THE NATION THURSDAY 2, MAY 2013

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

Buhari: I’m ready to step down

Privatisation proceeds for PHCN workers NEWS

NEWS

Page 11

Page 4

•APC ‘greater than ambition’

•Govt needs $3.5b to upgrade transmission www.thenationonlineng.net

VOL. 8, NO. 2473 THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

N150.00

•ALL FOR LABOUR: Groups of workers’ unions at the Labour Day celebration at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos...yesterday

PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

Jonathan, workers clash over anti-corruption fight Workers to President: fight graft Jonathan: tell your members to stop stealing

L

ABOUR made a demand yesterday: the President should fight corruption harder.

But Dr. Goodluck Jonathan told workers to advise their colleagues to stop stealing.

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President Comrade Abdulwahed Omar said: “Corruption remains the

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We find the pardon granted to a former governor... as unfortunate and a major dent on the government’s commitments to fighting corruption

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

most serious factor undermining the realisation of our economic potential. Government must not only make commit-

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ments to fighting it, government must demonstrate this commitment by its actions, by its style and by its body language.

Baga: Rights group alleges ‘cover up’

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ATELLITE images, showing massive destruction in Baga, a border community about 180 kilometres north of Maiduguri, Borno State yesterday stirred a fresh controversy over the actual number of deaths in the clash between the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) and Boko Haram insurgents.

A statement released yesterday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the images recorded before and after the Baga battle contradicted the preliminary reports submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday by the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) and the National Emergency Management Agency

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

(NEMA) .

In the reports, the DHQ claimed that only 37 persons (a soldier and 36 Boko Haram members) died in the gunfight between the MJTF troops and insurgents in the fishing community on April 16.

Villagers claimed that more than 185 residents – mostly women and children - were killed in the crossfire. They also alleged that about 3000 houses were destroyed.

But in a statement, HRW’s African Director Daniel Bekele suspected that the Continued on page 59

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Even at the core of this perpetration are...members of labour unions. Greater attention to peer review action on the part of labour will be much appreciated

“In this regard, we find the pardon granted to a former governor who was convicted of corruptly enriching himself as unfortunate and a major

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dent on the government’s commitments to fighting corruption. To reclaim lost ground, government needs to reassure Nigerians that it is

still committed to fighting corruption by conclusively dealing with pending cases of corruption.”

According to Omar, the Federal Government has not successfully prosecuted those that were accused of embezzling public fund since 10 years ago.

Continued on page 4

•Resident Adamu Ciroma shows his wife International passport burnt during the clash between Islamist insurgents and soldiers in Baga, Borno State… yesterday PHOTO: AFP

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

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NEWS INTERNATIONAL LABOUR DAY

Workers g •President Goodluck Jonathan (second right), Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu (left), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar and Trade Union Congress (TUC) President, Comrade Peter Esele (right), at the Centenary May Day Celebration in Abuja ... yesterday

•From left: Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, Deputy Governor Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, House of Assembly Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji and Commissioner for Establishment, Training and Pension, Mrs Florence Oguntuase, at the centenary May Day Celebration in Lagos ... yesterday PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES

Yesterday, workers marked the International Labour Day, complaining about one problem or the other. Nigerian workers have been adjudged as the poorest remunerated among the top 10 global oil producers and members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

But, there are many who are qualified but have no jobs.

They are also grumbling. Experts believe the country must sort them out fast, writes LEKE SALAUDEEN

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• Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi (right) greeting labour leaders at the 2013 May Day Celebration at the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba, Ibadan...yesterday.

PHOTO: FEMI ILESANMI

•Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke (middle) presenting a Pick up van keys to the Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress ( NLC), Comrade Nyambi Ojom to mark the 2013 May Day in Calabar ... yesterday. With them is the Deputy Governor, Mr. Efiok Cobham.

T is a typical tale of different strokes for different folks. Miss Tochi Nwofor, a public servant and Mr Emeka Okoronkwo, also a public servant, believe that the Nigerian worker’s cost of living is very poor.

Nwofor said: “An average Nigerian worker is always in need because he or she can hardly cope with the high costs of living in the country.”

Okoronkwo said the so-called minimum wage is insignificant to improve the lives of workers in these harsh economic times.

The duo are confirming that Nigerian workers are the poorest remunerated among the top 10 global oil producers and members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Okoronkwo called on the government to enhance the workers’ salary to reflect the high cost of living in the society, particularly the soaring prices of goods in the market and the high cost of transportation and accommodation.

Unlike the duo, Jude Okafor, Paul Ekundayo and millions of others do not even have jobs. So, they cannot complain of poor remuneration.

Okafor graduated from the University of Ibadan over six years ago.

He read Engineering and was full of hope. But his hope has seemingly been dashed. Okafor says he is frustrated. He is one of the thousands of army of job graduates roaming the streets.

Okafor said: “I am already 35. My mates have settled down raising their own family. I’m still squatting with a relation in Lagos. Most employers give conditions like obtaining second class upper, not above 25 years and some years of experience.

“I was a victim of fraudsters last year when there was recruitment in one of the Federal Government agencies. A friend introduced me to a man who he described as a senior officer in the department. The man promised to get me employed, if I can afford to part with N250,000. I went to my parents in the village to

NECA chief: u The Director-General of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, Mr Olusegun Oshinowo, spoke with LEKE SALAUDEEN on how to tackle unemployment.

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HE World Bank recently published that unemployment in Nigeria presently stands at 56 per cent. What are the implications of this on the economy?

The 56 per cent statistic of unemployed youth is disturbing. To me, it’s even more than 56 per cent. It is between 60 and 65 per cent. Unemployment is the biggest, most worrying socio-economic incidence for this country today. If you monitor events in European countries that have run

raise the money. Eventually, I succeeded in paying the money. Two weeks after the interview, the man called me and demanded another N200,000 to get my letter of offer released. When I told my uncle about the development, he encouraged me to follow it up. He assisted me with N100,000. I went straight to the man and pleaded with him to accept the N100,000 which I could afford at that moment and promised to pay the balance when I start work. Unknown to me, that the man was a tout, the list of those employed was released a week after interview. When I went back to confront him with the hope of reclaiming my money, the man was said to have travelled. The funny thing is that I was not the only person he duped. I met other victims in his house lamenting like me.”

Ekundayo, who is a graduate of Business Administration, left school eight years ago.

He narrates his ordeal searching for job: “I left school since 2005, till today there is nothing to do. I don’t have sufficient capital to go into productive business. After many years of frustration, I wrote my uncle in the United

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

3

NEWS INTERNATIONAL LABOUR DAY

groan, the unemployed cry •A cross section of Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation workers, at the May Day Celebration in Gombe ... yesterday PHOTO: NAN

: unemployment is Nigeria’s biggest problem into economic crisis, the rate of unemployment there is between 25 and 27 per cent. We are in dire strait. It has diverse implications. Security wise, large unemployed youth is a threat to security of the few that are employed.

Any transformation agenda that does not have job creation at the centre of its programme will not take us anywhere.

Perhaps worried by the unemployment scourge in the country, the Jonathan administration came up with youth entrepreneurship programmes. Do you think the palliative measures are addressing the issue?

Creation of government agencies cannot manufacture jobs. It is the manufacturing sector that provides jobs. There is need for good governance that will put in place sound micro economic framework. Nigeria is the sixth largest oil producing country in the world, yet we still import about 75 per cent of fuel for local consumption.

Some people blame the high rate of unemployment in the country on infrastructure decay and thenear collapse of the manufacturing sector. What’s your view?

It is true. Infrastructure inadequacy didn’t start today. When I first visited Challawa and Bompai industrial estates in Kaduna and Kano respectively, the industries were functioning optimally. But when I went back in 2000, they have turned ghost of their past.

Nigerian entrepreneurs complain about the quality of Nigerian graduates, saying they are not employable because they lack skills.

Do you agree?

Poor quality of education is not the reason for youth unemployment. It may be a contributory factor. The fact that the children of the elite who studied in world class universities abroad returned home and could not find jobs shows that there are more fundamental reasons why Nigeria’s economy cannot provide jobs for

tem that is transparent and whose youths.

What do you think should be validity can be tested. It is through done to boost job opportunities that mechanism that we can know whether governin the country?

We should set up a framework ment is improvin assessing government policies. ing on the emAn independent credible p l o y m e n t organisation that will assess the situation the quality of governance at the Fed- in eral, state and local governments country. should be in place. It will measure W i t h government policies on the basis that the of employment content. For in- electorstance, if government award con- ate will tracts, how many jobs will it cre- k n o w ate? Is government committed to who has its procurement policy? Being the s e r v e d biggest spender, does government them well. patronise made in Nigeria goods?

How far have we gone in achieving local content in the oil and gas sector?

When Obama tells Americans that certain number of jobs have been created in a month, his people believe him because it is verifiable. We need a track sys- •Mr Oshinowo

Kingdom to facilitate joining him over there. Last year, he responded by sending me money to process my travelling document and purchase air ticket.

Within two months, everything was ready. I travelled to London in July last year.

“My uncle prepared safe landing for me in London. Five days after, I started working in a restaurant owned by a Lebanese. Within two months, I rented an apartment where I live on my own.

My joy of living in UK was cut short in December when the immigration officials and police stormed the house looking for some suspects who had lived there before. On that fateful Saturday morning, I had dressed up ready to leave for work when the law enforcement officers came knocking.

When they could not locate the suspects, they turned on the occupants and demanded for our stay permit.

Those of us without relevant documents were hurled into a waiting van and taken to deportation camp. They didn’t allow us to take a pin out of our belongings. We were deported on December 24,2012.

“Since I returned, it has been tough.

I am ashamed of going to my friends

for assistance. At 32, should I remain a burden on my parents? See how mismanagement of the economy in the country has made me a failure”.

Theodore Odefa’s case is pathetic.

He was involved in a motor accident on his way to Abuja to attend a job interview. Few kilometres to Abuja, the front tyre of the bus he was travelling in burst and the vehicle somersaulted into a ditch. The bus and the passengers were taken out of the ditch the following day with the help of Julius Berger’s equipment. Many passengers were brought out dead.

Though Theodore is alive but he lost his right hand.

“I set out from Lagos to attend an interview for a bank job with the hope of returning three days later.

In fact, I was unconscious of what happened until we were pulled out of the ditch. When I managed to stand on my feet, I tried to raise my hands but could not lift the right one.

I was not feeling anything in the hand. The doctors said the hand has to be amputated. With this condition, which employer would offer me a job? My fiancé had deserted me. I read Banking and Finance and

graduated in 2009.”

Statistics from the Ministry of Labour and Productivity indicates that more than 41 per cent of the country’s graduates are without employment after the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) engagement.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said over 50 per cent of youths are jobless. The World Bank puts the figure at 56 per cent. Considering the country’s estimated population of about 160 million and 60 million jobless, these are grim figures portending danger to economic growth and development of a nation with the largest concentration of black people on earth.

Experts have warned that the 56 per cent unemployment rate is too high for comfort, alluding to the fact that the Arab Spring was triggered by a 25 per cent unemployment rate.

An economist at The Bell University, Ota, Ogun State, Ms Oluwatosin Oyetayo, blamed the high rate of unemployment on government policies,

infrastructural decay and the neglect of the manufacturing sector.

The university teacher told The Nation that the economy is not viable in terms of job creation.

He said: “Our production has reduced to almost zero level as a result of erratic power supply. The implication is job loss and Nigeria turning into a dumping ground of finished goods from foreign countries. The economic implication is that we are unable to manage our balance of payment while the social implication is that our youths are engaged in criminal activities.

“Over the years, hundreds of factories that provide employment to multitudes of graduates and artisans have collapsed. For instance, over 150 textile industries have closed shops across the country. This is because energy supply which serves as the main engine of production has been comatose, thus forcing the surviving industries to depend on power generation which pushes up the cost of production.

“Unless government addresses the issue of infrastructure decay and policy inconsistencies, we shall con-

tinue to experience this kind of problem. Business enterprises with lofty ideas hardly survive in this country because the environment is not conducive. They have to source for their own power supply, water and maintenance of roads leading to the factory, Still they have to contend with multiple taxes imposed

by Federal, state and local governments”.

The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Peter Esele, said the relocation of companies to Ghana was a sad situation that would forever impinge on the nation’s development.

He said: “Indeed, it was a confirmation that the nation’s domestic economy was sinking. With the weakening economy, more sectors were being affected by the recession and the unemployment profile kept rising. The current situation should therefore be a litmus test for the Federal Government. The government needs to evolve an economic agenda that would boost the investment climate and job creation in the country.”

A human capital development expert, Mr Williams Ibiyinka, said university graduates must acquire skills. He said there is a clear difference between acquiring university education and acquiring skills.

He said: “The education system comprising primary, secondary and tertiary is not providing patriotic, productive, self actualising, creative thinking individuals, while at the same time, the various regulatory agencies have failed to set standards and to ensure compliance at all times.”

He added: “The enormity of the unemployment challenge which has become a colossal one- a socioeconomic affliction of great proportions can be illustrated most vividly when out of the 13,000 applications received by the Dangote Group of Companies for Graduate Executive Truck Drivers, there were six Ph.D, 704 Masters and over 8,460 Bachelor Degree holders. Most astonishing was the fact that the company needed 100 drivers but got 13,000 applications, most of them from reputable universities.”

The Vice-Chancellor, Ondo State University of Science and Technology, Prof. Tolu Odugbemi, said the institution lays emphasis on entrepreneurial training and skill development for the students. This, he said, would help them not to join the army of unemployed.

Odugbemi said: “The entrepreneurship is a fundamental part of our human dignity and it goes beyond passing a course but using what one has learnt and apply the knowledge in what one is primarily engaged in to create value and wealth.”

Secretary to the Edo State Government (SSG), Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, said youths need a higher level of skills, especially in this age of internet. He said: “Rancid educational and economic policies that pay cursory attention to unemployment, coupled with unyielding and formidable peer pressure, are combined attractions for crime for the present day youth.

“Against this background, there is urgent need for massive employment in order to check youth restiveness. A nation not interested in developing the youth (as is the case of Nigeria) will only be stranded in the earliest forms of pre-industrial and primitive stages of existence.”

The SSG said the government must ignite the youth to engage in the kind of revolution that will not put them at the vagaries of market forces.

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THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

NEWS

•The eight Labour Unions in the State displaying banner supporting Governor Aregbesola’s second term in office, during the May Day celebration in Osogbo, the State of Osun…yesterday

Seven suspected Boko Haram members arrested in Kano

2015: I’m ready to step down, says Buhari

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HE presidential ambition of former military Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is not a door-die affair.

The national leader and 2011 presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) yesterday said he was ready to drop his ambition for the survival of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said such a decision would be taken if a better and formidable candidate emerged as the party’s standard bearer for 2015.

