The Nation May 25, 2013 by The Nation

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VOL.08 N0. 2496

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

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NGF chair: Jonathan caged as Amaechi floors Jang

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PAGE 57

—Nollywood actress

PAGE 5 The rescued kids and women... yesterday

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

5 News

THE NATION, SATURDAY MAY 25, 2013

NGF chair: Jonathan caged as Amaechi floors Jang

OVERNOR Rotimi Amaechi swept back into office last night as Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), against all odds. He polled 19 votes to defeat Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State who had 16. Elected as Amaechi’s deputy was Governor AbdulAziz Yari of Zamfara State, who was picked ahead of Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State. Jang was a late entrant in the race, having joined only 15

Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation/ Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja minutes before the election and at the prompting of his fellow governors from the North. Neither Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina nor Governor Isah Yuguda of Bauchi, both of who were said to be in the race initially at the behest of the Presidency to scuttle Amaechi’s ambition, unexpectedly stepped aside at the eleventh hour.

One of the duo was to be endorsed by the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) as its official candidate at a meeting preceeding the election. But when neither of them was willing to step down for the other, they were asked to make way for Jang. The tension-soaked contest almost ended abruptly after anti-Amaechi governors threatened to walk out. Wisdom eventually prevailed and as voting ended and the winner was declared, Amaechi

said his victory was a testimony to the success story of Nigeria’s democracy. A source at the session said Amaechi won at the first ballot. The source said: “We started with a valedictory address by Amaechi, which drew some applause from members. “When it was time to go into voting, pro-presidency governors, led by Godswill Akpabio, Emmanuel Uduaghan, Olusegun Mimiko and Liyel Imoke, made desperate clamour for an open ballot sys-

•Bereaved Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Azeez Arisekola Alao (third right) during a prayer session led by Sheik Aruna Busari for Arisekola Alao’s late wife... yesterday. PHOTO: Femi ILESANMI

SHOCKED Governor Godswill Akpabio last night rejected the result of the Nigeria Governors Forum’s chairmanship contest and proclaimed Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State the winner of the election. With Akpabio, who leads the recently formed PDP Governors Forum, were nine of his colleagues–Sullivan Chime (Enugu), Isa Yuguda (Bauchi), Idris Wada (Kogi), Liyel Imoke (Cross River), Martin Elechi (Ebonyi), Jonah Jang (Plateau), Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Peter Obi (Anambra) and Theodore Orji (Abia). They addressed reporters at the Akwa Ibom Liaison office, Abuja, saying 19 of them elected Jang as the new chairman of the forum They distributed to reporters copies of a statement entitled “Resolution of Nigerian Governors”, purportedly signed by 19 governors, including Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe, who abstained from voting at the election earlier in the day, and Governor Dankwabo of Gombe who, according to Amaechi’s camp, was not present at the meeting as he was out of the country. The resolution reads: “We the undersigned Governors of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, having taken cognizance of the state of the nation and the perception of the Nigerian

...Akpabio, others reject result Yusuf ALLI, Managing Editor, Northern Operation/ Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja people, do hereby resolve as follows: 1. That we thank the out-going Chairman, His Excellency, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, Governor of Rivers State for his leadership and achievements. 2. That we strongly agree for a change of leadership of the Forum from May 2013 to May 2015. 3. We hereby, therefore, elect His Excellency Jonah Jang of Plateau State as the new Chairman of the Forum. Signed : Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Dankwambo I.H. (Gombe); H.S.Dickson Esq (Bayelsa); Garba Umar (Taraba); Suswan Gabriel (Benue); Peter Obi (Anambra); Idris Wada (Kogi); Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo); Jonah Jang (Plateau); Muktar R.Yero (Kaduna); Sullivan I.Chime (Enugu); Martin N.Elechi (Ebonyi); Isa Yuguda (Bauchi); Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta); T.A.Orji (Abia); Ibrahim Shema (Katsina): Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe); Liyel Imoke (Cross River); and AbdulFatah Ahmed (Kwara). Akpabio said Amaechi ought to have resigned his position as chairman of the

NGF before seeking re-election. He said Amaechi’s non-resignation breached the rules. Yuguda expressed disbelief at the outcome of the election in spite of the fact that the PDP Governors Forum supposedly presented a common candidate. Jang echoed Yuguda’s viewpoint, wondering how he could have lost when he had the backing of northern governors. However, a governor at the election dismissed the claim of the anti-Amaechi forces. He said the pro-Amaechi group suspected from the outset that the other side was up to some mischief. His words: “Some of us had a premonition that some antiAmaechi governors might be desperate and we decided to video tape the election process. “Now, we are vindicated as they are crying over spilled milk. Nigerians should ask them why they refused to address the press after the election at the Rivers State Governor’s Lodge? “The so-called list released by Governor Godswill Akpabio is strange and extraneous in order to scuttle Amaechi’s mandate. “It is laughable that they even included the name of

Yobe State Governor, Ibrahim Geidam, who was not in Abuja to vote, in their list. This has shown how desperate they have become. “What they released was the list of the governors who signed to vote for the anointed candidate of the presidency who eventually did not contest. “They could not even be smart. Collection of signatures is different from actual voting. They coerced some governors to sign but these governors ended up voting according to their conscience. Responding to a question, the governor added: “We stand by the mandate which has been hardly won by Governor Amaechi.” Our correspondent put a call through to the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh at 9 .18 pm yesterday, to seek the party’s position on the outcome of the contest. He responded that it was solely an NGF affair, saying that the election was not about the PDP and that the party did not monitor the exercise. Metuh abridged the conversation and excused himself. He promised to get back to our correspondent later, but he never did at press time.

Emir of Kano loses wife

tem. But most of the governors insisted on secret ballot. “That was the first sign that the pro-presidency governors might lose out. “In order to improve the chances of Jang winning the poll, the pro-presidency governors reluctantly agreed to a secret ballot system. “Thereafter, the governors went into the voting session amidst anxiety. After voting, a pall of silence descended on the hall when the Returning Officer, Mr. A.B. Okauru, who is also the Director-General of the NGF, was about to count the votes. “At the end of the day, Amaechi polled 19 votes to defeat Jang. Only Governor Ibrahim Geidam stayed away from the election on personal grounds.” Another source said: “The anti-Amaechi governors were disappointed. They became dejected but they could not question the outcome because every vote counted. “The poll was free and fair. They had initially planned to march out of the session but the transparency of the ballot was a hindrance.” Responding to a question, the governor added: “We also opted for the Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji AbdulAziz Yari as the Deputy Chairman of the NGF instead of the Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko put up by anti-Amaechi forces.” Investigation revealed that the defeat of anti-Amaechi forces was sealed at the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) where Governors Ibrahim Shema and Isa Yuguda were asked to step aside. The NSGF opted for Governor Jonah Jang as consensus candidate following the refusal of Governors Ibrahim Shema and Isa Yuguda to step down for each other. Based on the resolution, Jang collected the form to contest the seat with the incumbent at about 3.45 pm before the NGF meeting started at 4pm. Another governor, who spoke in confidence, said: “With Shema and Yuguda out of the equation, the race became open between Amaechi and Jang, who could not earn the confidence of all the northern governors. “So, Jang’s candidature ended up splitting northern governors’ votes and Amaechi benefited tremendously from this. “At the Northern Governors Forum session, neither Shema nor Yuguda was ready to step down. The pro-Amaechi governors sold a dummy to antiAmaechi forces that it would not be good for the North to go to the poll disunited. “Some of us also said that the northern governors should go for a neutral candidate so that the Presidency and proAmaechi camps would not lay claim to any superiority. “It was a perfect plot at the Northern States Governors Forum which anti-Amaechi forces gullibly accepted without reading between the lines. It showed that they are neophytes in politics.”

HE Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, on Thursday night lost his wife, Kolade ADEYEMI, Kano Hajiya Rabi Ado Bayero, popularly known as Uwar Soron Kano. The late Rabi Ado Bayero, who died at the age of 60 years, left behind many children, including the District Head of Takai, Alhaji Bashir Ado and Deputy Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. The late Hajiya Rabi was buried at Kofar Kudu cemetery within the palace Bayero (Dan Lawan of Kano) and Umar Ado Bayero. The funeral prayers for the deceased was led by the Chief Imam of Kano, amidst prayers for the repose of her soul. It was learnt that hundreds of sympathisers thronged the Emir’s palace to Prof. Sani Zaharadeen, and was attended by the bereaved husband and Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero; the Emir of Dass, Alhaji Bilyaminu Usman condole with the him and pay their last respects to the deceased woman.

Political sources in Abuja said the outcome of the NGF election is a pointer to the massive battle awaiting President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. It was gathered that yesterday’s victory of Amaechi was largely made possible by political godfathers in different parts of the country as a test case to prove to President Jonathan that he should prepare for the battle ahead in 2015. One source said:”Many godfathers of the governors relocated to Abuja to prove a point that democracy is better than coercion. “They were unhappy the way Amaechi was being humiliated in the last few weeks. It is now left to Jonathan to allow democracy to grow unfettered.” In his acceptance speech, Amaechi said Nigeria ’s democracy has been proven and tested. “ Democracy is about participation. The aim of democratic governance is for everyone to partake in winning,” he said,adding: “Today, the governors have spoken with one voice, reaffirming our faith in democratic governance as the hope of Nigeria ’s future. “I must thank my colleagues for their tenacity and determination to ensure the unity of the forum, but more importantly of our nation. “We remain committed to supporting our leader, the President and Commander- InChief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to realise the development dream of all Nigerians by reducing tension, uncertainty and insecurity in our beloved country. “We want to pledge our steadfastness and resolve working alongside Mr. President to better the lives of our people as we render transparent and accountable stewardship. “Finally, our thanks go to all those who have patiently endured these times, especially our constituents and members of the fourth estate of the realm who have followed these elections with keen interest. We promise that we will not betray the confidence you have reposed in us.” Governors Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Dickson Serike (Bayelsa) and Gabriel Suswam (Benue), arrowheads of theanti-Amaechi forces wore long faces as they emerged from the meeting as soon as it ended, without waiting for the result to be announced to journalists. But for the pro-Amaechi camp, it was jubilation all the way. Pumping the air, they sang: “Who can battle with the Lord? Who can battle with the Lord? Nobody.” Amaechi is currently embroiled in a face-off with the Presidency and the PDP hierarchy at the national and state levels on account of speculations that he is teaming up with those opposed to President Jonathan’s re-election in 2015. The governor is being tipped as running mate to Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State in the next presidential race. He has denied nursing any such ambition, but the Presidency seems unconvinced. Already, the PDP in Rivers State is factionalised with one side backing the governor and the other rooting for the President and the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike.

News 6

THE NATION, SATURDAY MAY 25, 2013

Emergency: Soldiers rescue nine women, children held hostage by Boko Haram •Three still missing F REEDOM came yesterday for six children and three women held as ransom by the Boko Haram Islamist sect in Bama, Borno State. The captives were rescued by Federal troops who overran three camps of the sect in Sambisa forest, a stretch of 16kilometre uncultivated mass of trees and shrubs in central Borno, the Defence Headquarters announced yesterday. Three other captives–a

Gbade OGUNWALE, Assistant Editor, Abuja

woman and her two children– were, however, missing. The authorities said a search was on to locate them. The captives were all seized at the Bama Police Station by the insurgents when they invaded the town on May 7. No fewer than 50 people were killed during the invasion.

Several houses were also set ablaze by the sect’s members who also attacked the prison in the town and set about 100 inmates free. The Director of Defence Information, Brigadier General Chris Olubolade, told journalists in Abuja that the women and children were rescued by the Special Forces. He showed reporters a video recording and photographs of the freed hostages.

The abducted women and children were shown in a recent You Tube video by the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau. Olukolade was silent on Shekau’s whereabouts. He said the harsh conditions of the forest must have taken a toll on the yet-to-be-found mother and her two children. The Major General Lawrence Ngubane–led operational assessment team raised by the

Defence Headquarters said in a report that all the terrorist camps in northern and central Borno had been neutralised by the federal troops. The video clips showed what the DHQ described as a makeshift clinic of the insurgents, their destroyed camps in the forest, operational vehicles, fuel and water storage tanks. Olukolade said some of the vehicles and other property were set ablaze by the terrorists them-

•National leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (second right) during his visit to former Head of State and leader of the Congress for Progress Change (CPC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, during Asiwaju’s visit to the former head of state in Kaduna on Thursday. With them are (from left) Senator Caleo Zagi; National Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Alhaji Lai Muhammed; Mr Mataimaki Maiyashi and Ben Solomon Dalhatu Kure.

Pathologist gives more details on how Cynthia was murdered

HE Consultant pathologist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Prof. John Obafunwa, on Friday gave more insight into how Cynthia Osokogu was killed by two young men she met on Facebook. According to Obafunwa, the late Cynthia’s Osokogu’s mouth was stuffed with a black and yellow hair net, a white handkerchief and the attachment of the weaveon. He said that a tape was also fixed before her mouth. Obafunwa revealed these while showing pictures of the autopsy activities on the late Cynthia from the beginning to the end of the procedure.

Adebisi ONANUGA

He was giving evidence before Justice Olabisi Akinlade of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja. The pathologist testified as a prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of the suspected killers of Cynthia. Cynthia, 24, was allegedly drugged and murdered in a hotel room in Lagos last July by the duo of Okwumo Nwabufor and Olisaeloka Ezike, who are facing charges bordering on conspiracy to commit murder, murder and felony. Also, Osita Orji, a pharmacist who sold the Rophynol drug to the alleged murderers, is accused of reckless and negligent act, while Nonso Ezike, who pawned

the deceased’s Blackberry phone, is charged with possession of stolen property. The professor of pathology stated further that the late Cynthia’s lungs were heavily engorged with blood weighing 400-500 grammes rather than the normal 250-300 grammes, adding that there were also tiny beads on the surface, which he attributed to blood accumulation called pulmonary oedema. Obafunwa explained further that there were also tiny beads in the lining of her voice box while the kidney when sliced had dark spots in some areas, indicating a shut down of blood circulation due to shock. Prof Obafunwa, who was

being cross examined by defence counsels, maintained that there was no evidence that the late Cynthia was suffering from any disease like asthma or tuberculosis, based on their examination and microscopic study. According to him, the seven bruises on Cynthia’s thighs were suspected to be bite marks while when the corpse was skinned, deep bruises, which couldn’t be seen on the skin were found on various parts of her legs. The autopsy pictures revealed that Cyhthia’s hands were tied with tape and a chain covered with blue plastic wrap and there were bruises at the back of her right hand and her mouth was disfigured. The pathologist stated that

Why investors are yet to pay 75% balance for PHCN

selves before fleeing. The video clips also showed the troops in friendly interactions with residents of communities in some of the localities under the emergency rule. Olukolade said the troops had been adhering strictly to the rules of engagement, adding that no civilian casualty had been recorded. In a message to the troops, the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim, commended them for demonstrating a high level of professionalism in the operations. He said the feat performed by the soldiers was a major achievement in the process of restoring normalcy to communities hitherto held captive by the insurgents. Ibrahim enjoined them to continue to adhere strictly to the rules of engagement and operational codes of conduct, stressing that the exercise was a major test case on the capacity of the security forces to manage the nation’s security challenges. He said: “Troops must not make themselves vulnerable. Those who carry arms against the state and citizens are the ones we are fighting against. “Troops must exhibit a high standard of commitment and discipline in all steps taken during this operation. This is not an exercise but a real operation.” Admiral Ibrahim expressed the confidence that the terrorists would be defeated in record time, considering the superiority of the troops in terms of training and support from Nigerians.

HE preferred bidders who have made the initial 25 per cent payment for the purchase of the unbundled Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) are yet to pay the 75 per cent balance, which is obligatory before the handover that is scheduled for July ending, because of the pending labour issues, it was learnt yesterday. According to an insider source at the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), none of them (the investors) had paid the balance of 75 per cent. The source also explained that even if the investors had paid the balance, the Federal Government would not hand over the entities to them until the labour issues are re-

John OFIKHENUA, Abuja solved. “None of them has paid yet. They are waiting for the labour issues to be resolved. Even if they finish paying, they won’t be handed over until the workers’ issues are resolved,” said the reliable source. The Nation also gathered from another source that the July ending handover date which the BPE has proposed is also dependent on the settlement of the PHCN workers issues. It will be recalled that the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, had on May 1 this year disclosed that the Federal Government would pay the workers’ severance package with PHCN

privatization proceeds next month. Although it was not clear whether the proceeds, which he said would all be used to pay the staff, included the 75 per cent that the investors are yet to pay. President Goodluck Jonathan approved N348 billion for the payment of severance package, although only N45 billion was appropriated for that purpose in this year’s budget. But according to Nebo, government would raise funds to take care of the deficit from the PHCN privatization proceeds. Although it is not clear whether the 25 percent the investors have already paid is enough for the deficit, the investors, it was learnt yester-

day, are are also waiting for the government to sort out the labour issue before releasing the balance of 75 per cent to the appropriate financial authorities for the BPE. Despite this waiting game from both sides, the Minister of State for Power, Hajiya Zainab Kuchi, on Thursday told journalists in Abuja that the fund required for the payment of the workers was available. She added that the data computation was already ongoing. Her words: ”We have taken over all the problems. We have addressed all the issues. The funding is there for the payment of labour. All they are doing is data computation and as soon as we are done with this, the handing over processes will take place.”

Cynthia’s corpse was labelled unknown when brought in, and that the only clothing she had on was an under shirt with pink stripes The professor of Forensic Medicine had earlier testified that Cynthia died from

asphyxia, that is, absence of oxygen supply to the body, adding that the blockage of the deceased’s upper respiratory airways was the immediate cause of her death. The matter was adjourned till May 31, 2013.

