 2009 edition of the competition.

In the area of infrastructural development, apart from the renovation of the Community Town Hall in Sangana, and the establishment of recreation centres in the same community, Ingobere was said to have prevailed on oil companies operating in the area to improve on the infrastructural profile of host communities. He also reportedly fought hard to contain the menace of sea piracy in the riverside communities in Brass Local Government Area.

In a chat, Ingobere said he was among the 32 ex-militant leaders taken to Aso Rock in 2010 to meet with the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

He explained that his victory has given other ex-militants hope of a better future.

“I was one of the 32 ex-militant leaders that were taken to Aso Rock at the commencement of the Amnesty talks,” he said.

“I have now attained this position. All the ex-militant leaders are elated with my victory because one of their own is now in the mainstream of governance.”

He said his militant activities have been used to better the lives of his people in Akassa and its environs.

He also explained why he had to go for KOWA Party and not any other popular political party, saying he was “edged out” by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and this was a challenge to his popularity as his teeming supporters urged him to go to another platform to enable them vote for him.

Ingobere said KOWA Party has neither presidential or governorship candidate

•Ex-militants savour new life

I was one of the 32 ex-militant leaders that were taken to Aso Rock at the commencement of the Amnesty talks....I have now attained this position. All the ex-militant leaders are elated with my victory because one of their own is now in the mainstream of governance but supports the ruling party in all ramifications.

“We support the ruling PDP,” he said;

“we totally support Mr. President and the Governor.” Ingobere noted that his victory brought recognition to his party.

“KOWA is now among the eight political parties recognised by INEC, out of the 63,” he said.

Now that he is in government, he said he will project the needs and challenges of his people, adding that he will do his best to foster unity among his people. To this end, he said, he will work closely with the state government.

Since after the elections, Ingobere has been receiving congratulatory messages from his constituents, including those overseas.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

27

Olubolade bags Minister of State award

T

HE Centre for Democratic Governance in Africa has adjudged Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade as the best 2010 serving minister of state in Nigeria.

A statement by his Public Relations Of-

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

ficer, Ms Freda Aideyan made available to our correspondent said the award was based on the outstanding leadership qualities of the minister.

The statement described Olubolade as “a

He is a Nigerian of high repute, exemplary in character, untainted in name and a paragon of dignity who lives above reproach in all his endeavours •Olubolade

Nigerian of high repute, exemplary in character, untainted in name and a paragon of dignity who lives above reproach in all his endeavours”.

It added that the conferment of the award was necessitated by the way the Minister has affected lives and promoted good governance at the grassroots level.

The centre said having looked at the performance of other Ministers of State in Nigeria, the need to confer the Minister with the most outstanding award became necessary owing to his exemplary performance.

In a related development, the Bayelsa Youths Forum from Niger Delta has commended Olubolade for working alongside the President-elect, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to the benefit of the residents of FCT and Nigerians The statement said Olubolade’s qualities could be traced back to his appointment as the Military Administrator of Bayelsa which is attributed to his loyalty and commitment in serving the people of Nigeria

‘Era of retrogressive governance gone in Edo’

“I

NDEED, these are better days for my people in Igarra/Akoko-Edo locality in Edo State. For decades, our people had cried helplessly for succour in terms of development; the more they voted during election, the farther the goodies of governance receded from their doorsteps. I can say that their tears are gone now!”

Igarra, Edo State-born politician and Principal Partner, Apologun & Co (Barristers and Solicitors), Mr. Chris Pendo Apologun was almost in tears when he made the above statement as he went down memory lane decrying the “dehumanising neglect” that had remained the lot of his kinsmen in Igara/Akoko-Edo for ages before the present government came on board two years ago.

It was at an informal discourse on Monday. Deeply involved in the passionate talk were about five others who expressed deep concern over the ill-fate that had long befallen their people in Akoko-Edo before a breather came. It was at Apologun’s Opebi, Lagos office.

Apologun and his co-discussants likened Edo Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s “reformatory administration” to the grand exploits of the late Obafemi Awolowo in the old South Western region. They also mentioned the “wonders” being hatched in Lagos State by the current Fashola-led government, concluding that the three instances epitomise ideal developmental governance needed to move any society forward.

Asked to speak on his personal efforts at complementing government strides in his state, Apologun said: “By December 16 this year, I will clock 18 years at the Bar. By the grace of God, I have committed my earnings not only to nursing my nuclear family but to putting smiles on the faces of my

By Dada Aladelokun

fellowmen to the best of my ability. Besides, I have been a politician of the progressive bent.

“Being from Akoko-Edo Local Government area, I partook of the defunct Action Congress (AC) project and in the last elections, I was an aspirant into the House of Representatives under the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) for Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency. My mission was to join hands with reliable persons like Dr. Domingo Obende, Senator-elect, Edo North to complement what Oshiomhole has been doing to fix the state. But a lot of people in my community and party leaders from the area prevailed on me to step down for someone else. And for the fact that we share the same positive ideal and for the love of my party, I

had to abide by their decision. Here we are today.”

Asked to comment specifically on Oshiomhole’s administration so far, Apologun said: “Being in the same party, many may think I’m just singing his praise, but it is interesting that all he has been doing, especially revitalising our hitherto comatose infrastructure across the state, are there for even his opponents to see. He is giving leadership its true meaning on all fronts. Go and see the roads today; he has started work on a major road that runs through Akoko-Edo, among others. I go to my village virtually every weekend; I think he has laid a standard that will prove a major challenge for anyone coming behind him.

I think all he needs now is more support from our people. We are lucky to have a governor whose only ‘weakness’ is his overly passion for service.”

•Apologun

Sokoto provides 600 vehicles for workers •Continued from Page 25 He stressed that “workers are expected to pay the loans in seven years through deductions to be made by the state finance ministry.

He stated that the gesture was part of the state government’s efforts to further alleviate the suffering of the workers, including their transportation challenges.

“The workers should reciprocate the gesture by being more hardworking and dedicated in the service of the people of the state,” Wali urged the beneficiaries.

Two of the state’s civil servants and beneficiaries of the scheme Alhaji Aliyu DogonDaji of Rima Radio and Alhaji Chika Ahmed who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries commended the state government for the gesture.

“The workers should reciprocate by being more productive while none of us should sell off the vehicles,” they said.

•Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State (left), Presiding Bishop of Peculiar People International Church and Chairman Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Abia State Chapter, Bishop Goddy Okafor (middle), and the Asst. General Superintendent of Assemblies of God Church, Rev. Dr. Chidi Okoroafor, at the opening ceremony of 2011 Glory summit of the Church and thanksgiving ceremony of Pastor Mrs. Okafor at Peculiar People International Church, Aba.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

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Bauchi pays N30m for water project

Govt lifts girl-child education

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• Sule Lamido

BOUT 400 laptops have been distributed to selected JSS 1 students in six girls secondary schools in Jigawa State including two federal government girls colleges under the MDGs-assisted ICT initiatives.

Speaking during the occasion in the state capital recently, the Minister of Education, Prof Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufai said Federal Government approved the distribution of the computers knowing the importance and the critical roles of ICT in modern education.

Prof Rufai also noted that ICT plays vital role in promoting qualitative education at all levels, stressing that the present administration is determined to ensure that Nigerian students get required qualitative education nationwide.

Kogi police arrest illegal motorcyclists

I

LLEGAL operators of commercial motorcycles in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, now operate with panic, as the state police command began massive arrest over non plate number.

Over 1000 motorcycles have already been seized by the police and some charged to court.

The state police commissioner, Mr. John Abakasanga who is leading the operation, was said to have started impounding motorcycleswithout new number plate allegedly owned by some men and officers of the police command.

For some time now, the cases of money snatching by some unknown motorcyclists without new number plate have been on the increase, most of which could not be identified due to non registration of numbers.

According to investigation, the unknown motorcyclists usually lay ambush on their victims who usually come out of banks after transaction to dispossess them of their money.

The police spokes man in the state, ASP Ajayi

Kogi From Mohammed Bashir, Lokoja

Okasanmi said that since the command began the operation, cases of criminal activities have reduced to a minimum level.

He said the command before now, had been receiving complaints of bike and money snatching.

“The command is always handicapped because most of these criminals are operating illegally as they do not belong to any association nor do they have any registration numbers.

“But now, with enforcement of the registration, the command will easily identify who is who in the Okada business”, he added.

It was also gathered that most of the already seized motorcycles cannot be claimed as the owners could not come forward to claim them for lack of back up documents.

However, the police commissioner had earlier warned all Okada operators to register

Jigawa From Eunice Bosua, Dutse

She said: “In order to demonstrate his commitment towards the attainment of the national vision and MDGs, President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the implementation of the ICT initiative for girls in JSS 1 nationwide in some selected schools”.

In his speech on the occasion, Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido who was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Ahmed Mahmud, reiterated the government’s commitment towards enhancing education and stressed that the government is ready to partner with any organisation that would assist the state’s education system.

Enumerating his administration’s achievement in the education sector, Governor Lamido assured that all that would be needed in his second tenure would be to consolidate on his achievements in line with the MDG requirements.

Also speaking, the Special Assistant to the President on MDGs, Mrs Lola Olaopa, said she was in Jigawa State for the flag-off of the North west zone of the distribution of laptops, stressing that the project is expected to attract and retain girls in schools as well as empower them.

Mrs Olaopa further said the distribution of the computers in selected schools nationwide is one of the intervention programmes under girls education project towards achieving the MDGs goals 2 and 3 which are to improve gender equality and empower women,adding that when you educate a girl, you have educated a nation.

The use of computer, according to her, has become very essential and the girl-child will not be left out of it.

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•Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State (middle), presenting the 1st Class Staff of Office to His Royal Highness, Etsu Tsaragi, Alhaji Aliyu Kpotwa Abdullahi at Tsaragi, Edu Local Government Area. With them is the Commissioner for Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Ahmed Makama

Etsu Nupe harps on unity

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HE Etsu Nupe and the Chairman of the Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, has hinged the unity of the country on deliberate resolution of all the nationalities to accept one another as members of the same family.

Speaking in his Wadata Palace in Bida, during the inauguration of the Council of Elders of Kin Nupe, a socio-cultural group set up for the promotion of Nupe culture and values among the Nupe speaking people of Niger, Kogi and Kwara

1,020 benefit from free health programme UR people can only go about their normal business if they are free from diseases, and sicknesses such as hypertension, diabetes, malaria and others.”

These were the words of the Chairman of Mushin Local Government Hon. Olatunde Babatunde Adepitan during the flag-off ceremony of a two-day free health programme in the council area. It was done in collaboration with Orange Drugs Ltd. “When the idea of the free medical check-up was mooted, the intention was to bring healthcare delivery system closer to the aged, the pregnant women, the children, the vulnerable in the society.

“We decided to flag-off the programme in Omodigo Primary Health Centre, Palm Avenue because of its strategic location. The patronage we received for the two-day health programme was tremendous”.

According to the chairman, the programme would not have achieved much but for the support of Orange Drug Ltd. “One thing that is very clear is that corporate organisation will need to collaborate with government at all levels in order to achieve remarkable success in the healthcare delivery system. Orange Drug Ltd brought their

“O

products, BOSKA, free of charge to the programme for the benefit of all.

“The silent killer, hypertension, diabetes, malaria parasite were detected from many of the beneficiaries of the programme.

“One of the major causes of poverty, illiteracy and underdevelopment is sickness. This programme has served as a veritable ingredient for the generality of our people to be free from squarlour and hunger because they are free from sickness and stagnation”, the chairman said.

Chief Ajayi, the Baale of Papa Ajao who benefited from the programme, praised the authorities of Mushin Local Government Area and Orange Drug Ltd., BOSKA and others for the support. He appealed to the Local Government to extend the programme to all the six primary health centres so that more people can enjoy and live a healthy life style.

Corporate organisation should re-invest in the people who patronize their products.

Dr. Adenike Oluwo, the Medical Officer of the council, stressed the need for the people to avail themselves of the opportunities provided by government to reduce sickness and diseases.

She charged them to patronise the primary health centres closest to them.

Niger From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

states, the royal father advised that we do away with those issues that separate and threaten the unity of the country.

Addressing the council and notable Nupes from the three states, the royal father noted that the deliberate harmonisation of our diverse socio-cultural values would serve as a panacea for the political, economical and social upheavals.

“For our country to continue to exist as a corporate entity, all ethnic nationalities must accept one another as members of one family, it is in doing this that we can be on the path of progress and unity,” the royal father stated.

He then charged Nupes in the country and in the Diaspora to strive and face the challenges of modern Nigeria. This, he said, they can do by investing in education and commerce, adding that his people should also take advantage of the democratic environment to fully participate in the political development of the country.

AUCHI State government has agreed to pay N30m as its counterpart fund for the take-off of Sustainable Water And Sanitation in Africa Project (SUWASA).

The project, a United States of America International Aid Development (USAID) initiative, is aimed at fostering innovative reforms and funding for safe and affordable water and sanitation services across sub Saharan Africa.

Yusuf Yerima, a permanent secretary in state Ministry for Water Resources,at a validation workshop on status overview on water and sanitation in Bauchi, revealed that government has indicated its political will and commitment to improve the performance of the state Water Board in

I

T was time to rejoice again on April 19 and 20 as members of the (NYCN) National Youth Council of Nigeria, Lagos State chapter met and elected new members after four years of crisis.

The event tagged, Unity Congress produced new sets of leaders that will oversee the affairs of the Youth Council for the next three years.

Held at the Seven Day Adventist Church Youth, Maryland, it was full of funfair with

BRIEFS • Yan Tauri Cultural Group entertaining at Kebbi Pavilion during the 4th Arts and Crafts Expo in Abuja

Community mounts pressure on lawmaker

HE tussle for the position of Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly may have taken a new twist as Ikorodu people are putting pressure on their representative from Ikorodu 1 constituency, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade to contest for the position. His constituents are not only putting pressure on him to declare his interest in the position, a prominent non political group, ’The Ikorodu Progressives’ (TIP) has written to the leadership of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) urging it to concede the position not just to Lagos East Senatorial District but specifically to Agunbiade. TIP has also gone further to place an advert in a national daily newspaper making the same appeal and stating its case for the honourable member.

Part of the letter to ACN leadership reads, “we wish to passionately appeal that under this new dispensation, the speakership should not only be zoned to Ikorodu axis of the East Senatorial District, but specifically allocated to our son, a distinguished returning member of the

By Oziegbe Okoeki

House in person of Barrister Sanai Agunbiade representing constituency 1 in the House.”

Justifying its request on the principle of zoning that has been in practice in the state since 1992, the group maintained that “it is only fair and politically equitable to zone the speakership seat for the new Assembly to be constituted to the East senatorial district.

According to the Coordinator of TIP, Sir Ayodele Elesho, going by the zoning/sharing formula of the party in the state it is the East zone that should produce the next speaker.

Elesho said, “since Lagos Central produced the governor, Lagos West produced the Deputy governor, it is important and justifiable that the speaker should come from Lagos East.”

He however did not stop there, he went further to say that of the three divisions that make up Lagos east, it was the turn of Ikorodu and they want Agunbiade to occupy the seat.

E said, “the party has been treating all the zones in the Lagos east senatorial district fairly and justifiably.

Nigerians advised on security NIGERIANS have been advised to be security conscious following the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin-Laden by the United States Security Forces in Pakistan.

According to the President, Chartered Board of Administrators of Nigeria, Prof Gholahan Dairo, this call has become expedient in view of the volatility of religions and the existence of Al-Qaeda adherents in the country, particularly in the north.

He said the world- wide acclaimed success of the US in killing Bin – Laden was a wake up call for the nation, and in particular for the security forces to be more proactive in their responses to security threats to Nigeria, especially now that we are just recovering from post- election violence across the country.

Dairo said that, “Remember the wanton destruction of lives and properties in some parts of the north and the previous records of religious crises there; so, we need to be up and doing and prevent any unscrupulous elements from taking advantage of Osama’s killing to cause another riot in whatever guise in the country.” The CBAN boss, also warned that, “We can not afford to throw away our collective destiny, which is anchored on enduring democratic ideals.”