Speaking with reporters in Minna, the Niger State capital, at the maiden edition of Sam Nda-Isaiah Annual Lecture Series, the former military leader, who recently declared his intention to take another shot at the presidency in 2015, said he was ready to drop his ambition for APC. Gen. Buhari, a frontline promoter of the APC, said: “I will be ready to step down if there is a formidable and better can-

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

didate. It is not about me but for the survival of the party.

APC is about ensuring internal democracy; whoever emerges is the person I will support. Yes I will be ready to step down.”

Former Kano State Governor Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, also a former presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and a leader of APC said the flag bearer of the APC would emerge through a democratic process.

Shekarau, who was also at the lecture, said democratic principles would be applied in picking a candidate from the array of formidable presidential materials in APC. He said: “It is too early to talk about or to have a presidential candidate. In APC, we will have internal democracy that will guide the party. Let us have the party on ground first, congresses will be held at various levels that will produce our candidates. At that

point anybody can contest and the party will support the best candidate that emerges.”

Shekarau said that as soon as all the merging parties are through with their national conventions, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will be requested to register the APC. Assuring that a government under the APC will bring a holistic and radical change into governance, the APC chieftain said: “We are not talking of just dismantling the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party); we want change.

“We are not just talking about change in democracy but change in attitude; change in approach; change in character; change in conducting the business of government.

That is why our slogan is change. We are determined to change Nigeria for better.”

In his speech entitled: “The role of youth in sustaining democratic values in Nigeria”, Gen. Buhari said the media should be courageous

S •Gen. Buhari

and not shy away in keeping leaders and political office holders not only on their toes but in check.

He also called on leaders and those in position of authority to ensure a viable environment for people to thrive.

“The moment there is nobody in the country to make our leaders to create a viable environment, then the nation is in trouble,” Gen. Buhari warned.

No plan to impeach Amaechi, says PDP’s factional chair

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HERE is no plan to impeach Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, the chairman of the local chapter chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Felix Obuah, said yesterday at a news conference.

The party chair encouraged the governor to carry on with his work and use the state’s resources to develop all the 23 local government areas.

The Obuah-led State Exec-

From Bisi Olaniyi, Port Harcourt

utive Committee was said to have been rattled by the leakage of the alleged impeachment plot and the smuggling of a fake mace into Port Harcourt the state capital.

The fake mace was to allow the five anti-Amaechi lawmakers in the House of Assembly reconvene and remove the governor.

The leakage was said to

have forced members of the Obuah-led faction to restrategise and put on hold the impeachment plot.

Yesterday’s conference was believed to have been called

by Obuah to announce the suspension of the governor from the party, following the expiration of the 48-hour ultimatum issued to Amaechi to disclose the real owner of the Bombardier BD 700 Global Express aircraft gounded

by aviation authorities.

When asked what action would be taken against Amaechi, with the expiration of the ultimatum, Obuah said the State Working Committee (SWC) of the party would decide.

Obuah, a former chairman of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, received members of the PDP forum from the council at the

EVEN suspected Boko Haram insurgents were yesterday arrested by the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Kano.

The troops also destroyed two bomb-making factories in Farawa and Sheka quarters, where dangerous weapons were intercepted, in the state capital.

JTF spokesman, captain Ikedichi Iweha, who confirmed the incidents, said no life was lost in the operations.

Captain Iweha listed the items recovered from the hideouts as AK 47 rifles, 46 Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) of different makes and other bomb making materials.

A building suspected to be a bomb factory in which weapons were found was demolished. Four women, believed to be the wives of some of the suspects, were rescued.

A number of communication gadgets, including 32 Motorola communicator handsets, 52 phone batteries,

From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

wires for priming suicide vehicles and laptops, were reportedly seized by the JTF operatives.

Commenting on the dawn raids, Captain Iweha said two bomb factories were demolished after the explosives found in them had been evacuated.

He said the raids were part of JTF’s routine assignment to free Kano from the grip of terrorists.

According to him, the troops would continue to intensify their raids as part of measures to track down suspected Boko Haram members who have been terrorising innocent citizens.

Security was strengthened in Kano following the attacks in Baga, Borno State and Ringim, the home town of former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mr. Hafiz Ringim, in Jigawa State.

Lives were lost in the attacks.

CORRECTIONS •The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) said 36 and not l85 persons died as reported in our second paragraph story on our front page of yesterday.

•The surname of former Lagos State Commissioner for Finance Mr. Olawale Edun was wrongly spelt as Edu on page 63 of Tuesday edition.

•The first paragraph of a story on page 10 of Monday, should have read President Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated Globacom chairman, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr. on his 60th birthday.

The errors are regretted – Editor

Continued on page 59

Jonathan, workers clash over anti-corruption fight Continued from page 1

Responding, Jonathan condemned junior and senior civil servants, whom he described as the perpetrators of corrupt practices.

He recommended civil servants for peer review.

President Jonathan and Omar spoke at the Centenary May Day 2013 celebration, which the President chaired.

The President General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Peter Esele, condemned the light sentence given John Yusuf, who pleaded guilty to stealing about N2.3bn pension fund, even as he called on the National Assembly to immediately review the laws under which he was tried.

He said: “We are particularly miffed at the ridiculously ‘friendly’ sentence that was awarded by an Abuja High Court against John Yusuf, the confessed pension thief, some weeks ago. We reiterate our earlier stand that the said sentence be appealed against by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

We also prescribe that the provisions of the laws under which he was charged and sentenced be reviewed by the National Assembly with a view to stipulating sufficiently commensurate punishment for the offences therein. John Yusufu and his likes should not be allowed to loot our collective commonwealth and go scot free.”

In a somehow tacit reference

to the Yusufu case, Jonathan admonished the labour unions to snatch their members in the collective fight against corruption.

He said: “Labour has been in the forefront of the demand for good governance and the increase action against corruption and these issues are been vigorously tackled on various fronts. Prosecution is being pursed in matters arising from the fuel subsidy fraud, embezzlement of pension funds and other serious long standing malpractices being demystified by this administration. Even at the core of this perpetration are the senior and junior members of labour unions. Greater attention to peer review action on the part of labour will be

much appreciated.”

He described the 2013 May Day celebration as unique in that it coincided with the country’s centenary celebration. He, however, vowed that the Federal Government would leave no stone unturned toward the practical enhancement of the welfare of all workers both in the private and public sectors and the facilitation of better understanding with employers and the government.

On the government’s efforts to ensure a good life for the citizenry, Jonathan added: “Since the advent of this administration, our actions and policies have been geared towards putting the country on the path of sustainable progress where everyone can

better achieve his or her dream. That is the thrust of our transformation agenda.

“The transformation agenda is about setting and implementing measures today in order to give our people a brighter tomorrow. It is about creating jobs, creating wealth and ensuring a better deal for Nigerians. This is an onerous task that requires the support of all citizens of this country. Central to this transformation is the creation of politically stable environment in which economic development activities will flourish. To this end, we are strengthening our institutions and confronting the challenges facing our country with great determination and faith.”

•Dr. Jonathan

ADVERT HOTLINES: 08023006969, 08052592524 NEWSROOM: LAGOS – 01-8962807, ABUJA – 07028105302 COMPLAINTS: 01-8930678

MAY DAY CELEBRATION THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

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NEWS MAY DAY CELEBRATION

•L-R: Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Commissioner for Labour, Mr. Oluwole Ariyo; Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Ganiyu Owolabi and Head of Service, Mr. Olubunmi Famosaya, at the celebration at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, Ado-Ekiti...yesterday.

•Bauchi State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Sagir Saleh (second left); Labour Congress Chair Comrade Itashimu Gital (left); Trade Union Congress Chair, Comrade Mohammed Usman and Head of Service Mr. Abdon Gin... yesterday.

•National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Products Workers Union marching in Kaduna... yesterday.

•Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) marching in Dutse, Jigawa State... yesterday.

•Members of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations in Gombe...yesterday

•From left: Enugu State Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr. Dan Anike; his counterparts on Gender, Mrs Ndidi Chukwu and Labour, Mrs. Vivian Eze, at the celebration in Enugu... yesterday.

•Medical and Health workers Union of Nigeria marching in Abeokuta, Ogun State

•A cultural troupe performing in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State

Caverton Helicopters denies links with controversial aircraft, says NCAA

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IVE days after Caverton Helicopters was linked to the grounded Rivers State’s Bombardier BD 700 Global Express marked N565RS, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) yesterday claimed that the company was not involved in the aircraft’s management.

According to the NCAA, Caverton Helicopters has denied having dealing with the Rivers State government over the management and operation of the aircraft.

The aircraft’s operations became controversial after its pilot allegedly failed to submit a comprehensive manifest of passengers at the Akure Airport last Saturday.

But the state’s Information Commissioner, Mrs Ibim Semenitari, said it was not true that the pilot did not file the manifest.

The fresh controversy was triggered by a claim by the Rivers State government that Caverton Helicopters has been managing the aircraft for it.

But, in a letter the NCAA wrote to the Minister of Aviation on April 29 and signed by its acting Director-General, Joyce Nkemakolam, the regulatory body said: “However, Caverton

By Kelvin Osa Okunbor

Helicopters was invited for a meeting today, the 29th of April, 2013; they denied having any dealings with this aircraft in question.”

The letter to the minister also showed that after the Akure incident, the NCAA was prompted to investigate the aircraft’s background and discovered that it had been flying into and out of the Nigerian airspace on ad-hoc basis, which means that it never had valid documents for full operation in Nigeria.

The memo reads: “After the media reports of what happened in Akure airport, we undertook a due diligence of the status of the aircraft and to our amazement found that the aircraft has been operating into and out of Nigeria on ad hoc basis since January 2013.”

Also yesterday, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) dispelled speculations that the controversial aircraft was delayed in Akure on April 26 for political reasons.

The agency said: “We maintain that the aircraft’s pilot erred by not filing mandatory documents - that is the manifest as at

when due at an airport that was not certified for night flight operations.

“Whenever an aircraft stays beyond 6.00pm, authorisation must be gotten from the appropriate authorities before such aircraft is cleared for take-off, hence the slight delay in the departure of the aircraft.”

FAAN said in a statement signed by the General Manager, Corporate Communications, Yakubu Dati, that the aircraft in question belonged to and was registered in the name of Bank of Utah Trustees (BUT), Salt Lake City, United State (USA) and only had permission to fly into Nigeria on March 27, and depart on April, 2.

The statement reads: “As at Friday, the parent company (BUT) had not regularised its status to continue to fly in the Nigerian airspace. Neither has it been given a flight operation clearance certificate. The aviation industry abides by strict regulations and does not waive such, no matter whose ox is gored.

“We believe the entire scenario has been concocted to enmesh a safety and procedural issue into a political matter.

THE NATION THURSDAY MAY 2, 2013

6

NEWS MAY DAY CELEBRATION ‘Stop casualisation of workers’

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HE Kaduna State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday asked the government to stop the casualisation of workers in some of its agencies.

NLC Chairman Adamu Ango said it was unfortunate that at a time when casualisation was being phased out globally, some government workers were still being regarded as casual workers.

From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

He called on the government to pay the arrears of the N18,000 minimum wage, adding that local government employees were yet to be paid.

Governor Mukthar Ramalan Yero assured workers that his administration places emphasis on the welfare of its workers, adding that this is evident in the prompt payment of salaries and allowances of civil servants.

Ekiti workers shun parade

W

ORKERS in Ekiti State yesterday marked the Workers Day without the traditional march-past. This was in honour of the late Deputy Governor, Mrs. Funmilayo Olayinka, who was buried last weekend.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) predicted a second term victory for Governor Kayode Fayemi in next year’s election.

The TUC Chairman, Kolawole Olaiya, made the declaration in his address to workers at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium, venue of the celebration.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Chairman, Ayodeji Aluko, praised the job creation scheme of the Fayemi administration.

Aluko thanked the governor for approving the promotion and advancement of eligible officers recently carried out in the civil service.

Identifying insecurity and corruption as the two biggest challenges facing the nation, Fayemi urged workers to partner the government to stamp out the menace.

The governor said the struggle to liberate Nigeria from the scourge of corruption is a struggle for all, irrespective of sex, age, status and political inclination.

Anambra workers cause stir •Wear black at march-past From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

E

MOTIONS were high yesterday at the Dr Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka, Anambra State, when over 100 workers of Anambra origin, sacked by the Abia State Government, participated in the march-past.

The sacked workers wore black to mourn the government’s inhumanity.

Also, over 160 sacked workers of the State Broadcasting Service (ABS) were also at the Square.

The Nation gathered yesterday that Governor Peter Obi has ordered the Commissioner of Information and Culture, Joe Matins Uzodika, to liaise with the Head of Service for their recall.

However, when the sacked Abia workers took their turn, under the aegis of “Anambra indigenes, sacked by Abia State government,” they knelt in front of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Oseloka Obaze, and wept. They implored the government to help them.

One of them, Mary, said they took part in the march-past to remind the government that they were still suffering.

Governor Peter Obi, Deputy Governor Emeka Sibeudu and the commissioners did not attend the celebration.

But Obi, who was represented by Obaze, assured the workers that his administration is committed to the welfare of workers.

Imoke donates vehicles

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ROSS River State Governor Liyel Imoke has warned civil servants to abide by the rules and regulations of the Service.

Speaking yesterday during the 2013 Workers Day celebration at the U.J Esuene Stadium, Imoke advised workers to be proactive and bolster the state’s growing economy.

His words: “Bad eggs in the Cross River State civil service will be taken out.

“Every civil and public servant has to sit up, if he or she does not want to be shown the way out.

“Workers should be more disciplined in the course of their duties as government is also doing everything possible to make lives more meaningful.”

The governor donated a Hilux van and a bus to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC).

From Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

He ordered the building of NLC secretariat in the state.

Imoke promised that his government would meet the demands of workers.

NLC Chairman Njom Nyambi said there was need for government to regularise payment of pension.

He also called for the implementation of the 27.5 per cent Teacher’s Specific Allowance (TSA).

But the governor said government does not only support the labour in form of policies and programmes, but also provide tangible support in terms of concessions and subsidy schemes, which improve the welfare of the public sector.

Imoke assured that labour will continue to enjoy more support from the state government as it intends to recognize labour leaders in all aspects of policy formulation and implementation.

•Nasarawa State Governor Tanko AlMakura addressing workers during the centenary may day celebration in Lafia …yesterday.

PHOTO:NAN

Resolve disputes amicably, say Mark, Fashola S

ENATE President David Mark yesterday urged workers to de-emphasise strikes in their engagements with government.

He said industrial actions were always counter- productive.

Mark enjoined workers to collaborate with the government for an accelerated national development.

The Senate President advised workers to make production the cornerstone of their engagement to boost the economy and bring prosperity to the nation.