NDLEA reads riot act to airlines

HE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency ( NDL E A ) , y est er d a y warned airlines to take all necessary steps to prevent drug trafficking in the country. The Chairman of the agency, Alhaji Ahmadu Giade, at an emergency meeting with airline managers at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, that stiff penalties now await errant airlines. The meeting followed the recent arrest in London of a crew member of Arik for allegedly being in possession of cocaine. Another crew member found in possession of cigarettes has already been released by the United Kingdom authorities to the NDLEA. However, the crew member reportedly found with 6kg of substance suspected to be cocaine is still being quizzed in London. Giade reminded the airlines of their responsibility as spelt out by Section 25 of the NDLEA Act. “It shall be the duty of every commercial carrier to take reasonable precaution to ensure that its means of transport are not used in the commission of offences under this Act,” he said, add-

Kelvin OSA OKUNBOR ing: “They are to comply with appropriate security measures at points of entry and exit in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and other customs control areas, to prevent unauthorised cargo in its means of transportation.” Also speaking, the NDLEA commander at the Lagos airport, Mr Hamza Umar, said that such precautions as contained in the Act include training of personnel to identify suspicious consignment or persons, promotion of integrity of their personnel and submission of cargo manifests in advance. Others are use of tamperresistant, individually verifiable seals on containers and reporting to the Agency at the earliest opportunity all suspicious circumstances relating to drug trafficking. The airlines, through t hei r r epr esent a t i v es, pledged their full cooperation with security measures by authorities in preventing drug trafficking. Since the incident on Monday, security checks on airline officials have been intensified at the nation’s airports as well as all entry and exit points.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

8 COMMENTARY

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

Option to combat breast cancer

AST week, an article written by Hollywood actress, Angelina Jolie revealed that she had undergone a double mastectomy to lower her risk of breast cancer, which was high due to her genetic inheritance. Angelina Jolie’s revelation of her mastectomy was a welcome development in opening up the discussion of a subject matter and operation that still carries a stigma for many women. Breast cancer and the options that women have to combat and fight it is a subject that I am very passionate about. Several years ago, I lost a good friend to cancer. She battled with breast cancer for a relatively short time before succumbing to the dreadful disease. She was quite young, vibrant and had an extremely healthy family with children. My friend was the last person I would have thought to be diagnosed with breast cancer. After all growing up, I had always been told that women who breastfed their babies were hardly ever candidates for breast cancer. Apparently not! That devastating incident made me feel vulnerable and scared; I realized that I lacked knowledge about a disease which threatens each and every woman. Cancer, unlike a lot of other fatal diseases is one of those that is potentially in all of our bodies. It is our responsibility to educate our families and ourselves so that we can do everything possible to help anyone dealing with this venomous illness. Something as simple as regular caution and self-test could determine the line between life and death, pain or otherwise. That is why this week I would like to share some information with my readers on the causes, symptoms and treatments of breast cancer. If nothing else, I hope this article will give the information that may reduce the suffering of a husband or a daughter or even save a neighbor. Knowledge is power and for those battling with the illness, the more they learn about their options and about the cancer, the better equipped they are to handle the challenges of the disease. Breast cancer is an uncontrolled growth of breast cells. There are different stages of breast cancer ranging from Stage 0 all the way through to Stage 4. Stage 0 signifies non-invasive breast cancer; at stage 1, cancer cells invade neighboring tissue. When the tumor reaches stage 2, the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm. At stage 3, the tumor has spread to lymph nodes, and nodes are clumping and sticking to surrounding tissue, the tumor may have further spread to the breast skin causing inflammatory breast cancer; a very serious, aggressive type of breast cancer that makes the breast look red. Sometimes doctors misdiagnose this as a mere infection so patients must always be aware. At stage 4 the tumor has spread to lungs, liver, bone, or brain. Stages 0 through to 2 are the early stages of detection and can be cured quite easily, stage 3 is a later stage with a chance of recovery,

however stage 4 is the advanced stage, here the tumor has become quite advanced and complicated. Since the first couple of stages can be controlled, it is pertinent for every woman to practice early detection. The goal is to find breast cancer as early as possible, when it is most curable. Women can do monthly breast self-examination by examining themselves a couple of days after their monthly period. She should do this by lying down on her back and using her palm to feel for any unusual lumps. Not every lump means cancer, but a woman will come to know her body well if she regularly performs the examination making it easier for her to recognize an alien growth. It is also important to ask a doctor if he can do a more thorough examination whenever a person goes to the hospital especially if a woman is above 40 years old. Without a doubt, regular breast self-exams, combined with an annual exam by a doctor, improves the chances of detecting cancer early. If a woman finds herself in a position where she has breast cancer, surgery should be her first option. There are a number of surgical options ranging from breast conserving surgery, commonly known as lumpectomy, in which only the tumor is removed from the breast, or mastectomy, an operation in which the whole breast is removed; the kind that Angelina Jolie recently had. Radiation therapy, available in Nigeria is a highly targeted, highly effective way to destroy cancer cells that may linger after surgery and it reduces the risk of recurrence. Despite what many women fear, radiation therapy is apparently not as hard to bear as one would imagine, and the side effects are limited to the area being treated. The most dreaded of treatments, chemotherapy on the other hand is a systemic therapy, which affects the whole body by going through the bloodstream. The purpose of chemotherapy and other systemic treatments is to get rid of any cancer cells that may have spread from where the cancer started to another part of the body. However, there are a number of side effects associated with chemotherapy because other cells in the blood, mouth, hair nose, etc will also be affected, which is probably why patients try to

‘

Knowledge is power and for those battling with the illness, the more they learn about their options and about the cancer, the better equipped they are to handle the challenges of the disease

’

avoid it at all costs. It is usually one of the last options to be tried and will only be done if the cancer has widely spread. Because prevention is better than cure, the best way one is able to fight breast cancer is to have regular check ups, scans and self-examinations. Even better than detecting the disease on time is little day-to-day things we can do to try and prevent the disease. A person’s immunity can be enhanced if they exercised regularly, ate healthy, reduced stress level and avoided obesity. The limitation of red meat and other sources of animal fat is always a healthy option because they contain stored hormones or pesticides; instead more fruits and vegetables would be a healthy substitute. For those who smoke and drink, try to stop or gently wean yourselves at your own pace. In no way am I saying that these precautions out rightly prevents any form of cancer, but it will increase a person’s immunity and put them in a better stead to fight the disease should one be unfortunate to be struck with the disease. And again in no way am I saying that when it’s your time to die, the above will prevent you from dying. Out destinies dictate that, with or without cancer, every one of us will die when our time is up, but it is wise to be precautious about a disease that we now know enough about. For the vast majority of us cancer is something devastating that just happens because of defective genes, a family history, one off unexplained phenomena or otherwise? Without a doubt, it is one of the worst scourges to visit a person. When a family member is inflicted with it, it extends to the rest of the family. The one thing worst than your own death, is to witness the suffering and eventual death of a loved one. Cancer doesn’t just eat up the body, it eats up hope and life, it doesn’t just affect one person, it affects everyone. One just prays that one day those scientists working round the clock to find a cure are able to achieve the seemingly impossible and save humanity from the suffering that cancer brings. But in the meantime, we do have an option to focus on our strength of mind and preservation of good health so that we can live the best life possible well into our future. For my friend it is too late but for Angelina Jolie and millions of women around the world, we have all the information at our disposal and the options to combat breast cancer before breast cancer combats us.

The torture called driver’s licence renewal

SMS 07043485109 vincentakanmode@yahoo.com

DON’T discriminate when it comes to good music. But if I ever prefer a genre, it would be reggae, particularly the roots rocks type for which the likes of Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh and Eric Donaldson are reputed. I love these reggae artistes not just for the rhythm of their music, but also for their thought-provoking messages. These were also the qualities that endeared me to Johnny Nash’s songs, particularly the one that says “if I follow my mind, I will never do wrong.” The message of Nash’s song hit me hard on May 10. That was the day I fell into the trap of vehicle inspection officers (VIOs) at the Abule Egba section of the LagosAbeokuta Expressway. There, I was arrested by the men in black and white over my driver’s licence which had expired by about one month. Ironically, about one week to the expiry date on the licence, I had made an attempt to renew it at the Ojodu, Lagos office of the Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC) co-habited by the VIO, but I was turned back at the gates by a road safety official who insisted that there was no more parking space in the expansive compound. My plea that the road safety official should allow me to park somewhere beside the gates was like a sword driven into his heart. He flared up and hauled

abuses at me, unmindful of the fact that I would be his very senior boss, if I had chosen a career in the commission. Perturbed, embarrassed and humiliated, I was left with no choice but to turn and drive away, particularly because my stay at the spot was already causing a traffic chaos. I had left in the hope that I would return the following week to process the renewal. Unfortunately, I was attacked in broad daylight by gunmen who did not only rob me of money, phones and other valuables, but also went away with the key to the car. Scared by the ugly experience, I abandoned the car and shut my mind to driving. As fate would have it, it was the very day I decided to drive again that VIO officials accosted me and impounded my car. I had underestimated the trouble I had fallen into when an official of the VIO waved me down and demanded for my papers. Of course, the vehicle licence, insurance, road worthiness and all other particulars were in good order. But the moment he sighted my driver’s licence and discovered that it had expired by about one month, he beckoned to his superior and told him that I had no driver’s licence (not that it had expired). All my pleas fell on deaf ears. So also were the efforts I made to explain the circumstances and the frustration I had suffered in the bid to renew the licence. They drove my car straight to their yard and issued me a fine ticket. I had always appreciated the zeal with which VIO men carried out their duties and wished that other public servants would exhibit the same degree of commitment. But I was awfully disappointed to find that their zeal was clouded by certain ulterior motives. Their motivation, I

later realised, could have come mainly from other unofficial fines they make offenders to pay, including the N1,000 an offender pays as demurrage for each day the car sleeps in their yard and N200 he pays for inflating each of his car tyres which are deflated as soon as his car gets into the yard. In my own case, for instance, I was arrested late on a Friday when it was no longer possible for me to pay the fine at a designated bank and retrieve my car. By the time I got there the following Monday after I had paid the fine in the bank, I was made to pay N3,000 as demurrage and N200 for each tyre inflated by their vulcanizer. I was alarmed when I demanded a receipt from the lady who collected the demurrage and she said she had none left. She gave all manner of excuses, but I insisted that I would not leave until a receipt was issued for the N3,000 I paid. In the end, she reached for her drawer and grudgingly gave me one. But for the money I paid to the standby vulcanizer, there was no receipt of any kind. However, the foregoing is not the real

‘

In short, the process of licence renewal is so cumbersome and tedious that it seems a more dreadful punishment than being sent to a Boko Haram enclave in Borno State

’

reason for this piece. My concern is the rigour I had to pass through just to have my driver’s licence renewed. I had endured the same rigour when I renewed my licecnce at the same Ojodu offices of the VIO and FRSC three years. There, they had captured my image and took my signature, thumbprint and other data. The impression I had then was that the rigorous exercise I underwent then was meant to make subsequent renewal of the licence very easy. So, as I headed for the Ojodu office of the FRSC about two weeks ago to renew my licence, I thought that all they would do would be to check their computer for the data they collected three years ago, ask a few questions to see if any of the pieces of information I gave had changed, take the expired licence and issued me a new one. How wrong! The moment I walked into the premises, I was confronted by the sight of aggrieved licence seekers, some of whom said they had paraded the place for weeks in fruitless effort to obtain new licences. Surprisingly, many of them had their data taken like mine three years ago on the basis of which they were issued their expired licences. Now they have to go through the entire process of downloading a fresh application form from the Internet, supplying new passport photographs, going to the bank to pay the sum of N6,350 and then move endlessly from one office of the VIO and FRSC to the other. In short, the process of licence renewal is so cumbersome and tedious that it seems a more dreadful punishment than being sent to a Boko Haram enclave in Borno State. Of what use are the data the FRSC collects year in and year out when one has to go through the present rigours of licence renewal? That is the question everyone is asking.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

ee r t d l o r y 0 0 1 Collapse of

e m a c e b e ‘How w ’ t h g i n r e v o orphans

ts s e t n o c g n i Noth th i w e m i t y m my familye y

–Dayo Adene

•Pages 39,44&45

•Pages 20&21

13 THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

‘Hell’

or something like it •Why Nigerian youths relish violence

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

L IA C T SPEEPOR

•Irate youths take to the streets to protest the removal of fuel subsidy in January last year

•A youth protests social inequality in the country

•Why n Olatunji OLOLADE, Assistant Editor n Mukesh’s ‘boys comprise thickset and gangly teenagers, mostly young adults permanently kept on a leash and retainer ranging from N500 to N2, 000 per day. Mukesh is in turn kept on retainer by several business men and politicians who use him in various capacities demanding brawn and aggression. However, his “emissaries of death” besides being paid N2,000 per day, receive a monthly stipend of N10,000. But they enjoy various other beneﬁts besides their customary salaries. Whenever, their boss, Mukesh, receives a “contract,” he deploys them to the task and pays them their due according to his terms. When The Nation visited Mukesh at his family house in Dopemu, Agege, the secondary school drop-out was holding court and determining punishments to be meted out to four of his crew that were accused of holding back on extortions made from neighbourhood commercial vehicle parks. No sooner did he determine the punishment of the boys than he held a closed door meeting that lasted 45 minutes with six unit leaders. According to him, he was intimating them with a recent ‘contract’ that they had just received from a local entrepreneur. They had been contracted to forcefully evict a middle class family from their home, which their benefactor claimed had been built on a land that was sold to him 17 years ago. The consequence of the ‘contract’ is of course better imagined. If the stark pessimism personiﬁed by youths like Ezeh and Mukesh could be explained away as “consequences of illiteracy and a socialisation process gone awry,” the cynicism of Cynthia Duru and her ilk offers food for thought. Duru, a graduate of Industrial and Human Relations and Masters Degree holder in Business Administration (MBA) thought she had prepared herself

pavane of bubbles floated around his cup like soapsuds in a steam bath. It steamed demurely above his freshly done cocoa as baths do in a teeming but overpriced sauna. Every time he sipped from his cup, a tender lather clung gingerly to the roof of his lips and vaporised almost immediately in the chill of the morning breeze. But his words clung to the air with a stinging peal: “God punish our leaders! Thunder fire them! God punish Nigeria sef!... I no fit remember the last time wey I gbadun this country. No light, no job…the only people wey dey enjoy na our leaders and dem children…E remain small, na just small time e remain wey we go scatter everything. You see all these leaders wey dey steal our money when we dey suffer, we go catch them. We go deal with them seriously!” vowed Malachi Ezeh. Translated roughly Ezeh’s tirade reads thus: “May God punish our leaders! May God punish them! May God punish Nigeria too!... I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed this country. No electricity, no job; the only ones enjoying are our leaders and their children…Very soon... We shall deal with all these leaders that are embezzling our money while we suffer. We shall punish them severely.” Ezeh’s grief is unimaginable, his fury too. Lifting his shirt too reveals a deep scar across his abdomen; he revealed that it was inflicted by a policeman working for an opposition party in a fracas at the last general elections. Ezeh said he and youths in his area were prevented from voting by the police officer and hoodlums working for the rival party’s candidate. Push got to a shove and the police officer allegedly stabbed him in the belly. If he hadn’t tripped and fallen on his back, he would have been dead now, he claimed. Of course, the police officer got away with it. And that is one of the many reasons Ezeh will return to Awka, Anambra State, come November, “to treat his fuck up” (exact retribution). For Ezeh, there is no going back on his vow to retaliate against the police officer and other perceived enemies. In Lagos, a local thug who simply identified himself as Mukesh, lives on the fringe. In his Agarawu neighbourhood along the Lagos coast, he holds sway like a lord of a Victorian manor, commanding the allegiance of a crew of teenagers and young adults he proudly identified as “awon ijalo mi” (my soldier ants). Within Mukesh’s gang subsists a more elite group of thugs he calls his “eru iku,” (emissaries of death.) The latter are kept for more tasking and dangerous jobs than he deploys his ‘soldier ants’ to.

well to compete in the country’s budding information technology industry. For five years, she studied hard. But after graduating in February 2011, Duru discovered that even those desirable qualifications mean little in Nigeria’s congested labour market. Duru struggled to keep faith sending a total of 58 résumés to different organisations but she hasn’t gotten a single offer. Today, she applies makeup on newly wed brides for a fee but that industry itself has recently become congested with the massive influx of secondary school dropouts, undergraduates seeking to augment their allowances and unemployed graduates seeking to make ends meet. Predictably, Duru’s earnings can barely sustain her hence she still squats with her elder brother in his one room apartment in Ogba-Aguda, Lagos. “At times I just feel like disappearing somewhere. I wish I hadn’t been born in Nigeria. Ghana or even Benin Republic would have been better,” lamented Duru. Millions of other young, unemployed Nigerians feel exactly the same way as they lose patience with consecutive leaders they blame for their self-centredness and insensitivity to their plight. Consequently, many of the nation’s unemployed youths, believing that they have exhausted every means of spurring the ruling class to act in their interest, seek comfort in aggression. It can hardly be forgotten so soon how things got to a head early 2013. Angered by the Federal Government’s removal of fuel subsidy and the attendant rise in the price of Premium Methylated Spirit (PMS) or petrol, Nigerian youths trooped to the streets to protest. Besides the controversial fuel subsidy removal. Protest gone awry Panting hotly like fiery stoves, groups of youth cut vivid portraits of callousness and despair along the old Lagos-Abeokuta highway during the aborted “Occupy Nigeria” anti-fuel subsidy removal protest in Lagos.

My attitude towards them (political thugs) is that they are like rabid dogs. They are prepared to bite their owners and their owners cannot be conﬁdent or sure of keeping them on a leash...

Although many of the youths brandishing weapons and fanning bonfires along the road and in the middle of Lagos city’s major highways claimed to be agitating against President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, they persistently assaulted their fellow citizens and neighbours who dared to get on the road with their cars. To the angry youth, anyone who dared go to work was an enemy, a “sell out” and friend of the establishment that was assaulting them with crushing socioeconomic policies. Major victims of the youth’s angst were journalists. Many journalists, including the reporter, were assaulted by the rampaging hordes that refused to acknowledge their identity and immunity in such a period, due to the nature of their jobs. Protesting youths at Sango Ota, Agbado-Kollington, Ijaiye, Abule Egba, Ikeja, Iyana Ipaja and Oshodi, to mention a few, attacked journalists and vandalised their cameras. One such angry youth barked at the reporter, “We no send you! We no send you o! Na you dey spoil this country! If you come be journalist nko, you get two heads? You dey for your car dey enjoy AC (air conditioner) every day and we dey suffer for street. Abeg free me!” In another instance, a newscaster with a broadcasting station in Lagos revealed that she had to abandon her car and flee across the road when protesting youths attacked her at Oshodi. “One of them, a lady presumably around 25, yanked my press identity card from my neck and flogged me on the face with it. ‘You no dey hear word. Who tell you say we wan make you report our protest? Abeg enter this girl’, she urged her cohorts. I had to abandon my car and run for my dear life. By the time I returned to my car, they had deflated its four tyres and I had to pay N4,000 before I was allowed to go home with my car. Many of us are angry, but we tend to forget too easily who the real enemy is,” she said. In many ways, the youth’s tirade and conduct during the ‘Occupy Nigeria’ protest mirrors their bitterness and disillusionment with the status quo. But while they hurled invectives and scathing chants at the ruling class, they visited their frustrations on fellow citizens perceived to enjoy a fairer deal from the country’s social system. “Many of them have become tragic victims of a corrupt and racially splintered society in which fear and distrust are so pervasive that citizens shoot first and ask questions later,” argued Iretiola Sorinola, a sociologist and founder of Youth Interactive (YI), a non-governmental organisation.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

•Niger Delta militants... before the amnesty

Nigerian youths relish violence

•Youths engage in a bloody scuffle in the heat of an ethno-religious violence True, gory scenes of violence depict the Nigerian reality and elicit foreboding of doom about the future. Violent crime has become so attractive to the nation’s youths that it has begun to evolve and manifest in varieties of forms and protestation. Catalyst to mayhem To understand the miseries of the Nigerian youth, it helps to understand the social realities of the world in which they are maturing into adults. Nigeria has arguably the one of the richest and largest natural resource deposits in the world. Government and the structure of government, however, constitute a challenge to development. For instance, the total cost of servicing government and public officers has continued to exceed over 70 per cent of annual budgets in the last 12 years, while just little is left to service capital projects or human development. Even so, Nigeria remains a middle income earner, mixed economy and emerging market, with expanding financial, service, communications, and entertainment sectors. It is ranked 30th (40th in 2005, 52nd in 2000), in the world in terms of Gross Domestic