Bauchi Austine Tsenzughul , Bauchi

compliance with SUWASA set goals.

Bauchi is the first state in Nigeria to benefit from the Kenya based regional office project.

Yerima assured that government will ensure that ministries and agencies involved in water and sanitation services cooperate to ensure a successful implementation of government’s water policy.

He urged stakeholders to ensure that loopholes are checked so that they do not delay or prevent the state water board from performing optimally, while SUWASA initiatives on operation and funding autonomy are adopted to improve the services.

Earlier, SUWASA Deputy Chief of Party , Dr Dennis Muanza, asked for a review of the Act on which the state board was set to fast-track and promote innovative reforms that would translate into effective and efficient service to the people.

•Yuguda The SUWASA chief also praised the government for initiating good water policy meant to fast track the implementation of SUWASA programme in the state.

Fashola to inaugurate power project

I

N continuation of the on going transformation programme of his administration, Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN), will today inaugurate the newly built 10 megawatts Island Power Project (IPP) to boost economic and social activities within and around the Lagos Island.

In a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Mr. Hakeem Bello, the power project is another milestone by the Fashola administration and an expression of the administration’s commitment towards addressing the energy needs of the people of the state.

The statement further explained that the new IPP, built to highest global thermal operating plant standards, will deliver 24 hours uninterrupted supply of electricity to some public institutions located in central Lagos such as the Island maternity, Lagos General Hospital, and the Lagos High Court in a bid to increase their efficiency and bring down their operational cost.

Youth council elects new leaders

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From left: Mrs. Banjo; Dr. Oluwo, Head of Sales and Marketing Dexa Medical, Mr Anndy Sembiring and the Sales and Marketing Manager, of the company at Omodigbo PHC in Mushin

37

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

an opening ceremony which saw the host pastors praying for the peaceful conduct of the event and some eminent personalities urging the youth to shun crises and embrace peace, justice and fairplay in order to play a critical role in re-building Lagos.

The determination of the youths to promote peace having stayed for over four years without acceptable leader was displayed by the delegates.

At the end, those who emerged as executive included: Hon Gbadebo Oluwafemi - Chairman; Hon Oresile Olayinka - General Secretary; Hon Yusuf Kelani Deputy Chairman; Hon Bisiriyu Kolawole - Vice Chairman Lagos East; Hon Alliyu Adetayo - Vice Chairman Lagos West and Hon Sulaimon Olaotan Vice Chairman Lagos Central.

In his acceptance speech, the Chairmanelect, Oluwafemi, thanked all the youths for reposing trust in him.

He promised to work with every youth and youth organisations in the state in the course of re-branding the youth council.

“There no victor or vanquished, we are winners,” he said.

NYCN thanked Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN), for his commitment to good governance and crime prevention, capacity building as well as extending the frontiers of education, leadership and innovations in Lagos State and Nigeria at large.

“Our profound gratitude also goes to the Commissioner for Youths, Sports and Social development, Special Adviser to the Governor on Youth Affairs, Political and Legislative Matters, the Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Youths and Sports, NYCN national leaders for their significant roles towards advancing the course and future of the entire youths in Lagos State,” he said.

• From left: President Lekki Rotary Club Phase 1, Rotn Chuks Ikokwu, Education Secretary, Eti- Osa Local Government, Mr. Taiwo Lukmon, Head teacher, Itedo Primary Community School, Mr. G. Ogunglulugbe, Executive Chairman, State Universal Basic Education, Mrs. B. Idowu ,Senior Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on Basic Education, Mrs. Abisola Olatunji and the representative of the District Governor, District 9110 , Rotn. Bola Sodipe, at the inauguration and launch of Itedo Community Primary School Computer Classroom/ Library sponsored by Rotary Club Lekki Scheme 1, District 9110,

Ekiti farmers to share N33m

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BOUT N33 million has been voted by Ekiti State government for peasant farmers to enhance their productivity in the new farming season.

This was disclosed by the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Adio Folayan recently He said the money would be strictly distributed among real peasant farmers to assist in their farming activities with a view to improving the Gross Domestic Product(GDP) of the state.

Folayan explained that government would take appropriate steps to ensure that fake farmers do not deceive agric officials with rented farms to dupe the state government and deprive authentic farmers of the rare opportunity.

He explained that in order not to omit any of the peasant farmers from the empowerment programme, the distribution of the money would be done from political ward to ward irrespective of political lineage of prospective beneficiaries.

Speaking on the determination of Governor

• Folayan

From Toyin Anisulowo, Ado-Ekiti

Kayode Fayemi-led administration to turn the state to a food basket of the nation, the commissioner revealed that the donor agency for food security had supplied the state with 12 units of tractors a fortnight ago.

He disclosed that the state governor had approved money for the purchase of additional 15 tractors and had approved fund for the overhaul of some old tractors in the fleet of the ministry.

Afolayan noted that the governor was aiming at modernising farming in the state with a view to making it attractive to youths in the state.

He observed if youths are brought into mechanised farming, it would serve as a mopup mechanism in reducing the rate of unemployment in the state.

NIM honours Amaechi’s wife

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HE International Institute of Management, United States of America, has conferred the Exemplary African Woman Leadership award on the wife of the Rivers State Governor Dame Judith Amaechi.

Mrs. Amaechi who received the award at Las Vegas Nevada State last weekend was honoured for her contribution to the economic and political empowerment of women. “The award is conferred on you in recognition of your contribution to the development of women in leadership in Rivers State”,it was said.

Presenting the award, President of the Institute, Med Jones said the Rivers State Governor’s wife has demonstrated great leadership prowess in providing sustainable means of livelihood for women in the state and added that her women empowerment programme has attracted global attention as model for changes and development in developing countries.

He asserted that the award on Mrs Amaechi was the first of its kind and encourage her to keep the good works.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

Life

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Text only: 08023058761

•From left: Chief Guobadia and Uwaifo

Edo’s day of history – SEE PAGE 32

FCT targets robust learning –Page 31

Abandoned ‘Jungle’ theatre

–Page 33

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

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E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

Soyinka’s new love Last year, an international cultural exchange programme, Preemptive, was staged across UK, US, and Nigeria to mark Nobel laureate Soyinka’s 76th birthday. This year, it’s I love My Country, reports Assistant Editor (Arts), OZOLUA UHAKHEME.

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FTER the successful staging of Preemptive, a play written by US-based Niyi Coker and directed by Segun Ojewuyi, acting and directing teacher at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, US, the management of Zmirage Multimedia Limited is back on stage with a drama production and essay competition on a central theme (code named ProjectWS7728086 I Love My Country). It toured the Barbados, the UK, US and Nigeria between June and July last year.

Last year, Preemptive, which featured an eight-man cast from the US, was a product of a US governmentsponsored workshop on American policies on terrorism, focusing on inter-racial respect and people’s reactions to the US government’s measures on terrorism. A fringe production, Seven, was also presented in Lagos.

Like Preemptive and Seven, this year’s play will hold in the UK on July 2. The Lagos end will premier on July 13 to mark the 77 th birthday of Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos. Freedom Park on Broad Street Lagos will also host the event. But the cast for the Lagos performance will be mainly Nigerian.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of Zmirage Multimedia Limited, Alhaji Teju Kareem, this year’s event is basically an advocacy and reorientation campaign for change, especially among children. He stressed the need to begin to encourage the younger generation intellectually in the quest for national identity and lasting peace in the world.

“The idea that nothing good can come out of Nigeria is constantly drummed into our children who are the leaders of tomorrow. It is, therefore, important to change their mindset and, consequently, change their outlook and attitude. We have therefore come up with a reorientation and advocacy project as part of this year’s programme,” he said at a briefing in Lagos.

On funding, Kareem said it would be borne by him, adding that most big companies today started off using personal money to fund their businesses. “By fifth and tenth year, it will break even and thus yield returns,” he said.

This year’s edition will also feature red carpet parade of 77 stars, talks by speakers on culture and humanity laced with drama sketches. The talk-show is in keeping with the theme of exchanging ideas while the red carpet is a presentation of Wole Soyinka’s theatrical spirit and offerings with a lineup of 77 celebrities from the world of theatre performing snippets and monologues from many characters the revered writer has created in his works.

For the essay competition, it is open to private and public secondary school students across the country, who will be required to write an essay on the topic: I Love My Country. The choice of the topic, ac-

•Ooni of Ife and cast of Preemptive

CULTURAL EXCHANGE cording to the organisers, is to help the students see the positive sides of the country and give them a chance to become advocates of the Nigeria we all wish for. Two schools (one public, one private) will be shortlisted in every state including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Each school will hold the competition among its students with the same topic, after which the school will select its best for a grand finale in Lagos. Two students each from the 36 states and the FTC, making it 74 children will qualify. But they will be joined by winners of last year’s competition, thus a total of 77 children will take part in the finals. The organisers have divided the country into zones and coordinators have been engaged to ensure that standards are adhered to strictly.

Last year, Michael Martins, 13, of the Boys Junior Academy and Miss Anunsionwu Joy, 15, of the Aunty Ayo Comprehensive Secondary School, won the first position of the two categories on the topic; The Wole Soyinka I Know.

‘The idea that nothing good can come out of Nigeria is constantly drummed into our children who are the leaders of tomorrow. It is, therefore, important to change their mindset and, consequently, change their outlook and attitude’

•Soyinka

LAST YEAR WINNING ENTRIES

The Wole Soyinka I know

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HE Wole Soyinkia I know is a native of Ake in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, where he was born on July 13 ,1934.

The Wole Soyinka I know indicated right from childhood that he would make a mark in the education sector of the country. In one of his publications Ake, he explained that he had to start school earlier than normal because he could not stand staying at home when his playmates and elder ones are in school.

He attended the Government College, Ibadan, and proceeded to the University College, Ibadan, to study English and Literature. Afterward, he studied at the University of Leeds to study Dramatic Arts.

He is an internationally-recognised playwright, poet, critic, lecturer and an actor. Some his plauys includes: The Dance of the forest (1960), The swamp dwellers (1960), The trials of Brother Jero (1964), Kongi’s harvest (1967), Death and the king’s horsemen (1974). Some of the novels written by him include Penkele meesi, Ake, The man died. Notable among his poems are: Abiku and The telephone conversation. Professor Wole Soyinka won the Nobel prize in literature in 1986. He is a social critic whose commentaries have contributed to re-shaping Nigeria.

- Anusionwun Joy, 15 years, Aunty Ayo Comprehensive Secondary School.

O

LOYE Akinwande “Oluwole” Soyinka was born on July 13,1934 in Isara-Remo, Ogun State. He attended Government Collage, Ibadan and the University College where he studied English and Literature, and then he became a professor of English and also known as a poet. He was the first Nigerian man to win the Nobel price. He is a professor of English and literature in one of the university in America. He is a Human right activist.

– Michael Martins, 13 years Boys Junior Academy

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E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

•FCT students at the launch

The Minister for Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, has endorsed President Goodluck Jonathan’s Bring Back The Book initiative to reinvent the fading reading culture. The FCT Administration (FCTA) also resolved to guarantee qualitative education by inculcating a robust learning and reading attitude in people, especially those of school age. He spoke with Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME on his administration’s plans to reverse the fading reading culture during the launch of the Bring Back The Book campaign in Abuja.

FCT targets robust learning

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How realistic is this initiative to the needs of Nigerians?

Well, I have to believe in it because this is something that has brought me to this level and brought you and everybody, knowledge and professionalism. We want to start by inculcating that sense of self-actualisation to build oneself, to have ambition to be what one wants to be. And you cannot do it without inculcating that orientation, that feeling of self-reliance must be cultivated in our people. Of course, it is a vision commonly shared with President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who has a passion and mission to bring transformation. He wants to do it through the durable institutional perspective touching on the fabric of where it will stay, where it will linger longer and, therefore, make the desired impact of change and transformation.

How do you create activities around the libraries?

We have just inaugurated a library and we are going to start with 15 and every quarter, we will increase our capacity to provide libraries in secondary schools before we go to tertiary institutions. There are so many books to be accessed from the international community, donor agencies, universities that have gone to the e-level, they don’t even read with the hard copy anymore. So, we will also achieve that level of e-library concept so that we can put the desired ICT-driven infrastructure for our people to access.

But you have to teach them how to use the computer, you have to get the computers as well. We are starting with the books because they are available all over the world, create where they will be safe and used. Our children need them even though in some other places they are no longer in use.

Education and knowledge are not restricted to a particular segment of the society, are you going to expand this to include the almajiri and the destitute on the street?

Yes, that is why we started rehabilitation. We are rehabilitating some useful members of our society, especially the women who are commercial sex workers.

Some of them were driven by poverty or necessity and some by ignorance. Last week, we launched our own

LITERATURE rehabilitation centre, which is ICT-driven, where we try to provide some sort of cushion and solace for the deprived so that they will have care and know that we care for them. Of course, on capacity building, skill acquisition, we are looking at how we will build skill acquisition centres with education as our focus so that, at least, we will create the required artisans – masons, carpenters and what have you to drive our new development, transformation especially in a city where we need a lot of technology and science.

•Students at the event.

•Mohammed

Photos: Ozolua Uhakheme

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

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•JP Clark (right) and Austyn Njoku

•Uwaifo

•Chief Guobadia

Edo’s day of history

•Omoigui (right) and other guests

The septuagenarian engineer-turned author, Omo Uwaifo, marked his birthday in Lagos with a reading in Edo Language. The event was a splendid showcase of culture, history and debates, EVELYN OSAGIE reports.

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HAT Saturday evening, the sun was just setting as the cream of the Edo community were ushered into the serene ambiance of the Foxhole.The cool breeze prepared the A-list guests for a memorable evening of reading and display of Benin cultural heritage.

The event was the reading marking the 79th birthday of Omo Uwaifo, 2009 NLNG Nigerian Prize nominee.

It was witnessed by the renowned poet, John Pepper Clark Bekederemo. The entrance of the poet added a literary zest to the occasion. It had the Benin Royalty in attendance. The Aisagbonmoba of Benin, Chief Anofi Guobadia, gave it a traditional appeal. Other members of Edo Community in Lagos that attended were the former Surveyor-General of Nigeria, Mr Dan Omoigui; Dr Ebun Olotu; Dr H. Akpata; Gabriel Obaseki; Mrs Pat IghoOsagie; Mr David Osagie and Mrs Ize Ukpoma Marebese, among others.

If you were from a rustic African milieu, then, you would probably remember what it means to sit under nature to listen to a traditional story-teller, who is usually an elderly person, telling stories.

That was how it felt being at the reading of Uwaifo’s work-in-progress in Edo Language.

He was literally the storyteller that was blessed with a very attentive audience who sat through the two hours it lasted.

It was his day and he was keen on enjoying himself. One could see that he was enjoying himself as he would often sing a folksong as he read on. The audience would smile in return as the act seemed

READING to keep their attention and remind them of home.

They listened with rapt attention as he read from the book entitled There goes my Father; a historical story on the disputes in the family of Oba Ozolua, a Benin monarch who lived in the 15th Century. It is about the oba that had two sons delivered on the same day. Osawe, who later became Oba Esigie, was the younger, but he cried before his elder brother Idubor, who was known popularly as Aruan. Owing to the tradition of the land regarding a child crying after childbirth, Osawe became the heir to the throne. Thus, began a life-long dispute between the brothers.

Uwaifo took people into the various scenes of these disputes which resulted to Idubor committing suicide. Uwaifo also went beyond the dispute to give a historical account of the Benin people living in the present-day Ondo State.

The reading elicited various reactions from the audience, including the ace poet.

Because the author made use of the names of real-life characters and events in Edo history, the audience was torn between whether the story was fiction or history.

Although Uwaifo said the work is a historical fiction, the audience said it was a popular Edo folklore known to all. They, however, praised him for documenting Edo history for posterity.