Also, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) cautioned labour unions against using strikes in resolving industrial disputes, saying it impacts

By Miriam Ekene-Okoro and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

negatively on development.

He suggested that labour unions should explore dialogue and other amicable ways of resolving disputes with their employers and consider strike only when other options fail.

Fashola spoke at the May Day Rally held at Onikan Stadium with the theme: “100 years of Nationhood: Challenges of National Development”.

The governor inspected march-past from various labour unions and addressed thousands of workers, who defied the early morning

shower to be part of the rally.

He said the practice of unions to call for strike at the slightest disagreement on issues of wages and welfare should only be seen as a last resort.

“Strikes should only be a weapon of last resort for employees.

“It is perhaps the vehicle that is used only when other options have failed not when the management of a union is angry with an employer.

“If you read the Nigerian Labour Law and follow the process in the law, you will realise it is not even easy to go on strike.

“I don`t know for example, how many people who participate in strikes know that if you participate in an illegal strike, you can be liable for conviction for a criminal offence.

“In essence, strikes don’t do anybody any good, it decreases productivity and affect progress and development of any society.”

The governor said the state had lost so much to strikes in the past, pointing out that last year’s doctors‘ strike resulted in 16 deaths, while the recent teachers‘ strike affected the education sector.

He said while compromise can be reached on issues of wage increase and improved welfare, the lives lost within the period of such actions are gone forever.

Rivers Assembly not sealed off

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HE rumour that made the rounds during the May Day celebration yesterday in Port Harcourt that the Rivers State House of Assembly has been sealed off allegedly by the Felix Obuah-led group has been discovered to be a ruse.

Our reporter visited the Assembly complex yesterday and saw that the gate was not sealed off.

Being a public holiday, only one side of the gate was closed with the usual routine security checks of visitors.

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From Clarice Azuatalam, Port Harcourt

Addressing workers at the Isaac Boro Park, Governor Rotimi Amaechi called on the people to reflect on the status of Nigeria as a nation, in view of the security challenges, political tension, unemployment, embezzlement among other problems plaguing the country.

Amaechi, who was represented by Deputy Governor Tele Ikuru, congratulated the workers for being the engine

room of the nation’s government and the economy.

He reminded members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) that his administration has kept faith with promises it made on inception of office.

It was gathered that the governor could not attend the rally because he travelled abroad with the Vice President, Namadi Sambo.

The NLC Chairman, Chris Oruge, in a paper entitled: “100 years of Nationhood Development”, demanded

an improved welfare package for workers.

Oruge also demanded adequate training, exposure and promotion, prompt payment of salaries, allowances and emoluments, prompt payment of pensions and other retirement benefits.

Labour also demanded the rebuilding of state secretariat for the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) which the state government pulled down since 2011 with a promise to rebuild it.

DPP suspends senator, three others

HE Democratic People Party (DPP) in Delta State has suspended Senator Pius Ewherido and three others for “gross misconduct and anti-party activities”.

Ewherido represents Delta Central Senatorial District.

DPP State Chairman Tony Ezeagwu yesterday at a briefing announced the suspension of Acting Deputy National Chair, Emeka Akamukali, Henry Olori and Cyril Ogodo.

He accused Akamukali and three others of organising a “kangaroo convention” in

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

Abuja, stressing that the convention was a mutiny spearheaded by Deltans.

He said the DPP, at a meeting, took a resolution to join the newly formed All Progressives Congress (APC) but stressed that the opposition APC did not respond to their enquires.

This, Ezeagwu said, prompted the DPP to send Ewherido and Akamukali to find out the position of their enquiry.

According to Ezeagwu, “It

is mutiny by Deltans against the DPP because of the personal ambitions of a few persons who want an alliance with the APC. “In the true sense of it, DPP National took a resolution to join APC, it wrote a letter to APC ‘s steering committee .

“This letter was not responded to and the DPP asked Akamukali and Ewherido to find out what is happening ,but they went there and join the newly formed APC.” He claimed that the Independent National Electoral

Commission ( INEC) did not attend the convention, pointing out that the electoral body cautioned group against organising the convention because it lacked “locus standi”.

Ezeagwu said the State DPP have recommended their expulsion from the party.

He debunked reports that the senator defected to the APC along with opposition members in the House of Assembly.

“The DPP has passed a vote of confidence on the lawmakers.”

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THE NATION THURSDAY MAY 2, 2013

NEWS MAY DAY CELEBRATION

Imo re-absorbs sacked indigenes

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ESPITE came yesterday for civil servants of Imo State origin who were sacked by the Abia State Government two years ago.

Governor Rochas Okorocha yesterday announced that the workers should be reabsorbed into ministries of their choice.

Speaking during the Workers’ Day celebration at the Hero’s Square in Owerri, Okorocha said the workers would be re-employed as casual workers and are entitled to monthly stipends, until modalities for their full employment are concluded.

“All civil servants from Imo State who were sacked by the Abia State Government can now resume with immediate effect in all the ministries; the teachers should go back to the schools.

“But they will be engaged as casual workers and they will receive monthly stipend

1,072 casual workers in Delta engaged

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ELTA State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has approved the appointment of 1,072 casual workers into the workforce.

Uduaghan announced this yesterday at the May Day celebrations in Asaba -the state capital.

The governor, who was represented by Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Ovouzourie Macauley, said the approval is in fulfilment of an earlier promise.

He said casualisation of staff has never been a policy of his administration.

Uduaghan advised persons not properly engaged by the Civil Service Commission to

From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

of N20,000, until vacancies are created for their full employment.

“Most of them were between Level 15 and 16 and paying them will take a huge toll on the state re-

From Okungbowa Aiwerie, Asaba

stop work.

The governor said he had directed the Head of Service to issue an appropriate circular on the issue.

He said the government would not entertain any further representation on behalf of casual workers.

Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC)Chairman Williams Akporeha praised the government’s plans to revive the Delta Glass Factory, Ughelli, and urged that a similar initiative be extended to Delta Steel Company, Ovwian –Aladja and the Asaba Textile Mills.

sources.”

The governor said all the sacked workers would be re-absorbed gradually.

“When I was elected, I said Imo State is very rich and I am not going back on my word, the masses, the workers who fought for my

emergence are today reaping the gains of democracy.”

The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Reginald Amadi, presented an Award of Excellence to the Governor.

He pleaded with Okorocha to pay salaries and arrears owed some workers.

Aregbesola calls for cooperation From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

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SUN State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has appealed to workers to cooperate with his administration to make their present and future better.

Addressing the workers at this year’s May Day celebration at the football field of the Technical College, Osogbo yesterday, Aregbesola urged the workers not to allow themselves to be misled by “charlatans.”

He assured them of his concern for their welfare at all time, saying they are assets to his administration.

The governor said the programmes and policies of his government are geared towards raising the quality of lives of citizens.

The governor pleaded with workers to be part of the new vision aimed at turning around the fortune of the state.

NLC Chairman Jelili Adesiyan said the labour leadership is calling on the Federal Government to address unemployment, insecurity and corruption.

NUJ urges govt on employment From Damisi Ojo, Akure

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HE Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), B-Zone, has called on governments at all levels to create jobs for unemployed youths.

In a statement marking Workers’ Day and signed by its Vice President, Dele Atunbi, the NUJ said job creation, which is part of the socio-economic responsibility of government, would curb crimes in the country.

The NUJ urged the Federal Government to tackle the challenges in the power sector and address the decayed infrastructural facilities in the country.

The union advised workers to be dedicated, noting that as the engine room of government they should assist in driving people-oriented programmes for the good of the people.

Houses for Oyo civil servants From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

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YO State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has appealed to workers to cooperate with his administration for the progress of the state.

Ajimobi spoke yesterday at the May Day Celebration, held at Adamasingba Stadium, Ibadan, the state capital.

He said:” This is a day to appreciate the immense contributions of our workers’ tireless effort to make the state prosperous.

“It takes courage for a governor to stand and address workers because we know we cannot please all of you. Workers in Oyo State mean well and they are the ones driving the economy of this state.”

The governor said in the next few months, the government would build low-cost housing estates for workers .

He said the ban on graduate teachers’ promotion to Level 14 has been removed.

“Teachers, particularly the graduates among them, had their promotion pegged at Grade Level 14. But, effective from today, May 1, we have removed the stagnation bar and they can now move above Level 14 by writing promotion examinations.

“In the next few weeks, we will commission a shopping complex with modern facilities to accommodate 3,200 traders, out of which displaced traders will be the first beneficiaries. Soft loans with free interest rate will be given to artisans and traders.”

•Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and government officials cutting the anniversary cake during the Centenary May Day celebration in Asaba, Delta State …yesterday.

PHOTO:NAN

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•Oshiomhole recalls sacked teachers From Osagie Otabor, Benin

Ademokun said the governor has not improved on the condition of service and welfare of workers.

Ademokun said workers were being dismissed and harassed.

He said the governor was yet to fulfil his promise to recall Edo Line workers and build a ‘Labour House’.

Oshiomhole said palliative measures on the fuel subsidy removal was to benefit everybody in the state.

He said he abolished school fees at senior secondary schools, approved free treatment for pensioners and the elderly above 70 years, provision of free eye-glasses and 50 per cent discount for pupils, who boarded the ‘Comrade Buses’.

The governor spoke tough on non-promotion for civil

servants ,which he blamed on their poor performance.

He said civil servants gave him over-inflated vouchers to sign and recalled an incident where he saved N500million from a contract to be awarded.

He said: “For us to get what you see in the street, I put in 20 hours out of 24.

“I will remove anybody who is a clog in Edo’s wheel of progress. I will take any job which will not keep Edo going.

“I weep when I see people suffering out of the negligence of civil servants.

“For every one person I have offended, there are 10 others who are happy.

“Workers should be interested in the overall security of the state.

“I hate lazy people. I hate loafers. Should we promote

From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

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ENUE State Governor Gabriel Suswam said he would build a new Labour House, which is going to serve as a secretariat for the state council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

The governor also promised to buy new vehicles for labour leaders.

Speaking at this year’s May Day at the IBB Square in Makurdi, the state capital, Suswam said he would use his personal resources to build a befitting secretariat for the NLC as part of his contribution to the growth of labour.

He praised the Organised Labour for the peaceful way and manner it has conducted its affairs and called for greater collaboration between government and labour.

Workers shun rally in Edo AJORITY of workers in Edo State yesterday stayed away from the May Day rally held at the Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City.

The rally was mainly attended by executives of the workers union.

A count by our reporter showed that 30 affiliate unions of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) were in attendance.

Unlike previous May Day celebrations when teachers came in their large numbers, few teachers showed up, apparently in protest of last year’s sack of some of their colleagues by Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

Workers used the occasion to vent their anger on what they termed “many unfulfilled promises of Governor Oshiomhole”.

NLC Chairman Emmanuel

Suswam to build NLC secretariat

Low-key celebration in Kano From Kolade Adeyemi, Kano

W •Oshiomhole

people who are sleeping?

“We are wage earners and not wage takers. I am not a cheap politician, I want to be a leader.

“Those who work, we will promote them, those who do not work will be sacked.”

He announced that over 50 teachers sacked last year be recalled.

ORKERS Day in the ancient city of Kano was celebrated low-key. Most of the activities, such as workers rally and march-past, were skipped .

Instead, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) chose to mark the day by visiting less-privilege homes, hospitals. Prayers were also offered.

Addressing reporters at the NUJ Press Centre, NLC Chairman Isa Yunusa Danguguwa said the occasion was jointly organised by the NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC).

He decried the delay in workers salary, despite government’s directive that salaries shouldbe paid on or before the 25th of every month.

Danguguwa warned that the union would no longer tolerate any act of intimidation or harassment of innocent workers in private companies.

“It is the constitutional right of Nigerian workers to belong to an association or form a union at their respective places of work.”

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

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NEWS Nigerian rice growers seek govt’s help OCAL growers of rice against smugglers and importers of the

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•Anambra State Governor Peter Obi (middle) with Bishop Alex Ibeziem of the Anglican Diocese of Awka and Commissioner for Education, Mrs Uju Okeke, during the inspection of the dilapidated Menakaya Hostel, where the bishop lived as a student of the school.

commodity have cried out for government’s help against smugglers who they allege have overrun the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the nation’s borders.

A new group of local growers and importers of the commodity, under the aegis of Patriotic Rice Association of Nigeria (PRAN), has said the “massive and incessant smuggling of Nigeria has thrown the rice industry into turmoil with severe consequences for government revenues, the economy and future plans for rice self-sufficiency”.

In a statement in Abuja by its Chairman, Alhaji Habibu Maishinkafa, and Secretary, Mr. Martins Okereke, the group noted that given the free reign rice smugglers enjoy, “a bleak future lies ahead for lo-

Group to Jonathan: prosecute killers of Boko Haram leader to end crisis

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has been urged to prosecute killers of the leader of Boko Haram sect, Muhammed Yusuf, to enable its members quickly lay down their arms and end the crisis they have caused the country.

National Commandant Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN) Dickson Akor gave the suggestion when he addressed reporters in Abuja.

Akor noted that bringing to justice the killers of the Boko Haram leader would not only ease the process of amnesty but also make the sect feel assured of government’s plan on the proposed amnesty.

Condemning the activities of the Boko Haram sect, Akor advised the government to fast-track the amnesty process and give Nigerians hope that

From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

the 2015 elections would not be a do-or-die affair.

He urged those against the amnesty for the sect to have a rethink and embrace the process for peace to reign in Nigeria.

Akor said: “The solution to this problem is that those who killed the leader of the Boko Haram sect, Yusuf, should be brought to justice. This should have been the first step before the amnesty to appease the minds of the sect’s members to drop their arms.

“The international convention law makes it clear that anybody that has been arrested and handcuffed shouldn’t be shot because you have already demobilised the person.

This should be done because it can happen to anybody.

“We support the step being taken by the Federal Government to address insecurity in the country. Without peace, there will be no development and once any part of this country is threatened, it affects the nation entirely. The response that greeted the proposed amnesty by government for Boko Haram is something that is not encouraging. We are the first organisation to call for amnesty.

“The sentiment by people that the government should not grant amnesty is not necessary. We cannot continue to watch in a situation whereby Nigerians are being killed on a daily basis. President Jonathan has taken a wise step in listening to northern leaders and traditional leaders. It is a welcome development. We call on all Nigerians, regardless of

our ethnic backgrounds or religious affiliations to support the amnesty programme for peace to reign in the North.

“We are fast approaching the 2015 general elections and nobody should hope that with the security challenges in the North today the election could be guaranteed. We should pray for a successful implementation of the amnesty programme. We urge the Boko Haram sect that government has shown a good gesture towards them and it is left for them to capitalise on this opportunity and drop their arms.