Product (GDP) cum Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) as of 2012, and second largest within Africa (behind South Africa), on track to becoming one of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020. Its re-emergent, though currently underperforming, manufacturing sector is the third-largest on the continent, and produces a large proportion of goods and services for the West African region. Today, Nigeria’s GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) has almost trebled from $170 billion in 2000 to $451 billion in 2012, although estimates of the size of the informal sector (which is not included in ofﬁcial ﬁgures) put the actual numbers closer to $630 billion. Correspondingly, the GDP per capita doubled from $1, 400 per person in 2000 to an estimated $2, 800 per person in 2012 (again, with the inclusion of the informal sector, it is estimated that GDP per capita hovers around $3, 900 per person). Although much has been made of its status as a major exporter of oil, Nigeria produces only about 2.7 per cent of the world's supply. To put oil revenues in perspective: at an estimated export rate of 1.9 Mbbl/d (300,000 m3/d), with a projected

sales price of $65 per barrel in 2011, Nigeria's anticipated revenue from petroleum is about $52.2 billion (2012 GDP: $451 billion). This accounts for about 11 per cent of official GDP figures (and drops to 8% when the informal economy is included in these calculations). Therefore, though the petroleum sector is important, it remains in fact a small part of the country's overall vibrant and diversified economy. The largely subsistence agricultural sector has not kept up with rapid population growth, and Nigeria, once a large net exporter of food, now imports a large quantity of its food products, though there is a resurgence in manufacturing and exporting of food products. A recent United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report states that Nigeria is not one of the African countries recording remarkable improvement in its human development index. The agency in its 2013 Human Development Index (HDI) Report listed Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Tanzania as among the African countries that made the greatest strides in HDI improvement since 2000. According to the report, Nigeria was ranked amongst countries with low development index at 153 out of 186 countries that were ranked. Life expectancy in Nigeria is placed at 52 years, while other health indicators reveal that only 1.9 per cent of the nation’s budget is expended on health and 68.0 per cent of Nigerians are stated to be living below $1.25 daily. Adult illiteracy rate is 61.3 per cent yet the report contradicts the reported growth in

the Nigerian economy, with the country recording a GDP growth rate of 6.99 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2012. Despite this grim picture, the country’s economy has been described as robust and resilient. At the backdrop of this socio-economic situation, the Nigerian youth are witness to the Federal Government’s outrageous budget of N992.57 million on food and general catering services for the President and Vice President in 2012. Out of the N4.749 trillion budget presented by President Goodluck Jonathan to lawmakers at the twilight of 2011, N18.34 billion was budgeted for the state house and from that, the cost of purchasing foodstuffs, catering supplies and kitchen equipment for the president, his deputy and their ofﬁces was estimated to cost the nation N992.57 million, approximately N1 billion. This infuriated the nation’s teeming youths and drove them to the streets in a protest march tagged the “Occupy Nigeria” movement. Although the protest which was meant against the Federal Government’s removal of fuel subsidy occurred with maximum turnout and pockets of skirmishes that led to the death of a few youths in the hands of the police across the country, the situation, contrary to widespread apprehension, didn’t degenerate further than that. The “Occupy Nigeria” protest is over but the youth have discovered more effective means of venting their frustrations; they simply pick up a gun and explosive devices. This stark gradation helps explain Nigeria’s raging restiveness and violent crime. But what really distinguishes Nigeria from her peers in this league of violence is not how the violence rises with inequality but its pervasiveness and persistence. Most of the nation’s youths do not trust the state anymore. “They have lost hope and trust in the leadership. They believe the leaders are only out to feather their own nests and this notion is worsened by unbridled corruption and insensitivity of the ruling class to their plight. Eventually, many resort to violence as a means of getting even with their leaders. Criminal platforms like ethnic and religious militia, armed robbery and advance fee fraud, political hooliganism and so on offer the youth opportunities to express bottled frustrations and make a fortune while they are at it,” noted Grace Ihvombe-Eboh, a social worker and clinical psychologist. Comfort of ethno-religious violence, kidnap for ransom and other maladies About 512 people were allegedly kidnapped in 2010 and about 30 of them reportedly died in the hands of their abductors. Two years earlier, 353 people were kidnapped and only two captives lost their lives. Kidnappings in Nigeria gained attraction in 2006 when militants in the Niger

Continued on page 19

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

THE DEAF:

•Members of Deaf Supporters Group

The deaf in Nigeria have several reasons to be scared of their lives and future. From poor healthcare to lack of education and jobs, the nearly 16.8 million deaf, about 10 per cent of the population, lives in anguish, facing uncertain economic and social future. Many have lost their lives, many more will die unless government takes special interest in the lives of this underprivileged group, writes COLLINS NWEZE.

t may be surprising to know that many of the deaf people that walk into hospitals seeking medical treatment do not come out alive. The situation is more pronounced and worse in cases where children born deaf to deaf parents are involved, a condition described as "deaf of deaf" by the deaf community. Reason remains that diseases that could have been easily identified and treated, were the patients to be hearing persons, will in almost all cases, escape doctor’s detection, due to lack of sign language interpreters in many public and private hospitals. This case was true in the life of 42-years-old Mrs Tinuke Odumosu, who has been deaf since birth. She lost her husband, Seye Odumosu, and child under sympathetic and terrifying circumstances. Mrs Odumosu, who spoke through a sign language interpreter, Wole Ekundayo, said her late husband, also deaf, had died after a brief illness because when he was taken to a hospital in Ibadan, Oyo State, it was difficult for doctors to accurately diagnose his ailment due to communication gap. Besides, there was no interpreter to assist the doctor. That, she explained, made it difficult for the right drugs to be administered on him. Months later, she also lost one of her three children under similar circumstance. “The cause of both deaths is similar. In all the cases, doctors could not understand how they felt

Their painful, and the health challenges they faced. So, it was difﬁcult to administer the right drugs and treatments,” she said. She further explained that the diseases that killed her husband and child were treatable, had the doctors understood their complaints. Mrs Odumosu, who now makes a living as an hair dresser, lamented that many times, the cost of hiring sign language interpreters, when they are available, is higher than the cost of treatment in hospitals. She said majority of the deaf cannot afford both services. The Odumosus are not the only family of the deaf that suffers from this dilemma. Take the case of Kenneth Osuligwe, also deaf, from Owerri, in Imo State, an engine oil retailer based in Lagos. He suffered the same fate as the Ademosu’s. He had two children, but one died after a brief illness. He explained through an interpreter that the child could have been saved had anyone interpreted his health problems to the doctor. “The baby suddenly got sick and was rushed to a hospital. Sadly though, no one could tell the doctor what was wrong because of the absence of an interpreter. In most cases, the

doctors do not get it right even after conducting medical tests. That was how I lost one of my two children,” he lamented. Mr. Solomon Ashade, a 42-year--old deaf, is a foreman at the furniture unit of the Lagos State University College of Medicine, Ikeja. He has problem with his left eye and had gone to Maxivision Eye Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, for treatment when he spoke to our reporter. He was accompanied by Ekundayo. “I cannot see very well. I want to see clearly. Sometimes, when people meet me on the road, I will not see them. Also, because of my hearing challenge, it is more difﬁcult. Some even think I am arrogant when I fail to respond to their greetings. It is so bad that if I do not use reading glasses, I cannot read at all,” he explained. He also disclosed that his wife, Yemisi, a fashion designer, is also deaf. He said because he is privileged to be working, he can settle his medical bills, but there are millions of others with similar or worse cases that cannot settle do same. “When majority of the deaf cannot settle their bills, or hire interpreters, their case may turn out to be worse than expected, or even lead to death,” he said. Ashade said life is not easy because when one is sick, he has to add the cost of hiring an interpreter to that of treatment. Medical Services Manager, Maxivision Eye Hospital, Grace Eziashi said his left eye showed that he is suffering from macular degeneration. She said the problem is severe and may need surgery because the macular is at the centre of vision where the retina is situated. Dr. Natalie Rogozgyna, a Russian and visiting Ophthalmologist to Maxivision Eye Hospital, who examined Ashade, said treatment and consultation will cost him N100,000 if surgery is not required, or more if it becomes needful. She said: “It is a serious problem but we have equipment that helps in managing it so that the condition does not degenerate. Still, there will be little improvement. He is going to

I cannot see very well. I want to see clearly. Sometimes, when people meet me on the road, I will not see them. Also, because of my hearing challenge, it is more difﬁcult. Some even think I am arrogant when I fail to respond to their greetings. It is so bad that if I do not use reading glasses, I cannot read at all

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

•Ajumobi

•Adeyemi

•Odumosu

•Balogun

•Raji •Osuligwe

lonely world be coming every day for 10 days to take injection in the eye after a lab test,” she said. “We want him to see a laser surgeon, another specialist on the retina that usually comes from Russia. She will be here for three days. The doctor will look at the retina properly before doing anything, perhaps, surgery,” she added. But Ashade said should his condition get worse, additional cost will outweigh his income. A research fellow at the Foundation for Special Needs Education and Welfare, Ganaka International College, Jos, Paulina Ajavon, said over 10 million out of 168 million Nigerians are deaf or hard of hearing. She explained that as adults, the victims suffer discrimination and social exclusion because of difﬁculties communicating, while as children, 90 per cent of them are excluded from school for the same reason. BANDONED by the society that breeds them, the deaf in Nigeria face a doubtful future, with little or no hope for survival. From medicare, to daily living hassles, this set of underprivileged people has gory tales about their lives. In the face of these challenges, Ekundayo’s business as an interpreter is booming. He follows his clients to hospitals; intervenes when there are problems in their work places; hires lawyers to defend them in courts, among other services. He said it costs N30, 000 to hire him daily from Ibadan, where he resides, to Abuja. However, it costs N10, 000 daily to hire him from Ibadan to Lagos. He said the minimum cost is N10, 000 but could be higher depending on the cost of transportation and number of days involved. He said he interprets for Ekiti State School of the Deaf, especially during their examinations until he joined The Redeemed Evanglical Mission (TREM), a foremost pentecostal church based in Lagos, in April as a full-time staff. Now, he said his most regular clients will miss his services.

Ekundayo said his service to the deaf is borne out of love and compassion, adding that he has assisted a good number of them in solving some of their personal problems. He cited a case in Awka, Anambra State, where one Friday Okobi, a former staff of the Ministry of Women Affairs, was unlawfully dismissed by the state government. He said he is still assisting the client renegotiate his return to the ministry. Another person, Gafari Balogun, a former staff of a federal ministry, was allegedly sacked since 2007 without benefits. He said he tried to engage lawyers to pursue the case, but there was no money for that purpose and his benefits are still unpaid. There was also a case of Oladipupo Sherifat, an Ibadanbased woman, who had fibroid and was successfully operated. Sunday Okafor, had hernia, and was operated at the Devine Specialist Hospital, Ibadan successfully. There were also other serious health issues that were resolved with the assistance of the interpreter. Ekundayo warned that the deaf in the society will continue to face major challenges both in their health and daily living

•Dahunsi

unless government takes immediate steps to bridge the existing communication gap between the group and the society. Miss Oluwakemi Ajumobi, a former student of the Kwara State Deaf Grammar School, Ilorin, dropped out of school. She has taken a full-time job as a cleaner at the Lagos office of the Deaf Supporters Group (DSG), a union formed by the deaf to pursue their social and economic benefits. She said government needs to bring many of the deaf schools across the country to minimum standards. Mrs Ademosu said she needs government’s backing and support, especially in making interpreters available at government hospitals to avert preventable deaths. Osuligwe said aside providing interpreters to assist them at hospitals, government should also provide incentives that would enable the deaf become independent and contribute to the economy. The president of DSG, Afolabi Dahunsi, said challenges facing the group are many and that, ideally, the group is against its members begging, but one has to be realistic. “How do we stop people from begging when there is nothing for them to do? We have always advised them to start small businesses because there is dignity in labour. But starting a small business also requires money,” he said. He said other disabled are easy to deal with but the case of the deaf remains a major challenge because there is little or nothing for the deaf in the law of the land. The DSG President, who is also hearing-impaired, said the hearing aids provided by some state governments hardly work, adding that rather than improving one’s hearing condition, they make the condition worse. He said the deaf in Nigeria need both government and private sector support. “We are deaf but our children are not, and we need to cater for them,” he cried out. For him, the deaf face many problems in the society and it is the duty of friends, corporate organisations, government and non-governmental organisations to help them wriggle out of these challenges. ”Being deaf does not mean one cannot be useful to the society,” he said. AHUNSI said the DSG was formed to speak for its members against injustices in the society which also include absence of articulated and sustainable policy formation on matters that affect their social, educational and economic developments. “No one is immune from the pains of disability. Everyone must therefore help us to spread the message that being deaf does not necessarily mean that we cannot be useful to the society,” he said. Dele Raji, DSG member and lecturer, Federal College of Technology, Special, Oyo in Oyo State, said the deaf are discriminated against even in social and business circles, including the banking halls. He said it was high time commercial banks employed sign language interpreters in some of their branches to cater for the banking needs of the deaf. “Many bankers are always surprised that the deaf also use banks and in many cases, getting a simple transaction like cash deposit done takes longer time than necessary. This is the extent to which we are discriminated against in the society,” he cried out. Raji said part of the solution to these problems remains an institution that caters for the special education for the deaf instead of inclusive education as currently being practised in the country. He also asked that the bill for the disabled be passed at the National Assembly. He said most parents who are not deaf but gave birth to children that are deaf find it difficult to understand their problems, especially when they are sick or emotionally unstable. “At least one person should be employed in social services centres, government parastatals, ministries, departments and agencies of government, to bridge communication gaps

There is need to educate people on the rising cases of hearing impairment. For instance, common drugs like quinine can cause irreversible deafness. Pregnant women should not receive drugs from their friends because such can cause hearing and respiratory defects. Our ﬁndings showed that sometimes, these defects are avoidable if the right things are done

Continued on page 18

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013 Yahaya Abdullahi said the school also lacks professional teachers. In Lagos State, the Special People’s Law, stipulates that children with disability should be registered immediately after birth and have the right to a name, to be known and cared for by their parents. They also have right to free and continual medical treatment in public health institutions. Parents /guardians of such children with disability, it stipulated, must ensure they are educated to at least secondary school level. In healthcare, the law stipulates that appropriate arrangements should be made for those who are unable to communicate normally, who also are entitled to free healthcare services. Also, all employers with a workforce of at least 100 people must reserve at least one per cent of the workforce for persons with disability. The DSG President, Dahunsi, said not many of the 36 states in the country have such laws, or are even aware of the need to cater for this set of people. N November 2012, a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a sister company of The Economist magazine, released its ‘Where-to-be-born Index 2013’, which ranked Nigeria as the worst place to be born in 2013. Nigeria came the last of 80 countries researched, seven points worse than the war-torn Syria, which came 73rd. Crime, trust in public institutions, health of family life and government policies were the quality-of-life index considered. The researchers think that although bombs, mortals and gun fires are going off nearly every second in Syria with over three million people displaced and 70,000 dead, the Middle East country is still considered a paradise when compared to Nigeria. Despite controversies and outright rejection that greeted the research, what remains clear is that for the deaf in Nigeria, it does not just rain, it pours. A member, Nigeria Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET), Shomide Macualay, said problems faced by the deaf are compounded by myths held by some members of the society who believe that by going closer to such special people, they will give birth to disabled children. He said such myths and communication challenges facing the deaf make it difficult for them to properly align with the society. He said special individuals, especially the deaf, usually clash with bus conductors each time transport fares are raised because they are used to old fares and no one has communicated the changes to them. Macualay said such policy changes push members of the group to be aggressive and impatient towards other members of the public, adding that the language of the deaf is not visible, unlike that of average individual. He said television stations should include sign language interpreters in their news broadcast to carry the group along in key government policies. He regretted that schools for the deaf across the country have acute shortage of staff and the classrooms fall short of international standard of eight students to one teacher and a care giver. “Classrooms for the deaf should be built in a way that there will be less or no distraction during learning. Although students in such schools use similar curriculum like the regular students, they require twice the amount of teaching time usually given to regular students,” he said, adding: “Deaf persons have language development and abstract thinking problems and therefore, cannot learn unless in structured environment.’’ He advised government at the state level to create the Department for the Deaf in several technical schools within the states as such would enable such special people acquire skills that will make them to be self-employed. He advocated that the deaf schools should get 10 per cent of total teachers’ quota to help improve their educational standards. He said that among clusters of special needs of individuals, deaf people are in the majority. He said road users and drivers should be educated to know that a good proportion of the population is deaf. senior lecturer, Department of Psychology, University of Lagos, Dr. Oni Fagbohungbe, said the mind of the deaf works like that of an average individual, adding that the deaf can overcome their predicament if given special education. He said the environment where they grow up and learning facilities available to them determine how they think and act. Fagbohungbe, however, regretted that in Nigeria, the deaf are always aggressive and impatient because the society adds to their already existing burdens. He said the Nigeria government has not been fair to the deaf because unlike in developed countries where they are well catered for, with good education and social support, in Nigeria they are abandoned and rejected. He called on the government to train more people as interpreters, especially in hospitals and other public places as such would bridge the widening communication gap between the group and the society. “In Nigeria, the common man is neglected, left alone the deaf and other special people and that is wrong. Special people should contribute to the economy instead of being a liability,” Fagbohungbe said. He advised churches, mosques, non-governmental organisations, among others, to assist government in tackling the challenges facing the deaf. The chairman, Lagos State Deaf Association, Lukman Agbabiaka, said majority of the deaf people are not gainfully employed. He said only a few have degree certificates, some have National Certificate Education (NCE) and majority uneducated. He said there are many who are skilled in many vocations but find it difficult to get jobs or become selfemployed. Agbabiaka also lamented the negative public attitude towards the deaf, adding that government is also insensitive to their plight. He, however, said there are many deaf people who are lazy and impatient, worsening their conditions and deepening the societal, negative attitude towards them.

•From left- Ekundayo, Ashade, Rogozgyna and Eziashi during Ashade's treatment at Maxivision Eye Hospital, Ikeja

‘Why the deaf are aggressive’ Continued from Page 17 between the deaf and the society. Also government should consider special education for the deaf instead of inclusive education, where both the deaf and others are taught in one roof. We need more competent special teachers for the deaf in this country,” he said. Raji said some deaf students with serious academic difficulties have never been evaluated to diagnose their problem areas, while others have been wrongly placed in classes which they do not belong. He said obtaining interpreters’ services in classrooms is a necessity because majority of Nigerian teachers are not trained in sign language. HE national coordinator, DSG, Okikiade Adeyemi, said government should make jobs available for the deaf and also encourage the private sector to do same. Majority of DSG members need support from both government and the private sector, especially in ensuring that majority of the deaf have jobs or are selfemployed, he said. He added: “About 95 per cent of the deaf in Nigeria are unemployed and dejected. We need the help of every member of the society, especially government and private sector.” He disclosed that majority of the deaf now depend on begging and prostitution, among others, to survive in a country where the unemployment rate even for able-bodied people is about 24 per cent. He said the DSG has been a uniting factor for its members, supporting them with food items, finances, and other household items it gets from some corporate organisations that support its cause. “On January 24, the group organised an end of year party where gifts from corporate organisations were shared among its members, many of whom are always looking forward to such gatherings,” he said. A respiratory physician, Department of Medicine, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Tunmise Bamidele, explained to The Nation that the society should be committed to the cause of the deaf. He advised mothers to attend antenatal care during pregnancy and desist from accepting drugs from friends and relations. He explained that hearing defects caused by medication are irreversible and, therefore, should be avoided at all costs. He said other hearing defects can occur mainly due to meningitis infection. “There is need to educate people on the rising cases of hearing impairment. For instance, common drugs like quinine can cause irreversible deafness. Pregnant women should not receive drugs from their friends because such can cause hearing and respiratory defects. Our findings showed that sometimes, these defects are avoidable if the right things are done,” he said. Bamidele advised government to give deaf persons a sense of belonging by providing Braille and sign language interpreters for them to aid communication. They can also learn vocational programmes to empower them economically as such would increase their self-worth. He also advised that those that can be treated should be taken care of by Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) specialists or speech therapists. An ENT specialist based in Lagos, Osaro Okoye, said sometimes hearing loss in people happens suddenly. “People can go to bed hearing and wake up deaf. Also, loud noise is known to be a major cause of hearing loss in people of all ages. One example is bombing, and another is loud music which teenagers are often exposed to,” he explained. He regrets that many deaf children have never been evaluated to find the cause and extent of their hearing losses, saying some experiencing moderate hearing losses could benefit from auditory or speech training using custom-fitted aids and cultivation of residual hearing. Hearing loss is not limited to Nigeria as it remains a global problem. Also common, especially in Africa, remains the

limited number of teachers for the deaf. Data from Catholic Encyclopedia showed that averagely in Africa, seven ‘schools for the deaf’ employ only 16 teachers, that teach 127 pupils; in Asia, nine schools engage 47 teachers that teach 453 pupils and in Australia, seven schools employ 46 teachers that teach 332 pupils. In Europe, however, 450 schools employ 3,152 teachers that teach 25,821 pupils; in north America, 148 schools employ 1790 teachers that teach 12,784 pupils and in South America, seven schools employ 34 teachers that teach 229 pupils.