Guobadia said: “It is historical fiction… more history than fiction because most of the things stated happened in Benin his-

•Guests at the events.

tory. Aside from the time of birth that may be different, which no one is sure of, what we call morning and evening in Benin is quite debated. For example, when I was younger, my father will look at the sun up there in the sky and say it is time for lunch and stop working. Nonetheless, the fundamentals - actors and actresses – are correct and real. When you embellish a story, you distort history. However, I commend his effort towards documenting our history.”

As a literary scholar and critic, Bekederemo was the first to raise dust over the classification of the story. He asked Uwaifo if he was writing history or a creative work of literature. He said: “I know the story. But what I want to know is if you are writing history or creative work of litera-

PHOTOS: EVELYN OSAGIE

ture. To call it fiction, it means there must be expression and literary techniques and that is lacking in this story. But I guess the work is good enough for this kind of gathering.”

On his part, Uwaifo said the work is a historical fiction that took him two weeks to write. He said: “It is historical fiction because the plot is different and the date is not exact, even though the names are same. In any case, it is a work-in-progress subject to editing.”

Aside the debate guests networked and rekindled old friendships. The debate, in fact, added spice to the event, Uwaifo said.

“I enjoyed myself. It was good having my people around me to critique my work. It made the whole event interesting. It is indeed a lovely way to celebrate ones birthday. I loved it.”

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Abandoned ‘Jungle’ theatre Ajegunle, a.k.a Jungle City, used to have an arts centre. Then, the Ayota Art Centre was the rave of Ajegunle’s art scene, discovering and hosting many who later became stars. Today, the centre is a shadow of its old self.

EVELYN OSAGIE reports.

W

ITH the calibre of stars that has graced its stage, Ayota Art Centre should have become an artistic haven of some sorts. Although, it was once the centre of arts and creative events, unfortunately, that is no longer the case of the first privately-built art centre in the metropolis.

For years, the place has been dead to artistic activities for which it was built; and has since been replaced by the noise of students during the day and the shouts of praise by church worshipers at night and at weekend.

As you walk into Oyedeji Street, Ajegunle, where the centre is located, you would almost miss the centre as there is no signpost to guide you. If you were seeking a large edifice with the trappings typical of an art centre, you may be disappointed. It stands as any other house on the street.

But as you look closely at Number 33, you would find the centre’s name mutely written on the wall of the compound that also serves as residence and entrance for the centre. You are, however, acquainted with the artistic trappings of the place as you enter the passage way leading to the centre. Then, you would come faced with the sorry sight of the centre. The onestrorey building is as large as a warehouse. The only difference is that it has rooms that once served as office and chainging room; and a concrete stage which is lower than where the audience usually sits. Before entering the centre, an artistically decorated grave of its founder welcomes you into the place.

Built by the late ace theatre practitioner, Segun Taiwo in 1984, the centre was a central stage of entertainment in the metropolis. Theatrical and artistic events such as international music shows, drama, dance festivals, arts and craft workshops were held in the place.

The place also held talent hunt shows that featured stars such as Daddy Showkey, Daddy Fresh, Baba Frayo among others.

“As a child I remember Daddy Showkey, Daddy Fresh and Papa Ajasco, Akin Akinjobi coming to feature in programmes organised by the centre. My father would often hold talent hunt shows through which many, who are now stars, were discovered. Apart from raising stars, he held art and craft and music, dance and drama workshops for the youths and children in the area. My father believes in the ‘Theatre for Development’. He was operating his theatre as an NGO work, using it to interpret and influence the society, particularly Ajegunle.Like many others, I am a product of those workshops,” said Ahmed Taiwo.

Ahmed is following in his father’s foot-

•Ayota Arts Centre

•Ahmed

‘The first thing is to commend the memory of Segun Taiwo, in taking the initiative to build an institution in a place like this. And to use it as a prop to others. What he has done with the place is to challenge the government that it is their responsibility to put up places like this’ EDIFICE step. With a master’s degree in Theatre, specialising in dance, he is managing the centre. “I organise art and dance workshops for children during the long vacation for children. My father started it in 1992; and I have since been determined to keep his dream alive. Once in a while, I allow some artistic activities to take place here. The centre was recently used for the auditioning of the BornTroWay project by the popular musician Bantu, Segun Adefila and others. It drew national attention to the centre. But patronage has been low.”

Ahmed lamented the present condition of the centre, saying the death of his father has led to lack of patronage of the place. He said: “My father’s death really affected the centre. The centre used to have a permanent theatre troupe called Ayota Troupe, one that has also featured in international events. It represented Nigeria during a festival at Korea in 1988. If he were alive, I know things would have been different. But we are trying to keep the dream alive.”

He also named the location and lack of funds as the centre’s major challenges. He

•Bantu and Ilaria, organisers of BornTroWay on a visit to the centre.

said: “The location is another setback. If this place has been on the other side of town like Yaba, Surulere or the Island, I know we would be singing another song by now. Funding is another challenge. We do not have the funds to manage the theatre. And then, there has not been a good theatre manager to properly run the place.

Although I studied Theatre Art, I am a dancer by profession. I need somebody to manage it and this also boils down to the issue of funding.”

While seeking to keep the place afloat, Ahmed said, it is now being leased by a school and church. “We still hold some artistic events here. I have my dance troupe and we hold our rehearsals here.

And I am working at bringing the troupe alive again. But we have rented the place on the side to a school and a church to keep it from total dilapidation,” he said.

Observers are of the view that the government should look into the reconstruction and restoration of the edifice to its former glory.

Many like, the head of the guerilla theatre Crown Troupe, Adefila, have commended the efforts of the centre’s founder, saying he thought ahead of his

PHOTOS: EVELYN OSAGIE

time in setting up the place. Adefila said: “The late Segun Taiwo lived before his time. He saw the need for a community theatre 20 years ago before anybody thought of it. It is a shame that an edifice like Ayota Arts Centre should be allowed to rust. “ The activist poet, Dagga Tolar, opined that the place, if properly maintained, may become another creative destination.

He said: “The first thing is to commend the memory of Segun Taiwo, in taking the initiative to build an institution in a place like this. And to use it as a prop to others.

What he has done with the place is to challenge the government that it is their responsibility to put up places such as this.There are no local government-owned art theatres and still a private one such as it is fast depreciating without the government being concerned. It is sad. The youths need places such as Ayota across the country.

“There is the need for all of us to carry out an immediate rescue operation to return the centre to a place where arts can thrive. They should see a place like that, with its laudable history, as a tourist potential and seize the opportunity to turn the place over.”

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The Midweek Magazine

Achebe’s intimate life

LIFELINE

AICA holds congress in Paraguay

In this preview of Chinua Achebe’s book that showcases Achebe, the student, the writer, the parent, the social and political activist and, most importantly, a humanist and unrepentant social conscience of Nigeria, OSELOKA OBAZE takes readers into the intimate aspects of the author of Things Fall Apart.

I

T was inevitable and, therefore, bound to happen.

Indeed, it would have been unconscionable that a master storyteller, of whom much has been written about his works and personality, would by omission leave it to others not just to render, but also to have the last say on things he cared much about and, importantly, about issues he knew so intimately. Perhaps so, in assessing and critiquing his works, which many have done and some, even unkindly; but not events he was part of and certainly not his life. This preview, as the reader would have guessed, is about Chinua Achebe’s long-awaited and forthcoming book, now with his publishers.

Unquestionably, the intimate aspects of Chinua Achebe’s life – all eighty years, plus - could never be better told by anyone than the man himself. The book, dubbed “a semiautobiographical tour de force” by some of those who have been privileged to read the entire manuscript or proof copy, could only be qualified in a nutshell, with that Cronkitenian, assurance, “and that’s the way it is”.

Many will be thrilled that Achebe, the legend and celebrated writer, whom Nobel laureate Tony Morrison once acknowledged as “one of her main literary inspirations in writing about her own people”, has gone the extra mile to write introspectively, intimately and from a looking glass perspective, about himself, not just as a famed writer, but about his antecedents, the early beginnings, “from his father, mother and great uncle through his own birth, early education, to college and university.”

This justifiably lengthy book, already described as vintage Achebe, does not only offer critical insights into the emergence of Africa’s literary tradition, but also delves into the origin and writing of Things Fall Apart, his other major novels, such as No Longer At Ease, and “children’s books and poetry and. fundamentally, about his role in the founding of the African Writers Series.” Factual and forthright, it is Achebe at his profoundly intimate, candid and illuminating best.

The yet untitled book (as at then), surveys the trajectory of a noble and richly lived life, with its inevitable ups and downs from the writer’s birth to his fame and present disability and involuntary sojourn in the United States.

Hence, it showcases Achebe, the student, the writer, the parent, the social and political activist and, most importantly, a humanist and unrepentant social conscience of Nigeria.

Ever a faithful and abiding loyalist to those whom he calls friends, Achebe devotes an entire section of the volume to his friend, schoolmate and fellow writer, the late iconoclast poet, Christopher Okigbo. His rendition will no doubt add to Okigbo’s already full-blown enigma and legendary status.

If this volume has one value, it is Achebe’s accentuation of his advocacy and going beyond precepts, to affirm that if Africans do not tell their own stories, others would, as is often the case. Some of the facts in the volume are already well known and reside in the public domain. But in this volume and from the vantage position of the author, some finer details and revelations emerge, about events, peoples and places that are clearly beyond footnotes, and some, anecdotally so.

As one of the readers of the manuscript noted, “His focus on the dissolution of the Nigerian state is moving, refreshing and novel. He provides a historical overview of the clash between traditional African and European civilizations, the colonial period, agitation for independence and the Nigerian nationalists and independence fighters (with a special focus on Nnamdi Azikiwe’s pivotal role).” In this context, Achebe does not merely reframe in a more illuminated form, our basic understanding of Nigerian politics, but offers unvarnished assessment of how Nigeria found itself at this critical juncture and present governance quandary.

This volume will, as most of Achebe’s works provoke debate and discourse, if not controversy. Biafra was tackled not so much as a light and passé topic, now embedded in the deep recesses of nebulous memory or a topic fittingly belonging to history, but with all the seriousness and bluntness it deserved.

As has been noted, “he also pays particular attention to the Biafran tragedy that claimed 3 million lives and raises questions about genocide, ethnic cleansing, a Nigerian

E-mail:- ozoluauhakheme@yahoo.com

•Achebe

version of the ‘final solution’ and historical suppression all fodder for an explosive debate and reaction. In addition, he discusses his role with others in writing the Ahiara Declaration, his ’diplomatic’ journeys on behalf of the people of Biafra and provides insights from both local and international perspectives that are bound to be new for many.” Interestingly, here, one senses that there is no intention by Achebe to stoke controversy or reopen already healed wounds, as much as there is an effort to render the facts as they stood, least past mistakes are repeated. Several elements and observations are revelatory; even some four decades after Biafra ceased to exist. As if a postscript to his treatise, The Trouble with Nigeria, which still stand as the measure of the dysfunctional state of his native country, Achebe did not dodge the great Nigerian nationhood experiment debate in his analysis of present day Nigeria and its failures. He plunged into unreservedly, so much so that some are convinced that his rendition “will cause a great deal of debate in his native Nigeria”. The choice endgame and bookend of this volume, is one devoted to one persona and issue on which our humanity has been able to rally to a consensus: the beyond reproach bona fides of Nelson Mandela. Simply, Achebe exhorts African leaders to emulate the great Nelson Mandela.

Chinua Achebe’s life and works will for the unforeseen future be the subject of many scholarly endeavours; yet, whether combined or alone, each represents a tale that could not be better told by anyone than the man himself. This volume stands in testimony. Nonetheless, some still believe that there is always an element of vanity inherent in autobiographies. That may be true, but works such as this are invaluable, that any element of vanity, if indeed it is present, pales all too soon. That said, it must also be admitted that it would amount to a cruel act of omission for anyone in public life not to render an account of their life and times in their own words, controversial, vain, outlandish or mundane as their story might be.

For Chinua Achebe, a man with an unvarnished worldview, a penchant for details and abiding faith and pride in the African culture and tradition, not to have availed his admirers, readers, critics and posterity of his assessment of the self and times, would have been unpardonable. This literary critic has for some years noted the painful gross omission of Achebe’s name from the list of Nobel Laureates for Literature. The reasoning for that inadvertence is largely dubious as it is inexplicable – but that is life, ever so mysterious, and unfair. Perhaps, it might also be that fate has intervened, as only it could; thus ensuring that the-soobvious should not be acknowledged in the present. But now that Achebe has opted to reveal himself, his thoughts and his encounters with people and his role in historical events all on-the-record, even those who eschew acknowledging his legendary status have a justifiable excuse and basis to drop their pettiness and reservations.

For Chinua Achebe, life has come to a full circle, and true to style, he has done things his own way – deliberately, quietly, humbly, fastidiously and without apologies.

Surely, this volume, which will be reviewed in greater detail on this space once in published form, is not just merely a captivating and well-told-tale, but one that spans a broad historical timeframe and places some vexatious, prickly and disquieting issues in their proper context, albeit from Achebe’s vantage point as an observer and in many instances, as a key player.

This seminal work is delighting and instructing at the same time, much like autobiography of great nations that are written in three strands – deeds, words and arts. It is a moving overview of the quintessential Chinua Achebe. This book will be a handsome collector’s addition to any worthy personal or public library. The anticipation for many of Achebe’s readers and admirers is surely worth the wait.

• Obaze is a founding member of the Kwenu.com Book Review Forum.

The AICA Paraguay in collaboration with AICA is organising the 44th international congress of AICA in Asunción, in Paraguay, from 17 to 19 October 2011.

The theme of the Congress is Art and Criticism at a Time of Crisis’.

The interdisciplinary colloquium aims to bring together critics, curators, artists, journalists, historians, art historians, sociologists, lawyers.

AICA is therefore calling for papers from critics, historians, artists, sociologists and curators in line with the theme of the colloquium. Membership of AICA is not a prerequisite.

Proposals for papers (with title and maximum one page résumé) should reach AICA via the following e-mail addresses:aica.py@click.com.py and aica.office@gmail.com by June 1, 2011.

The congress languages will be Spanish, English and French. A decision on all submissions will be communicated to those concerned on, or after, July 1 2011.

The papers are expected to address artistic practice and the theoretical debate surrounding it reflecting the unprecedented social, political, cultural and technological complexities and changes at the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century.

The congress will focus on the present state of art in both local and international context and pose the following questions: What kind of perspective and axes of communication should be adopted, in response to the changing relations between art, criticism, and society?

What is the critic’s role and responsibility vis-à-vis the society he or she lives and works in today? The axes of crisis, political and ethical, social and economic, cultural and artistic, art criticism and the media, spaces of interaction and fields of tension, cultural institutions (foundations, museums, galleries, biennials, etc.), Press and other media, public debates, alternative forms of interaction, art and criticism in virtual space, new languages, new tools, new kinds of behaviour.

Don celebrates Ijesa icons A book presentation in honour of Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’s 54th birthday holds today at the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, Osogbo.

The book titled: Ijesa Icons and the Making of Modern Nigeria – Essays in honour of Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola was edited

by Prof Siyan Oyeweso, a Professor of History and Provost, College of Humanities and Culture, Osun State University, Ikire Campus.

It will be reviewed by Dr Akin Alao, a History teacher at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, at the event to be chaired by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed, while the Aregbesola, who turns 54 on the 27th, is the guest of honour.

Vice-Chancellor of Caleb University, Imota, Lagos, Prof Ayodeji Olukoju is the keynote speaker at the event while Oba Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran, the Owa Obokun of Ijesaland is the royal father of the day.

•Aregbesola

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Youths urged to reverse culture erosion

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FRICAN youths have been urged to halt the increasing distortion of their traditional heritage by foreign cultures and to utilise their cultural heritage to engender development. At a threeday seminar in Lagos titled: “Workshop on Youth and Nigeria’s Intangible Cultural Heritage,” speakers said the cultural content of the education curricular should be revisited.