“They should follow the part of the Niger Delta militants and drop their arms. Security agencies should not use violence to cure violence. Any attempt to frustrate the amnesty plan will not do Nigeria any good.”

Constitution Review: Tambuwal urges House committee to avoid bias H OUSE of Representatives Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has urged the Ad Hoc Committee on the review of the Constitution to shun personal bias during the ongoing review of the national document.

Tambuwal spoke yesterday in Abuja when he opened the retreat of the Ad Hoc Committee.

The Speaker said the outcome of the Constitution review should reflect the opinion of Nigerians and nothing else.

He said: “So far, you have all shown remarkable patriot-

From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

ism but I must again emphasise the need for your work to be free of all personal bias.

You must work only on data provided by the nationwide public hearing and your conclusion should reflect the aggregate opinion of fellow Nigerians.

“I’m aware that since we received the report of this committee a few weeks ago, we have been getting reactions

from the public through the dedicated lines and through the office that has been set up for the purpose. All these again prove that Nigerians are fully involved in this review exercise and they will continue to scrutinise our work till the end.

“I cannot over-emphasise the critical nature of this constitutional review or how important it is to the progress of this country. As we celebrate 100 years of existence as a united entity next year, the ability

of this Assembly to provide Nigerians with a constitution that can satisfy their yearnings and aspirations, will no doubt help set the tone for the next hundred years.”

Tambuwal noted that although not everyone’s wish would be satisfied, “we can promise that it will be transparent; it will be fair and it will reflect the true desires of our people”.

He added: “We can also promise that the constitution we will finally present to Nigerians will be better than what we have presently.”

Goldie’s costume for UNILAG Art HE property of the late Department hip-hop star and Big

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Brother Africa’s Housemate, Goldie, was yesterday auctioned at her home at 30B Ologunkutere Street, Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The property of the singer, who died on February 14 after returning from the last Grammy Awards in the United States, was displayed for sale.

The items include her home fittings, a 72-inch Pioneer flat screen television set, a camera, glass cups, chairs, tables, personal effects, some of which had not been worn before the popular singer passed on.

By Mercy Michael

The others are clothes, shoes and jewelry, among other things.

Goldie’s costume, as ordered by her husband, Mr. Andrew Harvey, is to be sent to the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Creative Arts Department.

Also, her husband’s Engineering textbooks are to be sent Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech). Other items for sale but not yet sold include her 500 ML Mercedes Benz.

The proceeds from the auction, according to information

•The late singer’s furniture on display...yesterday.

by the late singer’s family, would be sent to Project Alert, a charity organisation she was associated with.

Mrs. Akinkuotu and Deji Adetayo were on hand to auction the items on behalf of the late singer’s family.

cal rice growers and traders, who are legitimately involved in the rice business”.

Tracing the origin of the problem in the country, the association said: “The Nigerian rice industry seems to have been thrown into turmoil since the import tariffs were increased exponentially in January 2013. Matters have become more complicated with the reported inability of Nigerian Customs Service to control smuggling of rice across the country’s borders with Republic of Benin.”

The association noted that the higher tariff and consequent high market prices have emboldened smugglers to push large volumes of rice into Nigeria with zero duty, thereby unsettling Federal Government’s plan to make the country self-sufficient in rice production by 2015.

PRAN decried a situation in which “large-scale investments made into the farming and milling industries by private businesses are also in jeop-

ardy, following Customs’ inability to protect the industry from the vagaries of smugglers”.

It quoted reports, which said over 400,000 metric tonnes of rice from various origins are estimated to enter the country illegally, dealing a major financial blow to legitimate importers and rice millers”.

The association added: “Needless to add, these illegal imports result in substantial loss of revenue to the government, estimated to be in the range of N27billion by industry observers.

“Nigerian rice consumers are in the process shortchanged with inferior brands being smuggled and then rebagged into quality brands and sold at higher prices.”

PRAN also alleged that several vessels with cargoes totaling over 220,000 metric tonnes from India and Thailand have flooded the ports of Benin and Cameroun for an eventually entry into Nigeria through the borders.

Reps seek sustainable policy on environmental degradation •To hold National Conference on Environment

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HE House of Representatives Committee on Environment will hold a National Conference in Environment to formulate a common agenda for environmental sustainability.

The committee’s Chairman Uche Ekwunife told reporters in Abuja that the conference would bring together public and private sector organisations involved in environmental activities in Nigerian to deliberate and agree on a common agenda for environmental sustainability.

The lawmaker said the House Committee would collaborate with stakeholders in the environment sector to develop a common agenda for environmental sustainability.

Ekwunife explained that the agenda “is to help maintain and promote an effective and coor-

From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

dinated environmental policy to tackle environmental pollution and degradation as well as address other environmental related issues”.

She said the national conference would hold between May 20 and 21, adding that any blueprint for national development that does not factor into the collaboration for managing the environment would fail.

Debunking the notion that environmental issue should be the exclusive preserve of the government, Ekwunife said: “Protecting the environment, however, is the responsibility of all stakeholders, including industry, indigenous groups, environmental groups, the general population and the media.”

FRSC to assist Sierra Leone’s road HE Federal Road Safety safety body Commission (FRSC) is

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assisting the Sierra Leonian Government to establish a road safety body in the West African country after Nigeria’s.

A three-man team from the commission has just returned from the West African country for a capacity review of its road safety administration as a prelude to the establishment of its road safety outfit. It spent eight days in Sierra Leone.

The arrangement, the FRSC said, is in line with the collective drive to promote regional co-operation in Sub-Sahara, which seeks 50 per cent reduction in road accidents.

The FRSC team, led by its Deputy Corps Marshal, Operations, Boboye Oyeyemi, was in Sierra Leone following a request from the government for Nigeria to provide technical assistance for sustainable road safety management in Sierra Leone.

The request was channelled through the Sierra Leone Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Nigerian High Commission in Freetown, the Sierra Leonian capital, to Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja.

It was from there the highlevel meetings were held by the Corps Marshal and Chief

From Bukola Amusan, Abuja

Executive of the FRSC, Osita Chidoka, with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Martin Uhomoibhi, on the modalities for actualising the request.

The Corps Public Education Officer Jonas Agwu spoke on the technical assistance.

He said: “During the eight days’ visit, the FRSC team assessed the current road safety management situation in the country, studied the policy and operational documents of the Sierra Leone Road Transport Authority, which is the agency statutorily entrusted with road safety management. The team also drew up a framework, recommended ways forward and developed a time line of activities, policy formulations/implementations and legislations towards entrenching a workable lead agency in Sierra Leone.”

OUR ERROR

There was an error on the advertisement of University of Calabar published on 23-04-13 on page 50 of The nation newspaper on Tuesday under the caption of (5.0) Construction of the Central water supply system scope of works/non refundable prequalification fee. We wrote non refundable fee of 200,000 instead of 20,000. We regret any inconveniences this might caused you.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

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THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

NEWS

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HE National Coordinator of the Odua People’s Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams, has said the group will curb pipeline vandalism in the Southwest.

Adams spoke yesterday at the Anchor Events Centre in Lagos during a reception to celebrate his 43rd birthday.

He said OPC members are already involved in pipeline monitoring between Sagamu in Ogun State and Ore in Ondo State, adding that vandalism has reduced on that axis.

Adams said: “As a group that has an antecedent in security management, we can secure pipelines in the Southwest. If we are given the opportunity, we will not disappoint Nigerians.

“Some of our lower cadres have been doing it from Mosimi to Sagamu, Ore and even on the Ikorodu axis for nine years and there has not been any incident of vandalism.

It will only get better when the OPC’s National Coordinating Council is involved. I think we will achieve a very good result and stop the vandals. Our members are located everywhere we have pipelines, so we have the advantage of securing them.”

Calling for unity among the Yoruba, he said: “Yoruba should unite. We need unity to achieve development, fight for our interests and bring our people in the Diaspora closer to us because we have a lot of resourceful people abroad. We are proud to say the Yoruba can be like the Arabs, Chinese and the Jews.”

On his birthday celebration, Adams said it has become a yearly ritual for 13 years now.

He said: “We have been celebrating my birthday regularly for 13 years. Even when I was in detention, my people organised it for me in absentia and they brought over 2,500 people to the prison to celebrate with me.”

Dignitaries at the event de-

•From left: Adams carrying his son, Okikiola; his wife, Erelu Mojisola; Oba Olanipekun and others cutting Adam’s 43rd birthday cake...yesterday.

PHOTO: RAHMAN SANUSI

We’ll stop pipeline vandals in the Southwest, says Gani Adams

By Seun Akioye

scribed Adams as a courageous and principled fighter.

The National President of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Yerima Shetima, said: “I see him more as a nationalist.

We grew up together in the struggle about 13 years ago when there was a serious gap between the North and the

South, and we worked together to bridge that gap. As a result, you can see the number of people from different religions that are here today to celebrate him. He is not a sectional person. He stood by me when I was arrested; he is a great man and leader.”

Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who was repre-

sented by the Director, Bureau of Communications, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, said: “Adams is an embodiment of courage, perseverance and a fighter for the cause of the Yoruba and Nigeria in general. His birthday is a celebration of courage and fight for the survival of Nigeria and we wish him the best.”

The Zaki of Arigidi-Akoko

Ekiti to build more neighbourhood markets

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From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

ment headquarters.

Fayemi said the government has not abandoned its plan to build an ultra-modern market in Ado-Ekiti, adding that the neighbourhood markets are to accommodate traders, who display their wares on one of the lanes of the just-dualised Atikankan-First Baptist Church road, now Funmi Olayinka

Drive.

He said the government has given the traders an ultimatum to move to Awedele and Moferere markets, adding that the government would build a store for those who occupy open market stalls.

The governor assured densely-populated communities in Ado-Ekiti, such as Adere, Olorunda and Omisanjana, that they would have their own neighbourhood markets before the year ends.

He advised people who erected illegal stalls on the Fajuyi-Textile road to relocate to Awedele market before the government begins its beautification project, which may necessitate the removal of such stalls.

Also yesterday, the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) said it was ready to partner the state government and make poultry farming a viable means of generating income.

PAN’s National President Dr. Ayoola Oduntan said this during a visit to Fayemi. He said poultry could create jobs for the people.

The governor said his administration is determined to exploit all opportunities in agriculture, especially aqua-culture and poultry.

He said the Youth Commercial Agric Development (YCAD) programme focuses on poultry expansion, adding that 15 participants reared over 15,000 broilers that were sold last Christmas.

Documentation and Research Oronto Douglas; the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Ekiti State Governor, Mojeed Jamiu; President of the Ijaw Youth Council Joseph Eva; Nollywood actor Emeka Ike; veteran Yoruba actor Lere Paimo; Bishop Kayode Williams and Prophet Olawale Kogberegbe, among others.

Ondo tribunal to rule on petitions tomorrow

•Association to support govt on poultry KITI State Governor Kayode Fayemi has said the government will build more neighbourhood markets in Ado-Ekiti, to meet the needs of traders and rid the state capital of street trading.

Fayemi spoke yesterday after inspecting the newly-completed Awedele Neighbourhood Market.

He said the project would be replicated in all local govern-

in Ondo State, Oba Yisa Olanipekun, said: “I thank God for his life. Adams is an illustrious son of Arigidi. He is wiser than his age and I pray for more wisdom for him.”

Also at the event were the Onigbaye of Igbaye in Osun State, Oba Moronfoye Oni; Senior Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

•Akeredolu

T

HE Ondo State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Akure, the state capital, will, tomorrow, rule on the petitions before it.

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN); its candidate, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN)

and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Olusola Oke, are contesting the result of last October 20 governorship election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Dr. Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party (LP) winner of the election.

The three-man tribunal, headed by Justice Andova Kaka’n, was inaugurated last November 22 and has 180 days to rule on the petitions.

The petitions of the Con-

gress for Progressive Change (CPC) and its candidate, Prince Soji Ehinlanwo, which were struck out by the tribunal at the pre-hearing stage, were ordered for retrial by the Appeal Court.

On the day of the hearing, CPC and Ehinlanwo petitioned the Appeal Court President to disband the Justice Kaka’n-panel for alleged bias.

The case was then adjourned indefinitely.

Confirming the judgment date, ACN’s lawyer Charles Titiloye said: “The party and its candidate have been served the notice of judgment by the tribunal.”

Illegal employment: Ondo to punish culprits

T

HE Ondo State Government yesterday said it will punish any politician involved in the employment of civil servants without its approval.

Governnor Olusegun Mimiko spoke in Akure, the state capital, during the May Day celebration.

He said: “People in authority should be held accountable for every money that accrues to the government.

“The screening of workers is to find out those who have reached retirement age and create room for younger

From Damisi Ojo, Akure

people in the system.”

Mimiko said workers play an important role in the nation’s growth so their welfare should always be paramount in the hearts of policy makers.

He thanked workers for ensuring the success of his administration’s policies and programmes.

The Ondo State Controller of Labour, Mr. Isramen Iria, who represented the Minister of Labour and Productivity, urged the government to improve the

package of workers.

He said the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) of the Federal Government is aimed at wealth re-distribution.

Iria said the Federal Government is working hard to create an enabling environment for entrepreneurship across the country and urged state governments to emulate it.

Members of the National Union of Local Government Workers (NULGE) shunned the programme because their salaries have not been paid for some months.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

11

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

Etisalat eyes more subscribers

By Lucas Ajanaku

T

HE introduction of the mobile number portability (MNP) scheme in the country will allow more subscribers to join the Etisalat network, its Chief Executive Officer, Steven Evans, has said.

Evans said in anticipation of this, the firm has prepared the network to withstand the surge.

In a statement issued yesterday, he declared that Etisalat is pleased with the MNP policy and the regulator’s decision to flag-off the scheme because it has presented telecommunications services subscribers in Nigeria with a chance to port their numbers and enjoy better services with another telecommunications services provider of choice, while retaining their telephone numbers.

“At Etisalat, we have been advocating for MNP and so we are pleased with the NCC’s announcement of a kick-off date. MNP will empower customers and force operators to improve on quality of service. With MNP, the customer will be the ultimate winner,” Evans said.

He said the telco is poised for an influx of subscribers who would be seeking the high quality services and value that his company has become synonymous with in the Nigerian market.

“Etisalat has a good reputation for the quality of services we offer and the value we give to subscribers, so we are anticipating migration unto our network, so we have had to expand and strengthen our facilities in expectation,” he added.

Risk management could entail avoiding the risk completely, reducing the negative impact of the risk through risk mitigation actions, transfering or sharing the risks with other parties and retaining the risk; ie, accepting some or all the consequences of the risk and budgeting for it.

- Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, CBN Governor

Fed Govt to spend PHCN privatisation proceeds on severance payment • Says Nigerian banks can’t finance $3.4b loan T

HE Federal Govern ment will spend pro ceeds from the privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to offset the severance package of the power sector disengaged workers, the Minister of Power, Prof.