Schools for the Deaf statistics Africa

Schools

Teachers

Pupils

127

Asia

453

Australia

332

Europe

450

3,152

25,821

North America 148

1,790

12,784

South America 7

229

Total

5,085

39,746

628

Source: Catholic Encyclopedia Although Nigeria has 43 schools for the deaf, all using sign language, the state of those institutions is appalling. As far back as 1977, the Federal Government admitted that the problem of providing for children who are handicapped as a result of deafness has become more complex with growing awareness in the area. Ajavon regretted that American Sign Language, used in Nigerian schools for the deaf, fails to meet the local language needs of the deaf. She said that local signs are widely in use and more reflective of Nigerian society, but these are routinely ignored. However, in the face of the above challenges, the Chief Operating Officer, RLG Communications, Taiwo Latilo, said his company is training people with disabilities, including the deaf, in Information Communication and Technology (ICT) not just to communicate but also to learn, and have more access to opportunities open to others. He said there is ongoing plan to establish a training centre for people with disabilities, adding that disability is not inability. ATILO explained that in Ghana, an information technology training initiated by government and RLG for persons with disabilities trained 5,000 people living with disabilities in phones and computer repairs. Such, he said, can be replicated in Nigeria. “Under this scheme, we used assertive technologies to increase and improve the functional capabilities of these individuals making them better able to communicate, gain access to educational services and become gainfully employed,” he said. He advised parents, guardians and relatives of people living with disabilities not to throw them out to beg, rather, they should encourage them to go to school for them to fit into the job market. Also, staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Jos branch, recently commissioned the renovation of a block of dormitory in the Plateau School for the Deaf, Jos. The CBN staff spent over N100 million out of their salaries on the project. The principal of the school, Kefas Koptum, said the school was in need of the infrastructure as the former buildings were collapsing. The school, located in Bassa Local Government Area, hosts about a thousand students, and was founded in 1977 but it is currently in a shabby state. The chairman of the Parents Teachers Association of the school,

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013 Continued from page 15 Delta started kidnapping expatriates for ransom. Today, kidnap for ransom and hostage-taking are no longer restricted to the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. There have been reported cases in Lagos, Abuja, Benin city, Owerri, and now Kaduna, Kano and Maiduguri. Niger Delta militant groups began to kidnap oil company workers in order to press home their demands for a renegotiation of the Nigerian Project and the Niger Delta stake in it. Gradually, this degenerated into large-scale criminal activities involving hostage-taking and ransom collection. What was initially adopted as a tool of ideological struggle has since become a major livelihood to many terrorist groups. s the problem grew into a national •Northern youths flee the scene of an explosion security crisis, the caused by Boko Haram Islamic sect initial targets and victims were mainly foreigners working in the oil and gas sectors: Americans, Germans, Italians, Koreans, the Chinese, Filipinos and the Lebanese, but the kidnappers have since expanded their scope to cover Nigerians: children, even kids particularly in the north-eastern states of as young as three years, the relatives of the country, are forced to either desert their rich men or political figures, particularly abodes for more peaceful settlements or their wives or parents, the business elite, live with the apprehension of the bombers’ and just about anyone who can cough up a next likely target. fortune as evidenced by recent Violent youths, crooked godfathers developments. Many political figures openly recruit and Nigeria began to feature very high in the arm criminal gangs from school global survey of terrorism and hostageconfraternities, unemployed youths and taking due to the botched attempt to blow membership of some local unions. The up an American airliner by Abdul brief of these gangs is to unleash terror Mutallab, a middle class Nigerian youth in upon political opponents, intimidate the United States of America (USA). members of the public, rig elections and Recently, seven members of a French protect their patrons from similar attacks. family were kidnapped by the Boko The squads are openly recruited, Haram sect who held them captive until financed and sometimes armed by public their release in April. Following several officers seeking re-election, politicians and successful kidnaps for ransom, the JTF, party officials or their representatives. through its spokesman, Sagir Musa, on Those recruited are paid, often very little, April 28, issued a caveat warning residents and sometimes armed for the sole purpose of Maiduguri and environs that Boko of carrying out violent abuses. A few cult Haram now abducts prominent citizens and gang members turned Yahoo Boys with the aim of getting money from their (internet scammers) interviewed said that relatives. they had been paid only to attend rallies in Musa’s statement read: “Intelligence support of their patron candidates. But available to the Task Force has indicated they admitted that they routinely attended that Boko Haram terrorists have resolved such events armed and prepared to fight. to concentrate more on kidnappings than However, many politicians keep gangs robbery. They alleged that kidnapping is of youth on a monthly retainer of N5, 000 more lucrative, less dangerous and even when the elections have been clearly requires short time to plan and execute. decided. The idea is to keep them on a Similarly, a special kidnapping squad has leash, a visionary measure employed by been earmarked and tasked by the Boko many Nigerian politicians and public Haram sect to kidnap persons who could officers who believe that their terror be wealthy relations, politicians, business squads’ services could be needed for any women/men, traditional rulers, senior reason and at any civil servants and foreigners alike.” time. Shortly after Musa’s warning, some “They are like gunmen brazenly invaded a gathering of rabid dogs” Muslim faithful that performed the Friday There is no Jumat prayer and abducted nonagenarian gainsaying that elderstatesman, Shettima Ali-Monguno in unemployed youths broad daylight. Although the Borno State are usually Government denied paying any ransom to contracted by secure the release of Monguno, who spent politicians to foment three days in a remote camp of Boko violence during Haram in Kirenowa border village, it was elections. However, speculated that the N50 million demanded violence unleashed by the sect might have been paid. by politicians and Kidnap for ransom, nonetheless, depicts their sponsors the slightest of atrocities that are during elections does increasingly becoming the norm amongst not simply fade Nigeria’s teeming youths. On May 29, away even after the 2011, just as President Goodluck Jonathan political battles have was being sworn in, an explosion rocked been decided. the army barracks in Bauchi State killing Oftentimes, violence scores of people and injuring others while fomented for the another bomb went off in a beer parlour purpose of winning killing three persons and injuring several elections assumes a others. life and logic of its Ever since, Nigeria has suffered series of own and eventually devastating bomb blasts at the detonation mutates into a social of explosive devices, including Molotov affliction and terror cocktails and simple Improvised Explosive to the society. Several Devices (IEDs), in major public spaces. Nigerian states have Add to the mix, the dastardly exploits of been plagued by suicide bombers and you get the picture of enduring violence country cast in a miasma of terror and after politicians interminable apprehension. The citizenry, either abandon or

‘Hell’ or something like it

development experts have suggested a number of palliatives to the existing malaise. Yomi Oruwari of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Rivers State University of Science and Technology Port Harcourt, Rivers State, suggested “that state and federal governments in Nigeria must take a more critical look at the nation's urban centres, especially in the areas of physical planning, economy and the provision of services. In doing these, priority must be given to helping the urban poor meet their needs for sustainable livelihood.” The nation's rural economy must also be planned to promote growth in the agricultural sector, provide jobs and improve the rural quality of life. This should reduce the lure of urban employment that fuels the large-scale migration of youths, especially boys, to growing urban areas. An important pool of recruits for the gangs is from among the street children, not the weak and feeble, but the strong and able. This calls for action to take the children off the streets before they become targets. Children’s shelters are needed to provide for their care and education. In this regard, local governments, religious organisations, non-governmental organisations and even charitable individuals can partner to provide care on a regular and consistent basis. A semblance of hope In spite of the prevalent bleakness characteristic of the youth’s aspirations, glimmers of hope radiate from the exploits of very few individuals disinclined to violence. Sipping on Cognac in one of Lagos’ exclusive clubs, Katherine Ogoh, 29, is one of hundreds of young entrepreneurial hopefuls whose advances in digital marketing and internet publishing depicts promise and resourcefulness of yet a sizeable few amongst the Nigerian youth. In February, her seven-month-old venture recorded immense profits she approximated to 45 per cent of her start-up capital. As you read, Ogoh is perfecting her bid to expand her services in an industry that promises unquantifiable profits and opportunities for growth. ut Ogoh readily admits to being one of the lucky few. In her hometown in Umukegwu, Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State, there is almost no outlet for a youngster with ambition; nor is there any industry or even many salaried jobs. Most of her peers survive by picking up occasional manual work or relocating to the city in search of non-existent jobs, she said. Many have got brilliant ideas, but without opportunity, they lose hope. “It’s like living in hell,” said Ogoh. Worse, governments make little effort to improve their prospects. Eventually, they serve as thugs for politicians and errand boys for their more successful peers returning from the city at festive periods. Some simply take to crime. The wasted lives of Ogoh’s kin reflects a pattern: across Nigeria and Africa, governments are failing to convert growth into jobs. According to an August report by analysts McKinsey & Co., 275 million out of a total African workforce of 382 million are either unemployed or in informal day-hire work. By 2020, a youth surge propelled by the world’s highest birthrates, which will raise Africa's population from one billion in 2009 to two billion in 2050, will add a further 122 million Africans of working age. That would be a boon if they had work. But McKinsey calculates that in the same period, Africa will create just 54 million to 72 million more jobs. “If current trends continue, it’s going to take Africa until 2066 before employment levels reach those of East Asia,” says David Fine, one of the report's authors. “It's a risk. People need opportunities.” In Nigeria, they are simply not getting them.

lose control over gangs of youth they initially employed. As a former Governor of Oyo State put it: “My attitude towards them (political thugs) is that they are like rabid dogs. They are prepared to bite their owners and their owners cannot be conﬁdent or sure of keeping them on a leash.” Unable to rely on the state, Nigerian youths are forced to deal with survival issues essentially on their own and over time, dealing with survival issues has taken variety of forms and expressions, like violent insurgencies and organised crime. The violent activities of ethnic militia, no doubt, bedevil the country with very great humanitarian and security challenges. As you read, the Nigerian military’s Joint Task Force (JTF) is engaged in a bloody battle to rid the north-eastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa of the dreaded Boko Haram Islamic militia. Over 200 members of the sect have been arrested as more deaths occur in the war currently being fought with heavy military artillery and weapons of precision by both sides. The Nigerian youth’s fascination with violence and their discovery of guns and bombs to be very effective weapons of resentment has indeed grown in alarming proportions. From the view point of terrorists, it remains an effective strategy for inciting lawlessness and threatening governments. Unlike robbery and kidnapping, which are directed at individuals, and are intended to surgically extract money or material gains from victims, bombing is directed at a state, and it derives from spite, malice, vindictiveness, and is aimed at causing damage and mayhem. While news of robberies and kidnappings usually tend to cause local ripples, that of bombings would usually echoes internationally. When agitators in a national polity resort to settle scores by degenerating from robbery to kidnapping, and then from hired assassinations to bombing, serious questions get asked. But are the answers forthcoming? Unnerved by the situation, policy makers and

At times I just feel like disappearing somewhere. I wish I hadn’t been born in Nigeria. Ghana or even Benin Republic would have been better

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

•The stump of the tree

•Herbert Iheme

Collapse of 100-yr-old tree

cheated death. All our wares were destroyed by the tree and now, we don’t know where to start from. I don’t know when we are going to recover from this”. Another survivor, 12-year-old Chidera Nwaiwu, a Junior Secondary School (JSS) 1 student of Holiness Envangelist Secondary School, Mbieri, whose two legs were crushed by the tree, could not muster enough energy to speak. When our reporter visited him at a native orthopaedic centre where he was rushed to by his widowed mother, his legs were wrapped with POP by the herbalist who assured that he would walk again. The mother, Mrs Chinyere Nwaiwu, who spoke amidst tears, narrated: “We were coming back from church that evening when I sent my son (victim) to buy tomatoes that we were to use to prepare dinner. While waiting for him about two poles away from the market, I heard a loud noise and people started running helter skelter; behold the huge tree has fallen!” She added: “Immediately, I rushed to the place and could not ﬁnd my son. I started shouting and throwing myself on the ground and searching frantically for him. There were blood chilling cries from people who were trapped under the tree but the size of the tree made it difﬁcult to rescue most of them. “At last, my son was spotted beneath one of the huge branches which fell on top of his legs, resulting in multiple fractures on both legs. He had already fainted and was also bleeding when we rushed him to a General Hospital where he was revived but because I cannot afford the money, I brought him to this native hospital.’’ She said that though the young boy was responding to treatment but was always crying and asking to be taken to the school. “Each time I see my boy being carried instead of walking on his own, I feel so bad. I am using this medium to appeal to public-spirited Nigerians to come to my aid because I cannot raise the N200,000 charged for the treatment of my son and his father died some years ago when he was still small. Please, let Nigerians help me save my son”. For Miss Blessing Iheme, an auxiliary nurse and her seven other siblings who lost their parents, Mr and Mrs Godfrey Iheme, in the incident, life will never be the same again. Reliving her last moment with her late mother, Mrs Richeal Iheme, the fairskinned lady, who works with a private hospital, said: “That day, I was on night shift and did not go to work until about

How we became orphans overnight

–Seven sibblings who lost both parents •Survivors relive evening of horror n Okodili NDIDI, Owerri n

market like every other day, without any inkling that the huge Ukwu Uko would fall. It was around 6.30pm that we noticed a strong wind and the sky turned cloudy. So, we were all hurrying to pack up our wares

NE week after an ancestral tree fell on top of traders in Umudagu Mbieri community in Mbaitoli Council Area of Imo State, the once bubbling community is still enveloped in shock and grief over the gruesome death of more than 31 people in the incident. The gigantic tree, which was said to be over 100 years old, was uprooted by windstorm last week Thursday at about 7pm in the evening while market women were packing up their wares to escape the evening rain. The list of the victims is endless as their tales were terrifying. Painting a graphic detail of how she escaped death by whiskers, 22-year-Okoro Adaoma, who sells tomatoes at the evening market, said she fell severally while trying to run away from under the falling tree. Adaoma, who broke her wrist, recounted that on that fateful day, “I came to the

to avoid the approaching rain when suddenly the tree was uprooted and it fell on top of the people and there was stampede everywhere”. According to her, “my mother was also selling in the market but she was not in the market that day and that was how she

I saw my elder brother that morning before he went out for his okada work and in the evening when the rain was about to fall, he went to the market to assist his wife who sold foodstuffs in the Ukwu Uko market pack up her commodities when the tree fell on them, killing them instantly

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

•Blessing Iheme...weʼre now orphans

•Adanma

to bury my wife. I want the government to assist me, especially to bury my wife. I didn’t foresee anything like this. I don’t know what life is going to be without my wife”. Meanwhile, the community is facing a new challenge as the fear of possible breakout of epidemic has forced many of them living close to the scene of the incident to relocate to avoid further danger. During his visit to the community, Governor Rochas Okorocha promised to give financial assistance to the relatives of the victims to cushion the devastating effect of the accident, but the villagers told our reporter that they were still expecting the promise. A youth leader, Mr. Chidi Ayozie, appealed to the government to remove the stumps of the tree that has been cut to pieces to help the people forget the ugly incident. “The stumps are a sad reminder of the incident and government should have by now cleaned up the scene and fumigated the area to avoid looming epidemic because area is contaminated”. Ayozie called on the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) to come to the aid of the people. HEN an incident that was not as devastating as this happened in Anambra, the Ezu River tragedy, the state government and other wealthy indigenes of Anambra State and politicians responded to the need of the people but today, bodies of the victims rejected by private morgues because of money are decomposing as they could not be buried without money. “The community is in dire need of assistance for the victims; it should not end at mere visit by the governor and political statements but words should be marched with corresponding action without further delay. Some of the survivors with lifethreatening injuries should be assisted to access quality medical treatment; those seized by hospital managements should be assisted to pay up their bills and discharged”, he fumed. However some of the villagers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that government officials have been collating the figures and data of the victims, both the dead and survivors, for possible assistance. They urged the state government to speed up the process to mitigate the emotional trauma the people are currently facing. Also, the former Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Kelechi Nwagu, has called on the state government to declare a day of mourning for those who lost their lives in the incident. Nwagu, who is an indigene of the community, also appealed to corporate, religious and other interventionist agencies to come to the aid of the people, noting that government alone can’t give succour to the community in this trying period.

“W

•Chidera on his hospital bed Narrating his ordeal in the hospital, he said they were forced to pay about N13,000.00, even though nothing much was done before his wife was conﬁrmed dead. “After my wife died, the hospital management seized the corpse of my wife and said they would not release it until I

6pm and when I was leaving the house, I instinctively decided to go through the market to inform my mother that I was going to work; little did I know that I was seeing her for the last time.’’ Blessing, who spoke for her other sibblings, continued: “On getting to the market, my mother asked me to hurry up so that I could get to the hospital before the rain. About one hour later, I was called up that we had an emergency, that the huge Ukwu Uko had fallen. On hearing that, I rushed down to the market to ask after my mother. I didn’t even know that my father, Mr. Godfrey Iheme, was also killed. “After running around the tree stump, I went home and was told that my father’s body had been recovered but they were yet to know the whereabouts of my mother and immediately, we went to the Federal Medical Centre where most of the wounded were admitted but she was not there. We checked their morgue and could not ﬁnd her until we got to Aladinmma Hospital mortuary where we saw her body. That was how we became orphans overnight”. Also speaking at the family compound where series of meetings on the burial arrangement of the couple were ongoing, immediate younger brother to the late Godfrey and a staff of the Imo State House of Assembly, Herbert Iheme, said: “I saw my elder brother that morning before he went out for his okada work and in the evening when the rain was about to fall, he went to the market to assist his wife who sold foodstuffs in the Ukwu Uko market pack up her commodities when the tree fell on them killing them instantly”. CCORDING to Herbert, who is also the chief mourner, “I don’t know what to do; the immediate problem is how to bury the couple and we need assistance from well-meaning Nigerians and the government, now and after the burial, to assist the children of my late brother who are still very young and are in school”. Another touching case was the plight of Mr. Uche Ugorji; he is yet to come to terms with the sudden and terriﬁc death of his 28year-old wife, who left behind a year old baby. According to the bereaved Uche, who lives about three poles away from the huge tree, “my wife went to the market to buy a few things for the evening meal and just a few minutes after she left, there was confusion everywhere and people were running in several directions and shouting that the tree had fallen. I started calling my wife’s phone. It was ringing endlessly without response. “So, I rushed down to the market and called her number again. The phone was ringing under the trunk of the huge tree. She was found later where she was pinned down by metal tables under the tree; we rushed her to the FMC where she eventually died”.