The youths were told that culture must be seen as a means of survival, that real development can not take place “on the womb of an alien culture,” and that they must overcome the “copycat mentality.” It was jointly organised by the Human Development Initiatives (HDI) and the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC).

Speakers included Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos, Prof Duro Oni; Director/Chief Executive, CBAAC, Prof Tunde Babawale; Acting Executive Director, HDI, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye; Chair, Board of Trustees, HDI, Prof S.B.A. Oloko, and Prof O. Soyombo.

Others were Deputy Managing Director of The Sun, Mr Femi Adesina; Dr ‘Sope Fagboungbe, Dr Ayo Yusuf, Mr Yinka Akanle, Mrs Funso Owasanoye, and Mr Akinwale Onipade.

Prof Oni regretted that Nigerian cultures have been altered to the extent that they are neither authentically Nigerian nor true replication of western cultures. Even Nigerian languages have remained undeveloped and grossly subordinate to the English Language, he said.

The effect, he said, is that most Nigerian youths do not take pride in communicating in their local languages, leading to “an unfortunate trend of progressively decreasing proficiency of mother tongue usage.” To solve the problem, he said an important starting point should be to use the mother tongue as the medium of imparting knowledge to pupils and students.

“The first step is the need to agree on its desirability. The second is the political will to work out the details and modalities. A situation where our youths are not proficient in the use of the English Language and at the same time deficient in their mother tongue have grave implications for development,” Prof Oni said. He urged Nigerian youths to show, through deliberate effort, more than passing interest in all aspects of Nigerian culture, of which a desirable starting point is language. “A man’s language is his strongest identity.

To neglect it is to destroy one’s identity,” he said.

Prof Babawale said technologically advanced countries write their product manuals in their native languages first, before translating for the outside world.

According to him, no country can make progress without placing premium on culture. “Our democracy must be purged of foreign elements. We also need to promote our traditional religion to attract worshippers from abroad. We must promote our music, our dance,” he said.

Babawale said oral expressions and traditions, performing arts, rituals and festive events, knowledge and practices

• From left: Director, CBAAC, Dr Gloria Chuma-Ibe and Director of Research and Publications and Head of Ibadan Outreach Office, CBAAC, Dr Tony Onwumah

By Joseph Jibueze

concerning nature and the universe, and traditional craftsmanship constitute intangible cultural heritages that must be protected and preserved. Preserving them, he said, will involve making and enforcing legislations on protection of intangible cultural heritages, intensifying propagation of knowledge about them, creating a database for those meant to be given immediate attention, and instituting programmes and incentives to encourage those connected with their preservation.

For Prof Owasanoye, the promotion and retention of positive aspects of culture enables young people to be aware of their ancestry, as well as the accomplishments of their race and society. Such historical and cultural awareness enhances self and social worth, he said.

He added: “Positive cultural sensitivity is also bound to positively impact what individual members of the community create, i.e, products, or the changes that they propose to alter the culture of society or force evolutionary change, i.e processes.

“In other words, positive cultural perception will impact governance and developmental processes like politics, law, philosophy, ethics, the arts, and religion as processes of change.

Similarly, technology as product of cultural change will also be positively deployed in harmony with positive processes.”

Prof Oloko urged Nigerians to patronise local craft. “By buying our indigenous craft, we can help promote culture. For every modern art we have, there is a traditional counterpart.”

Osun heritage council visits Brazil

Ekiti Deputy Governor urges JAMB to curb malpractices

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SUN Cultural Heritage Council, the body responsible for organising the annual Osun Osogbo festival has embarked on an eight-day tour of Brazil. The visit is to unveil the programme for this year’s edition of the festival. The team will be hosted in Brazil by the Centro-Culturalafricano based in Sao Paolo.

The managing director of Infogem Limited, marketers of the festival, Mr Ayo Olumoko said the trip to Brazil was part of the long term plans of the organising committee of the festival to increase the festival’s awareness by reaching out and having a first-hand contact with Blacks in Diaspora, culturally oriented South Americans and Osun deity worshippers in the country.

He said apart from unveiling this year’s programme, the team would use a day or two to discuss with worshippers of the Osun deity in the country. This, he said, is to make them play a more significant role in the festival and in the process attract higher number of religious tourists into the country.

Leading the delegation is the Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh 0yetunji Olanipekun Larooye11. Others in the entourage are Olori Abidemi; Chief Jimoh Buraimoh, the co-ordinator of Osun Festival; High Chief Popoola Bolarinwa; Alhaji Dauda Owolabi, High Priest Akinyemi Elebuibon and Ayo Olumoko.

The annual Osun Osogbo festival held in the ancient town of Osogbo is held in the month of August and attracts tourist visitors from all over the world.

•Prof Babawale

T

•Oba Olanipekun

HE Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Mrs. Funmi Olayinka has called on Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, (JAMB) and other examination bodies to look at their internal mechanism and purge themselves of the bad eggs who engage in corrupt practices such as examination practices.

Mrs Olayinka spoke at a one-day meeting of the coordinators of Joint Admission and matriculation Board (JAMB) and Senior Staff of Tertiary Institutions held at Jibowu Hall, Government House Ground, Ado Ekiti.

She expressed the readiness of the administration of Governor Kayode Fayemi to collaborate with all relevant government and non-governmental institutions to redress the falling standard of education, adding that the state government would pursue the quality education policy in its 8-point agenda to a logical conclusion.

She enumerated steps already taken by the administration towards improving the standard of education to include payment of external and placement examination fee, which include that of JAMB\UME while scholarship processes have been repackaged for optimal capture of the student’s population.

The Chairman of JAMB Governing Board, Professor Samson Ukpabi said the choice of Ekiti State for the meeting was strategic bearing in mind the board’s determination to meet the challenges of making its examination sacrosanct and credible.

Professor Ukpabi reiterated JAMB’s resolve to use the meeting for self appraisal with a view to repositioning themselves for better service delivery, expressing the hope that all coordinators and other stakeholders would take the advantage of the numerous innovations from the Board’s stable, the most recent being the thumb-printing biometric system, which has been successfully tested and found to be reliable.

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ABUJA REVIEW

Minister seeks re-positioning of BON

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•Muhammed

HE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed has called for the re-positioning of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) in order to effectively tackle emerging challenges in the broadcast industry.

The Minister, who made the call while declaring open the 54th General Assembly of the organisation, said that the re-positioning will ensure high standard of professionalism that will assist practitioners break new grounds, exploit new frontiers and tackle emerging challenges.

This, he said, will be their token contribution to national development as the world moves towards becoming a global village.

The Minister said: “The media are veritable vehicle that could effectively be deployed to fast-track the development of any society.”

While commenting on “2011 Elections: A Broadcaster’s Post-Mortem,” which is the theme of this year’s edition of the Assembly, the Minister commended members of the organisation for the patriotic manner with which they covered the just-concluded general elections.

Stories from Bukola Amusan

Earlier, the Chairman of BON, Abubakar Jijiwa while thanking the Minister for hosting the 54th General Assembly, reiterated the commitment of the organisation to take broadcasting in the country to the next level.

In a related development, Senator Mohammed has called for improved remuneration for Nigerian journalists to enable them to efficiently perform their constitutional role.

The Minister made the call in Abuja while receiving the National Working Committee of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) led by its National President, Mallam Mohammed Garba.

Mohammed, who said that Nigerian journalists deserve improved welfare service, noted that to whom much is given, much is expected.

He called on the proprietors of both broadcast and print media organisations to make additional capital investment in the industry by providing necessary modern equipment.

The Minister lauded the commitment of journalists who have defied all odds and

Expert decries low budgetary allocation

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N Abuja-based property expert, Prince Olu Faboro has decried the low budgetary allocation to the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA in the 2011 Budget.

Faboro, who is also a member of the Real Estate Association of Nigeria (REDAN) cautioned that land administration may be derailed in the FCT if the recently-submitted report of the Dansadau-led committee is not adhered to.

In 2010, the Federal Government budgeted over N138b for various national projects in the FCT as against N44b in 2011.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the downward review of budgetary allocation to finance ongoing critical projects in the FCT, Faboro lamented that it would make execution of projects difficult because the entire budget is not enough to develop a single district in Abuja.

Faboro called on President Goodluck

Jonathan to sustain the current effort aimed at reforming land administration in the FCT. He opined that unless current efforts aimed at sanitising the system are consolidated to ensure that all loopholes are blocked, fraudsters and land racketeers who have hitherto penetrated the system would have a field day.

Faboro maintained that there is nothing wrong in the President appointing a new minister to oversee the FCT but, according to him, the new man may not see anything good in what the present minister has done and may upturn all the successes recorded in the process of introducing his own policies.

“What happens to the probe instituted by minister under the Dansadau committee?

The Minister has just started implementing some of the recommendations of the committee. You know that most people are not happy that sanity has finally been restored

in the process of land administration in Abuja. So, as soon as the minster is changed, they will go back to their old tricks,” Faboro said.

He commended the FCT Minister for the bold steps he has taken to stop the abuse of the mass housing scheme.

Rather than concentrating on the primary job of providing cheap and affordable houses to the ordinary Nigerian, he regretted that some of the allotees of the mass housing sites at Apo/Wumba, Lokogoma, and others, sold out the lands to money bags who have now converted the sites to government reservation areas (GRAs).

Faboro warned that the gradual move towards handing over the development of Abuja to contractors through Public-Private-Partnership is dangerous, even as he further cautioned that the contractors who do not have the interest of Nigerians at heart are only interested in making profits.

challenges in the spirit of patriotism to put in their best in the effective and unbiased coverage of events across the country.

According to him, the performance of Nigerian media is at par and sometimes even better than their contemporaries in other parts of the world.

The Minister described himself as a very lucky person being a member of several professional families including the media.

To show his support for the well-being of the union, Mohammed approved a waiver of the payable premium on the plot of land allocated to the NUJ in Mabushi District, Phase II of the Federal Capital City.

Earlier, the NUJ National President commended the Minister’s giant strides especially in the area of land reform, even as he described the minister as a worthy ambassador of the Nigerian media.

Garba, who used the opportunity to appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan to carry professional bodies along in the appointment of members of the new Federal Executive Council, called for the re-appointment of Senator Bala Mohammed as the FCT Minister.

The Minister has just started implementing some of the recommendations of the committee. You know that most people are not happy that sanity has finally been restored in the process of land administration in Abuja. So, as soon as the minster is changed, they will go back to their old tricks

‘Demolition in Lugbe will continue’

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ESIDENTS of Lugbe, a suburb on Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Road who have their houses marked for demolition have been told to look for alternative accommodation as there is no going back on removal of illegal structures.

The warning came from the Department of Development Control in the Federal Capital Territory.

Its Director, Yahaya Yusuf, in an interview, advised the illegal residents of Lugbe to find alternative accommodation and relocate in their own interest because “”there is no time we are going to give up.”

He said those who are not indigenous to Lugbe and who are taking advantage of government’s lack of resources to resettle those indigenous to it appropriately should know that there is no hiding place.

Yusuf decried the attitude of some residents whose structures were demolished but had to return to the same place.

He said such cases have been sent to the FCT Urban and Regional Tribunal where they will be tried and will be compelled to pay for the cost of prosecution at the tribunal.

On the ongoing demolition of illegal structures in the territory, he said: “We have a timetable of moving from one

•Abuja

district to the other. We had to lie low during the elections because the polity was heated and it was not good to add to the tempo. Now that all that is over, it is necessary to clear the backlog while also sustaining the rhythm of the removal exercise.”

We have a timetable of moving from one district to the other.

We had to lie low during the elections because the polity was heated and it was not good to add to the tempo

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

Beaming with a mile .... I cannot allow this to affect me at all. I do all I want to do; it could be slower but I will still do it. I will not allow this to make me go begging for alms, no, never

Physically challenged legislator-elect reveals motivation

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HEELCHAIR-BOUND writer and teacher Alhaji Adamu Shuaibu who won election into the Jigawa State House of Assembly has spoken on his motivation.

He teaches and writes poems, and has become hugely popular in the state. He said people often walk up to him to tell him how his work and attitude encourage them.

“I feel so much motivated by such reactions because it means people hear and work with the messages that I pass through these works,” he said.

Shuaibu who is fondly called Jigawar Tsada was not born deformed. Disability caught up with him suddenly. He said he was in school teaching one day when he suddenly started feeling some strange sensations in his legs. Soon after, he found that his legs could no longer support his weight and had to lean on the wall.

Shuaibu ended up in the wheelchair, but he has no allowed his mind to be confined. He has never begged. Rather he is very productive. He is regularly invited to high-profile occasions. He is on the radio. In fact, he is a celebrity.

He is a graduate of Agriculture Technology from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, and does not believe there is a challenge he cannot overcome.

Jigawar Tsada earned his degree on his two legs. Fate dealt a terrible blow on him a few days after

From Eunice Bosua, Dutse

receiving his call-up letter for the National Youth Service Corps. Just before he was left for Anambra State for the service, he felt numbness in his legs. He became paralysed.

But “the surprising thing is that,” he said, “is that all the sensory organs in the legs are functional; only the motor is affected. I feel pains. I have all the feelings but lost the use of them.”

Despite this turn of events in the life of this 40-year-old man, his sprit is not dampened. Rather he is propelled to do more.

Beaming with a mile, he said, “I cannot allow this to affect me at all. I do all I want to do; it could be slower but I will still do it. I will not allow this to make me go begging for alms, no, never”.

True to his words, Shuaibu has never begged. He developed his talents and has since become one of most-sought-after figures Jigawa today. His services are always needed, either in the gathering of who is who in the state or at private sector occasions or those of traditional institutions.

He is a familiar voice on the airwaves across the state today where he churns out his poems rendered in Hausa. That was how the state governor Alhaji Sule Lamido noticed him and developed great interest in him. With the support of the governor, he

•Adamu Shuaibu won election into the state Assembly.

The poet and writer developed his talent in the early years of his education, according to him.

“I like reading poems written by

Hausa scholars,” he said. “My first work was during my passing out from Kano State College of Education, Kumbotso when I wrote a parting poem for my mates in 1992.

Since then no looking back again

especially with the responses I got from my fans.”

He has written and published almost 20 poems on different topics: health, education governance, teaching, society and communal living.

Jigawar tsada said what gives him joy mostly is when people hear his name at occasions. He said they would walk to him and say “are you Adamu Jigawar Tsada?

You encourage us a lot with your work. I feel so much motivated by such reactions because it means people hear and work with the messages that I pass through these works.”

The reaction of his family to his endowments is very impressive, he said. “They are proud that I’m contributing my quota to the development of my state.”

He plans to pursue his education further and will continue to write his poems even in the House of Assembly “I will continue in it, after all it was what gave me the breakthrough,” he said. “The house will give me another opportunity to continue with the enlightenment programmes which my poems are out to achieve.

“It is clear that disability is not the end of life; the thing is that whatever you see in life, accept it as an act of God. There are many able-bodied people without disability but today a disabled person is given the opportunity to represent his people in the House of Assembly, a seat many people are clamouring for. God does what he wants when he wants it. What if I had poisoned myself to death?

Will I have had the opportunity to do this now?”

Shuaibu won election on the ticket of the People Democratic Party (PDP). He will represent Dutse, the state capital.

Five-year-old cancer patient needs help

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ITTLE Kingsley Shuaibu, who is just five years and three months old, is suffering from cancer and needs help urgently. His condition is diagonised as rabdoma sarcoma, a type of cancer that arises from transformed connective tissue cells.

Medical experts say the term “sarcoma” is sometimes applied to tumours now known to arise from epithelial tissues. The term soft tissue sarcoma is used to describe tumours of soft tissues which include elements that are in connective tissues, but not derived from them.

In November 2010, The Nation ran a story on the plight of the little boy who is still on the danger list. Even though he has undergone surgery and is presently undergoing chemotherapy, he still needs the assistance of well-meaning Nigerians. He still has to undergo about 13 more rounds of chemotherapy at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH), after the initial seven. According to Naomi Shuaibu, mother of the boy, they were able to get treatment through the help of public-spirited Nigerians who contributed money for the treatment. But she said more money is needed.