Chinedu Nebo, has said.

Nebo, who spoke yesterday in Abuja, explained that the proceeds will be employed to bridge the gap between the N384billion approved for the payment of the workers’ severance package and the N45billion allocated for the same purpose in this year’s budget.

He explained that with regards to the electricity workers, the government has earmarked N384billion for paying off these staff, but added that only N45billion has

From John Ofikhenua, Abuja

been provided for in the budget.

He said the proceeds of the sale of these companies will fund the rest, adding that after the payment of the deficit, there will be little or nothing left from the privatisation proceeds.

The minister stated that Nigerian banks were free to compete in the financing of the $3.4billion loan required to fix the transmission grid, adding that the fund was required for the 776MVA super grid.

He was however sceptical on the possibility of Nigerian banks’ preparedness to provide the level of capitali-

sation required in the power sector, since in his opinion, they were used to short term loan and high interest rates.

He revealed that the foreign banks involved in the financing are offering very low interest rates and long term credit facilities.

Nebo said: “In fact there are people who are ready to fund the transmission. They are coming with billions of dollars. What about Nigerian banks? The gentleman Tony Elumelu has mentioned that the Nigerian banks are also ready. They are welcome. It will be unfortunate if they are not. I think it is difficult for them because of the level of capitalisation and the fund that

is required.

“Unless as a consortium, they may not be able to bring the billions of dollars needed over a long stretch of time. Some of them that are saying they will fund the transmission line, we will pay in 30 to 40 years. And I don’t think any Nigerian bank will be ready to do that.

And the interest rates are low and these banks may not have the facilities to give us low interest rate.”

The minister also noted that the Federal Government requires N77billion to meet the metering gap in the country.

Nebo said the country needs over 3million smart meters to bridge the exist-

Focus on workers, group urges labour From Nduka Chiejina, (Asst. Editor)

T

DATA STREAM COMMODITY PRICES Oil -$107/barrel Cocoa-$2,686.35/metric ton Coffee - ¢132.70/pound Cotton - ¢95.17pound Gold -$1,800/troy ounce Rubber -¢159.21pound MARKET CAPITALISATIONS NSE JSE NYSE LSE

-N10.6 trillion -Z5.112trillion -$10.84 trillion -£61.67 trillion

RATES Inflation -9% Treasury Bills -7.08% Maximum lending -22.42% Prime lending -15.87% Savings rate -2% 91-day NTB -15% Time Deposit -5.49% MPR -12% Foreign Reserve $48b FOREX CFA -0.2958 EUR -206.9 £ -242.1 $ -156 ¥ -1.9179 SDR -238 RIYAL -40.472

ing gap.

He said that government cannot reverse its implementation of the power road map , especially for the fact that the bidding for the privatization of the power sector was very transparent in accordance with international best practice.

Nebo noted urged Nigerians to bear the current situation of the power sector, which he said would soon become history when the ministry wheels in additional mega watts from the National Independent Power Projects (NIPP).

According to him, the Zungeru Hydro electric and Mambilla Hydro electric projects are underway to provide additional mega watts.

He accepted that although the country has capacity for generation of 6,000mw at the moment, it supplies about 4,500mw.

New President, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) Alhaji Sakirudeen Labode (middle) being decorated with the Chain of office by the Immediate Past President of (ANAN), Hajia Maryam Ladi Ibrahim (left), and Alhaji Shehu Ladan, 2nd Vice President, ANAN, in Abuja...on Tuesday.

FIRS non-oil tax collection hits N5tr

T

HE Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has generated over N5 trillion from nonoil tax revenue windows.

FIRS Eastern Regional Coordinator, C. P. Igweh, disclosed this yesterday in a paper he presented at a oneday conference on ‘Tax Regulations and Socio-Economic Development in an Industrializing Nation.’ He said this amount was far beyond the N1trillion generated in 2004 before the FIRS Establishment Act, No. 13 of April, 2007.

Igweh whose paper, entitled: “Industrialization of Nigerian Economy: The Role of FIRS as an apex tax Regulatory Agency,” said taxes were collected from company income tax, value added tax, education tax, personal income tax, petroleum profit tax, capital gains tax

From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

and national information technology development fund levy, amongst others.

He said the goal of FIRS is to continually surpass the nation’s revenue target in all taxes and achieve a ratio of non-oil tax collection to nonoil Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of at least seven percent in the nearest future.

In his own paper on ‘Tax Laws and Socio-Economic Development in Nigeria Anambra State as a focal point”, Meshach Umenweke, an Associate Professor of Law and former Head, Department of International Law and Jurisprudence, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, identified multiplicity of taxes as a major constraint militating against the Nigerian tax re-

gime, saying it makes tax assessment and collection very difficult.

Umenweke, who spoke at the event organised by the Faculty of Law, Anambra State University (ANSU), Igbariam Campus, regretted that the people of the Southeast goe-political zone, were being subjected to various types of taxes in their various communities.

He alledged that while their northern and western counterparts enjoy government funded projects as part of social services and infrastructural delivery, their Southeastern counterparts are made to pay for the execution of certain communal projects, like construction of roads and gutters, erosion control, water bore-holes, security levies for vigilante services and rural electrification, among

others, Also in his own paper, entitled: “Examination of Contentious Provisions of the FIRS (Establishment) Act 2007 as Harbinger of Constitutional Crisis: a call for amendment,’ William Amechi Chukwuma, a Doctoral student in Law of Taxation at UNIZIK, Awka, urged various tiers of government to justify tax payers’ money, by giving them quality services which are commensurate to the taxes they paid.

Chukwuma blamed the Federal Government for not abolishing sales tax throughout the federation when Value Added Tax (VAT) was introduced, because the perceived inequity in the VAT sharing formula has forced some states to introduce sales tax on certain goods and services.

HE leadership of Soci ety of Women in Taxa tion has urged labour leaders to concentrate more on tackling issues of casualisation of employees instead of opposing the government polices.

National Chairperson of the association, Mrs.Justina Okoror gave the advice yesterday when she addressed journalists on the coming symposium organised by the Society of Women in Taxation.

She argued that by focusing more on the government policies and paying little or attention to issues of casualisation of workers, the leadership of labour unions have endorsed casualisation of employees by various employers by their inaction.

She said: “ Labour is not efficient and effective in casualisation policy.

Casualisation policy is still very rampant in banks, oil and gas, and other sectors.

Casualisation has permeated into a lot of industries yet labour does not see reason to challenge this trend, but it will oppose government on every policy that don’t have bearing on employees.”

Mrs. Okoror said her organsiation is concerned about the role of women in economic growth, but cautioned that “there can never be meaningful growth in an atmosphere where people are short changed.”

She said the body is organising a symposium on the role of women in enhancing revenue generation and utilisation for economic growth.

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THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

BUSINESS NEWS

‘Nigeria faces long, bumpy road to making the lights work’

I

N an unwanted daily rou tine lasting 17 years, Phillip Cleatus sits in the dark doorway of his shoemaking shop in Nigeria’s northern city of Kaduna, waiting for the lights to come back on.

President Goodluck Jonathan is trying to persuade Cleatus and some 170 million other Nigerians that things will soon change.

Yet while his plan to privatise power is creeping forward, it is likely to take decades to end the chronic electricity shortages that are among the main barriers to investment and growth in Africa’s second biggest economy and top oil producer, Reuters analysts have said.

Nigeria is in the process of

breaking up the defunct state power company into 17 private generation and distribution companies and selling them for about $2.5 billion in total, as part of efforts to increase electricity output tenfold over the next seven years.

It might be its most advanced effort yet to end its perennial power shortfall, but progress has been so slow that Jonathan’s targets look far too optimistic. Industry experts believe some improvements will be felt in two-three years.

If Nigeria gets the lights working, it would reduce business costs by up to 40 per cent, add three per cent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and cut the mass unemployment that fuels un-

rest seen in oil theft in the south and a bloody Islamist insurgency in the north, the Reuters economists say.

It could also spur a boom in labour intensive areas like manufacturing, food processing, textiles and pharmaceuticals, while opening up the opportunity for new low-cost service industries like the call centres that aided India’s rise.

The $13 billion a year that Nigerians spend on diesel, most of which is imported, would be a bill of the past.

Power from generators costs more than twice as much as from the grid.

“This is killing my business, I lose 45 per cent of my annual profit to poor power supply,” Cleatus, 38, told Reuters.

A glitzy ceremony hosted

by Jonathan last week, celebrated the first payment by private companies which are taking over the unbundled state electricity firm and a deal by the World Bank to give an initial $145 million risk guarantee for gas supply.

A close look at the private companies which won the bids, shows a mix of oligarchs and influential figures connected to Nigeria’s political elite, and some recognised technical partners, like Siemens and Manila Electric.

This has raised some questions about the expected efficiency of the privatisation process and what it can deliver, but there are those who argue that effective business in Nigeria is impossible without political connections and patrons.

“Much has been achieved, yet the race will not be over until Nigerians can take electricity supply for granted,” Jonathan told dignitaries and power companies last week at the State House, Abuja..

Electricity capacity had been in steady decline for a decade when Jonathan launched his reform plan in 2010, pledging Nigeria would boost generation from 3,000 megawatts (MW) to 10,000 MW by the end of this year, and 40,000 MW by 2020.

Generation has increased to around 4,000 MW, but experts say there is zero hope of meeting government targets, while the scale of the task means power output will initially fall after the privatisation is completed

at the end of this year.

Despite being Africa’s top oil producer and holding the world’s ninth largest gas reserves, Nigeria’s power output is a tenth of South Africa’s for a population three times the size.

“It will probably take Nigeria another 50 years before it attains the same level of electricity consumption per capita as South Africa currently enjoys today,” said David Ladipo, whose company Azura is spending $700 million to build a 450 MW plant.

Ladipo thinks electricity output could grow to 6,000 MW in the next two years and to 9,000 MW by 2020. before seeing a potential boom as post-privatisation investment kicks in.

Govt appeals judgment on petroleum deregulation

T

HE Federal Govern ment has filed an ap peal against the judgment of a Federal High Court, Abuja, which declared the deregulation of the downstream sector illegal.

It also asked the High Court to stay execution of the judgment until the appeal is determined.

Attorney-General of the Federation, the Minister of Petroleum Resources and the Minister of Commerce and Industry are the appellants.

The judgment was delivered by Justice Adamu Bello on March 19 in a suit by activist-lawyer Bamidele Aturu.

The judge had granted all the plaintiff’s claims and nullified the deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil industry.

The nine-page Notice of Appeal is dated April 10, and filed by seven lawyers led by Dr Fabian Ajogwu (SAN) on behalf of the Federal Government.

Ajogwu confirmed the appeal when The Nation contacted him yesterday evening.

He said he filed the appeal and that it is based on “solid grounds”.

He said: “Yes, we filed an appeal with solid grounds.

It was filed just before Easter.”

The appellants urged the Court of Appeal to hold that

By Joseph Jibueze

the lower court erred in law on the question of the respondent’s locus standi when it held that under both the narrow interpretation of locus standi and the broader interpretation, the plaintiff had the legal right to sue.

The appellants said learned trial judge misdirected himself when he held that the combined reading of sections 4 and 6 of the Price Control Act and the Petroleum Act leaves no one in doubt that the control of and regulation of prices of petroleum products, among others, is a legal duty imposed on the Government.

According to them, the judge made a mistake in holding that by enacting the Price Control Act and the Petroleum Act, the Government has made the economic objective in section 16(1)(b) of the Constitution in Chapter II justiciable.

For the appellants, the Court also erred in law when it summarily granted the reliefs in the respondent’s originating summons.

The government said the trial judge failed to consider and pronounce on all the issues submitted before it.

It said failure to do so amounted to a denial of fair hearing.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the appeal or the motion for stay of execution

IPMAN advises members on strategic investment

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HE Western Zone of the Independent Petro leum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has urged its members to embark on strategic investment to inprove the association, the downstream sector and empower themselves.

Its ex-Chairman, Satellite Depot, Ejigbo, Mark Alaba Obu, who was a guest speaker at a one-day seminar organised for newly elected officers of IPMAN depots and zones, held in Ibadan, Oyo State, gave the advice while delivering his paper ,tagged ‘IPMAN: past, present and future.’

Obu urged the executive members to look beyond the group’s present investment and take the association to the next level, by re-engineering the association and

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

and strtegise on how to empower the members rather than seeking self interest.

He said IPMAN could build and buy new depots.

“It is better late than never.

We can still embark on building, or buying, or taking over a depot that can be controlled by IPMAN, which will be purely owned by us.”

He said the importation of petrol and kerosene should not be a challenge for members if the association has committed leaders at the zonal level. Such leaders can muster at least 200 members who will be able to commit a deposit of N1 million each to fast-track importation of kerosene and petrol for the benefit of members.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

13

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THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

15

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

INDUSTRY

SMEDAN: multiple taxes can kill small businesses Stories by Toba Agboola

the growth of indigenous companies.

He advocated the collaboration among SMEDAN, the capital market and the money market for the creation of viable ASeM. According to him, the NSE should make the listing conditions for ASeM to be less stringent to lure new SMEs into the nation’s bourse.

In a related event, SMEDAN in collaboration with the National Productivity Centre (NPC) is set to enhance productivity and competitiveness of SMEs in Nigeria.

Key players in SMEs’ sectors of the Nigerian and British economies have initiated a new

bilateral trade-promoting platform to benefit entrepreneurs in the two countries.

A statement by the Institute of Credit Administration said the objectives of the forum would involve promoting, supporting or

‘

Lack of rural infrastructure, poor access to business information and low synergy among the three tiers of government have also not helped the SMEs

‘

T

HE Small and Medium En terprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has warned that many small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) may die.

Its Director-General, Mr Muhammad Umar, said at the launch of the Nigerian Stock Exchange Alternative Securities Market (ASeM) in Lagos that lack of rural infrastructure, poor access to business information and low synergy among the three tiers of government had also not helped the SMEs. Umar, represented by SMEDAN’s Director of Planning, Mr Wale Fashe, called for improved infrastructure and access to long-term finance to strengthen

opposing legislation/ policies and measures capable of affecting trade, investment and business between Nigeria and London.

The conception and eventual incorporation of forum, according to the statement, is based on the need for the business community to join the league of credible elite advocacy and lobbyist-organisations, whose mode of operation is fashioned, structured and managed in the manner consistent with best practices.

It stated that the group’s quarterly, half-yearly and yearly programmes such as business networking luncheon, trade and investment conference and bilateral review roundtable were held in London and Nigeria.

•Umar

SON to review LPG cylinders standard

T

•From left: Chairman, Lagos Housing Fair, Mr Aderoju Adepoju; Managing Director, Beechland Resources Ltd, Mr Moses Ogunleye; a Consultant, Mrs Iyabode Bolarinwa; former Lagos State Governor, Lateef Jakande and former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, at the opening of the 13th Lagos Housing Fair in Lagos.