•Ugorji

paid up all their charges; I left her remains there and went to look for money”. He added in between tears: “It was after the payment that they released her corpse and it has been deposited at Aladinmma Hospital Mortuary. I am now confused because I don’t know how to raise money

My wife went to the market to buy a few things for the evening meal and just a few minutes after she left, there was confusion everywhere... So, I rushed down to the market and called her number again. The phone was ringing under the trunk of the huge tree. She was found later where she was pinned down by metal tables under the tree; we rushed her to the FMC where she eventually died

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

I diverted N35m worth of goods to fund my wedding — Truck driver Ebele BONIFACE

‘

The suspects with the diverted goods

, Continued on Page 49

ntertainment

BACK S TAG E

ntertainment

Pg 30

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

III

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

VII

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

NEWS

Access to information will reduce corruption, says Lagos Speaker

HE Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, has said that access to information by the media and general public will minimise corruption in the country. Ikuforiji stated this at the one-day public hearing on the Freedom of Information bill (FoI) organised by the Assembly inside the Lateef jakande Auditorium, Assembly complex yesterday. The bill is tagged, ‘A bill for a law to provide access to public records and information, disclose certain official information without authorisation and establish procedures for obtaining such information and for connected purposes’. According to the Speaker, “a free society can make life more meaningful for its people. Our kind of democracy is modeled after what is practiced in some parts of the world and they have put in place certain things to get to where they are; we must allow our people access to relevant information which are hidden today”, Ikuforiji said. In his welcome address, Chairman, Committee on Information, Strategy, Security and Publicity, Hon. Segun Olulade said freedom of information is the foundation for an open system of governance in Nigeria, adding that it is important to the functioning of the society and would di-

…as Assembly holds public hearing on FoI bill Oziegbe OKOEKI rectly impact the quality of life of people residing in Nigeria. According to him, “there is therefore an urgent need to actively sensitize journalists, public institutions and the general public on the relevance and challenges of the FoI Act; stimulate greater demand for public information under the FoI Act; and provide suggestions for effective implementation of the FoI Act for enhanced democratic governance and accountability. “Let us be mindful of the fact that the FoI Act is not the solution to all the problems of transparency and good governance, but rather it is one of the tools that can be used to effectively provide good governance to the good people of Nigeria and Lagos state in particular”, Olulade said. Making his submission, Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Lateef Ibirogba, said the state government has democratised information, saying that without information, the people would live in ignorance. According to him, “Lagos has recorded another first with the public hearing to domesticate Freedom of Information Act.” The Commissioner said

that the state government has taken it upon itself in making information accessible to the public. “To us in Lagos, access is a key factor.” He, however, cautioned that members of the press, while making use of the opportunity the bill provides, should also endeavour to be seen as responsible. “As practitioners, the press should be mature, responsible and committed in the way we do our job, trying to be worthy of the information we provide is paramount. Developmental journalism should be our goal,” he said. When it becomes law, it gives every citizen of the state access to any record under the control of government or public institution, not withstanding anything contained in any law or regulation It further provides among others that, “a person who makes a request under the provision of this law has a right to access to any record in the custody or under the control of a government or public institution, including a record containing personal information about the applicant. “Any person entitled to the right of access conferred by this law shall have the right to institute proceedings in a court to compel the head of any government institution or public body to comply with the provisions of this section.”

VIII

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

Inside The

Glass House WITH AMINU MAIGARI

Harry Iwuala

SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

SEE STORY ON PAGE 44

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

Empress Njamah

Jackie-Appiah

Ebube Nwagbo

Chioma Chukwuka-Akpotha

Chichi Vivian

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

Olanike AKINRIMISI

BLACK dress might not be the first thing on your mind when planning a party outfit, but if you think about it, it is the only option when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re out of ideas and have to come up with something fast, unique, simple and creatively glam. How to select the perfect little black dress Keep it at knee-length or shorter Select the right finish Choose the right black cocktail dress style for your body shape How to wear a black cocktail dress Cocktail wear: Glam it up with sexy sky high black pumps, evening clutch purse and dangling pearl earrings/or large sparkly cubic chandelier earrings. Tailored: Go semi-casual with cute ballerina flats or heeled oxford shoes and throw on a blazer. And maybe add a trendy leather bag and stacked bracelets. With trendy tights and shoes: Consider embellishing your legs with sexy hosiery such as lace tights for parties, high-gloss pantyhose for special occasion, etc. Sheer black pantyhose looks incredible with the black dress and creates a slimming effect.You may throw on a pair of eye-catching trendy ankle booties.

Onah Nwachukwu

Leggings and boots: Appear casual by combining the little black dress with black ankle leggings, flowy wrap cardigan and brown knee high leather boots. Turtleneck and tights: Wear it on top of a turtleneck sweater for a stylish layered Fall/Winter look. You can also update the look with a wide belt or a double strap skinny belt around the waist. Rita Dominic

Tewa Onasanya

Punk chic: Generate a trendy-casual look with a bright coloured scarf, denim leggings and studded gladiator sandals.

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

Dayo Adeneye

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

D-One with wife and children

..with Kenny Ogungbe

...with wife

D-One

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

I’m getting married soon, what can I do to gain weight?

Y name is Jenny from Calabar. I am 25 years old. I was just going through a magazine and I saw people talk to you about their problem. Here is mine - I am having a problems adding up weight. I have tried taking something but it’s not working. Please what do you think I should do because I will be getting married soon so I need to be full in my attire? Please help me. I was so happy when I read your concern. While most brides would do all crazy things to lose weight before their wedding day, you actually want to look round and healthy. Good. You must look great in the dress and in the photos because hundreds of guests would have their eyes on you and you don’t want to look hungry and too thin. We want to see those curves and not make people worry about whether you would be able to get pregnant fast. Some people are just born naturally skinny, but if you’re looking to put on a little healthy weight, there are many simple tricks you can do.

1. Don’t go for “empty” calories. While chips and cookies look like the easiest way to put on weight, you want to put on HEALTHY weight. Go for snacks that have a fair amount of calories, but also a lot of nutritional value. Peanut butter is great for this. Mix it with carrots, crackers, apples, or anything and you have a delicious, healthy snack. 2. Exercise. Yes, you need to exercise to gain weight. Yes! Lifting and weight training help your body gain muscle weight, which is the best kind of weight for your body to put on. Start off slowly if you aren’t used to doing this kind of training. Increase weight and decrease reps as you go along. Make sure to fill up on protein directly after a workout. This will help build muscle. Protein shakes are a great way to do this, and there are many different brands and flavors to try. 3. Make sure all of your food groups are present in every meal.

I’m a police officer, one girlfriend is a fashion designer and the other is a health worker, which is best for me?

Hello ma, please I am confused in my relationship, the reason is that, I have been in relationship with one lady for three years; she learnt fashion designing, she’s holding O’Level result but still planning to go further in school and I have another just of recent and she’s in a health school. Advise me please: is it bad to marry somebody that learnt work or the one holding certificate because I am a police in which I can be moved at any time; which one should I choose, please? Oga Police, marriage is much more than consideration for the worth of a woman’s certificate or her readiness woman to move with you to Maiduguri or Yobe especially during this period of insurgency in Nigeria if you are transferred. Marriage should be a union

which has graduated from being just mere friends, to friends who are ready to live together to give support of whatever kind throughout life. The one you should choose is that one who loves you unconditionally. The woman who takes her job so seriously you can actually see her growing in leaps and bounds in a few years’ time is the one for you. Check her out around other people and check her out with other people’s children. Does she have enough love to go round? See her reaction to crisis – whether domestic or work related or even how she copes when confronted with her family issues. The one who is calm, balanced and gentle in crisis and prayerful is the one. Love is very important and we all want to choose that man or woman who professes much love, but love is never enough. Study

My friends laugh at me in because I’ve never had sex at 24

Hi Deola, I’m a guy of 24 and I’ve never had sex. My friends laugh at me in because of that. When I read your stuff in the dailies, I really feel like having sex. Looking forward to when I’ll have a taste. My dear, it is natural for you to look forward to when you will have a taste of sex, but I tell you, sex is worth waiting for. All those who laugh at you are just silly and may even have misplaced priority. Latecomers are not taken in the area of sex. Read all you can about sex so you can be a good husband to a good woman when the time comes. Those who engage in it now won’t tell you how many times they may have treated STDs or taken girls for abortion. It may not harm them now, but those are things that pile up to haunt them later. That is why so many people suffer in life without knowing the cause. The law of Karma. It just has a way of catching up with us.

both women and before long, you will know the one who is right for you. N.B: Men shouldn’t make the

mistake of looking for the women like their mothers. Some mothers are pure hell; sure you won’t want your wife to be like hell.

I showed her the signal that I love her very badly but ... Good day Aunty Adeola, it is my pleasure to forward this text of bravo to you. I read your article in a newspaper and I was so, so impressed about the good and wonderful answers you give to people about their love life. Please, keep it up. I met a girl; I showed her the signal that I wanted her to be my girl whom I want to take as a future wife. She responds very well but she has refused to give me her phone number each time I see her. Please Aunty what should I do, I love this girl very dearly and I want her very badly. Even when girls are playing hard to get, they still give you a telephone number so that they can monitor your persistence and gauge your seriousness. But when people turn down the request to give you a telephone number, most often than not, they don’t want any disturbance from you. Don’t take her politeness each time she sees you as a sign that she is responding well, she may just be a well-brought-up girl. When you go after a girl (or a man in the case of women) always bear in mind that they may already be in a happy relationship and wouldn’t want an unnecessary distraction.

Over to you: Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Dr Mike Adenuga, Chief Michael Adeojo

Adeola, may God bless you for good what you are doing. Please kindly link me up with Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Dr Mike Adenuga, Chief Michael Adeojo, Mr. Ifeanyi Uba, Engr Andrew Yakubu, Mr. Haruna Momoh, Dr Kudo Erasia Eke, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, Mr Olayinga Oni, Dr Taiwo Afolabi, Mr Seni Adetu, Mrs Evelyn Hunter Jordan, Mr Tom Achoda. They are some good Nigerians who contribute immensely toward the development of Nigeria and Nigerians. I humbly appeal for their financial assistance to enable me acquire aluminum fabrication workshop, machines, tools and materials. I can’t afford them since I graduated from my training programme as aluminum fabricator. Thanks and may our Almighty God/Allah continue to bless you as you change my fortune in the appeal, I’m Simngha. (08087068309). The best part of any day is

morning because it holds words of promise and possibilities. May your day be filled with pleasant surprises and love. Good morning. 07086804181. Like the rain can’t be stopped from falling, God’s love and blessing keep on pouring on you and your household, amen. Hope you woke up renewed and refreshed and completed by God’s company. Bukola (08088882539).

From you to me

Yes, you said it all last Saturday. And I agree with you, but the truth is that most us have become victims of our own religions, not only the witnesses, and that is why many believe that religion is a sign of mental disorder. – Gabriel, No 1 Hearts Fan (08073518704). •Dear Adeola, I am indeed appr eciative of your contributions to humanity. Thanks for the 10 points on how to be romantic. Kindly print my name for a female friend. 080631324 73. Age 30 to 35. - Barrister Abraham, Kaduna South. •I’m Israel Nwosu. I’m a

teacher and a poet. 30th May will be my birthday. I just want to b your friend. Your piece of March 2013 was a classic. 2. You are good. (07081650926). •Your advice on mixed status was not good enough, pray that the young 20 year old girl is not infected, if she is lucky quit the relationship and look for healthy man. Reverse the case, the man would have sent the girl packing, no question on love at all. A lady did that but very sorrowful they died one after another. By the way if the girl is one’s daughter what will be the reaction to this? I say QUIT. 08032069635.

Vaginismus: orgasm, faking it and vaginal spasms You’re doing a wonderful job with your page. May your wisdom not go stale soon. I wrote in during the week on above. You did acknowledge receipt but it wasn’t treated. Want to repeat in a way you could help with a response A vaginal spasms that expels the penis - orgasm or vaginismus? Any help? Vaginismus is when the muscle walls of a woman’s vagina contract or spasm in response to attempted insertion, for example, with a tampon or penis. This involuntary muscle contraction can be mildly uncomfortable or it may cause searing or tearing pain. Vaginismus can interfere with normal activities like sex or getting a pelvic exam at the doctor’s office. Symptoms of Vaginismus: Painful sex is often the first sign that a woman has vaginismus. The pain occurs only with penetration. It usually, but not always, goes away after withdrawal. Women have described the pain as feeling too small for a man’s penis. The pain has also been described as a tearing sensation or a feeling like the man is “hitting a wall.” Many women who have vaginismus also experience discomfort when inserting tampons and during a doctor’s internal exam. Other medical problems like infections can also cause painful intercourse. So it’s important to see a doctor to determine the underlying cause of pain during sex. Causes of Vaginismus - The causes of vaginismus aren’t fully understood. The condition is considered a sexual dysfunction. It is usually associated with anxiety and fear about having sex. But it’s unclear whether the anxiety is a cause or a consequence of the condition. Vaginismus is sometimes associated with a history of sexual abuse. Vaginismus can be primary, meaning it’s something a person has had their whole life. Or

it can be secondary, occurring after a period of normal function. Vaginismus may be called “global,” meaning it occurs in all situations with any object. Or it may be “situational.” That means it happens with one partner but not others — or only with sexual intercourse but not with tampons or exams. The condition usually begins after the first attempt at having intercourse. It may also develop after periods of stress. The vaginal walls may tighten automatically when sex is painful for any reason, compounding the difficulty. Treatment of Vaginismus Treatment of vaginismus involves “progressive desensitization” exercises. These exercises help women learn to control and relax the pelvic floor muscles around the vagina. The exercises can be done at home. When practiced regularly they typically take effect over a period of weeks to months. To try progressive desensitization, first practice basic Kegel exercises. Kegel exercises involve squeezing the same muscles you use to stop the flow of urine when urinating. To do a Kegel exercise, take these steps: contract the muscles, hold for two seconds, then relax. Do about 20 contractions at a time. You can do them as many times a day as you think to do them. After a few days, do the exercises with a finger inside the vagina. It’s a good idea to clip your fingernails and use a lubricating jelly. Or do the exercises in a bathtub, where water can be a natural lubricant. Your finger needs to be inserted five or six centimeters. That’s up to about the first knuckle joint. Start with one finger and work your way up to three. Fingers are preferred because they allow you to feel the muscles contracting. They are also easy to remove if you start to feel any discomfort. Women with vaginismus may also benefit from therapy to ease fear and anxiety about sex or sexual functioning.

Lost Contacts

•Aare Obinrin of Shasha, Chief Mrs Abeni Taiwo celebrating her 1st year coronation at Shasha Community High School, Shasha Laos.

Kindly link me with lbibukunola lkuesan nee Adeleke formerly of Iya Eleweomo Onikolobo Abeokuta. She schooled at School of Nursing Akure in 1994. I’m Chief Olajide, 08035027957. May the Lord of Heavens bless your labour.

From left: Dr. Kayode Ogungbuyi, President, Nigerian Institute of Training and Development (NITAD); 1st Vice President, Rev. Tunde Salawu; and an inductee, Mr. Abiodun Osiyemi, at the 11th induction ceremony of the institute held in Lagos recently

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

S I write this, I’m behind bars in a sordid prison somewhere in the country. I had to beg one of the wardens for some paper and biro to enable me write my tale. What is my purpose? To let the world know why I did what I did to Jake. Those who knew us and our relationship, our friendship that dated back to our campus days, had been shocked when they heard what had happened between us. That with my own hand, I had killed my best friend, my confidante and the only person apart from my mother that I trusted most in the world. Well, my wife used to be on that list. But not anymore. You will know the reason as my story unfolds. They say opposites attract. This was quite true in my relationship with Jake. Both physically and personality wise, we were very different. Jake was tall, slim built with good looks that could pass for those of a movie star. He also had a vibrant, outgoing personality. I, on the other hand was the quiet type who did not mix much and preferred studying to going out to parties. Despite these differences, Jake and I hit it off as soon as we met. This was how it happened. It was my second year in school and I was having problems securing accommodation. Then, a friend told me about a student who was looking for flat mates to share the apartment his family had rented for him off campus. I contacted him a few days later and luckily he agreed to give me one of the rooms at a reasonable amount. It was a three bedroom flat a short distance from campus. Shortly after I moved in, another student George joined us. That was how Jake and I became friends. We lived together for the rest of our stay in school in that flat and with time, we became very close. Though quite intelligent, Jake was not the studious type. Infact, he hardly bothered with classes, assignments and tests like I did. He often used to tease me about my serious attitude. “Guy, you are a real effico; too serious with your books. You should take it easy, sometimes. Learn to relax,” he told me one evening as I sat in my room reading for a test I had the next day. I looked up at him. He was dressed to go out in a nice T shirt and a pair of designer jeans. He looked great and I complimented him. “Thanks. I have a new ‘catch’ I’m taking out tonight,” he stated with a smirk, adjusting the collar of his top in the small mirror on the wall in my room. “What about Trish?” I asked. She was his girlfriend of about six months and I thought he loved her. Jake shrugged. “She’s out of town. Besides, she’s becoming too possessive. I need a break,” he noted. Knowing him so well, it was Jake’s way of saying he was tired of a relationship. That was another point of difference between us. His attitude to girls. “Love them and leave them,” he often said, with that mischievous grin of his. I didn’t share his views and I made that clear. “I don’t think its fair on the girls. I have sisters too and I won’t want any guy to mess up with them,” I told him. Yet, despite the way he treated them, girls still flocked around him like moths to a flame. “Well, is it my fault if the girls can’t resist me? I be fine boy now!” he would say, grinning broadly. “Why don’t you leave those books and come with us tonight? Catch some fun, you know,” he now said, as he made for the door. I shook my head. “I need to study for the test tomorrow. You know how tough that lecturer’s questions can be,” I stated, turning to resume reading. “Alright. See you later then,” he stated as he left. ‘You are lucky. You have rich parents so you can afford to fool around. As for me, I know where

Crime of passion (1)

‘

I don’t think its fair on the girls. I have sisters too and I won’t want any guy to mess up with them,” I told him. Yet, despite the way he treated them, girls still flocked around him like moths to a flame. ‘Well, is it my fault if the girls can’t resist me? I be fine boy now!’ he would say, grinning broadly

I’m coming from,’ I thought as I turned a page in my notebook. Both my parents were teachers and as the first son, they looked up to me to do well so I could help the family later. Thus I had no time for frivolities. I had to succeed in life for my family’s sake. ***** Finally, school was over and we left for the mandatory youth service programme. Jake and I were posted to different states. It was the first time in years that we were separated. By this time, we were so close, more like brothers rather than mere friends. Jake, who didn’t like the idea of my going so far away tried to influence my posting. “I will talk to my dad. He knows people at the headquarters and they will have you reposted to Lagos so we can be together again,” he told me one day when I called from my base in Niger State where I was serving. “Don’t bother, Jake. I like it here. The people are friendly and nice. Besides, it’s just for a year. It will be over soon and I will be back home before long,” I pointed. He reluctantly agreed and there was no more talk of my being reposted down South.