She told Newsextra that the post-election violence in the state prevented them from

From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

going to the hospital to undergo the seventh treatment.

“As we speak, we have the drugs for the seventh round of treatment, but we have not been able to go back to the hospital because of the crisis,” she said. “But we hope to be there soon. However, after this treatment, we don’t know where to go from here and the doctors have told us that we must complete the treatment otherwise, it will come back. Initially, we thought it would be six rounds of treatment. But we discovered recently that it is 20 and right now, we don’t have the resources to do that. That is why we are pleading with Nigerians to come to our aid. My child has suffered enough”.

Recounting the child’s ordeal, Naomi who operates a beauty salon in the Kakuri area of Kaduna, said “When he was three months, we discovered something in form of a reflection in the eye ball. We started going for treatment in Benue State from where they referred us to the National Eye Centre here in Kaduna and we started going there until the eye operation was done two years ago.

After that, we discovered something on the ear side and after four months, we saw another one on the hand and the leg followed.

When he was three months, we discovered something in form of a reflection in the eye ball. We started going for treatment in Benue State from where they referred us to the National Eye Centre here in Kaduna and we started going there until the eye operation was done two years ago

We started looking for money and went for treatment in Shika. We are facing serious financial crisis. My shop where I manage to get some money from for the treatment, the agents gave it out when I went for the treatment, saying that my money had expired. I am the only one going round looking for assistance with a friend of mine helping me out”.

Asked about Kingsley’s father, Naomi said “after Kingsley’s story was first published, the father called me and pretended to be a concerned Nigerian. I recognised his voice and I called him and he answered. Later he denied being Kingsley’s father saying that he saw the report in the paper and wanted to help. After that he switched off his phone and we have not heard from him since then.

We have not even heard from his family.

All we have used for the treatment since November came from concerned Nigerians who have been very helpful to us and we will forever remain grateful to them. However, right now, their efforts will be in vain if we are not able to complete the treatment.

That is why I am appealing for more assistance. What we need is N35,000 per treatment and if you add all that, you will realise that I cannot afford that kind of money because we are talking of close to N500,000.

Naomi lost her one-room apartment in Trikania to the post-election violence that engulfed Kaduna and other parts of the North. The house was burnt, leaving her and little Kingsley with only the clothes they had on them when the violence broke out.

Today, they are sheltering with a friend.

“The little we have is gone and today we are living on the goodwill of friends. But the salon was not burnt because there was no problem in Kakuri where it is located and that is where we are getting little money to survive right now.”

Help can reach Kingsley Shuaibu through her mother, Naomi Shuabu with Oceanic Bank account number 1780001028751 or phone number 08183496496 and 08133403470.

•Kingsley Shuaibu

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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

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MONEY

Credit bureaux: Banks defy CBN directive B

ANKS are flouting the direc tive of the Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN) on getting report from at least two credit bureaux before giving out loans, it was learnt yesterday.

The banks, sources said, only pool reports for loans above N1 million.

Since April last year, the CBN has issued three circulars on usage of credit bureaux by financial institutions. Under the directive, the banks are expected to pool a report from at least two credit bureaux for every credit. The challenges are that the banks still feel the need that they should be reminded to do what is really in their best interest.

In terms of compliance, between 12 and 14 of the 24 banks are regular users of credit bureaux. The others only pool reports at will, putting their loans at high risks

Stories by Collins Nweze of default. For commercial banks, compliance is estimated to be between 40 and 50 per cent.

The CBN as a regulator wants the banks to use necessary tools to reduce bad debts, which explained why the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) was set up. The banks, by complying with AMCON directives, will have more funds to do business and they should do that without compulsion.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Credit Registry Services Plc, Taiwo Ayedun, who confirmed this development, said the CBN needs to enforce the order for it to be effective. But credit bureaux also owe the apex bank the responsibility of letting it know which banks are not complying through

their returns. Ayedun explained that banks that comply have significant patronage in the industry even as such requests have been limited to commercial banks than Microfinance Banks (MfBs) and Primary Mortgage Institutions (PMIs).

Despite these challenges, there has been significant growth in the process of pooling credit reports than was the case before the banking reforms in 2009. However, as a relative ratio to the number of loans being processed, the banks are still not pooling credit report from all their transactions and such is the area they need to improve upon.

Ayedun said some banks believe they can only pool reports from certain class of loans, usually loans above N1 million which is a wrong practice. “All loans have a

risk as long as you are parting with your money. Whether it’s N10,000 or N1 million, there is a risk of loss. The banks should pool reports from all loans. He said his firm receives on monthly basis, requests from between 25 and 30 financial institutions including but not limited to banks, microfinance banks, primary mortgage institutions, asset management companies and commercial banks,” he said.

He explained that non-compliance among banks has nothing to do with cutting cost as was the case in recent years. “I don’t think it’s an issue of cost now. We are talking of spending about N1,000 not to lose N1 million. The banks already charge customers certain fees like management fees, processing fees and other fees. Besides, the banks push cost of credit check to the cost of the loans.

There is no reason for non compliance. He attributed non compliance among banks to internal process problems. “If the CBN says a bank must use credit bureau and you are not doing so, then we have to question the management credibility to do its job well,” he said.

He explained that despite financial crises that faced many banks and financial institutions across the world, Nigerian banks still lend, although the volume of lending might have declined. The challenges, he said, is that many of the

banks are not pooling credit reports as mandated by the apex bank. “Lending might have come down in terms of quantum and quality of lending but the level of patronage of credit bureaux is not at the same level as the banks’ lending portfolio,” Ayedun said.

CEO, CRC Credit Bureau, Tunde Popoola said that when a credit bureau is inplace, within 24 hours, lenders can tell borrowers whether they will extend a credit to them or not. It also allows lenders to price risks differently based on credit history of the borrower.

“People who are clean, who have high level of integrity, can also approach lenders and say, ‘I am clean, this is my records in the past, so I can have access to credit’.

Credit bureau therefore democratizes access to credit. As a matter of fact you will have lenders looking for those with good credit history to give them loans,” he recently told The Nation.

Popoola explained that after consolidation in the banking industry, mega banks were created. The banks know that two things are important for them to succeed. But one thing was missing, that was credit bureau. The banks forgot that credit bureau was very important for them to have very good consumer and retail banking outlets. The banks, he said, have to fully understand that there is need to bring credit bureau on board.

Group faults Reps’ N10b loan

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• L-R: Stanley Duru, CEO, Grand Towers Abuja Mall Plc; Pierre Groenewald, Finance Director, Novare Equity Partners; Yinka Sanni, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Angela Omo-Dare, Company Secretary, both of Stanbic IBTC Bank, at the facility signing ceremony of Grand Towers Abuja Mall on May 18 in Lagos.

Single currency may go in 2025, says World Bank B Y 2025, six major emerging economies namely Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, and Russia will account for more than half of all global growth. Besides, the international monetary system will likely no longer be dominated by a single currency, a new World Bank report says. As economic power shifts, these successful economies will help drive growth in lower income countries through cross-border commercial and financial transactions.

The report, Global Development Horizons 2011 – Multipolarity: The New Global Economy, projects that as a group, emerging economies will grow on average by 4.7 percent a year between 2011 and 2025.

Advanced economies, meanwhile, are forecast to grow by 2.3 per cent over the same period, yet will remain prominent in the global economy, with the euro area, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States all playing a core role in fueling global growth.

“The fast rise of emerging economies has driven a shift whereby the centers of economic growth are distributed across developed and developing economies – it’s a truly multipolar world,” said Justin Yifu Lin, the World Bank’s chief economist and senior vice president for development economics. “Emerging market multinationals are becoming a force in reshaping glo-

bal industry, with rapidly expanding South-South investment and FDI inflows. International financial institutions need to adapt fast to keep up.”

According to the report, emerging economies that used to rely on technological adaptation and external demand to grow will have to make structural changes to sustain their growth momentum through productivity gains and robust domestic demand.

Global Development Horizons maps out the challenges that a multipolar world economy poses for developing countries over the next twenty years. The authors use empirically-based indices to identify high-growth countries with strong human capital and technological innovation, and that also drive economic activity in other countries. Growth spillovers are likely via cross-border trade, finance, and migration, which will induce technological transfer, and increase demand for exports.

The report highlights the diversity of potential emerging economy growth poles, some of which have relied heavily on exports, such as China and Korea, and others that put more weight on domestic consumption, such as Brazil and Mexico. With the emergence of a substantial middle class

in developing countries and demographic transitions underway in several major East Asian economies, stronger consumption trends are likely to prevail, which in turn can serve as a source of sustained global growth.

“In many big emerging economies, the growing role of domestic demand is already apparent and outsourcing is already under way.

This is important for the least developed countries, which are often reliant on foreign investors and external demand for their growth,” said Hans Timmer, the World Bank’s director of development prospects.

NON-GOVERNMENTAL Organisation (NGO) has flayed the N10 billion loan granted the House of Representatives by a bank.

The loan obtained for the House running expenses is illegal, unconstitutional and an abuse of public expenditure management rules, the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) said.

“The rules for public borrowing are clearly articulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA). By section 41 of the FRA, governments at all tiers are only allowed to borrow for capital expenditure and human development provided that such borrowing shall be on concessional terms, with low interest rate, a reasonably long amortisation period and subject to the approval of the appropriate legislature,” CSJ Lead Director Exe Onyekpere said in a statement.

“By section 44 of the same Act, any Government in the federation or its agencies or corporations desirous of borrowing is expected to specify the purpose for which the borrowing is intended and present a cost benefit analysis, detailing the economic and social benefits of the purpose to which the intended borrowing is to be applied. Borrowing is subject to prior authorisation in the Appro-

priation Act or other law for the purpose for which the borrowing is to be utilized. The proceeds of such borrowing is expected to be applied solely to capital expenditure,” he added.

Onyekpere noted that the purpose for the loan was provided for in last year’s budget.

“The appropriated funds were also released to the House. Thus, appropriated funds were diverted to unauthorised expenditure heads leading the House to seek loans from banks to cover the authorised expenditure. This makes the initial expenditure and borrowing unconstitutional. The fundamental constitutional position is “no expenditure without appropriation,” he said.

He said the loan was procured for running costs as against human development or capital expenditure, adding that activities leading to income and expenditure of public resources are supposed to be systematically planned and executed.

The duty of banks and financial institutions provided in the FRA has been treated with levity. Section 45 of the FRA clearly states that banks and financial institutions have an obligation to request and obtain proof of compliance with the law before lending to any Government in the Federation.

GT Bank to improve service delivery time

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UARANTY Trust Bank is reviewing plans that will help it reduce the turnaround time at its business units.

The bank may also consider a possibility of allowing customers make deposits without spending much time filling forms. The Acting Managing Director, Guaranty Trust Bank, Mr. Segun Agbaje, made this known during a visit to a branch in Yaba, Lagos, to see things for himself.

He said customers spend too much time completing transaction forms, adding that it is possible to speed up the process to decongest banking halls.

Recounting his experience at the

branch, Agbaje said: “It was not a disaster. We are getting better”.

He said the solution to speedy service varies and may even include the effectiveness of the Automated Teller Machine and other banking services to enable customers complete transactions in time.

The bank has also announced its latest investment in Information Technology infrastructure aimed at enhancing quality service delivery and alternative channels in banking. Agbaje had explained that the move was taken in line with the bank’s reputation, “as a listening bank.”

“We have always sought new

ways to serve our customers better. Operationally, these efforts centre on providing convenient and affordable services, without compromising quality. Many times, this has entailed the introduction of cutting-edge technology to ensure our customers can access banking service comparable with what is obtainable internationally,” he said.

According to him, the bank recently migrated to a new technology platform called the Superdome server with the aim of improving service delivery in line with projected growth in its customer base.

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MONEY

Banks lose interest in fixed deposits T

O reduce cost of funds, banks are placing more emphasis on savings and current accounts. Banks with strong capital bases are becoming selective over which deposists to take. The banks are placing less emphasis on fixed deposits which attract higher rates, The Nation learnt.

Although fixed deposit rates have fallen drastically in most banks, financial institutions still feel reluctant to go for such funds, encouraging their relationship officers to market savings and current account customers.

Managing Director of Skye Bank Kehinde Durosinmi-Etti confirmed this development during the bank’s pre-2010 Annual General Meeting(AGM) in Lagos on

• Opt for savings, current accounts to cut cost Stories by Collins Nweze Monday. He said there was a new focus on savings and current accounts, termed low-cost funds, rather than fixed deposits.

According to him, the bank sometimes avoid fixed deposits unless there are ready customers to borrow such funds.

“There is a strong attempt to market current accounts not fixed deposits. Time deposits are being discouraged in our bank at present,” he said.

Other banks are also discouraging time deposits by reducing the rates paid to depositors. Banks have crashed fixed deposit rates,

sometime below five per cent to discourage such transactions.

Retail lending rates remained relatively high in April 2011 while the spread between the average lending rate and the consolidated deposit rate widened to 19.83 percentage points in February 2011 from 19.52 percentage points in January.

Meanwhile, naira was broadly flat against the dollar on the interbank market on Monday even as demand for the dollar outstripped supply at the Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS) moderated by the Central Bank of

Nigeria (CBN).

The naira closed at 156.71 to the dollar at the interbank on Monday, fractionally higher than the 156.70 a dollar close on Friday, helped by dollar sales by some energy firms. Traders said Nigeria’s Agip Oil Company and Niger Delta Development Commission sold dollars last week and on Monday, which provided support for the naira.

The CBN sold $400 million at 153.38 to the dollar at its auction, short of the $452.31 million demanded, but higher than $300 mil-

lion sold at 153.21 to the dollar at its auction on Wednesday. “The dollar sales by the two energy companies helped cushion the pressure on the market, while expectations that more multinationals would be selling dollars in the coming days also provided needed support,” one dealer said.

Dealers said though demand for the dollar remained strong, they are confident that the central bank is able to support the local currency with its regular increase in dollar supply at its auction. “We anticipate further appreciation of the naira in the week as some energy firms begin their monthly dollar sales cycle, another dealer said.

Uniform account: More banks comply

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ORE banks have complied with the deadline of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the issuance of a new 10 digit account number to depositors ahead of its expirations next months.

First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Skye Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank among others have migrated all their customers’ account numbers to the recommended 10 digits. This is in compliance with the Nigerian Uniform Account Numbering policy (NUBAN) issued by the CBN. A statement by the bank signed

by FCMB Group Head, Corporate Communications, Mr. Kenny Aliu said implementation of NUBAN policy was in line with best practice, and also seeks to reduce the effort and cost that the current use of non-standardized account numbers is costing the financial system.

The bank, while assuring that the standardization of customer’s accounts numbers would not affect banking transactions, explained that current cheque books with customers and Debit Cards are still valid, but that subsequent issuance of cheque-books will bear the new

10 digit number.

It also noted that customers are already being advised of their new account numbers and that the bank’s Contact Centre can be contacted for further enquiries.

Some benefits of NUBAN according to the directive to banks include enhancement of the activities of the Automated Clearing House (ACH); helping banks to validate customers account numbers before sending out transactions to clearing house and; making it easier for customers to quote their account numbers if they wish because the number of digits are now reduced, among others.

The CBN in the directives to banks also explained that implementing the uniform accounting policy will eliminate most of the complaints currently being experienced during automated direct clearing transaction which include delayed presentation of customer instructions in the Clearing House; late return of unapplied inward Automated Clearing House items; application of inward Clearing House items to wrong accounts and; wrong quotation of customers’ account numbers.

Renaissance targets African markets as assets exceed $1bn

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ENAISSANCE Group, the Russian emerging-markets group of investment companies, plans to make more investments in Africa as the value of its assets in the continent climbs to more than $1 billion, Chief Executive Officer Stephen Jennings said.

“We will invest several more billions in the coming years. The continent will deliver the fastest growth in the world, faster than Asia has ever done,” he said.