Manufacturers seek review of CBN’s monetary policy

T

HE Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has urged the government to review fiscal policies to revive moribund industries and stimulate real sector growth.

Speaking with The Nation, Chairman, Apapa branch of MAN, Mr John Aluya, blamed the slow growth of the real sector on the failure of the monetary policy framework to address realities in the sector.

He raised concerns about the continued retention of the tight Monetary Policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the high interest rates, describing them as burdensome and making the nation’s products lack competitive advantage.

According to him, the real sector, which drives the economy, has become handicapped due to unfriendly monetary policies of the government.

He said: “The truth remains that no country in the world has ever developed with an interest rate as high as 25 per cent as this has made it almost impossible for investors to access the funds needed for investments. The insecurity in the country, especially in the northern states has led to a high inventory of unsold goods and massive loss of jobs.

“Inconsistent government policies, dearth of basic infrastructure, multiple visitation by regulatory agencies cum multiple taxation from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), high lending rate of double digit, and unfavourable monetary policies have made cost of doing business in Nigeria as one of the highest in the world. The need to salvage our economy is now even more resounding than ever more.”

The Chairman of MAN, Ikeja branch, Isaac Agoye, during its consultative forum in Lagos, said surplus cash in the system is responsible for CBN’s Monetary Policy Rate (MPR ) of 12 per cent and the prevailing high and burdensome anti-industry interest rate regime that makes Nigerian products uncompetitive.

It has also led to the closure of several factories and contributed to the high level of unemployment in Nigeria.

He said: “We recognise the dastardly blows dealt to the survival of manufacturers by smugglers.

However, we note with concern that the band of smugglers, looters of the treasury and other commercial speculators fund their dollar requirement from the $2 billion or more CBN dollar allocations to Bureau De Changes every month.”

Govt to hire weights and measures inspectors

T

HE Federal Government is to hire more than 2,000 inspectors for the implementation of accurate weights and measures in transactions.

Consultant to the Weights and Measures Department of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Yagbagi Sani, said in Abuja that the inspectors would implement the government’s agenda in ensuring that

appropriate measures were implemented in all transactions cutting across different sectors, including telecommunications, oil and gas, trade and agriculture.

He said: “Over 2,000 young inspectors are in the process of being employed by the government, and the first batch of private companies will work for the Department of Weights and Measures as independent service providers – providing calibration, testing and

verification services to cover millions of weighing and measuring devices.

“Trade transactions have measurement inaccuracies, which can vary from less than one per cent to 20 per cent where there is an inadequate metrology system. In a developing economy like Nigeria, the loss to both the government and the public due to measurement transaction inaccuracies is about 15 per cent of the GDP or N2.83 trillion per annum.”

HE Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has pledged to ensure that Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders meet the required standard.

Director-General, SON, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, said it has become imperative to address the problem of LPG cylinders.

According to him, apart from enhancing safety of lives and property in the industry, revalidation of cylinders will also boost the LPG business as well as create more confidence in the minds of users on safety.

Odumodu said part of the SON’s mandate is to protect lives and property through standards.

He said the requalification would also eliminate most of the sub-standard cylinders from circulation and also lead to the scrapping of old cylinders.

He said: “We have be meeting with key sectors of the economy and the operators in the LPG sector especially for industrial safety by ensuring that imported LPG cylinders and those produced in Nigeria meet the requirements of NIS 69: 2006. We seek collaboration of the stakeholders’ to ensure quality gas is also dispensed to the consumers”.

According to him, a situation whereby cylinders were imported or produced in Nigeria and sold to users without any programme for requalification and none for maintenance is no

longer acceptable.

He said SON would soon flag up a campaign to remove old cylinder from circulation.

“Cylinders above 15 years, which is the agreed period for their revalidation, would be affected,” he said.

He said all the stakeholders need to join hands with the SON to safeguard the sector.

According to him, some of the things SON would be seeking to do, going forward, are to ensure that all importers of LPG cylinders have a defined programme for the maintenance of cylinders, adding that operator would have trained personnel on how to inspect and requalify LPG cylinders.

His words:“Other prequalification condition is that the expiry dates of cylinders shall be engraved or embossed on all cylinders.

There is need to start setting the right standards in the sector.

“A Technical Committee comprising members from all sectors ought to have met to develop a framework for the workability of the scheme.’’

Odumodu noted that the exercise was a core of the organisation’s campaign of zero tolerance to substandard products in the country.

NEXIM disburses N7.5b to cashew sector

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HE Nigerian Export Import ank (NEXIM) has disbursed $50 million (N7.5billion) to the cashew sector from 2002 to date.

The Managing Director of the bank, Mr Robert Orya, disclosed this at the NEXIM and Nigerian Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) Finance forum in Lagos.

He said if the industry is well harnessed, it could generate N24 billion yeraly.

Orya, who was represented by a Director in the bank, the Very Rev. Ifeanyi Nwade, said the cashew industry has implications for increased export revenue, development of the industry and increased job creation in line with the transformation agenda of the Federal Government.

He said the industry has continued to operate below its potential. This, according to him, is as a result of problems ranging from low yielding plantations to inadequate processing facilities and low level of access

to finance.

He noted that Nigeria, the world’s sixth largest producer of cashew, with annual production of about 120,000 tonnes, will be a good employer of labour if properly harnessed.

“The inability of our local producers to process their products has meant that about 95 per cent of the annual production is exported as raw commodities with attendant low prices and inability of our producers and exporters to receive commensurate reward for their efforts.

“To address some of the above challenges, NEXIM in collaboration with the African Cashew Alliance (ACA), and the United State Agency for International Development (USAID), launched the Nigerian Cashew Cluster Finance Scheme in 2012, through which NEXIM disbursed about N150million under the pilot scheme and has cumulatively disbursed about N1billion till date to the subsector,” Orya said.

‘’

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THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

INDUSTRY

G

N2,319tr imports are from Asia, says report

OODS worth N2,319.9 trillion were imported from Asia last year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has said.

According to NBS report, the imports represent 41.2 per cent of total imports for last year put at N5,624.9 trillion. The records show that the country’s major imports came from Asia.

Other major imports, according to the report, came from Europe and America, which accounted for N1,490.4 trillion, representing 26.5 per cent and N1,421.9 trillion or 25.3 per cent.

The import trade is still dominated by the imports of

Stories by Toba Agboola

machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods and commodities.

NBS had in March said Nigeria’s import trade value dropped significantly last year to a cumulative value of N5.62 trillion, as against the N9.89 trillion value of imported goods into the economy in 2011.This represented 43.1 per cent decline.

The report noted that the import bill were equivalent to 13 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for last year.

The trend, according to

NBS, indicates that the efforts by the Federal Government to grow the economy by improving local capacity in the agricultural, manufacturing and other key sectors of the economy are yielding to desired results.

The report released in March, listed beverages and tobacco, crude inedible materials, mineral fuel and oils, fats and waxes as contributing to the significant drop in the value of yearly imports However, the decrease in imports was across all categories, as machinery and transport equipment, Nigeria’s biggest import segment, declined by 63 per cent, following modest growth of two per cent in 2011.

‘’

LCCI, NSE meet today

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HE Financial Services Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI and stakeholders in the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) will today deliberate on how to ensure growth in the capital market.

Chairperson of the Financial Services Group and Managing Director of Resort Development Limited, (a subsidiary of Resort Savings and Loans), Mrs. Olajumoke Fashanu said the time had come for Nigerians to be made fully aware of the state of recovery of the capital market.

“Investors and other players in our capital market need to have their confidence restored in its profitability, with proof

of the market’s excellent performance in recent times,” she stated.

According to Mrs. Fashanu, stakeholders expected at the event include capital market operators, investors and other experts in the financial sector.

The theme of the confab is ”The Nigerian Capital Market: The Outlook".

The Director-General, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Oscar Onyema, is the guest speaker .

The exchange was affected some years back by the global financial crisis which made foreign investors to divest from the market, thereby leading to crash in prices and subsequent turmoil in the sector.

BUA to build sugar plantation in Kogi

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UA Group plans to launch its backward integra tion scheme in its sugar subsidiary plantation in Kogi State before the end of the year.

In a statement, the Group Executive Director, Kabiru Rabiu, said cultivation on the land will commence in the last quarter of the year.

He added that the plantation will assist in boosting the sugar production of the Group and enhance employment, imports open up opportunities for ancillary industries.

According to him, the plantation is structured to generate its own power during the process of converting molasses to sugar, while provision has been made for gas supply to fire its turbines.

BUA blenders owns the second largest sugar refinery in Sub-Saharan Africa, located in Lagos with an installed capacity of 720,000 metric tons per annum and is set to

inaugurate a second sugar refinery with the same capacity in Ports Harcourt, Rivers State next year.

The company also acquired Lafiagi Sugar Company (Lasuco), Kwara State through a privatisation in 2010.

Rabiu said: “We are pleased with the support of Governor Idris Wada by assisting us toward setting up a sugar plantation in Kogi State.We promise to support the government and people of the state, and be a loyal and productive corporate citizen.

“The plantation will be a modern state of the art automated plant with the technology deployed from Brazil, widely known as having the best technology in sugar production and refinery.”

The state Governor Capt. Idris Wada confirmed the allocation of land to BUA for the proposed plantation.

Binatone introduces blenders

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•From left: Marketing Manager, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Manpreet Singh; Public Relations and Events Manager, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Mr Tope Ashiwaju and Chief Executive Officer, Dufil Prima Foods Plc, Deepak Singhal at a Press Conference for the 6th Edition of Indomie Independence Day Heroes Award held at the Silverbird Galleria recently

Govt urged to check imported e-waste

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HE Federal Government has been urged to check the influx of imported electronic waste into the country.

Speaking with reporters in Lagos, during a Mandatory Training Workshop of the Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria (IPAN), a former Registrar, of the body, Mr Bola Haruna, said electronic waste dumping had become a cause for concern because such waste contain carcinogenic radioactive materials that are hazardous to health.

He said a carcinogen is any

substance that is an agent directly involved in causing cancer, adding that several radioactive substances are considered carcinogens, but their carcinogenic activity is attributed to the radiation, which they emit.

Haruna said: “These things are very dangerous especially if they are scattered all over the place because they contain radioactive materials, which are carcinogenic.

“We see a lot of people die of cancer these days and we do not seem to know or ask ourselves

what are the causes.

“For instance, almost every house or every room has a generator that sprays fumes all over the place. All these things go into the atmosphere. And they are not just there without causing havoc because they are not supposed to be there in the first instance.”

He called for a regulation to check the importation of electronic waste to the country.

“There is a regulation and if this is followed, there will be no problem,” he said.

Smugglers plan to flood Nigeria with rice, group alleges gling is tackled.

HE Federal Government has “The Nigerian rice consumers are been urged to tackle rice smug

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gling.

In a statement in Abuja, the Patriotic Rice Association of Nigeria (PRAN), through its Chairman,Habibu Maishinkafa and Secretary, Martins Okereke, said the level of rice smuggling seems about 40,000 metric tonnes of rice find their way into Nigeria illegally, jeopardising the businesses.

It said vessels with cargoes of more than 220,000 metric tonnes of rice from India and Thailand have flooded the ports of Benin and Cameroun en route Nigeria.

“Container loads totalling over 150,000 tonnes since the start of 2013

have also started penetrating through the borders through Benin, Niger Republic, borders with Northern Nigeria .

“More than eight million bags of rice have flooded all markets including Alaba, Daleko, Ideo, and other prominent markets in the country,” it said.

The association estimated that about N27 billion that would have accrued to the government from duties through legitimate rice importation has been lost, and that a bleak future lies ahead of local rice growers and traders legitimately involved in rice trade. They said this will happen unless smug-

in the process short changed with inferior brands being smuggled and then re-bagged into quality brands and sold at higher prices,” it added.

PRAN said the main cause of the high smuggling levels was the exponential increase in import tariffs since January, as this made it more attractive for smugglers to ferry in large quantities of rice without paying any duty. It added that the tendency has constituted a big threat to the Federal Government’s plan for rice self-sufficiency by 2015.

It was reported last month that no fewer than 8,000 bags of rice worth over N56 million were smuggled into the country daily.

HE distributor of Binatone products in Nigeria, Interworld Products Limited, has released three models of household blenders.

The company’s Managing Director, Mr Sridhar, said in a statement that the new blenders were introduced after a thorough research.

According to him, a study has shown that the singular problem with blenders and grinders is the breaking of their jars when it drops from the hand of its users.

He said: “Binatone’s R&D therefore decided to come up with the right answer as the company’s engineers recommended the use of polycarbonate, which is a very strong and unbreakable material used in the building industry as a major raw material for the production of the jar of the new blenders.

“All the three models come with 1.5 litres generous size unbreakable jugs.”

He explained that model BLG -555

came with a motor while model BLG- 402. It has a push button and clearer jug; and model BLG-450 is a very comfortable, large, smooth operating knob for simplicity.

•Binatone

Firm launches product

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BBLAT Company Nigeria Limited, makers of popular Yoyo Bitters, has launched Yoyo Sappiro Lemon Ginseng liquor.

Speaking at the launch Managing Director, Dr Abiola Oluwatobi, said the premium herbal blend, beyond being an aphrodisiac, is an alcoholic beverage that is fortified with herbs that boost the immune system and beneficial to both male and female.

Yoyo Sappiro, which contains 42 per cent alcohol, among other ingredients, according to him, was a product of painstaking research, which spanned five

years.

“It is a dream come true. Good product requires good plan. Our research and Development Unit has been on it for almost five years and today, we are proud to say that we have a product we are all proud of,” he said.

Marketing Manager, Dr Yemi Gbemibade, noted that the product, which targets mass populace, is pocket friendly.

“We have produced it in such a way that it can be easily affordable by the people,” he said. Besides, he said the product has been designed in such a way that it would be difficult to be counterfeited.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

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THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

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COMMENTARY FROM OTHER LANDS

EDITORIALS

Employment racketeers •Nigeria is gradually becoming one huge theatre of the absurd

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HE ridiculous seems to be overtaking the sublime. Otherwise, how can the outlandish revelations before the Senate’s Joint Committee on Federal Character and Labour’s public hearing on recruitment scandals in federal agencies that a dead man signed employment letters be justified?

Rose Odey and Idachaba Tijani reportedly claimed to have paid N250, 000 each to procure employment letters.

The letters were subsequently discovered to have been signed by one Ahmed S. Dantanko, an alleged dead official of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC). Dantanko signed the letters in 2012. It was when they got to their ministries of posting that they realised that the letters were not original. The Head of Service of the Federation, the usual person to carry out such postings said he had no knowledge of the letters.