Jake’s father, who was a business man had a lot of contacts in the business circles in the country. With his influence, he was able to get a job for his son even before the service year ended. I was happy and a bit envious as well when he called to give me the good news. “It’s a big company. They are into all kinds of stuff- manufacturing, food processing, construction,” he disclosed. “Lucky you. At least, you won’t be among the thousands of jobless graduates roaming the streets,” I said. He laughed then said: “You know what, Ray? I will like us to work in the same place. I will speak to my dad if he can fix you up in the company. Once he returns from his trip abroad, I’ll talk to him.” I liked the idea of our working together but I didn’t have much faith in my getting a job in such a big firm. ‘Afterall, jobs don’t grow on trees these days,’ I thought to myself as the call ended. So, you can imagine my surprise and excitement when he called to tell me two months later that I had been invited for an interview in the company. I was speechless for a while before I exclaimed:

“But I didn’t apply! How come they are...” Jake laughed at my confusion. “Is this not Nigeria? With the right connection, you can get anything you want.” The job, he explained was for the post of a sales representative. “It comes with a car as you will be moving around a lot,” he stated. “A car? That’s great! But Jake, you talk as if I already have the job. I’ve not even done the interview yet,” I noted. He laughed again. “That, my friend is just a formality. The job is already yours!” We had just a month to go before we passed out as corpers. The thought of starting work as soon as we finished the youth service filled me with great joy. No endless job applications and rejections, no roaming the streets searching endlessly for jobs that did not exist with its attendant frustrations and sufferings... I silently thanked God for giving me a great friend like Jake. And I promised myself that I would work really hard at the job so that I would not disappoint him and his dad that had so much faith in me. Two months after our passing out, I resumed work at the company. Everyone, including my parents were surprised that I got a job so quickly after graduation. I told them about Jake’s role in it and they were very impressed. “He’s a good friend. Such friendship is rare these days so don’t take it lightly,” my father said. He promised to call Jake and his father and thank them for all their support. ***** My job involved marketing some of the company’s products. I had to move around a lot and the official car I was given helped in that regard. With time, I began to travel outside Lagos to other states where we had distributors of our products.

I loved the job as it enabled me travel and see new places, meet new people. I preferred it to an office job where I would be sitting at a desk all day. It was during this period that I met Grace. She was the younger sister of one of our biggest distributors in the city. She was a final year student at the university and had come to spend the long vacation with her sister. I liked the girl as soon as I set eyes on her. It wasn’t just her obvious beauty alone. There was just something about her that I found so alluring. But despite the way I felt about her, I had not been able to speak to her about my feelings. It wasn’t that I was shy with girls or something. I just felt the time was not right. I always looked forward to going to the sister’s shop on business as I knew I would see Grace. Just seeing and looking at her made me happy. I was on my way there late one afternoon when I ran into Jake at the car park in the office. We were in different departments so we didn’t see that much at work. But we made up for it at weekends when we hung out together. He had closed for the day and was heading home. “My car suddenly developed problems. Battery problem likely. Guess I will have to take a cab home,” he said after we greeted. “No need for that,” I said. I intended closing as well once I had finished meeting Madam Betty, Grace’s sister. “Come with me and I will take you home later,” I offered. Grace was alone in the store when we arrived. “Sister just stepped out. She will be back shortly,” she explained. She served us drinks while we waited. I noticed Jake looking at her in a speculative way and my heart fell. I knew that look quite well. It was the sort of look he had whenever he saw a girl he fancied and wanted to sleep with. ‘Please, not this one,’ I thought as I looked at Grace. She had a new braided hairstyle which made her look even more pretty. When the woman returned, we sat to discuss business. I could not concentrate though. My eyes kept drifting to the front of the store. Jake was there, standing and chatting with Grace. I saw her laughing at a point and I became worried. What if she fell for Jake’s charms? Very few ladies could resist him. He was my friend but I didn’t want her to get involved with him as she would only get hurt in the end. We left shortly after. On the way, Jake kept talking about Grace. “Such a pretty girl. I’m thinking of inviting her out next weekend,” he announced. “What?” I exclaimed, turning from the road to glare at him. “Why do you look so surprised. You should know me by now. Once I see something I like, I go for it,” he said. I could not bear it any longer and I decided to be blunt with him “Jake, leave her alone,” I blurted out. He turned to me, surprised. “Why? Don’t tell me you like her too!” he said. “Jake, that’s not the issue now. Just don’t mess with her, that’s all I’m saying,” I implored. “Well, it’s too late for that. I want her. And I’m going to have her no matter what you or anyone says,” he stated firmly. I grew angry at his words. For the first time since we became friends, I wanted to punch him in the face... Will Grace become a source of conflict between the two friends? Watch out for the exciting details next Saturday! •Names have been changed to protect the narrator’s identity. Send comments/suggestions to 08023201831(sms only) or psaduwa@yahoo.com

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

‘

The second storey building in Nigeria is the old vicarage of St. James Anglican Church. According to the church, it was built by Rev. Samuel Ajayi Crowther after he left Badagry and before he settled in Abeokuta

’

•The building

VER the years, Ota in Ogun State has two things going for it: manufacturing and religion. A large chunk of the town’s land has been bought by manufacturing companies. Probably the strategic location of the town in terms of access to other parts of the country, nearness to Lagos and the seaport, and being a few kilometres away from the border town of Idi-Iroko, all added up to make entrepreneurs, both foreign and local, flock to the town to establish firms. The presence of these companies, of course, has made positive impact on the economy of the place and at-

tracted thousands of people who relocated there in search of work to earn a living. However, the biggest tourism credential of the town is probably the Faith Tabernacle in Canaanland. It is a 50,000-seat auditorium listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest church auditorium in the world. Aside the church, thousands of tourists flock to the town from all over the world for the annual Shiloh Convention. This has made the town a modest destina-

tion for religious tourism. Even with all these, Ota can still lay claim as a town of note. Before the commercial companies and thousands of religious worshippers started making weekly or annual visits to the town for religious worship, the town had its own share to fame in the Christian evangelism in Nigeria. In most discussions on the advent of Christianity in Nigeria, it was Badagry in Lagos where the missionaries first landed and where

Tourism News

Christianity was first preached in 1841 that comes to mind. It is also in Badagry that Nigeria’s first storey building is located. But to see the second storey building in Nigeria, one needs to move a little further to Ota at St. James’ Anglican Church. St. James’ Anglican Church is located around Iganmode Road around the Ipate Oyingbo area of Ota. Visiting that part of Ota is an eyeopener. Ota is an ancient town with a rich history.

We shall not fail to defend NIWA Act — Sambo

HE Lagos Area Man ager of the National Inland Water- ways Authority (NIWA), Alhaji Mauzu Sambo, has said officers and men of the agency in Lagos would ensure total compliance with laws setting up the organization no matter whose ox is gored. Sambo noted that there is no controversy concerning who is in charge of regulatory and supervisory activities on Nigeria’s vast inland waterways. Addressing the executive and members of the Association of Tourist Boats and Water Transporters of Nigeria (ATBOTWAN), who paid him a courtesy visit, Alhaji Sambo said the

•Balogun

federal government, through the agency, had shown faith in turning around the fortunes of inland waterways transportation through the dredging of the River Niger. He promised to help the

association to take full advantage of government interventions in Inland Waterways in order to create employment and accelerate the promotion of inland waterways mode of transportation. Alhaji Sambo commended the organizational abilities of the association and its reach, particularly in areas where it has discharged certain obligations which government ought to have done before now. “Your sincere and patriotic activities are before me and be assured of the total support of this office and the entire management of the NIWA” Sambo added. Earlier, the President of the ATBOWATON, Mr.

Ganiyu Tarzan Balogun, had recalled the good existing rapport between the association and the NIWA, urging the new Lagos area boss to look into the issues of endemic water hyacinth problems, waste disposal in water and shore utilization permit for members. He prayed specifically for shore utilization permit on a longer moratorium to enable the association members invest and recoup their investments. Other areas, according to Balogun, that need the NIWA’s urgent intervention include citing of petrol stations along shore

There are also priceless ancient structures with their Victorian style architecture that are probably more than 100 years old. These structures give one an inkling into the history of the town and bring to the fore the fact that quite a sizeable number of indigenes of Ota had been in affluence long before now. Sadly, however, these old structures, rather than being preserved as part of the history and legacy of the town, are gradually giving way to

lines and clearing of weeds on waterways which has continued to threaten affective inter-modal water transportation connections. He noted that the NIWA should help liaise with federal government to assist the members of the association to procure boats as it is done for road transport workers, adding that one barge on water is equal to sixty-six trucks on the road, making water transportation the safest and cheapest means of transportation in the world.

modernisation. The second storey building in Nigeria is the old vicarage of St. James Anglican Church, Ota. According to the church, it was built by Rev. Samuel Ajayi Crowther after he left Badagry and before he settled in Abeokuta. Going by history, the first storey building in Nigeria was started in 1842 by Rev. Henry Townsend, a British missionary. He laid the foundation of the first storey building in Nigeria, located in Badagry. The building took three years to be constructed, but it was not completed by Townsend. It was completed by another missionary, Rev. C.A. Gollmer, in 1845. So, the second storey building in Nigeria must have been built between 1845 and 1850. The building, although looking old with a light brown paint and a dark brown roof, is still strong. The staircase is made of

EACTIONS have continued to trail the removal of the former boss of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Otunba Segun Runsewe. Among those who recently expressed their indignation were the President of the Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), Chief Samuel Alabi, and Dr. Franklin Adejuwon, former Chairman, Presidential Committee on Tourism Masterplan. Speaking on the issue, Alabi described the government’s action as a blow to the development of the tourism industry in the country. He said: “ I have to confirm that I am yet to be officially informed that there has been a change of barton. But be that as it may, I can say that I met Otunba Runsewe during the course of my assignment as FTAN president. I saw, from my interaction with him, a man that has zeal and passion for

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

•The staircase

wooden stairs that lead to the upper floor of the building. Before climbing the staircase, on the right, there is an empty building with a single wooden chair. According to the keepers of the house, this was the chair used by Bishop Crowther. It is believed Bishop Crowther completed the translation of the Holy Bible from English to the Yoruba language. The wooden staircase to the upper floor of the building also has a wooden door that could be completely closed to stop anybody from climbing the staircase to the upper floor. The upper floor is also made of wood, but the wood needs urgent attention. If it is not taken care of soon, it might become unsafe for people to stand on it. Generally, apart form one or two items kept by the church in the building, it is empty and unkept. The place is a piece of history, but it needs to be taken care of better. That was why Prince Femi Oluwasina, the Chairman of the Ado Odo/Ota Council

Area, decided to develop the place into a tourist destination. He talked about the second storey building in Nigeria: “It was the genesis of history that touched our faith. It was a place where the first evangelism of the church to the rural people was actually

manifested through the late Bishop Ajayi Crowther. The building is in Ota. “Historically, there are so many things that are skewed due to self-interest with people trying to claim that this section is this or that. There was no way that the first missionary who berthed in Badagry would have come all the way from Badagry to Abeokuta without passing through Ota. “So, their journey started at Badagry and it stopped at Ota. That was where Bishop Crowther came into the scene. He translated the English Bible to Yoruba in Ota. He evangelized the Ota community. He told the people what Christianity was all about. They moved from Ota to Abeokuta. To be honest with you, there is a lot of politics about this. It is part of the desire by some to marginalize our people. “Like I always say, we are one nation. We might speak different languages; we are one nation.” Prince Oluwasina further said: “The Bible was translated in Ota. It was started in Badagry, but was completed in Ota. The second storey building with Ajayi Crowther’s stool and other things are still there in the church. There are written documents to back this claim. “I thank God my father was an oba of this town. So I know the history of this town. I still have some of my uncles who know much about the history of our people. They were the people that gave me these details. They are still breathing; they are still living; they are there. I went to the University of Ibadan to do some research, and we found out that some of these facts are backed with textual materials. It was documented; some by my uncles; some by the people who are knowledgeable on this and I saw documents to back what we are saying.” Oluwasina expressed disappointment over the inability of Nigerian Christiandom to properly take care of some of these historical sites. He said: “ The glory of the origin of the Yoruba version of the Bible cannot be taken from this place. I think it is right that Christians come together to preserve this place.”

•The first floor

FTAN President, Adejuwon kick against Runsewe’s removal

•Chief Alabi

the development of the industry. It bothers on circumventing due process in governance in Nigeria. There is a term stipulated in the decree and that was not complied with. It is another blow to the development of industry.

When a person is given a term of four years and that term is still subsisting…There was no probe, no panel and nothing is communicated to the public and suddenly the person is removed from office, it calls for questions.” He continued: “Runsewe transformed the NTDC from what we used to know it to a very visible corporation. In the past, many people would not be happy, if they were given the position of the NTDC Director-General, but now, that guy, whom I said I never knew before I became the President of the NTDC, did wonderfully well. I don’t treat people on the basis of how I know them, and I

can say categorically that I have no direct dealing with Otunba Runsewe further than the FTAN-NTDC job. “I pray for the woman that is there now that God will give her the courage and strength to move tourism far above what she met. I can tell you that Nigerians are used to certain standards of activities in the NTDC. Anybody that will go there and try to go back to the pre-Runsewe era will not find it easy. Again, I have no apology to anybody. I am not a contractor; I am not a civil servant and equally, I don’t ask for money from anybody. I am just saying things the way they are. “I know wherever Otunba Runsewe finds himself , he will not fail because of the way he handles issues. This is my position on the matter.” Dr. Adejuwon said: “He kept on burning the candle at both ends to keep the industry alive. Why must he now be the scapegoat, while indolent people are left to perpetuate the uninnovative existence? Government is its own worst enemy. It has always created and demolished.”

‘I regret losing the millions I targetted’ Continued from Page 22 one when they found out that he was innocent. “I was driving for AURUM Energy, a transport company. But I left them after I had a fatal accident that got the trailer badly damaged. The company refused to repair the trailer, which left me redundant for almost eight months. Hence, I resigned and joined the gang. I had both the G and E licences and I am good at driving. But I needed big money to solve the big problem I had. Driving alone cannot give me the money even in 20 years time. “I have no regrets over my action because I don’t have a kobo in my pocket now, and a man without money is a dead man.” The fourth suspect, Aloysius, said: “I am from Abagana in Njikoka Local Government Area, Anambra State. I deal in auto spare parts at Oyingbo in Lagos Mainland, where I have a large shop. But I reside at No. 56, Okera Road, Railway Compound, Oyingbo. I was the one that contacted Alhaji Ibrahim who in turn contacted Alhaji Tukur.” On why he contacted Ibrahim, Aloysius said: “I did so because Chinedu said he had some stolen goods to dispose. I then said I knew one Alhaji Ibrahim who was an agent to Alhaji Tukur. There and then, Alhaji Ibrahim called Alhaji Tukur and we negotiated the price and agreed on N17 million. “The said Tukur arrived Lagos from Ibadan between 11.30 pm and midnight that day. He said the person that would provide the key to the warehouse at Ojodu Berger had not arrived and asked us to wait till 5 am. After 5 am, the man still did not surface. But at about 7 am, Alhaji Tukur’s boy arrived and with the key. He opened the warehouse and we opened the container. They negotiated with one Haruna Abdullahi to pay them the sum of N40,000 to use the warehouse for four days. “We stood at a corner while they negotiated. In the end, the labourers started off-loading the diverted goods. As they were offloading the goods, SARS operatives appeared and arrested everybody. They also ordered the labourers to reload the container. The container was later taken to Scorpion House (SARS headquarters) along with the suspects and the goods.” He said he did not get a dime from the deal and that it was his

•The truck involved

first experience. His wife, he said, never knew that he was involved in crime because she travelled. “But when she came back, she was informed and she came to see me. She quarrelled with me and asked me why I should partake in such a dirty deal. But I pleaded with her that it was the handiwork of the devil,” he said. The fifth suspect, Haruna said he was a trader of empty sacks and nylon, but he realised that there was no much money in the business. “I am married with five children. How do you expect me to feed all these mouths, including my wife’s, with the sale of sacks and nylon bags?” he asked. “How much is school fees? I am addressed as an Alhaji but I have never gone to Mecca. People just call me Alhaji and I claimed it because it raised my social status. “I am from Panisau village in Ungogo Local Government Area, Kano State. Alhaji Tukur sent Aloysius and Alhaji Ibrahim and Chinedu, and I went to show them the warehouse. It was in the morning, but they said they would be bringing the goods in the night. After bringing the goods at about midnight, they called me and I told them that I would not be able to come at that hour. I told them to wait till 5 am. “I got there at 7 am. We called the owner of the warehouse and he sent his boy. After opening the warehouse, they opened the container and started offloading. In the process, SARS operatives stormed the place and got all of us arrested. “The goods were already half offloaded, but the police ordered us to load them back into the container. Unfortunately, SARS operatives arrested my friend, Alhaji Sani, who I had asked to accompany me to the place. But during investigation, the police found that he was not connected with the deal and he was released. He was exonerated by all the other suspects. “But let me make it clear that many of us at Railway Line, Agege, specialise in buying and selling stolen goods, and people patronise us because our goods are very cheap.” Asked how he felt free to sell stolen goods close to Isokoko, Pen Cinema and Elere police stations, he said: “It is a contact point for many areas in Lagos where stolen goods are sold. They buy from them and we do not allow members to misbehave to avoid attracting the attention of the police. “Whenever there is a misunderstanding between a buyer and a seller, we try our best to solve the problem amicably. Besides, we do not allow our members to take their matters to the police in order to keep the police away.”