The International Monetary Fund estimates sub-Saharan Africa’s economy will expand 5.5 percent this year and 5.9 percent in 2012, and that seven of the world’s 10 fastestgrowing economies in the next five years will be in the region.

By 2015, 221 million African consumers will advance from destitution to basic-needs status, making from $1,000 to $5,000 a year, according to a McKinsey & Co. analysis of data from IHS Global Insight.

“We responded to the facts at a time a lot of people were blinded by history and prejudice,” Jennings said of his group’s decision to start operations in Africa in 2006. “At the time we came the fiscal situation had improved across the continent.”

Renaissance is extending its investments in the continent to several areas, including real-estate and infrastructure projects, said Clifford Sacks, the chief executive officer for Africa. These will include “urban

renewal” projects similar to Tatu City, a $5 billion residential complex near Kenya’s capital, Nairobi that was funded by the investment group and houses 62,000 people.

“The reason we are doing this is that not many banks can do it,” Sacks said. “It’s a long-term, capital-intensive business.” Renaissance has six operational offices and more than 120 people in Africa. The quality of African assets is increasingly attracting investors from Asia, Sacks said.

Renaissance recently advised an Asian investor to put $750 million in a formerly state-owned steel mill in Zimbabwe. Asian investors are “comfortable with the African risk, which is becoming better understood,” he said.

• L–R: Registrar, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Uju Ogubunka; 1st Vice President, CIBN, Mr. Segun Aina; Director of Education, Chartered Banker Institute (CBI), Scotland, Mr. Colin A. Morrison; Head of Banking, Adam & Company, Edinburgh, Kerry Falconer; Chief Executive, CBI, Scotland, Simon Thompson and President, CIBN, Laoye Jaiyeola, during CIBN visit to CBI, United Kingdom.

2011 budget largely inflationary, says HE 2011 budget passed by the Afrinvest the final quarter of 2010 has susNational Assembly, does not tained its momentum so far in 2011.

T

reflect the people’s needs, an investment firm, Afrinvest West Africa Limited has said.

The firm said despite the expected increase in fiscal deficit, the major concern still lies in the economy’s vulnerability to oil price shocks.

Afrinvest said the rigid nature of fiscal appropriation relative to the spending mix is, in its view, not in tandem with Nigeria’s gaping infrastructure needs.

It said government’s new found reliance on supplementary budgeting as a tool for plugging fiscal deficits further compounds this imbalance.

Already, both the Executive and Legislature are in talks to review the budget and perhaps, rework the spending mix.

On the Monetary Policy, the report said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continues to maintain its defensive position on the Naira at the expense of the external reserves.

This stance was intensified towards the end of first quarter, in the

run-up to the elections, due to heavy demand following speculations on asset reclassification and capital flight.

The strengthening of the Dollar in the international markets due to the strong crude prices and improving economic environment in the United States has also increased the downward pressure on the Naira Commodity prices have subsequently surged as a result of strong investment flows and supply-side dynamics, as well as speculative activity, in the light of consistent demand pressure from emerging economies. At the foreign exchange market, the Naira has witnessed considerable price volatility yearto-date, maintaining a downward trend owing to increased demand pressure as a result of the uncertainties surrounding the elections as well as rising global commodity, food and energy prices.

Part of the reports also said the recovery in global economic and financial conditions most notable in

Many developed economies, including the United States, continue to enjoy the benefits of massive monetary injections. Overall, global output has been consistent with the emerging markets (mainly China and India) still ahead in growth terms, while some developed economies have sought more accommodative and in some places tightening policies, leading to increased risk appetite and exploratory business activity in emerging and developing markets.

However, the downside risks associated with high unemployment and growing global inflationary pressures due to high liquidity levels, rising food, commodity and energy prices have forced a downward revision of earlier global economic growth forecasts by the IMF. The surplus global liquidity, low interest rates in developed economies, and heightened risk in select European markets have skewed the search for higher yields towards emerging and commodity markets.

ADH reorganises, returns to profitability

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HE new management of Associated Discount House Limited (ADH), said it has completed the clean-up exercise it started last year.

The Chairman, Mahmoud Lai Alabi, stated this while presenting its score card at a meeting with the stakeholders in Lagos.

He said firm was able to weather the harsh financial environment and recorded a N2.1 billion profit against the huge loss recorded in the 2009 business year. The profit showed a significant jump from a

loss position of N3.423 billion recorded in 2009.

Alabi, while speaking at the meeting, stated that the profit was realised after “mark – to – market “(MTM) provisions of N982 million for diminution on the portfolio of FGN bonds and investments in equities balances as at the year ended December 2010.

He said the future of the company is bright considering the significant progress made in 2010.

He, however, noted that he is mindful that year 2011 may be

challenging but assured all shareholders that the company will quicken the pace of transformation to sustain the progress.

He said he ls confident the ADH team will remain focused as the company drives the strategic transformation process. “Business will be deepened by leveraging on emerging opportunities within the scope of the Revise Discount House Guidelines,” he declared.

Alabi added that the implementation of the Enterprise-Wide Risk

Management (ERM) Framework will ensure adequate oversights on all areas that could lead to exposure for the group.

He assured the shareholders that the company will ensure that businesses are streamlined within approved risk appetite.

“As a Discount House and Primary Dealer/Market Maker in Federal Government Bonds, the company will ensure that it is strategically focused to deliver consistent and sustained value for the stakeholders” he stated.

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NEWS

Ebonyi tribunal grants ANPP’s request to inspect poll materials

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HE Ebonyi State Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abakiliki yesterday granted the request of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) for the scanning of the materials used for election in Ebonyi Central Senatorial District on April 9.

The tribunal directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow the petitioners, their

From Ogbonnaya Obinna, Abakaliki

counsel or forensic experts to inspect, scan, or take copies of some of the materials.

The order followed a motion exparte by the ANPP’s Senatorial candidate Ugo Chima, against the election of Paulinus Igwe Nwagu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Tribunal Chairman Justice

H. A. Olusiyi listed the materials to be inspected to include ballot papers, result sheets, voters’ register as well as entries and data in the Direct Data Capturing Machines (DDC).

Justice Olusiyi said the motion was in accordance with Section 151(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended). He added that the examination of the materials would help the case.

Imo indigenes in Kano set agenda for Okorocha

I

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

MO indigenes in Kano have charged their Governor-elect, Owelle Rochas Okorocha to explore the tourism potential of the state to boost internally generated revenue (IGR).

National President of the Kano State Chapter of Imo Youth Coalition Prince Arinze Ewelaku noted that successive administrations had failed to harness the tourism potential.

According to him, this has retarded the development of the state.

Ewelaku said Imo is home to Nigeria’s largest natural lake.

He said: “There is need for us to develop and harness the potential of Oguta Lake.It is strategically located to attract tourists across

the globe.

“It is absurd for a state blessed with both human and natural resources to go broke to the point of failing to meet its obligations to the people.”

Ewelaku called on the incoming administration to make education compulsory at all levels. He said Okorocha has the capacity to facilitate the development of the state.

‘Ngige won’t forget Anambra community’

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HE Umunnachi community has been assured that the Senatorelect for Anambra Central, Dr. Chris Ngige, would reciprocate their support for him during the election.

Giving the assurance yesterday at a reception organised for him by the community, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) lawyer, Pat Anyadubalu, attributed Ngige’s

victory to God’s intervention.

He described Ngige as the “authentic Igbo leader” and fighter for the common people.

Anyadubalu, who was Ngige’s returning agent in the rerun election, said ACN won the election because of the people love for Ngige. He hailed the community for their support.

He said: “You have demon-

strated that you cannot be bought by those who denied you of your right. Ngige will not forget you.”

He debunked the allegation by the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) Senatorial candidate and former Minister of Information and Communications Prof. Dora Akunyili, that ACN was responsible for APGA’s failure in the election.

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EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 24-05-11 2ND-TIER SECURITIES Company Name FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC PRESCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 25 27

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 0.50 45,500 22,750.00 7.50 367,819 2,827,115.50 413,319 2,849,865.50

AIR SERVICES Company Name AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 60 63

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2.10 61,141 128,246.10 8.77 817,144 7,169,209.11 878,285 7,297,455.21

AUTOMOBILE & TYRE Company Name DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC R. T. BRISCOE (NIGERIA) PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 11 12

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 0.50 1,000,000 500,000.00 2.59 41,967 104,768.60 1,041,967 604,768.60

BANKING Company Name ACCESS BANK PLC AFRIBANK NIGERIA PLC DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK NIGERIA PLC FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC FIDELITY BANK PLC FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA PLC FINBANK PLC GTBANK PLC STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC INTERCONTINENTAL BANK PLC. OCEANIC BANK INTERNATIONAL PLC BANK PHB PLC SKYE BANK PLC. SPRING BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC. UNION BANK OF NIGERIA PLC UNITYBANK PLC WEMA BANK PLC ZENITH BANK PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 220 26 96 43 50 100 626 61 499 59 54 62 48 155 1 29 291 139 38 45 352 2,994

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 8.10 14,174,623 115,084,082.54 1.79 330,485 578,406.66 6.23 1,705,093 10,704,237.19 3.94 1,143,473 4,613,651.93 7.38 8,157,992 60,051,957.12 2.60 4,036,887 10,512,892.89 13.52 17,438,720 235,720,722.03 0.67 3,028,325 2,018,840.64 16.06 13,633,693 220,617,234.28 9.95 1,278,586 12,712,558.66 1.40 1,443,682 1,960,065.19 1.93 3,435,426 6,773,984.71 1.36 3,134,162 4,262,860.32 8.40 5,278,765 43,954,070.75 1.09 11,000 11,440.00 2.10 1,165,981 2,480,427.67 6.40 12,867,758 84,671,217.61 2.85 3,103,750 8,959,118.30 1.08 7,337,486 7,642,000.04 1.14 3,822,728 4,386,162.70 15.25 13,002,610 198,180,707.95 119,531,225 1,035,896,639.18

BREWERIES Company Name GUINNESS NIGERIA PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 67 12 209 288

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 239.50 312,562 73,810,176.36 6.18 159,396 963,677.52 85.02 1,373,699 116,931,308.13 1,845,657 191,705,162.01

BUILDING MATERIALS Company Name ASHAKA CEMENT PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTHERN NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE CEMENT PLC LAFARGE WAPCO PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 65 26 48 39 178

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 24.00 462,003 11,128,586.65 11.75 706,950 8,075,361.26 131.10 658,587 86,288,324.07 43.40 591,427 25,485,711.48 2,418,967 130,977,983.46

CHEMICAL & PAINTS Company Name BERGER PAINTS NIGERIA PLC CHEMICAL AND ALLIED PRODUCTS PLC DN MEYER PLC PAINTS AND COATINGS MANUFACTURES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 6 7 1 1 15

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 12.34 61,293 718,966.89 24.28 4,180 106,548.20 1.68 87,740 147,403.20 2.00 160,000 320,000.00 313,213 1,292,918.29

Transcorp leases fruit plant

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•Indicators slide on bear call

RANSNATIONAL Corporation of Ni geria Plc, (Transcorp) yesterday notified the Exchange that it has signed a factory lease agreement with Benue State Government for a 10 year lease of Benfruit Nigeria Limited, a fruit juice concentrate plant in Benue State.

It said details of the agreement would be made available upon completion of the transaction.

Activities on the floor of The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) was bearish yesterday. Indicators closed lower than opening figures.

This was attributable to low level of activities witnessed during the trading hours.

The NSE ASI closed lower at 25,738.80 having lost 23.87

By Tonia Osundolire and Eshiet Uyoatta

points from its opening figure. The dip represents 0.10 per cent.

Similarly, the Market Capitalisation lost N8 billion, to close lower at N8.224 trillion, representing the same percentage difference.

Volume of transaction dropped to 167 million units, valued at N1.859 billion in 6,890 deals, against 180.06 million shares worth N2.01 billion in 5,408 deals recorded on Monday.

The dip in volume and value represent 7.29 per cent and 7.46 per cent respectively.

NSE 30 Stocks closed

lower at 1,136.66. All the NSE four sectorial indices dropped values. NSE-Food beverages closed at 844.20 points, followed by the banking sector with 396.64 points,insurance closed lower at 168.91, while oil and gas closed at 328.87.

The price of BOC Gases Plc was yesterday adjusted for a dividend of N0.36 per share as recommended by the its Board of Directors.

The banking stocks contributed the largest chunk with 119.531 million shares followed by the insurance with 10.775 million shares, Food beverages 8.578 million shares and the conglomerates with 7.046 million shares.

Conoil Q1profit hits N1.19b

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HAREHOLDERS of Conoil Plc may enjoy bumper divided payout this financial year, as the oil marketing firm recorded a substantial leap in profit and turnover in the first quarter of 2011.

The unaudited trading results for the period between January and March 31, 2011, which was submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), showed that the company posted profit after tax of N1.185 billion in the first quarter, representing a growth of

713.53 per cent.

Also, the company recorded a turnover of N37.302 billion in the review period, as agaist the N21.072 billion posted in the corresponding period of 2010.

This impressive performance, the firm said, confirms a forecast by the Chairman, Dr. Mike Adenuga, that Conoil would record triple growth rate in 2011 and deliver superior shareholder value.

“Given the commitment of our people and the burning desire to go the extra -mile and

be the best, we feel confident that 2011 will be a greater success,” he said.

Towards achieving its projections for improved shareholder value, Conoil has launched a strategic investment initiative aimed at boosting its income.

It is focusing on upgrading its facilities and building modern infrastructure in its depots across the country, with a view to taking full advantage of the emerging opportunities in the industry, the chairman stated.

COMMERCIAL/SERVICES Company Name COURTVILLE INVESTMENTS PLC RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 2 4

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 0.50 75,000 37,500.00 2.83 10,000 28,500.00 85,000 66,000.00

DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 24-05-11

CONGLOMERATES Company Name A. G. LEVENTIS (NIGERIA) PLC CHELLARAMS PLC JOHN HOLT PLC PZ CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC SCOA NIGERIA PLC TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC UAC OF NIGERIA PLC UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 2 2 40 2 75 65 64 252

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2.00 1,200 2,280.00 7.22 5,206 35,713.16 7.21 430 2,945.50 36.35 329,948 11,966,106.40 7.48 247 1,756.17 1.03 5,673,402 5,874,430.48 38.00 556,705 21,379,362.83 27.70 478,432 13,117,915.77 7,045,570 52,380,510.31

CONSTRUCTION Company Name COSTAIN (WA) PLC JULIUS BERGER NIGERIA PLC MULTIVERSE PLC ROADS NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 14 1 2 19

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 5.22 6,000 29,760.00 53.06 49,188 2,739,557.88 0.50 88,460 44,230.00 3.16 71,000 224,360.00 214,648 3,037,907.88

ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY Company Name CUTIX PLC NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE PLC. Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 4 5

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2.00 10,000 21,000.00 0.56 136,300 76,328.00 146,300 97,328.00

FOOD/BEVERAGES & TOBACCO Company Name 7-UP BOTTLING CO. PLC CADBURY NIGERIA PLC DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIGERIA PLC HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC NATIONAL SALT COMPANY NIGERIA PLC NIGERIAN BOTTLING COMPANY PLC NESTLE NIGERIA PLC NORTHERN NIGERIA FLOUR MILLS PLC TANTALIZERS PLC UTC NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 21 59 122 102 103 7 1 30 13 49 2 7 5 521

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 46.00 45,716 2,148,280.50 21.00 511,003 10,639,766.76 18.50 1,391,648 25,791,985.75 13.30 2,893,227 38,779,175.60 89.50 2,063,019 184,646,071.17 5.00 61,430 296,057.00 1.96 2,000 3,740.00 5.50 1,061,392 5,675,105.26 36.00 240,916 8,704,476.00 400.00 59,753 23,501,561.39 29.20 3,268 90,654.32 0.51 170,100 87,853.00 0.63 75,000 47,500.00 8,578,472 300,412,226.75

HEALTHCARE Company Name EVANS MEDICALPLC. FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXOSMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 3 12 10 14 1 40

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1.26 8,593 10,891.25 2.06 175,700 355,689.78 27.00 330,010 8,910,270.10 4.27 82,029 340,370.94 1.96 26,300 49,181.00 622,632 9,666,403.07

HOTEL & TOURISM Company Name IKEJA HOTEL PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 12 12

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1.42 101,500 144,257.50 101,500 144,257.50

INDUSTRIAL/DOMESTIC PRODUCTS Company Name B. O. C. GASES NIGERIA PLC VITAFOAM NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 16 17

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 8.20 2,000 15,680.00 5.88 117,866 674,308.26 119,866 689,988.26

INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY Company Name CHAMS PLC STARCOMMS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 4 27 31

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 0.50 2,509,214 1,254,607.00 0.61 2,094,231 1,272,170.44 4,603,445 2,526,777.44

INSURANCE Company Name AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC CORNERSTONE INSURANCE CO. PLC. CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INSURANCE PLC GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC GUARANTY TRUST ASSURANCE PLC CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. LAW UNION AND ROCK INSURANCE PLC. LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC N.E.M. INSURANCE CO. (NIG.) PLC. NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC.