But Joan Ayo, chairman of FCSC, countered that Dantanko left the services of the commission in 2008 as a pool officer and not a director as purportedly claimed in the appointment letters. She also said that the letters tendered by the aggrieved duo, showing their alleged employment postings into federal ministries were mere “photocopies.” Also, Juliet Egobunor and Simon Odujebe, named by the duo as members of the job-for-sale criminal syndicate are reportedly on the run. The FCSC chair declared that Juliet had absconded from her duty post in the Ministry of Lands and Housing while Odujebe had jumped bail.

What the above scenario boils down to is an unwitting exposure of the high level of unemployment in the country and the oozing rot that is ravaging the public service. It is sad that job seekers now have to pay before they could be employed into the civil service. This notorious syndrome was recently brought to light when Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, a serving senator, whose member of constituent fell prey to the dubious ploy of the employment racketeers, blew the whistle.

The law maker claimed to have given his unsuspecting constituent member the N250,000 that was deviously taken.

Tens of other members of the public that have no affinity with those in the corridors of power but desperate for employment would have been fleeced by the employment syndicates. Yet, their complaints normally fell on deaf ears in a society where the law is, regrettably, becoming an instrument for protecting only the strong or powerful.

What is required is for The government to boost employment generation. We deprecate a situation where virtually every job-seeking Nigerian looks in the direction of government for succour. We ask: Could the situation have been different? At the current rate, it is doubtful if any meaningful result can be got in this regard. It is sad that the average performance of federal budget implementation is below 50 per cent, which is not in any way development-

friendly.

Sadly too, power supply is epileptic while most notable industries, including the textile and tyre industries, for instance, have packed up. If these inadequacies are not quickly redressed, the economy cannot expand while the hope of job seekers becomes dimmer.

This matter should be handled by the senate with all the seriousness it deserves. Now that some of the culprits in the money-for-employment syndicate have been exposed, the senate must do the necessary referral to the appropriate security agencies and give conscientious follow-ups so that the nation can get to the bottom of this criminality. All those found culpable must be made to face the full wrath of the law. Above all, the federal civil service is long overdue for an overhaul. It stinks.

‘What the above scenario boils down to is an unwitting exposure of the high level of unemployment in the country and the oozing rot that is ravaging the public service. It is sad that job seekers now have to pay before they could be employed into the civil service’

Proactive security •It is good that more agencies are now taking the matter seriously. We all have to key into this

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OR many organisations in the country, eternal vigilance has now become the beginning of wisdom. LAGBUS Assets Management Ltd., operator of LAGBUS intracity buses in Lagos State is one organisation that has joined the increasing number of companies that are strengthening security in their operations. Its managing director, Mr Babatunde Disu, has ordered his staff to ensure that passengers and luggage are screened to enhance security. He advised commuters to cooperate with the routine checks, even as he urged the LAGBUS staff to be polite while dealing with them.

About a month ago, the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) began the implementation of new security

‘However, no matter how much people try, government has the ultimate responsibility for security. Therefore, it is unhelpful and counter-productive to see the organisational or individual self-help measures as a substitute for this governmental responsibility.

But it is soul-lifting that more individuals and organisations are beginning to realise the fact that the era of carelessness on security matters is over’

measures to forestall terrorist attacks on any of its stations. Many other transport firms have done the same thing in order to see their passengers arrive safely at their respective destinations.

This is a good development in a country where many of those in the transport business do not seem to realise the importance of security. They pick and drop passengers arbitrarily; they pay scant attention to the luggage brought in by their passengers and are generally lackadaisical in their approach to issues of safety and security.

As both LAGBUS and the NRC noted, their actions were informed by the dastardly attacks on the Kano Central Motor Park by terrorists on March 18. No fewer than 60 persons, including passengers of a 59-seater luxury bus with about 20 others were killed and several others injured when the suicide bombers blew up a bus as it was about departing the park for Lagos. What this tells us is that the terrorists have no regard for any place. Of course people who bomb mosques and churches have no scruples blowing up passengers in buses, especially in areas where they know they could record huge casualties.

We commend organisations that have taken these proactive measures to forestall eventualities because it is better late than never. In the light of our experiences, this is the way to go.

We all have to be security conscious as well as be proactive in checkmat-

ing the terrorists. Although provision of security is a basic responsibility of government, it cannot do it alone.

That is why it is seen as collective responsibility in which we all have one role or the other to play; government cannot be as ubiquitous as we might want it to be.

It is important to stress that those organisations that have not keyed into going the extra mile to secure their businesses and their stakeholders should do so immediately. We must warn though that this sort of eternal vigilance should not be only for now but for all times.

Most important, however, it is incumbent on the government to create an atmosphere where people will see themselves as part of it rather than as ‘they versus us’. When the people trust the government, they will on their own accord offer information whenever they notice suspicious movements or activities around their areas. This is important because the basic software in security matters is the citizenry.

However, no matter how much people try, government has the ultimate responsibility for security.

Therefore, it is unhelpful and counter-productive to see the organisational or individual self-help measures as a substitute for this governmental responsibility. But it is soul-lifting that more individuals and organisations are beginning to realise the fact that the era of carelessness on security matters is over.

Slap a fee on carry-out bags

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HARGING for both plastic and paper would encourage people to switch to reusable bags while providing convenience and choice for the times they forget to bring them.

The most sensible solution to the ocean and stream pollution caused by carry-out plastic bags would be to charge a small fee for them.

People will do almost anything to avoid even a tiny levy — tote their own reusable bags, toss their loose groceries into the trunk. Unfortunately, none of the three bills in the Legislature to address the plastic bag problem would work that way.

Consumers already pay for carry-out bags; they just don’t realize it because the cost is rolled into the price of the goods they buy, creating the illusion that the bags are free. Where they’ve been made explicit, fees of just 5 cents have cut plastic bag use 75% to 90%.

Still, people occasionally need or want the convenience of a plastic bag and would pay a little extra for one, so why not? The goal should be to greatly reduce the number of bags floating around as trash — the flimsy bags with handles are the second most common trash item found along California’s beaches, and they contribute to the giant floating garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean — but not to make people live without them entirely. People who pay for the bags are more likely to reuse them. (For unknown reasons, the plastic bags that grocery shoppers use for their vegetables — and those used to wrap this newspaper — do not tend to end up as trash in or near waterways.)

Although a 2006 California law prohibits cities from adopting fees on plastic bags, it hasn’t stopped municipalities from taking action. More than 70 have banned the bags outright, including Los Angeles, whose ban will take effect later this year. The patchwork of laws around the state — some cities and counties ban both paper and plastic bags, some ban plastic but levy a fee on paper, some have no law at all — is confusing for retail chains and consumers, and the bans eliminate consumer choice.

Legislation to bring some coherence to this situation has consistently failed. This year three bills have been introduced, two of which are nearly identical, and none of them gets it right.

Two would ban plastic and place a fee on paper bags. At first glance, the third looks closer to the mark — it would place a 5-cent tax on both kinds of bags and use the proceeds for parks and litter removal — but it contains a spoiler provision that would allow municipalities to opt out. Its effect would be negligible, even though cities that didn’t participate wouldn’t be eligible to receive the money for their parks.

Lawmakers could do better. A fee on both plastic and paper would encourage people to switch to reusable bags while providing convenience and choice for the times they forget to bring them. As with existing law on bottles and cans, people could pay a redemption fee that could be reclaimed when the bags were returned for recycling. A reasonable law shouldn’t be this hard.

– Los Angeles Times

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

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

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

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CARTOON & LETTERS

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IR: The decision of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to suspend Justice Abubakar Mahmud Talba of the Federal High Court over his judgement on the Police Pension Fund case where he handed a two-year imprisonment term or option of N750, 000 to the convicted thief, John Yakubu Yusuf, appears to have received wild commendations and jubilation across the country. But I hold an alternative view. I do know as a fact that the country is almost being sunk by the endemic nature of corruption. It is also an open secret that the total extermination of this malaise is the sure way of promoting both good governance and economic integrity in this part of climes. But one does not tackle a problem by merely addressing the surface without taking care of the root. It is on this premise that I’m not too much fascinated by the decision of the council.

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Justice Talba: Beyond NJC’s axe A look at the NJC’s decision on the matter shows that Justice Talba failed to exercise his discretion both judicially and judiciously. The council chaired by no-nonsense CJN, Hon. Justice Mariam Mukhtar, GCON, also found out that the judgement of the embattled Judge was “unreasonable”. Thus it decided to suspend him for a period of 12 months without pay. But truth is that when Justice Talba returns, hopefully next year, those obsolete laws under which he applied his discretion to sentence the pension

thief would still be there; nothing concrete would have changed!

Again, it is quite instructive that the council spotted out the laxity on the part of the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the case. It is, indeed, worrisome that the anti-crime outfit decided to sacrifice social justice on the altar of time factor in this case. Through the dubious concept of plea-bargain, the commission surreptitious substituted the 10count charge initially brought against the convict (under Section

315 of Penal Code with more stiffer punishments) to a three-count charge under section 309 of the same Penal Code which carries lesser punishment. The implication was that the judge was allowed to apply his discretion, hence the controversial award of option of fine of N750, 000 in lieu of the two years imprisonment, which the convict, who stole the whooping sum of N23billion, wasted no time in accepting.

The crimson truth is that the suspension of the judge does not re-

Hardball on discipline of judges IR: Hardball got my attention when he wrote a piece titled “Discipline of Judges: CJN must proceed with caution” on April 29. I write after an acatalectic illumination of the said piece to express my vehement disapproval of the phrase “CJN must proceed with caution”. If I may ask, what caution does the CJN need? I believe priests at the temple of justice like Caesar’s wife should live above board. Unfortunately we find ourselves in a nation where a few of them live below board. As they deliberately choose to ignore the Shakespearean dictum which says “the better part of valour is discretion in which better part I have saved my life”. Of a truth, the dynamics of crime in our society points to the indispensability of social jurisprudence. Therefore, judges owe God and man a duty to dispense justice to all manner of persons regardless who or what they are. But we have a situation where a man goes to jail for stealing a piece of meat at the market, while another

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goes home a free man after looting public funds worth billions of naira.

Just the other day we were told by a judge that James Ibori ought to be an angel but a British Judge later told us that the man is nothing but a common criminal. Sad as it is many have also died waiting for justice while others now resort to jungle justice to settle disputes because they now see the court as a land of Manama in view of needless and abysmal delay in court process.

These anomalies in the judicial system negate the clear principles of democracy. In view of the foregoing,

the CJN acted in good faith to sanction some erring judges and Hardball says she should proceed with caution. I think the only thing she need is to proceed with uncommon and indefatigable determination to flush out those who trade justice in the name of discretion. The judiciary must rid itself of corruption if the war against corruption in Nigeria is to be won. I therefore concur with Hardball when he wrote that “by all means the judiciary should be purged.” Ipso facto, the recent disciplinary action against those indicted judges remains a Justa causa. I concede to the factum juridcum

that most verdict rest on the oasis of discretion. But I think judges should learn how to exercise their discretion judiciously and judicially. Nigerians should not see the abuse of discretion by judges as mere peccadilloes but grave and unforgiveable crime that should attract punishment from man and God. The CJN has done well and more is also expected from her. Just as I wish to place on record that the war against corruption in Nigeria rest in the Judiciary.

• Godfrey Ogbaisi Ehi Benin-city

ally mean much on eradication of the cancerous corruption in our land, so long as our anti-corruption laws remain they way they are. We need no soothsayers to remind us that our extant laws on criminal justice are completely out of sinc with the realities on ground, and therefore, need review. These laws are not just obsolete, they are grossly inadequate to meet the society’s expectations of a corrupt free society. Those who petitioned against the judge could have done better by taking a step further to challenge our lawmakers to look into the law that gave rise to the judgement.

This is equally an opportunity to determine the continued existence of the fraudulent concept of pleabargain in our criminal justice system, with the aim of determining how far the concept has strengthened our fight against corruption.

Do we will still desire this concept that seems to have encouraged our public office holders to continue to embezzle public fund? Is the concept in tandem with our criminal justice system’s principle of crime and punishment? Do we still need to retain those laws that merely provide a slap on the wrist sort of punishments to those who are stealing us raw in this country?

Without answers to these critical questions, we will soon discover that the NJC’s decision on Justice Talba is only but an effort in futility, as far as the issue of fight against corruption in Nigeria is concerned.

• Barrister Okoro Gabriel, Lagos

Mainstreet Bank and my ATM woes IR: I attempted to withdraw the sum of 40,000 naira from Diamond Bank branch Ikorodu on November 20, 2012.

Only N20,000 was released while N40000 was debited into my account Acct no 5002599647.I traveled out of the country, came back in January after which I complained

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verbally, and filled three dispute forms at my branch, Ojuelegba and also Ikorodu and Calabar branches.

Till date, nothing has been done.

I got the highest insult when I was told in my branch that it was confirmed I withdrew the money. I have written my branch manager and copied the managing director with-

out any response. The so-called customer care hotline 014622706 was never picked after several attempts.

This is a 21-year old account and it amazes me that the bank could be irresponsibly silent on this issue.

It goes beyond the amount involved. I am, by his grace, not a pauper and wouldn’t lose sleep

over this amount. I will advise the bank to pay the money back into my account immediately or at least, prove that I withdrew the money. I have had enough of this irresponsibility. Even with that, they have already lost a customer!

• Olusegun Akintunde Ige Lagos

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

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COMMENTS

My wife Abiodun in my thought

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T has been 10 years since the cold hands of death took my beloved wife away and there is no way life can be

the same. Marriages are made in heaven; this from my experience is the truth. I met the young lady who later became my wife in a multitude of people at Apapa Port when I and other members of my family went to welcome one of my brothers who was returning from the United Kingdom in 1963. As soon as I saw Abiodun something told me she was going to be my wife. I was a very shy person when I was young and in my generation boys and girls were educated apart unlike what operates today. Most of us boys were indoctrinated to feel that it was unethical and a waste of precious time that should be devoted to our academic work for young boys in secondary school to begin to fantasise about girls. So young people in my generation were rather shy and uncomfortable with girls. Unless it was absolutely necessary we did not relate with people of the opposite sex and when we did, it was most of the time adversarial. We also felt that only bad boys had girlfriends at least at secondary school level and somehow most of my classmates in Christ’s School Ado-Ekiti who had girlfriends did not do well either because they wasted precious time writing love letters instead of studying or they were just not smart enough.

So even as a university student and at 21, we were still quite shy and uncomfortable in the company of ladies. So when I met the young lady who was to be my wife, I had to summon up courage to approach her. Her initial response was to say no and to put obstacles in the way of the relationship but I knew she was going to be my wife and the Almighty

‘The memories of what we shared, the laughter and the joys of husband and wife would linger in my mind until the end and until the heavenly divide separating me and my wife is eventually lifted as it is the lot of all humanity’

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HE public outcry against his murder was awesome. The public was aghast that he could be killed right inside his bedroom with his police aides not too far away. Where were the policemen when their charge was killed?