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

Paul UKPABIO

EXECUTIVE LEISURE

FORTUNE& I

Princess Akinbile

THE NATION SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

Dennis Ejiogu

FAMIL Y HEAL TH AMILY HEALTH

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

Building a sound relationship (4)

EAR Reader, I welcome you to this last edition of the series of the teaching of this month. No doubt, it has been a great and glorious month focusing on Building A Sound Relationship. I like to conclude this teaching by showing you the benefits of relationships. In all sound and godly relationships, there is profit. These benefits are amazing and cover different areas of life. Let us briefly examine some of them here. It makes life smooth: What engine oil is to a car, is what sound relationships are to life. They lubricate your destiny and help you function optimally. The better part of you comes out and your performance is positively enhanced. Speedy Accomplishment: You stand the chance of getting things accomplished faster and better. Sweeping with a broomstick, for example, can never give you the same effect as sweeping with a bunch of it, as far as effectiveness and speed is concerned (Luke 10:17). You must have heard the adage: ‘‘One tree never makes a forest”. Your effectiveness is enhanced by sound relationships. Release of Potentials: When you are involved in sound, godly relationships, you stand a chance of viewing things from different perspectives and even engage in exchange of profitable ideas. Remember that iron sharpens iron

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

(Proverbs 27:17). As you rub minds together on various issues of life, your mind is sharpened. This in turn makes for innovations and release of your hidden potentials. You are then able to make better impact, as well as improve and maintain relevance. This eventually makes for a better you, bringing about fulfillment of destiny. Joy of Involvement: The fact that you are profitably involved in the lives of others brings joy, especially when you see such people making progress and impact in life. Personally, it gladdens my heart when I see people that I associate with making impact, moving forward, breaking new grounds and having testimonies. Of course, who wants to associate with the stagnated? I certainly don’t! Or do you? I know you don’t! Let it excite you, not depress you, when you see the people you relate with, making progress. Keep in mind the fact that whatever you love and are excited about, you naturally attract and vice versa. Some people are never happy seeing others that they relate with make progress in life. This is ungodly and very dangerous. In actual fact, if you are relating with anyone who is neither interested nor excited in your progress in life, you need to get out of that relationship fast, irrespective of whatever kind of level of relationship it might be, whether it is with your superior, mate or junior. You are strengthened: There is power in togetherness! This explains why the scripture says two are better than one (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). You are constantly inspired to keep on. Rather than get weary, especially in the face of challenges, you are strengthened and encouraged to forge ahead. This in turn helps you to easily overcome obstacles and challenges of life. I enjoyed these benefits and more during my single years and even now over 25 years after marriage; I am still reaping the dividends of those long time sound and

Post graduate medical training in Nigeria and the millenium development goals

Attitude of governments, philanthropists and relevant institutions not helping matters

AM compelled to begin this concluding part by drawing at tention to the unfavorable maternal /infant morbidity and mortality statistics as concern this country –Nigeria. Improvement may remain elusive unless something is done to stem the exodus of young Nigerian Medical graduates to countries where their yearnings, and aspirations are met without strain and stress. At present, Doctor population ratio in Nigeria is 10,000 persons to one Medical Doctor. The situation is likely to get worse for reasons not far to fetch- the sciences take longer years of study, and training resources including books are quite expensive; “what is the attraction? young Nigerians are beginning to ask, especially as they see their uncles moving into their own houses built with assistance from their employers-mostly Oil companies and so, more and more people are dropping out to career choices in football, other sports and in entertainment where there seem to be plenty of money for every one such that young adults who normally are healthy and should drive National development with innovations and skills no longer see any thing good in going to School ,or College for training that will confine him away for seven to fifteen years. There are not enough Medical personnel to carry out even simple health related tasks such as awareness programs; as a result of which many organizations have taken over activities usually within the provinces of Medical personnel. Majority of the women who die from child birth apart from very few cases of negligence, do so in the hands of unskilled persons, and in places where ignorance is the denominator. It is surprising that these issues continue to attract only summits and presentations, and nothing better. Talk about raising standards; how do you raise standards when a single entertainer is given 100 million naira for winning a sleeping, dressing and singing competition that lasts one month, whereas it takes a post NYSC Medical Doctor ,a minimum of seven additional years to become a Consultant( specialist training) and during that period , he is very unlikely to make half that amount of money. A young man or woman enters residency hail, hearty and groomed, and by the time he is getting a fellowship is all covered in white or grey of old age. For University Lecturers, Similar stressful conditions prevail such that being a university Lecture on its own could now be added to the previously acknowledged risk factor of being born black African , and both double the risk of dying suddenly . At a gathering recently, a Vice Chancellor of a popular and unique University remarked “there had been too many obituaries in the previous one year” ,and advised that members of staff paid more attention to preventive rather than curative medical options. Lecturers are by the nature of their jobs are extremely mobile . Their mobility is a very necessary prerequisite for their survival and progress, but it costs money to sustain the level of mobility required to keep pace with the technologically superior world . Apart from research grants, sharing the burden of transportation to conferences especially those taking place overseas, of accommodation and publications will help maintain the momentum and prevent research fatigue. On the other hand, Lecturers who also have medi-

godly relationships. What a joy! Now, in case you are into any ungodly and unprofitable relationships and you cannot see the above benefits being enjoyed by you, this is the best time to call it quit. God will not come and stop it for you. It is your responsibility to take necessary steps, right on time, before it is too late, to put an end to such relationships. Refuse to be corrupted! You are the light of the world; you have nothing absolutely to do with darkness (Matthew 5:13-14). Light and darkness can never co-exist. You must get to a point where you make a covenant with God, never to involve yourself in any unhealthy relationship. Your destiny shall not be ruined! It takes being born again to be able to keep off ungodly relationships. To get born again, you have to confess your sins and accept Jesus as your Lord and personal Saviour. If you are ready to be born again, say this simple prayer with me, in faith: Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I believe You died and rose again for my sake. Forgive me of my sins, take over my life, make me Your child and let Your peace reign over my life. Thank you for saving me. Now I know I am born again. Congratulations, you are now born again! I believe that you will begin to experience the reality of the price that Jesus paid for your sins at Calvary. All round rest and peace are guaranteed you in Jesus’ Name! Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through: E-mail: faithdavid@yahoo.com Tel. No: 07026385437; 07094254102 For more insight, these books authored by Pastor Faith Oyedepo are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Single With A Difference, Building A Successful Family, and Success In Marriage (Co-Authored with Bishop David Oyedepo).

cal qualifications are aware of many new frontiers in Human Anatomy, Sports Medicine, Forensic medicine, Public health professional, Biomedical engineering, Embryological techniques/Assisted reproductive technology , Medical robotics, Nuclear medicine etc. Nobody wants to be an expert in every thing but every one is interested in being given the opportunity to go out for a period and learn one good thing ,and to do so without being stranded or stuck over there with grave consequences Government is aware that some techniques and procedures needed for the post graduate training of Medical Scientists and Physicians are not available; they are probably also aware that only very lucky few are lucky to get sent out to centers where relevant and up to date facilities are available . Some authorities are working towards providing some assistance, but the problem of ensuring that those who go first must be indigenes, while others waste away has not been given much attention- .More over what is being made available is not enough compared with what others outside the sector are getting. There has to be an exercise by way of needs assessment , felt needs and actual needs-this is where others come in .Until you send serious minded people to a University to find out what exactly they need to function properly and maintain standards, you can not adequately carry out any meaningful needs assessment. The needs are not in the wilderness ; avenues to compete and show that given the right conditions we can do well,through inter and intra university competitions as was organized in the recent past for Universities in west Africa, Africa and the world. Efforts should be made to cater for brilliant, naturally endowed students from poor families who wish to study in the Universities that have managed to acquire sophisticated resources and standards comparable to the best centers overseas. Even within the country , the inequalities in the distribution of educational and research facilities created by politicians of the past have remained un altered, adding to the burden impressed upon individuals inclined to and willing

to learn and contribute to National development. In institutions Overseas, as many as five Professors may be entrusted with the task of training an individual to become an expert in a particular Medical field. Beyond that a professor supervising a PhD Student pays for the research ,and he in turn receives financial support from local and international institutions, philanthropists, and religious organizations. Medical training at all levels is therefore interesting and less stressful; besides , students enjoy unquantifiable sense of fulfillment from saving lives, knowing more about the Human body and belonging to a Noble class. Beginning with the universities, Governments, organizations and well placed individuals singly or in partnership could set up bodies charged with the responsibility of tracking students graduating from the Colleges of Health Sciences, know them, counsel them and make resources available for those going into Various fields. Genuine efforts should be aimed at proper placement of priority needs . Medical Doctors in the various training programs can be encouraged and sent out with adequate resources to study specific subspecialties; Plastics /reconstructive surgery, knee replacement, disc replacement, vertebroplasty (vertebral column reconstructive surgery)etc . Those who have ideas about setting up places for practice can be encouraged to look forward to developing such places to become centers for research , innovations and development Professional Public and Occupational health Physicians are currently in very short supply -Practitioners in Phytomedicine, chiropractors are only recently being licensed to practice. Similarly Doctors with specialist training in Sports medicine are presently scarce ;yet Nigerians feature prominently in global sports completion, accompanied most times by other Physicians; to the newly qualified Medical Doctor, these areas are only faintly appreciated beyond what is known to be the basic foundation for medical practice It therefore becomes necessary to make available, all relevant information concerning post graduate medical training, Residency and what it means to the country , the individual thinking about additional Medical education, where available, the areas of specialization ,the prerequisite exams , the cost and where financial assistance can come from It is not enough to arrange for motivational speakers to talk to graduating students in Health sciences and Engineering about career decisions and whatever in this period of endless information traffic on the internet ,and when as a matter of fact some of these speakers are not as brilliant and motivated as these students . A number of Medical graduates at the time of completion of youth service become so heavily indebted that to continue further medical education without assistance can not be contemplated. Such people are also very unlikely to get help in securing places to commence residency without the involvement of a Royal father, especially where he is not an indigene. Friends, relations and children find it strange that such helpless situations are real. Here is where the need arises for to get involved, send out invitations, get records, know what they have, what they need, their capabilities and then provide what is required.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

NEWS 57

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

HE Rivers State Chair man of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Felix Obuah, has stated that he is not fighting Governor Rotimi Amaechi, while insisting that he and members of his executive are for peace. He said his executive would ensure good governance at the state level and in all the 23 local government areas of Rivers State being controlled by the ruling PDP. Obuah stated that there was no faction in the Rivers PDP in line with the April 15 judgment of an Abuja High Court presided over by Justice Ishaq Bello which sacked the Chief Godspower Akeled executive.

Rivers PDP crisis: I’m not fighting Amaechi; I’m for peace, says rival chair Obuah Bisi OLANIYI, Port Harcourt In an interactive session with reporters at the state secretariat of the PDP, along Aba Road in Port Harcourt yesterday, Obuah wished Amaechi well, as he marks his 48th birthday on Monday. He stated that since assumption of office, his executive committee had made efforts in moving the party in

•Stear clear of party politics, ACN tells Rivers labour leaders Rivers State to the next level, while recently inaugurating various committees to help re-engineer the party. He noted that the blackmail of referring to persons who constructively criticised Amaechi’s administration as those wanting to share Rivers’ money must stop forthwith to avoid sanctions. The party boss said he and

members of his executive had never dreamt of impeaching the Rivers governor, but wanted development of the state, especially the grassroots, thereby transforming the 23 local government areas. He further said: “We are for peace. We want to move Rivers State forward. We want to bring everybody to-

From left: Head of Service of the Federation, Bukar Goni Aji; FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed; Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar; Vice President, Mahammed Namadi Sambo; Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Saa’d; and Ambassador Bashir Yuguda during 2013 Democracy Day special Juma’at prayers at the National Mosque in PHOTO: AKIN OLADOKUN Abuja yesterday.

Emergency: National Assembly restricts Jonathan’s powers to security, public order

•Governors, LG chairmen in charge of administration, others

HE National Assembly has restricted the pow ers of President Goodluck Jonathan in states under emergency rule to maintenance of public order, peace and security only. This followed the harmonization and adoption of the conference report of the proclamation of state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states by the Senate and House of Representatives. According to the report of the conference committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on the state of emergency proclamation, 2013, clause 1 states that “duly authorized person” means any person designated or authorized to act on behalf of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with respect to the administration of any emergency area on public order, peace and security only. This was the House version of the conference committee report which was adopted by the two chambers. The implication of this clause is that governors of emergency areas and local government chairmen would still handle general administrative functions in their respective jurisdictions. Also clause 2 (3) of the

Onyedi OJIABOR, Assistant Editor proclamation states that “the President may give direction to a state governor or local government chairman directly or through his designate or a duly authorized person with respect to the administration of the emergency area in matters of public order, peace and security only and it shall be the duty of the state governor or local government chairman to comply with the directive. The Senate and the House of Representatives adopted this version created by the House.

Experts said yesterday that the insertion of the clause “in matter of public order, peace and security only” was meant to ensure that the President knows the limits of his powers in the emergency areas. In clause 3 (1) “Power of President to make orders” says that the President may make such orders as appear to him to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of maintaining and securing peace, public order and public safety in the emergency areas. On control of functions of certain authorities in the

emergency areas, clause 5(c) states that “in the public service of the state in the emergency area with the meaning of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999; to exercise their functions in accordance with any direction given to them by the President, his designate or any authorized person as it relates to matter of public order, peace and security only.” The lawmakers explained that “these regulations make provisions for the general administration of the emergency areas in relation to security matters.”

gether. “We must remain one family. Rivers State has been a PDP state since 1999, and it must remain so.” He expressed optimism of emerging victorious at the Court of Appeal, while urging members of the party and Rivers people to continue to give peace a chance. The Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, had earlier told Obuah and members of his executive to bear in mind that “the governor is the leader of the party in the state.” Wike, a former Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt and the Director-General of the Amaechi Campaign Organisation in 2011, noted that the PDP had regulations. He further said: “What is important to know is that the governor of the state is the leader of the PDP in Rivers State. That is the structure of the party. As a minister, I am not the leader of the party. “A leader of the party is a member of the party, and, therefore, the party is supreme. Supremacy of the party is very important. Let me advise the party chairman, go and bring back your children, but one thing that is paramount in this party is that the party must not compromise. “What you must know in life is that change is difficult to accept. When there is change, you do not expect people at the same time to embrace the change. Sometimes, they have no choice, but to embrace it. “We must at all times respect and follow the President and Commander-inChief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We cannot negotiate it. He (President Jonathan) is our son and inlaw. By the special grace of God, we will continue to be wherever he is, until he tells us otherwise. “We are in the PDP. We will follow the programmes of the party. We have no choice, but to support his government. I am appealing to every true PDP member that we will continue to support the President and Commander-in-Chief, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. That is important.” The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Rivers chapter, through its Publicity Secretary, Jerry Needam, also yesterday asked Rivers labour leaders to avoid undue involvement in the PDP’s

deepening crisis, but to focus on activities that would positively impact on the lives of their members. The party considered the planned two-day warning strike from Monday and the eventual indefinite strike by Rivers workers as unnecessary, uncalled for and an undue interference in an avoidable crisis which it alleged had opened a can of worms in the ruling PDP. The party also said the PDP had failed to call itself to order through amicable resolution of its internal crisis. It pointed out that attempts by labour and trade union leaders to drag themselves into the PDP’s crisis would not only cause more tension and disaffection in the state, but would heighten the state of insecurity and distrust. The ACN said: “We call on the labour union leaders to reject the temptation of withdrawing the services of their union members through strike. “Rather than embark on such damaging, disgraceful and unwarranted action, the unions could better demonstrate more civility by showing genuine concern to their members in ensuring that the numerous welfare packages denied civil servants since the inception of the present administration in the state, are restored. “Governor Rotimi Amaechi illegally withheld federal allocations for four local government councils for four months on flimsy excuses that the affected council chairmen did not attend meeting on time and were not loyal. Labour leaders in the state did not kick, especially when their members in the four local government councils were denied salaries for four months.” The opposition party urged the labour leaders in the state not to act in a way prejudicial to the decision of the courts on the PDP’s crisis. It also told the members of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) not to allow themselves to be dragged into political matters, especially that of the Obio/Akpor council. The ACN then urged the labour and the trade union leaders to rather help to bring an end to the PDP crisis in Rivers State and not to fuel it.

when Nigeria would be getting the seat back-to-back. With Nigeria’s role in peace keeping across the globe, he said, that Nigeria deserved to get the seat and have a say on the global affairs. He said: “There is no taxation without representation. Nigeria is demanding that because it has done peace keeping role since 1960, it has a right to determine how the world is governed.” President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday arrived Addis Ababa for the summit

which co-incided with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Organisation of African Union (OAU) which later transformed into the AU. Jonathan, at the sidelines of the summit, is expected to hold bilateral talks with some African leaders, including those of Egypt, Benin Republic and Serbia. He is also expected to hold talks with the UN SecretaryGeneral, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, and United States Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, among others.

AU backs Nigeria for UN non-permanent seat

HE African Union (AU) yesterday decided to endorse Nigeria for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Disclosing this to journalists at the sideline of the ongoing 21st ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, said that the decision was taken at a meeting of ministers of the union’s 50-member states on Thursday evening.

According to him, Nigeria has already got the backing of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for the seat. Nigeria, he said, would now concentrate on reaching out to other regional groups since two-third of the nations is needed. He said: “The endorsement was done based on our nation’s track record and achievements. It was done unanimously. “The next step is for us to reach out to other regional groups like Asia, Europe and America.

John OFIKHENUA, Abuja “But one thing is sure, regional endorsement that we have secured is like obtaining B+ already. Other regional groups will only shore up the scores,” he said. He pointed out that the endorsement had further confirmed Nigeria’s robust foreign policy. Also speaking on the issue, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Martins Uhonmoibhi, said it would be the first time since 1960

58 NEWS

ICE President Namadi Sambo yesterday prayed for peaceful coexistence amongst all segments of the country as Nigeria celebrates 2013 Democracy Day and second anniversary of President Goodluck Jonthan’s administration. Sambo, who spoke to newsmen immediately after the special Juma’at prayers at the National Mosque, Abuja also prayed to Allah to give Jonathan sound health and the strength to continue to pi-

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

Democracy Day: Sambo prays for peace in Nigeria Gbenga OMOKHUNU, Abuja lot the affairs of the country and provide dividends of democracy to the people of Nigeria. According to the statement issued by Assistant Director/ Chief Press Secretary to the FCT Minister, Muhammad Hazat Sule, Sambo called on Nigerians, irrespective of eth-

nic, religious or political affiliations to be their brothers’ keepers because Nigeria is one indivisible country with diversity that should be exploited for advantage. He further called on Nigerians to continue to support the administration of President Jonathan and thank Allah for giving them the opportunity to serve. Also speaking on the occa-

sion, the FCT Minister and Chairman, Democracy Day Celebration Juma’at Prayers Organizing Sub-Committee, Senator Bala Mohammed, said that “the celebration is significant to the history of the country, considering the several years of military rule the country experienced in the past.” Mohammed thanked Allah

Nasarawa killings: Ekweremadu urges Police, DSS not to be discouraged

HE Deputy President of the Senate,Chief Ike Ekweremadu, yesterday urged the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Police Force not to be discouraged by the recent killing of their personnel in Nasarawa State. Ekweremadu spoke during separate condolence visits to the Director-General of the DSS, Mr. Ekpeyong Ita, and the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, in Abuja. He said the Senate was deeply saddened and condemned the development in totality. He added that the upper legislative chamber would give all necessary support to ensure that the culprits were brought to book. Ekweremadu’s Special Adviser on Media, Uche

Onyedi OJIABOR, Assistant Editor and Sanni ONOGU, Abuja Anichukwu,in a statement yesterday, quoted him as saying: “It is sad indeed that these patriotic Nigerians lost their lives, more so, in their prime while on the line of duty to maintain law and order. “We stand by you as always and will employ all legislative resources, including improved appropriation, to assist the Nigerian Police to adequately tackle crimes and criminals in all their ramifications.” The Deputy President expressed shock and grief over the fast-deteriorating value for human lives among bad elements in the country. He said such developments were out of tune with civilization and the country’s reli-

gious and cultural values which placed high premium on human life. He added: “The world over, it is a monumental crime to kill an officer of the law and we, as a nation, must not be different , hence no matter what it takes, the perpetrators of this heinous crime against the state must be fished out and made to face the wrath of the law.” In their respective responses, Mr. Abubakar and Mr. Ita described Ekweremadu’s visit as reassuring and thanked the Senate for its support. They, however, said though the losses were heavy and unprecedented in the history of the DSS and the Police, they would nevertheless leave vengeance to God, while following the due process of law in addressing the matter.