No of Deals 58 1 4 11 5 44 1 2 2 7 1 26 1

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 0.84 755,342 636,525.16 1.04 256,000 266,240.00 0.50 318,468 159,234.00 3.05 148,680 453,700.71 0.50 750,000 375,000.00 1.55 1,562,175 2,519,788.25 0.50 5,000 2,500.00 0.50 100,000 50,000.00 0.50 50,000 25,000.00 0.55 557,000 312,950.00 0.50 20,000 10,000.00 0.52 2,954,293 1,538,332.36 0.74 7,000 4,970.00

OASIS INSURANCE PLC PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC. UNIC INSURANCE PLC. UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Sector Totals

1 10 1 6 10 191

0.50 2.10 0.50 0.50 0.52

150,000 297,185 49,981 2,464,000 329,652 10,774,776

75,000.00 604,758.70 24,990.50 1,232,000.00 169,122.52 8,460,112.20

LEASING Company Name C&I LEASING PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 6 6

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1.30 30,480 37,895.20 30,480 37,895.20

MARITIME Company Name JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 87 87

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 1.33 1,934,992 2,586,364.59 1,934,992 2,586,364.59

MEDIA Company Name AFROMEDIA PLC DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 5 6

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 0.51 10,000 5,100.00 0.50 40,000 20,000.00 50,000 25,100.00

MORTGAGE COMPANIES Company Name ASO SAVINGS AND LOAND PLC UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 18 20

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 0.50 25,000 12,500.00 0.65 597,066 376,315.78 622,066 388,815.78

OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS Company Name CRUSADER NIGERIA PLC. NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 2 1 4

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 0.50 4,000 2,000.00 1.21 264,016 319,459.36 0.50 8,441 4,220.50 276,457 325,679.86

PACKAGING Company Name NIGERIAN BAG MANUFACTURING COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1,727 1,727

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 2.47 1,609,823 4,075,596.20 1,609,823 4,075,596.20

PETROLEUM(MARKETING) Company Name AFRICAN PETROLEUM PLC. BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC CONOIL PLC ETERNA OIL & GAS PLC. MOBIL OIL NIGERIA PLC. OANDO PLC TOTAL NIGERIA PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 50 2 32 32 8 13 144 13 294

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 20.50 205,325 4,190,570.77 0.50 27,000 13,500.00 72.00 78,198 5,572,837.92 38.00 253,589 9,679,248.66 5.59 33,463 183,423.16 163.50 5,968 943,128.78 52.00 1,117,623 58,867,697.97 195.50 7,316 1,430,890.33 1,728,482 80,881,297.59

PRINTING & PUBLISHING Company Name LONGMAN NIGERIA PLC UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 2 2 4

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 6.84 10,050 65,325.00 4.99 20,010 99,649.00 30,060 164,974.00

REAL ESTATE Company Name UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 44 44

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 17.96 1,135,597 21,082,707.95 1,135,597 21,082,707.95

ROAD TRANSPORTATION Company Name ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 20 20

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 0.75 770,500 575,525.00 770,500 575,525.00

TEXTILES Company Name UNITED NIGERIA TEXTILES PLC Sector Totals

No of Deals 1 1

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 0.65 10,000 6,200.00 10,000 6,200.00

THE FOREIGN LISTINGS Company Name ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED Sector Totals Overall Totals

No of Deals 8 8

Quotation(N)Quantity Traded Value of Shares (N) 15.49 66,500 1,022,700.00 66,500 1,022,700.00 6,890 166,999,799

1,859,279,159.83

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

60

NATION SPORT NIGERIA/ARGENTINA CLASH

Sergio Batista's plot for Super Eagles N

IGERIA’s Super Eagles would do well to take the Argentine squad seriously despite the semblance of an experimental team listed by Argentine coach, Sergio Batista.

There has been no consistency in his team’s line up in the last four matches Argentina played since World Cup 2010 but that is the danger as the players battle for inclusion in their final squad for the Copa America billed for this summer in Argentina.

The Argentine team facing the Super Eagles is therefore on the same side is in that is also billed to face Poland in Warsaw on June 5 in another international friendly match.

No fewer than seven of the players are previously uncapped.

They include Musacchio Mateo of Spanish side, Villarreal and club-mate, Ruben Marco who had debuted in an unofficial preOlympic preparation match against Guatemala three years ago.

Other rookies include Bertolo Nicolas of Zaragoza, Costa Alberto of Valencia, Formica Mauro of Blackburn Rovers, Cabaral Alejandro of Legia Varsovia in Poland and Cristaldo Jonathan of Ukrainian side, Metalist. The latter was an unused substitute in the goalless draw friendly tie with Costa Rica under Diego Maradona.

The goalkeepers equally have limited international exposure.

Gabbarini Adrian who plays for local club, Independiente, has one international cap.

Ustari Oscar of Spanish side, Getafe, has experience mainly in the youth side and is well known to many of the Super Eagles players . He was in the side that beat Nigeria at the 2005 World Youth Championship. He was also in the Beijing Olympics side but suffered severe foot injury in the quarter finals against Holland and had to be sidelined for eight months. He has three international caps.

Only one of the 22-man squad announced by Coach Sergio Batista was listed in the Argentina team at the last World Cup. The sole player is Otamendi Nicolas who plays for Europa League winners, Porto of Portugal.

He was not fielded in the opening game with the Super Eagles but he played Argentina’s last group game against Greece as well as the round of 16 game with Mexico. Otamendi played 70 minutes of the quarter final match with Germany before being replaced by Javier Pastore.

With just 10 appearances, Otamendi is the most capped of the 22 players listed for the Abuja match.

Next to him in terms of experience is Zabaleta Pablo who was a member of the two Argentine sides that beat Samson Siasia-led led Nigerian sides at the 2005 World Youth Championships in the Netherlands and the Olympic side at Beijing 2008. Zabaleta who has nine caps at the senior level played at the right back and featured in the six matches of the Beijing Olympics.

Angeleri Marcos leads the pack of rookies. The Sunderland player

has four caps to rank behind Otamendi and Zabaleta. Nicolas Gaitan of FC Benfica has three caps since his debut as a substitute in a 2-0 defeat of Ghana in a friendly game on September 30, 2009. He made his first start in a 3-2 win of Costa Rica on January 26, 2010.

His third cap was this year in a friendly tie with Costa Rica. The game ended goalless.

The other relatively inexperienced players listed to play Nigeria include Bolatti Mario of Internacional of Brazil, Insua Emiliano of Turkish side, Galasataray, Belluschi Fernando and Boselli Mauro of Genova, Italy. All have two caps each.

Others like Fazio Federico and Perotti Diego, both of Sevilla, Spain each had just a cap ahead of the tie with Nigeria. But as inexperienced as the team may be, it could be a dangerous side for Samson Siasia side that had twice lost to Argentina. Besides that, Nigeria had never beaten Argentina at the senior level, the best result being the goalless draw of January 6, 1995 in the then Intercontinental Cup (now FIFA Confederation Cup) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Apart from the Riyadh match played in January, all other encounters of Nigeria and Argentina at the senior level had been played in June. This year’s clash in Abuja is not an exemption.

In fact, it is almost coinciding with the June 2, 2002 World Cup clash at Ibaraki, Japan.

Samson Siasia is the only Nigerian player to have scored against Argentina at the senior level when he put Nigeria ahead in the eventual 2-1 loss at USA ’94 World Cup. The allure of Argentina’s past defeats of Nigeria is that the Super Eagles lost by a goal margin. All the goals came from set pieces.

The two goals scored against Nigeria in the June 25, 1994 match were from free kicks taken by the legendary Diego Maradona and converted by Claudio Caniggia.

The next goal was from a corner kick taken by Juan Veron and nodded in by Gabriel Batistuta at the 2002 World Cup. Veron again took the sixth minute corner kick that Gabriel Heinze scored in the last encounter with Nigeria at Ellis Park, Johannesburg last year.

The squad coming to Abuja has set-piece specialists. The previously uncapped Costa Alberto reportedly operates as an attacking midfielder and is known for his technical skill in penalty-taking and free kick.

THE ARGENTINA SQUAD Fazio, Federico (Sevilla-España) 1 cap Perotti, Diego (Sevilla-España) 1 cap Ruben, Marco (Villarreal-España) uncapped Musacchio, Mateo (VillarrealEspaña) uncapped Ustari, Oscar (Getafe-España) Goalkeeper 3 caps Garay, Ezequiel (Real MadridEspaña) 2 caps Bertolo, Nicolás (ZaragozaEspaña) uncapped Costa, Alberto (Valencia – España) uncapped Piatti, Pablo (Almería –España) uncapped

Boselli, Mauro (Génova – Italia) 2 caps Otamendi, Nicolás (Porto – Portugal) 10 caps Belluschi, Fernando (PortoPortugal 2 caps Gaitán, Nicolás (Benfica – Portugal) 3 caps Jara, Franco (Benfica – Portugal) 3 caps Zabaleta, Pablo (Manchester City) 9 caps Angeleri, Marcos (Sunderland) 4

caps Formica, Mauro (Blackburm Rovers) uncapped Cabral, Alejandro (Legia Varsovia-Poland) uncapped Cristaldo, Jonathan (MetalistUkraine) uncapped Insúa, Emiliano (Galasataray) 2 caps Bolatti, Mario (Internacional – Brazil) 2caps Gabbarini , Adrián (Independiente -Argentina) 1 cap

NFF bans NFA

•As IG invites both parties

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HE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) rose from its emergency meeting yesterday to clamp a life ban on the leaders of the illegal group that are parading themselves as the Nigeria Football Association".

Those affected by the ban are Jaret Tenebe, Ahmed Gara Gombe, Harrison Jalla, and Olajide Fashekun. They are not allowed to have anything to do with football in the country, and are not expected to be seen around any football circle. The Board said that the disgruntled group has no right whatsoever to run the affairs of football in country, and all its members should be seen as not serving the interest of

BRFCC ease past FGCWOBCC

B

the game in the country.

They commended the likes of Felix Owolabi, Tajudeen Disu, Emmanuel Okala for disassociating themselves from the group, they promised to reach out fast to the National Assembly to ensure that the law setting up the NFF is passed without further delays.

The NFF promised to support the current FIFA President Sepp Blatter for his ambition to return to the position, considering his efforts in developing the game in Africa and globally.

Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police has invited the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation for a chat over a letter written by the now banned Harrison Jalla that the NFF has refused to vacate office.

Harrison Jalla had on Tuesday personally brought the letter to the Glasshouse secretariat of the Football House, but he was disallowed entry into the office by security personnel stationed at the building. However, his letter was accepted and duly delivered. Confirming the receipt of the letter, the Technical Committee Chairman, Christopher Green said they received the letter and would surely honour the invitation today.

Bolt nervous ahead of Rome race

•Eagles players in training

RFCC achieved a milestone record when they defeated hapless Federal Government College Warri Old Boys Cricket Club by 8 wickets in Club Cricket Committee League Super 4 Final at the Tafawa Balewa Cricket Oval.

The Warri-based side won the toss and Captain Roland Ilube elected to bat first hoping that the long weeks of tour where Nigeria Cricket National Team excelled at both competitions in Botswana and South Africa was going to affect eight members of the team who ply their trade with BRFCC bUt that was not to be.

Azeez Salako (27 runs),Roland Ilube (21 runs) and Emmanuel Okwudili 20 runs were the top batsmen for FGCWOBCC as they got reduced to a sizeable 123 all out in 41.1 overs.

Decent bowling marshalled by Captain Sean Phillips who had three wickets for 8 runs in 6 overs while the duo of Saheed Akolade and Leke Oyede grabbing two wickets each.

At lunch time Nigerian Cricket Federation President who also doubles as Chairman of Africa Cricket Association Mr Kwesi Sagoe and other members of the N.C.F Board had a photograph session with the victorious Nigerian Cricket National Team where the runners-up trophy won at the Pepsi International Cricket Council World Cricket

From Patrick Ngwaogu and Andrew Abah, Abuja

League Division 7 in Gaborone,Botswana and the feat achieved during the just concluded Pepsi ICC Africa Premier League Division 2 T20 Tournament in South Africa where they came first was jointly presented by Coach/Player Sean Phillips and Captain Endurance

Ofem.

Second Innings saw composed batting from BRFCC Players add some vital runs on the board led by Endurance Ofem (38 runs),Varun Behani (28 runs) and Ademola Onikoyi 25 runs in 22 overs with 168 balls to spare and 124 runs in total.

Nwosu campaigns against football violence ORMER SUPER Eagles’ midfielder Henry Nwosu has announced his pledge to the 1 GAME: Football without Violence campaign, describing it as “necessary” for football.

The 47-year-old coach of Union Bank FC, expressed his commitment to 1 GAME founder Philip Obaji earlier on Tuesday.

"I am 100% for 1 Game. I don’t in any way support violence in football. It kills the game. We must do something about it. The authorities must step up and protect the game.

It is necessary for football. I am committed to the 1 GAME campaign.”

Nwosu added "Last weekend my team played in Ekiti. We conceded a penalty and lost a game. Even after winning, the home fans attacked my players. I was wondering why. Violence is something

F

we must fight.”

Born on June 14, 1963, Nwosu spent his career at home with New Nigeria Bank (NNB) of Benin City and African Continental Bank (ACB) of Lagos.

He also played for ASEC Mimosas FC of Ivory Coast and Racing FC Bafoussam of Cameroon.

A gifted midfielder, Nwosu was the youngest member of Nigeria's victorious 1980 African Nations Cup squad, and scored the only goal for Nigeria at the 1980 Olympics.

He also played in the 1982, 1984 and 1988 tournaments, finishing runners up in the latter two, with his last game for Nigeria coming in 1991.

As a coach, Nwosu was an assistant to Adegboye Onigbinde at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan.

USAIN BOLT says he is “slightly nervous” for the first time in his career.

The 100-meter world recordholder will make his season debut in Thursday's Golden Gala meet in Rome, for his first race getting beat by Tyson Gay in Stockholm last August. That ended the Jamaican's two-year unbeaten streak.

Bolt says he has added more muscle to his frame and he wants “to prove to the world that I'm still the best”.

Bolt will face fellow Jamaican and former world recordholder Asafa Powell, as well as European champion Christophe Lemaitre.

Bolt is also planning to race in Ostrava and Oslo as he warms up for the August 27September 4 world championships in Daegu, South Korea. He called the meets “stepping stones for the world championships”.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

61

NATION SPORT IMPROVED CONTRACT

Osaze to pen new deal W

EST BROM are set to open talks with leading scorer Peter Odemwingie over a new contract, the player's agent has confirmed.

Odemwingie capped his first campaign with the Baggies by netting 15 goals in the

Barclays Premier League.

The 29-year-old has one year remaining of his current deal plus the option of a further 12 months, but Albion want to award him an improved deal for his efforts, and his agent David Omigie told the Wolverhampton

•Osaze

Express and Star: "Talks should take place any time from now."

He added: "We are just waiting to hear from the club but things should start any moment now, hopefully in the next week or so.

"Peter is okay. He is very happy at West Brom and he will consider whatever is put on the table by them.

"No-one can say for sure what will happen in the future and things will become clearer in the days and weeks ahead."

Odemwingie collected another award when he was named the Premier League's African Player of the Season at the inaugural Best of Africa Awards.

Meanwhile, Albion are continuing their efforts to sign Israel international striker Itay Shechter from Hapoel Tel Aviv.

He is due to hold talks with Baggies head coach Roy Hodgson in the next few days.

Hannover and Kaiserslautern are also in the hunt for Shechter, who has won nine full caps.

Work permit locks out Emeka •Nigerian can’t play in Kenya Premier league

T

USKER's Nigerian import Joseph Emeka is among the players locked out of the Kenyan Premier League this season because of lack of work permits.

A bitter Emeka who was the top joint scorer with 15 goals in the 2009 season told SuperSport.com

he was disturbed by the turn of events.

"I have been out because of work permit issues though people have been led to believe I have an injury. I don’t know why it has taken so long for my club to get me a permit and yet I have always given my best for them. This has

hurt me and am now weighing my options.”

On his part Tusker official Charles Obiny stood by the claims that Emeka was injured saying they already had already obtained a work permit for the player, “He has an ankle injury and the issue about work permit is unfounded since we got him one."

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

61

NATION SPORT IMPROVED CONTRACT

Osaze to pen new deal W

EST BROM are set to open talks with leading scorer Peter Odemwingie over a new contract, the player's agent has confirmed.

Odemwingie capped his first campaign with the Baggies by netting 15 goals in the

Barclays Premier League.

The 29-year-old has one year remaining of his current deal plus the option of a further 12 months, but Albion want to award him an improved deal for his efforts, and his agent David Omigie told the Wolverhampton

•Osaze

Express and Star: "Talks should take place any time from now."

He added: "We are just waiting to hear from the club but things should start any moment now, hopefully in the next week or so.

"Peter is okay. He is very happy at West Brom and he will consider whatever is put on the table by them.

"No-one can say for sure what will happen in the future and things will become clearer in the days and weeks ahead."

Odemwingie collected another award when he was named the Premier League's African Player of the Season at the inaugural Best of Africa Awards.

Meanwhile, Albion are continuing their efforts to sign Israel international striker Itay Shechter from Hapoel Tel Aviv.

He is due to hold talks with Baggies head coach Roy Hodgson in the next few days.

Hannover and Kaiserslautern are also in the hunt for Shechter, who has won nine full caps.

Work permit locks out Emeka •Nigerian can’t play in Kenya Premier league

T

USKER's Nigerian import Joseph Emeka is among the players locked out of the Kenyan Premier League this season because of lack of work permits.

A bitter Emeka who was the top joint scorer with 15 goals in the 2009 season told SuperSport.com

he was disturbed by the turn of events.

"I have been out because of work permit issues though people have been led to believe I have an injury. I don’t know why it has taken so long for my club to get me a permit and yet I have always given my best for them. This has

hurt me and am now weighing my options.”

On his part Tusker official Charles Obiny stood by the claims that Emeka was injured saying they already had already obtained a work permit for the player, “He has an ankle injury and the issue about work permit is unfounded since we got him one."

62

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY25, 2011

FOREIGN NEWS

Mubarak, sons face trial over protesters deaths •Mubarak

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GYPT’S ousted President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons are to be tried over the deaths of anti-government protesters, judicial officials say.

Mr Mubarak, who was ousted in February, is being detained at a hospital in the

Red Sea resort of Sharm elSheikh.

He and his wife also face allegations of illegally acquiring wealth while they were in power for 30 years.

The couple’s two sons, Alaa and Gamal, are being held in Cairo’s Tora prison and also face fraud charges.

The three men have been charged with “premeditated murder of some participants in the peaceful protests of the 25 January revolution,” the country’s state news agency reported the prosecutor general as saying.

More than 800 people died

in the weeks-long crackdown that preceded Mr Mubarak’s departure.

The charges come after renewed calls for protests on Friday to demand the trial of the Mubarak family as well as the lifting of emergency law.

Hosni Mubarak and his sons Gamal and Alaa are accused of planning the killing of protesters in the revolution that began on 25 January. The aim, according to the accusation was to kill some and to intimidate others.

The former president is accused of accepting gifts, in-

cluding a palace and four villas at the resort of Sharm elSheikh. He is also accused of conspiring with businessman Hussein Salem, who has also been charged, to sell gas cheaply to Israel and thus defraud the Egyptian government of many millions of dollars.

According to one report, a medical team is now visiting Mr Mubarak at the hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh to see if he is well enough to travel to Cairo - either to be moved to hospital in the capital or into the prison where his two sons are already being held.

Strauss-Kahn’s DNA ‘linked to maid’

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NA found on the clothes of a New York hotel maid who accused Dominique StraussKahn of sexually assaulting her matches that of the former IMF chief, United States media reports say.

The unconfirmed reports cited sources close to the investigation.

More tests from the room where the alleged attack took place are pending.

Strauss-Kahn denies the charges, and resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund last week to defend himself.

He is under house arrest in a New York apartment, after a judge granted him a $1m (£620,000) bail last week.

Reports about the DNA samples came after authorities analysed the work clothes of the 32-year-old hotel maid who says she was assaulted in the New York Sofitel near Times Square on 14 May. Police and judicial spokespeople have declined to confirm the reports, carried by the Associated Press and ABC News, among others.

Investigators are reported to be carrying out further

tests on samples taken from the carpet and other surfaces in the hotel room.

Strauss-Kahn is charged with seven counts including four felony charges - two of criminal sexual acts, one of attempted rape and one of sexual abuse - plus three misdemeanour offences, including unlawful imprisonment.

His accuser, an immigrant from the West African state

of Guinea, told authorities that Mr Strauss-Kahn had accosted her after she entered his hotel room to clean it.

Strauss-Kahn’s defence team is expected to argue that a sexual encounter occurred, but that it was consensual.

“The forensic evidence, we believe, will not be consistent with a forcible encounter,” Mr Strauss-Kahn’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, has said.

Pakistan returns helicopter used in Bin AKISTAN has reLaden operation turned the wreckage

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of a US helicopter destroyed during the raid that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, the Pentagon has said.

A spokesman said the remains of the aircraft were back on United States soil having been returned “over

the weekend”.

It is believed the helicopter was a UH-60 Blackhawk, heavily modified to make it quieter and less visible to radar.

After developing problems, the helicopter - one of up to four used during the 2 May raid - was blown up.

The team of Navy Seals did not want sensitive technology falling into enemy hands.

“The wreckage of the helicopter destroyed in the Bin Laden operation was returned over the weekend and is now back in the United States,” said Pentagon spokesman Col Dave Lapan.

Its delivery meets a key US demand of Pakistan following the mission to kill the alQaeda leader, which Islamabad called a violation of its sovereignty.

Libyan Rebels ‘to open office in US’

U

NITED States Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman has said Libya’s rebels have accepted an invitation to open a representative office in Washington.

Feltman is the most senior US diplomat to visit the rebels in their de facto capital Benghazi.

The US has insisted that Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi step down, but has not given the rebels full recognition.

The visit came as Nato planes launched a series of air attacks on Libya’s capital, Tripoli, the heaviest so far.

Libyan officials say three people were killed and dozens injured in an attack on the barracks of the popular guard.

THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011

63

http://www.thenationonlineng.net

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL. 6 NO.1770

Tomorrow in THE NATION

‘You must not allow your meekness to be taken for stupidity. You must stand firm from the outset. This firmness must be reflected in the calibre of people you appoint into your cabinet.’

LAWAL OGIENAGBON

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

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HE almost 50 year-old Kaduna Polytechnic, Nigeria’s premier technical college after Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, is probably Africa’s largest. Next to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, it is also the country’s largest tertiary institution. Once upon a time, it was arguably the country’s best polytechnic, possibly even on the continent.

But while it seems to have retained its record in size all these half a century, its reputation as a quality polytechnic has been on a free fall since the turn of this millennium.

The trouble with the institution, as with the country at large, has been its leadership, most notably under its current governing council headed by Senator U.U. Dukku, and its Rector, Dr. Danjuma Ismaila Isa. The rot had long begun before Dukku’s council which was constituted in February 2009. It had set in even before Isa’s substantive rectorship which began in October 2003.

But under these two, however, the rot seemed to have become cancerous.

Isa had acted as rector from January 2003 following the dissolution of the Professor Dahiru Yahaya led council under somewhat controversial circumstances. For two and a half years after he became substantive rector in October, Isa managed the institution as a sole administrator in all but name.

His appointment was in itself rather dubious; he was not among the top three out of the several candidates that were interviewed for the job. And it seems once he got the job he did his best not to disappoint those who thought it was really above him.

At least this was the impression one is bound to come away with from the report of an eight-man ministerial visitation panel under Professor A. I. Essien that was appointed in February by the Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayya Ahmed Rufaí, to look into the causes of the long drawn strike by the institution’s Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), a strike which had paralysed it since last year.

ASUP had gone on strike twice last year to demand the sack of the leadership of the institution over allegations of incompetence, mismanagement and corruption, among other vices. When it thought the authorities did not take its action seriously, it went on a third strike in January and vowed not to go back to work until its allegations were looked into and remedied. Five months on and two months after the visitation panel had submitted its report in March, the union seems to have stuck to its guns.

Sources inside the visitation panel say its report was damning of both the governing council and management of the institution.

While the council was said to have been “inept and complacent,” the rector was said to

People and Politics By MOHAMMED HARUNA ndajika@yahoo.com

Time to end the Kaduna Polytechnic strike

•Prof Rufai

have concentrated virtually all management activities, including procurement, staff development and maintenance of the institution in his office.

The result has been reckless expenditure, recruitment, training and promotion of faculty, technical and administrative staff based on nepotism and favouritism rather on merit, and award of contracts without due process, etc. The sordid details of all these are truly mindboggling.

In the end, the panel recommended the immediate dissolution of the council and the removal of the rector “with immediate effect.” The panel also recommended that his two deputies should be relieved of their jobs and asked to revert to their teaching jobs.

Similarly, the registrar was to be relieved of his job while the bursar was to remain on

RIPPLES Minister: WHY FED GOVT CAN’T CONTROL DIESEL, KEROSENE PRICES

...because govt is SLEEPING ON DUTY

compulsory leave pending the outcome of an external audit the panel recommended should be made in to the institution’s finances since 2005.

These and other recommendations of the panel should have brought the ASUP strike to an end, especially given the fact that the minister had suspended the institution’s top three managers simultaneous with the inauguration of the panel. In addition, she had also pleaded with the union to call off its strike to “assist government to bring normalcy to the Polytechnic.”

In the circumstance, it is easy to blame the current mess in the institution on the union’s stubbornness. Indeed the New Nigerian and Daily Trust did just that in their various editorials recently. The New Nigerian of April 29, for example, accused the union of adopting an “obdurate stance.” It even backed the institution’s leadership for proscribing the union even though it lacked the power to do so. The polytechnic authorities, it said, “had no reason to do business with ASUP, or even recognise it in the first place.”

The newspaper was right to accuse the union of stubbornness. It was wrong, however, to ignore the source of that stubbornness. And this is the seeming reluctance of the Federal authorities to apply the very medicine they themselves have recommended as necessary for the polytechnic to begin to regain its past glory.

Since the panel made its submission, a white paper has reportedly been issued which has accepted the panel’s recommendations virtually lock, stock and barrel. President Goodluck Jonathan is also said to have since approved those same recommendations.

It is difficult to see why the Federal authorities are finding it hard, if not impossible, to do what is obviously so right by an institution which has done so much for the development

HARDBALL

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IGERIANS love to party. Here we find hosting parties in the confines of our homes too constricting, and so we cordon off major roads and dance the night away. Always inventive and original, we abuse our currency through the partying stunt called ‘spraying.’

It is no surprise that in government we sniff out any excuse to throw a party – whether in times of plenty or austerity.

Not too long ago, the occasion of Nigeria’s 50th Independence anniversary offered an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to throw “the mother of all parties.” The bill was a middling N10 billion.

A breakdown showed that billions were spent on such great national priorities as an anniversary parade, a national unity torch, food and drinks, publicity as well as the construction of a so-called “Tower of Unity” in the 36 states of the Federation.

It is still not clear how that binge enhanced our unity or independence.

The government is at it again, with a plan to spend between N830 million and N1.3 billion on ceremonies marking the inauguration of President Goodluck Jonathan. The massive outlay would be spread ‘wisely’, again, on the usual suspects – protocol, security, transport,

Jonathan’s billion naira party accommodation, food, drinks etc.

As was the case when the cost of the 50th Independence anniversary was first made public, the unveiling of the bill for the inauguration has many outraged. In the context of the sums that public officials spend and talk about, N1 billion may seem like pocket change. However, for many Nigerians that is still an arresting amount of money to be spending just to get the president and his deputy through their oathtaking rituals.

As if anticipating the inevitable criticism of the outlay, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Yayale Ahmed, sought to make the case for celebrating in style.

“The programme of activities for the inauguration of the new president represents a symbolic celebration of the deepening of democracy as exemplified by the recently concluded elections,” he said.

This is not to trivialise activities marking

of this country, especially when all it would take is a stroke of the minister’s pen.

Re: “The man who turned PUNCH around” Dear Mohammed, Thank you very much for your column of today ( May 18) in The Nation, which dwelt essentially on my tenure at Punch as chairman and the background events before my time.

I thank you for your observations and comments on my person. And, I would like to use this opportunity to let you know that I am happy that you and I had the opportunity to interact and got to know each other better as directors at the News Agency of Nigeria.

Concerning the reels of newsprint occasionally borrowed from Concord by Punch in the late 1980’s, the fact is that they were then critical to the company’s operations, as Punch would otherwise not have been able to appear in sufficient quantity on the news-stands.

The borrowed reels were, however, always replaced as soon as possible, whenever the finances of Punch became strong enough for it to do so, and the practice of occasional newsprint borrowing still continues between media organisations to this day.

Indeed, when Concord had its challenges, following from the political incarceration of Bashorun Abiola by the Abacha junta, Punch sometimes had cause to lend newsprint to Concord.

On the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), I actually championed its establishment from the outset of my presidency of Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, relying on the decision of the association at the Annual General Meeting at which I was elected.

As president, I led with vigour the negotiations with the advertising companies and the advertising agencies and we actually succeeded in establishing the structure for the take-off of an Audit Bureau of Circulation, including the appointment of the firm of Dafinone & Co. (Chartered Accountants) as auditors. In fact, being an actuary, I had thought the ABC’s commencement would be one of the highlight achievements of my presidency.

It was our own members who actually changed their position, arguing that circulation figures in Nigeria are not a true indication of actual readership, as expressed by resolutions at the meeting of our association held at the premises of The Guardian on 28th February, 2008 and on other subsequent occasions.

Chief Ajibola Ogunshola •For comments, send SMS to 08054502909

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above our democratic rites of passage. They have their place. But perhaps we should be concerned less with celebrating modest progress, and focus more on sustaining democracy. A culture of democratic governance will only take root through daily practice and by the strengthening of institutions.

It is particularly disturbing that the administration did not learn from its experience last October when it was forced to scale down costs because of public criticisms. Truth is people find the obscene bills attached to these celebrations disturbing.

Such unchecked spending is evidence that those who run government cannot tell whether we are living in boom times or in an age of austerity. Given the parlous state of the economy there is really no justification for spending N1 billion on a week-long Jonathan to Jonathan transition.

We must look to the example of countries like Great Britain where they just get on with the business of government. The Labour Party’s Gordon Brown loses an election, walks out of No. 10 Downing Street. Twenty minutes later the victorious Tory, David Cameron, walks in and assumes power. Life goes on.

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