‘Over 10m children out of school’

EDERAL Government yesterday released its scorecard of educational achievements for 2012 and estimated that a total of 10.5million children of school age are not yet exposed to basic education in the country. The report released by the Federal Ministry of Education in conjunction with some of its parastatals also indicated that majority of the affected children are from the northern part of the country and are mostly girls. Government also listed a number of shortfalls encountered in basic education delivery in the year under review which were teacher quality, inadequate classroom furniture, libraries, laboratories and relevant text books among others. In the scorecard, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) revealed that among 1.6million candidates who applied for admission into tertiary institutions in 2012, only 218,324 eventually got admission offers into various institutions. Further statistics also revealed that a total of N44,

Gbenga OMOKHUNU, Abuja 100,207,962.60 set aside as Universal Basic Education (UBE) matching grants between 2005 and 2012 was unaccessed as at December 31, 2012. Meanwhile, Minister of Education, Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, at the report presentation which held at the National Universities Commission (NUC) yesterday called for private sector participation in the commercialization of research products churned out from tertiary institutions. She emphasized that such partnership would boost the

nation’s economy through employment opportunities for the youths and by extension reduces the importation of similar products from other countries. Her words: “Over the years, we have been aware that pockets of innovations exist in our educational institutions. The challenge has been that of bringing these out to the public domain through commercialisation so that they can serve the interest of society. “The ultimate advantage of commercializing is that it would help enhance the nation’s competitive standing globally as a nation”.

Clarification

In our front page story yesterday, headlined ‘Govt spends N700b on security in four months’, the CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was quoted as saying that the Federal Government had spent N700 billion on security. What the Governor actually said was that the Fed-

eral Government’s securities issued increased by about N700 billion within four months. He said when combined with drawdowns on deposits at the CBN and commercial banks, the implication is that government had spent N2 trillion from January to April this year.

tor General of Police, Muhammad Dahiru Abubakar, some members of the Federal Executive Council as well as some members of diplomatic corps also attended the occasion. Meanwhile, the Chief Imam of the National Mosque, Ustaz Musa Muhammad, conducted the prayers to celebrate the day.

Fed Govt okays commercialisation of FHA

From left: Chairman of the occasion and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi; former Head of Programmes, Centre for Democracy and Development, Hajiya Amina Salihu; and Chairman, Organising Committee, Dr. Kole Shettima, during the 50th Africa Day Celebration and 4th Memorial of Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem in Abuja... yesterday.

for giving President Jonathan and his team the opportunity to serve the people of Nigeria. His words: “Just like what the Vice President said, I wish to appeal to Nigerians to support President Jonathan for him to continue to deliver dividends of democracy to the people.” The Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Ibrahim, Inspec-

HE National Council on Privatisation (NCP) has approved the commercialisation of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA). The Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Amal Pepple, is at the head of a steering committee charged with working out details of the plan. Spokesman for the FHA, Mr. Chigbo Anichebe, confirmed yesterday that the proposal was approved at the May 9, 2013 meeting of the council in Abuja. He said “the move is part of the strategy to address the huge housing deficit in the country.” The Federal Housing Authority (FHA), a parastatal under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, was established in 1973 and vested with the responsibility for the preparation of a National Housing Programme and to execute such programmes as may be approved by the Federal Government of Nigeria from time to time. The FHA has a wholly-

•Amal Pepple heads committee John OFIKHENUA, Abuja owned subsidiary, FHA Homes and Savings Limited, which serves as its Primary Mortgage Institution (PMI) with the mandate to maintain savings and mortgage loan ac-

counts of customers. The FHA has built about 37,000 housing units in 80 estates across the country since its inception about 40 years ago.That works out at an average of less than 1000 houses per annum. The country is said to have a housing deficit of 17 million units.

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

NEWS 63

THE NATION, SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013

Centenary celebration: We should reﬂect rather than Managing success roll out the drums, says Anglican church diocese •Continued from Back page

HE Diocese of Ijebu South/West, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, has condemned the planned celebration of the centenary of the amalgamation of Nigeria, saying the country should rather reﬂect on the myriads of problems facing the country. In a communique, jointly signed the Rt. Rev. Dr. B. F. R. Ogunbanwo, the Diocesan Bishop and Ven. A. K. Fasanmoye, the synod clerical secretary, at the end a four-day synod, the diocese,

among other issues, urged Christians to recognize the relationship between the Christian faith and the local culture, adding that Christians must exhibit character traits that will enable the world to appreciate and praise God. According to the communiqué, “We are Christians because of love for God. Idol worshippers and others serve their gods because of what they hope to get from them. We worship the living God because we

love Him and fear Him. “The synod considered same-sex marriage as a sin and therefore a detestable act. The synod re-afﬁrmed the belief that those who indulge in the practice will not inherit the kingdom of God. “Since same-sex marriage is contradictory to Christianity, we as Christians must stand for the truth regardless of the cost to us. The synod afﬁrms that there should be no

Tantilizers set to improve services

ETTER times are here for customers of Tantalizers Plc, a leading indigenous Fast Food Company as the Company is set to actualize its outlet renovation, business expansion strategy and completion of its IT platform. This is the result of the strong ﬁnancial support from one of its partners, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. According to the Company’s Managing Director/CEO, Mrs. Bose Ayeni “the money from IFC, who had earlier taken an 8% equity stake in the Company, would be used to renovate Tantalizers outlets in a bid to increase the excitement around the strong Tantalizers brand. It will also be used to build new outlets and consolidate the deployment of the Tantalizers IT platform that links online all its stores throughout the country”.

compromise with the samesex community.” Meanwhile, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Babatunde F. R. Ogunbanwo, has charged Christians to shun cultural practices that are inimical to the Christian faith and practice. The bishop gave the advice in his presidential to the third session of the ﬁst synod of diocese, which held at the St John’s Church, Ososa-Ijebu, Ogun State.

OMFB backs CBN on new paper notes

HE Central Bank of Nigeria has been commeded for its plan to reintroduce of paper notes of N5, N10, N20 and N50. Managing Director of Ojokoro Micro finance Bank Plc, Mr. Peter Taiwo and Financial Controller, Mrs. Janes Oladejo Taiwo said this in a statement, they, however, urged the Nigerians to handle the notes with care. They also said Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the CBN Governor, was a listening and courageous person for reversing to former paper notes. The officers noted that N20m recapitalization is okay adding that the increment to N100m or more may weaken the banks and scarce away the customers. They said OMFB is one of the best Micro finance banks in Lagos in term of size, services and disbursement of loan to various customers.

Group cautions Osun politicians against do-or-die politics

s the 2014 governorship election in Osun State draws near, politicians in the state have been cautioned against the politics of do-or-die. This was the thrust of a press conference addressed by a sociopolitical group under the aegis of Yoruba Alliance Group (YAG). The chairman of the group, Mr. Jakson Ojo advised politicians in the state to shun politics of do-or-die and strive to move the state forward.

Ojo canvassed a free and free election, and also appealed to the people of the state to elect quality person as their governor in the next year gubernatorial election. “Every citizen of Osun State should be interested in a successful election in this state next year, and that is why we decided to voice out our view. Politicians in the state should conduct themselves in a manner that will promote peace and harmony among the people of this

state. “What matters most is for the state to move on and we shall support and motivate those willing to serve the people while we shall not hesitate to oppose and challenge whoever that tries to disrupt the peace of the state.” Ojo also advised politicians not to see politics as means of livelihood, but rather as a vocation, and warned against killing and maiming, which he said characterized the 2007 election.

Cup qualifiers against Kenya on June 5. And we would be in big soup because Moses and Mikel are the pivots of the team in the absence of recuperating Emmanuel Emenike. Curiously, the manner in which the coaches have handled players who played in the past has been awful. The coaches have made the players dispensable, such that no one would honour any late invitation. The dropped players sulked over their exclusion from the AFCON winning squad. This setting has tied the coaches’ hands in terms of seeking for substitutes, except they resort to the home-based. Therein lies one of the problems with our 2014 World Cup qualification ticket. If the coaches had cultivated the habit of talking with the players while with their clubs, it would have been easier for them to foil this late exclusion from the Mexico game. The coaches are shocked that the players didn’t give them any hint about their plans. How could they when their views are not sought before invitations are made? What is clear is that Keshi has lost the players’ confidence and trust. They are not ready to die for him. They feel he will dump them the way others were dumped, if their form drops. So, they would rather spend quality time with their clubs or proceed on their vacation. Perhaps, if Keshi had honoured the truce meeting scheduled in Abuja by the NFF before he left for the United States on vacation, the players would have laid their grievances on the table. All the issues would have been resolved and we would have had a fuller camp with our best players contending for positions. Keshi has assured us that there is nothing to worry about. I believe him because we have the talents. Yet the questions I want to ask Keshi are – when will the rebuilding of the Super Eagles stop? Won’t Keshi tell us some day that Moses is not in his plans? Will the Big Boss not shut out Mikel from the Eagles over this surprise change of heart? Eagles are suddenly a tournament team. They need to be in camp for long periods to gel. I had thought that the 14 days before the June 5 tie against Kenya would serve the purpose. Many people will argue that Moses, Mikel, Kalu and, indeed, others are tired from the season’s matches. True. How about those who are in the camp? Most countries eager to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil have scheduled warm-up games for their teams ahead of the qualifiers. Yet stars such as Frank Lampard are with Chelsea and would play in the friendly against Brazil at the end of the month. No ambitious country goes to a soccer war with her best players sitting at home. If they were injured, then their absence is tenable. Where they opt out of the country’s matches on spurious grounds of being injured only to star for their clubs, is a slap in our faces. And it is grossly unacceptable. If they knew that they won’t be available, they should have discussed their decisions with the coach before the list was submitted to the NFF.

TOMORROWPUNCHLINE IN THE NATION

Our battalion of presidential spokespersons are ever so eager to exculpate the President from responsibility for the broken down anticorruption war

SATURDAY, MAY 25, 2013 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL.7, NO. 2495

—Femi Orebe

HOULD President Goodluck Jonathan have declared a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states in response to the protracted and horrendously bloody Boko Haram insurgency that had practically paralysed the north? The debate rages on fiercely despite obvious overwhelming nationwide public support for the measure. Yet, it is an exchange that is largely theoretical and can only generate more heat than light. I really think that the President had little option. The situation had degenerated almost irredeemably in the north and decisive action was called for. Indeed, irritated by the President’s inconsistent vacillation between tough talk and pacifying the mindless terrorists through the offer of amnesty, many had queried Jonathan’s leadership competence. They saw him as irresolute, weak, ineffectual and seemingly clueless. To worsen matters, the Boko Haram naturally perceived the reticence of the Federal Government as a sign of weakness. The extremist sect was thus encouraged to step up the tempo of its violence – seizing women and children, escalating its attacks on security agents and increasing the venom of its mostly irrational rhetoric. It surely would come to a point when any state worth its salt as the legitimate custodian of the monopoly of instruments and methods of coercion within a given territorial jurisdiction would be forced to defend its integrity and authority. As the President rightly put it in his wellwritten even if intemperately delivered address to the nation, the insurgents had virtually declared war on the Nigerian state. He thus had the constitutional and moral responsibility to restore normalcy, protect lives and property and maintain the cohesion of the nation. It is, of course, plausible as has been argued with considerable force in some quarters that the President could have taken all the actions in the three states without formally proclaiming emergency rule. However, I guess his military strategists wanted to score a massive psychological advantage over the insurgents by maximum show of force. Again, by its very nature, the envisaged scale of military operations in the affected areas would necessarily involve the curtailment of some basic rights which would only be tenable under emergency rule- a departure from normality. It is also not impossible that in the run up to the 2015 election, and President Jonathan’s undisguised ambition for a second term, the strategy in opting for emergency rule in the three states was to seize the opportunity to emphatically assert his authority and showcase the immense powers of Nigeria’s imperial presidency to overawe potential opposition.This seems to be a throwback to the regressive era of the Obasanjo presidency and a sad commentary on the state of democratic development in contemporary Nigeria. However, this does

Beyond emergency rule

‘

However, to argue that the tough measures that President Jonathan has taken to contain the Boko Haram insurgency are necessary does not mean that this entire situation could not have been avoided if the country had been steered in a completely different direction over the last 14 years of civilian rule

•President Jonathan not obviate the fact that deployment of massive force had become imperative to rein in the insurgents and restore normalcy in the North. There must first of all be peace and security before democratic structures and processes can function for the benefit of the people. However, to argue that the tough measures that President Jonathan has taken to contain the Boko Haram insurgency are necessary does not mean that this entire situation could not have been avoided if the country had been steered in a completely different direction over the last 14 years of civilian rule. In other words the degeneration to emergency rule in parts of the north is a culmination of the failure of the Peoples Democratic Party to guide Nigeria aright since 1999. This is not just a failure of the Jonathan presidency. It is a result of the incompetence and lack of vision of successive governments in control of power at the centre since the inception of this democratic dispensation. The inevitability of emergency rule almost one and a half decades af-

’

ter the exit of the military is clear evidence that Nigeria’s malformed federal structure has virtually broken down under the watch of the PDP and there is the urgent need for the country to try leaders and parties with alternative ideas at the centre in the next polls. In the last election, many Nigerians claimed that they voted for President Jonathan and not the PDP. Now, it is obvious that the difference between the two is that between six and half a dozen. Both have sorely failed the nation as the sheer anarchy across the country today demonstrates. Now the people of the North East are forced to live with all the negative consequences of emergency rule including abridgement of human rights, possible military excesses and the conversion of democratic structures into nothing but hollow shells in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. The large scale military action attendant on emergency rule will further affect the economy of the region negatively. Innocent lives will almost inevitably be lost and thousands of people displaced. The situation in the north further reinforces Nigeria’s unflattering negative image as an

insecure entity headed dangerously in the direction of state failure. Surely, those responsible for the deterioration of affairs in the country to this extent must be made to pay the electoral price for their incompetence and irresponsibility. They must not be allowed to beat their chests heroically and claim the imposition of emergency rule as an achievement when their actions and inactions are responsible, in the first place, for the deplorable security and socio-economic situation in the country that fuelled the insurgency. For instance, is there any excuse why we have maintained the archaic and ineffective security architecture that has rendered most of our communities vulnerable to sundry criminal elements including religious extremists, cultists, armed robbers and kidnappers? Why do we still maintain a system where state governors are Chief Security Officers only nominally and lack the capacity to effectively secure lives and property within their respective jurisdictions? If we had more effective, decentralised policing at state level, couldn’t many of these criminal gangs have been nipped in the bud before they became veritable monsters? Why haven’t we since 1999 been able to organize a national conference to enable the component parts of the country re-negotiate a more acceptable pact for our mutual and more harmonious co-existence? Why have we not fundamentally restructured a federal system that, for instance, prevents the northern states from developing their rich solid mineral endowment for the benefit of their people? Why have we continued to implement the same ineffectual economic policies that promote growth without development, underdevelop agriculture, undermine manufacturing and breed the mass youth unemployment that fuels criminality? How do we explain our inability since 1999 to generate up to 5000MW of electricity despite the colossal amounts that have been hurled at the power sector and the negative implications of this for the economy? Of course we can go on and on raising pertinent questions about the total mismanagement of Nigeria that is at the root of insurgency and the current unfortunate but inevitable state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states. Emergency rule will most likely restore law, order and stability to the affected states in the North. The massive deployment of irresistible force may ‘persuade’ the terrorists to be more amenable to dialogue. However, emergency rule or all the force in the world cannot lead Nigeria in the direction of fundamental, positive change that can liberate her potentials and result in rapid development, peace and stability. If Nigeria continues to be run the way she is currently administered, we will only be postponing the evil day of a more virulent, more insidious insurgency that will be even more difficult to contain.

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

E are an interesting country to be hold. We make simple things look very difficult. We think more about ourselves than what we can contribute to our country. And this trend didn’t start today. The story from Germany ahead of the friendly against Mexico is disturbing. We are being told of our players seeking to play for clubs rather than our dear country. This is not the first time this has happened. And we are not capable of stemming the tide. We have thrown our arms up, but my fear is that we may have burnt our candles at both ends. I had thought that with the European season coming to a close, our players would assemble in Germany to plot the country’s strategies towards ensuring that we make the 2016 World Cup in Brazil. But that is not the story. Ahmed Musa has opted to play in the Russia Cup finals rather than participate in the Mexico friendly. Musa told the Super Eagles secretary that in the event that the Russia Cup final clashes with the Mexico friendly, he would play for his club. Could Musa have had the temerity to con-

Managing success

template such a move if he were a fringe player in the squad? Is it not through Nigeria’s matches that he got the Russian deal? Is the Mexico friendly not meant to provide the platform for the players to understand themselves before the crucial 2014 World Cup qualifiers against Kenya in Nairobi on June 5 and Namibia in Windhoek on June 12? The flipside to the Musa story is what are the Mexicans doing for the game? Mexico’s big stars such as Manchester United’s Hernandez aka Chacharito, want to play the game. The Mexicans have three crucial World Cup qualifiers and they are in the Confederations Cup. For them, the Nigeria friendly is an opportunity to prepare for both tournaments. Stephen Keshi definitely needs God’s grace to have a full house of committed players for the Mexico game. Musa is not alone in the choice of clubs over country. Agency photographs showed John Mikel Obi and Victor Moses boarding the flight with their Chelsea mates to the United States. Obviously, they are out of the Mexico game. Moses, who played Chelsea’s last Barclays

English Premier League game against Everton, is said to be nursing an injury, according to a letter purportedly sent to the NFF by Chelsea’s doctors. The question is: when did Moses sustain the injury? Was Moses not the person who headed down the pass that resulted in Chelsea’s goal against Everton last Sunday? We all saw him play the game. At no time did he fall down or collide with anyone. He walked off the pitch in celebration? Or could this be another conspiracy between the player and the club? Our players must stop insulting our sensibilities with their conduct. Chelsea couldn’t have listed Moses in their squad to the United States if he was injured. By the same token, John Mikel Obi can’t just wake up in the US to say that he is fatigued and can’t play the Mexican game. If so, what is he doing with Chelsea in the US? When last did Mikel play for Chelsea to necessitate the purported fatigue story he is selling? Did he not struggle to be fit for the Europa Cup final? Mikel’s history of boycotting games played on undulating pitches around Africa is legendary. When he didn’t play Chlesea’s clos-

ing stages games, I knew he would opt out of the game. I knew that he would not play the World Cup qualifiers because he wants to participate at the Confederations Cup, where he hopes to battle midfield supremacy with the bigger boys of the game. The story of Kalu Uche’s injury is weird. He even wrote to say that he was injured. Not one report revealed that he was. Is this his payback for Keshi for missing the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations held in South Africa? Kalu Uche is Nigeria’s highest goal scorer in Europe this past season. His injury would have been the biggest news. Anyway, let us see how Keshi fixes this “injury” puzzle. However, I’m worried about the silence from the NFF. Ordinarily, these unexpected withdrawals ought to elicit comments from it. Unfortunately, the NFF has cast an indulgent eye on the matter. Times past, it would have directed the players to report to Germany for the Eagles doctors to ascertain the veracity of their claims. NFF doesn’t want to interfere in this claypot-and-rat setting. It is leaving the matter for the coach to handle. I hope this doesn’t signal Nigeria’s ouster from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. My fears are not unfounded because the boys could miss the stiffer of our two World

•Continued on Page 63

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