Were they in the know of the dastardly act? Who could have done it and why? These were some of the questions people asked. We also asked the same questions in this column on August 1, 2006, five days after Funsho Williams was killed in his Ikoyi, Lagos home.

We warned then that the case should not be allowed to go the way of similar murders like those of Chief Bola Ige and Dele Giwa, to mention a few. Seven years down the line, what we are now hearing about the case from the police is not edifying at all. Despite our warning six years ago, the police may fail to bring the suspected killers to book, going by the latest development in their trial. On Monday, the police told Justice Adeniyi Adebajo of the Lagos High Court that some evidence vital to the prosecution of the case had been destroyed. How? Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ovie Oyokomino, who is in charge of forensics at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, told the court: ‘’The perishable evidence such as blood samples as well as the vitreous humour of the eye went bad due to interrupted power supply in the course of refrigerating’’. What a way of prosecuting a case. The police like every other establishment in this country know that we don’t have a reliable power system. This is why organisations rely on generators in carrying out their operations. So, the police should have looked for alternative means of preserving this vital evidence. Why rely on the unreliable public power system when they could have used generator 24/

approved and six years later I married her. She brought a lot of joy to my life and also gave me four children, three girls and a boy all doing well in the profession of Medicine, Engineering, Psychology and Banking.

The purpose of marriage from my own experience is three fold namely for procreation, and without sex there can be no procreation and thirdly for companionship in that order.

When one is old the children will go away and have their own families, the desire for sex will wane and what would be left is companionship. This is the divine order because when God created Eve, he told Adam that he was giving him a helpmate. A helpmate is also probably the same thing as a companion. Someone who complements another person is a helpmate. The bible also says that a man shall leave his family and shall be joined to his wife and both of them shall become one. When a man loses his wife or when a woman loses her husband, half of the person is gone and the one that is left is like an eagle that is flying with one wing. It will certainly not be able to fly high and it may not be able to feed itself; what it will be able to do is continue to soldier on. This is the nature of things. No couple no matter how much they love each other will pray that they should die together. But it is usually easier for the woman to survive the man than the other way round. Who can query God? God in His omnipotence does whatever He wants to do and His decision is final.

It is very hard to live alone especially when you have lived with someone for over 30 years and it does not make sense to me to want to start all over again with another person. Somehow one gets used to loneliness and being alone. What has helped me all these years since my wife’s transition is to bury myself in my work. But then no one can work for 24 hours, one still has to go to bed and sleep at night and then it hits you when it seems you are holding somebody but then you wake up and there is nobody and it is just in your mind. There is immortality of the soul no doubt and one knows even if one is not a Christian that the soul never perishes. But as a Christian, I believe my wife is in another realm and that all the pains of this life can no longer touch her but she will always continue to live in her children and grandchildren and in the love that I had for her and I still have for her.

Diamonds are forever and love is imperishable. There is a

sobering thought in all these that all men and all women have their appointed time. My wife was only 54 years old when she passed on.

The consolation is that she had Jide accomplished her Osuntokun mission. She was an ordained Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and had founded two parishes one in Europe and one in Nigeria and she has been engaged in the labour of love for God and man and God never forgets and my prayer is that she will have her just reward before God Almighty.

Life for me has been full of ups and downs since her demise, more downs than ups but I have kept on in spite of the vicissitude of life because I have faith that my mission on earth will be accomplished. This piece is written to solicit prayers by all those who read it and to give comfort to all those who may be in the same position with me that all will be well. If Biodun had lived, she would have been growing old gracefully along her grey headed husband sharing with me my ups and downs. Finding someone to share your inner feelings, fears and hopes of the future and your children and children’s future is the big absence in my life. But the memories of what we shared, the laughter and the joys of husband and wife would linger in my mind until the end and until the heavenly divide separating me and my wife is eventually lifted as it is the lot of all humanity. It is well.

‘Diamonds are forever and love is imperishable. There is a sobering thought in all these that all men and all women have their appointed time ’

Before police bungle Funsho Williams case 7 to preserve this proof?

What the police have done shows that they are not serious about unmasking the killers. They are just paying lip-service to the matter so that the world will see them as working. For God sake, this is a murder case, which should be proved beyond all reasonable doubts. The police should not give room for any doubt, because any iota of doubt will be resolved in the favour of the accused. If tomorrow, the court frees the accused, we know who to hold responsible. As if we knew, we warned against toying with this case in this piece entitled : Who killed Funsho Williams? Seven years ago : The outrage against his assassination is understandable. In his lifetime, Funsho Williams, an engineer and politician, was a gentleman to the core. He was one of the few politicians around who played the game according to the rules: no hard tackles and no mudslinging. His disposition made many wonder what he was doing in the shark – infested pool of Nigeria politics. Williams was always cool, calm and calculated. Where many were losing their heads, he usually kept his. He was a perfect gentleman who gave a lie to the claim that politics is not for refined people.

A well – heeled gentleman who reached the apogee of his career as permanent secretary in the Lagos State Ministry of Works before he retired, Williams’ ambition was to govern the state. But each time he tried to achieve this dream, he failed. These failures did not deter him, rather they emboldened him to pursue his ambition with renewed vigour. His passion to govern the state of his origin knew no bounds. Williams was not ready

‘If tomorrow, the court frees the accused, we know who to hold responsible’

to allow any other post stand between him and the office of governor. No other office mattered to him. Because of his passion for the gubernatorial seat, he rejected offers of senatorial seat and ministerial appointment. That was the extent of his love for the governorship post.

As a patient person, Williams was ready to wait for God’s appointed time to be governor. This was why when he lost the governorship ticket of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in 1999, he refused to accept any form of compensation when elders of the party locked both men up in a room and asked them to resolve their differences.

Where some in his position would have come up with a long list of demands, Williams reportedly asked Tinubu for nothing. He was said to have maintained that the only thing he wanted was to become the governor of the state. When Tinubu reported the outcome of their meeting to AD elders, they advised that he should make some of Williams’ supporters commissioners. And this was how Dr. Leke Pitan and Mrs Kemi Nelson found their way into Tinubu’s cabinet.

Another politician who benefited immensely from his relationship with Williams was former Works Minister, Mr Seye Ogunlewe. Williams had after losing to Tinubu been offered a senatorial seat. Expectedly, he turned it down and asked that Ogunlewe should take up the offer. In 2003 when he again lost to Tinubu in that year’s governorship election, Williams was offered ministerial appointment. Again and not quiet surprisingly, he rejected the offer.

The lot again fell on Ogunlewe to pick up the job. Williams’ was not prepared to allow any other position distract him.

Perhaps his dream might have come true in 2007. Nobody can say. Suffice to say now that this is not going to be as

Williams was killed last Thursday in his Ikoyi, Lagos home.

His assassination falls into the same pattern of killings that we have witnesssed in the country in the past five years. Bola Ige. Marshall Harry.

Aminasoari Dikibo. Barnabas and Amaka Igwe. A common thread runs through the way these people were killed. Their killers finished them off and just vanished into thin air. Up till today, the killers remain at large and these assassinations remain unresolved. Will Williams’ case go the same way? The police are in a better position to answer this poser. This, however, should not be another unresolved murder case.

The only honour we can do the memory of Williams is to find his killers and the earlier this is done the better. By October 19, this year, it will be 20 years that Dele Giwa was killed by parcel bomb and we are still asking: who killed Dele Giwa?

We hope we will not be asking who killed Williams 20 years after?

Jonathan vs governors May is going to be an interesting month. It is the month we have been waiting for to see how President Goodluck Jonathan and the governors will resolve their differences.

Jonathan wants a change of guards at the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) led by Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State. The president is not hiding the fact that he no longer wants Amaechi in the saddle.

He has some governors with him, but they don’t have the number with which to achieve the president’s aim.

Many of the governors are with Amaechi, at least, up to this moment.

Amaechi enjoys the confidence of his colleagues, whether of the ruling

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

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or of the opposition parties. For now, the president is finding it difficult to get all the governors, especially of the PDP on his side.

The opposition governors have made it clear that they are for Amaechi, come what may. The president is not relenting. So, it is going to be battle royale if the NGF election holds. Will it hold or will Amaechi be allowed to serve a second term without standing for election just as his predecessor, former Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki? Well, we wait to see what happens. Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu has given us an insight into what to expect.

He was quoted by a paper as telling his colleagues who are backing the president to remove Amaechi that : ‘’Let me tell you, 10 of you, even 20 of you cannot remove Amaechi.

Go and tell him’’. You and I know who the him is. It is no other person than the president. As the adage goes, if you wish to talk to the deaf, you do so through his child, just as Muazu has done in this instance. But will the governors walk the talk or will they chicken out when the chips are down?

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

22

COMMENTS WNING private jets have become a fad among PDP governors who have access to free state money and their rich friends in the oil and financial sectors.

The only thing that has changed in the 13 years of PDP administration is our new status as the third or fourth nation with highest number of private jet owners in the world.

Our record as a nation where about 80% of the citizens live below two dollars a day remains unchanged.

The curious thing however is that neither the presidency, said to control between 9 and 11 aircrafts in its presidential fleet, nor government body such as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has been able to tell us the exact number of private jets owned or operating in Nigeria.

Forbes publication for instance claims the figure of privately owned jets jumped from 20 in 2007 to 150 in 2012. The Guardian, on its part, quoting a top official of the NCAA claims that the ‘ownership of the state-of-the-art jets in Nigeria had grown to over 200 in 2012 from 50 in 2008’. The figures of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, (NIESV), a body that insisted it is trained to assess properties, agrees with that of The Guardian.

But as far as the NCAA is concerned, there are only 10 private jets registered in Nigeria.

According to Sam Adurogboye, the body’s spokesperson, all others including the Canadian-made Bombardier jet with US registration number N431CB, a gift to Ayo Oritsejafor, the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), are not owned by Nigerians because ‘they carry foreign registration credentials rather than Nigerian registration’.

The only fact not in dispute however is the claim by Bombardier, the Canadian aircraft manufacturer that Nigeria ranks behind the United States, United Kingdom, and China among countries that top their

O

‘It is an embarrassment that while leaders of advanced economies use commercial flights for their official engagements, huge resources needed for development are tied up by PDP stars like Amaechi, Danbaba and their tribe joined by even fraudsters who clog our air space with private jets. Our greatest tragedy is that we have no leadership that can call them to order by leading by example’

Y

Amaechi and PDP’s fad for private jets orders for the supply of its aircraft type.

Tragically, the concern of ACN that has been behaving like a mourner who weep louder than the bereaved has been to defend Rotimi Amaechi.

First we are told, as if we didn’t know, that the grounding of his private aircraft by NCAA was “a glaring case of political witch-hunt”.

Amaechi as a PDP star does not need Lai Mohammed or any outsider to tell him the consequences of anyone crossing the path of President Jonathan.

Amaechi as a veteran of many PDP family wars, starting with Obasanjo who insisted he was then not a PDP material for governorship, the verbal battle with inpatient Patience Jonathan over his demolition of houses for schools in Okirika, the Rivers and Bayelsa battle over disputed oil fields, and the ongoing battle of wits between him and the presidency over the chairmanship of the governor’s forum, knows his enemies.

Those who are setting him up against an unforgiving President Jonathan by attempting to sell his record of performance in power generation, infrastructural development and security in his state are only going to increase Amaechi’s nightmare. Such achievements count for very little among PDP leaders where ex-PDP governors who stole their states blind moved on to become senators, member of kitchen cabinet of a new president or received state pardon after an indictment by the judiciary.

In any case, Ahmed Gulak, the president’s adviser on political matters has summarised the PDP government position on one of its stars: “If you are a governor and you are flying a private jet, you must do it within the

ESTERDAY was May-Day. It offered an opportunity to assess the working and living conditions of the working people globally. But also importantly, on the occassion, we are encouraged to critically examine the performance of trade unions, organisations formed by workers with the main aim of ensuring dignity of labour at national and global level. Organisation of African Trades Union Unity (OATUU) is a pan-African organisation of African workers. The inaugural congress of OATUU held in Addis Ababa in April, 1973 under the auspices of the OAU and chaired by Nigeria’s diplomat Peter Onu. Delegates were drawn from 31 countries in the continent including Nigeria.

OATUU’s formation was a product of legitimate ideological contestations as well as cooperation between African trade unionists dating back to 1940s. The premier continental labour movement, marked its 40th anniversary recently .

The formation of OATUU brought to the fore the significance of trade unions in Africa. In contemporary Africa, some anti-democratic governmnents take delight in keeping labour at arms length and even dare to undermine unions as a whole. For instance, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) executive was illegally dissolved by Nigerian military dictatorships in 1988 and 1994 for resisting arbitrary fuel price increases and for demanding democratization. Just last year, in Swaziland, the only national trade union centre was outlawed by government for demanding for multi-party democracy.

Africa history however reveals different dispositions of postcolonial African governmnents towards trade unions. Irrespective of their ideological persuations, Africa’s founding fathers (and mothers too!) appreciated the role of labour in anti-colonial struggles. They saw unions as valued patners in post-colonial development agenda.

Remarkably too, scores of nationalists and patriots who fought for independence were tested trade unionists in their own rights. Notable historic figures included late Ahmed Sekou Toure of Guinea, a trade unionist turned a political activist. He singularly mobilized the Guinean people for independence and terminated French colonialism in 1958 in a French Referendum. That was a heroic feat given that the likes of the late Félix Houphouët-Boigny of Ivory Coast voted for continued French rule. The late President Julius Nyerere and former President Kenneth Kaunda, were all unionists who fought against British colonialism in Tanzania and Zambia respectively. Late Tom Mboya led Kenyan Trade Union Movement but was also in the fore front of the struggle for Kenya’s independence. Late President Modibo Keita of Mali, President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Hamani Diori, the founding President of Niger, late Nnamdi Azikwe, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Mallam Aminu Kano and of course, late

extant laws. There are laws governing the usage of private jets in this country and the world over and because you are a governor does not give you the license to flout the laws governing your country”.

I don’t think anyone should pick a quarrel with the presidency for saying ‘no governor is above the law’. Jonathan has after all, not said PDP governors and individuals including obstructive journalists cannot fly their private jets. I think it would have been more helpful if ACN had merely appealed to the presidency and PDP to live by their precepts.

But I think the Amaechi case has thrown up a more fundamental issue that should be of concern to Nigerians. This is why those defending him should look beyond personality and focus on what has become a national malaise. It is bad enough we have some Nigerians who acquired their private jets by exploiting government weak institutions, some ‘self proclaiming’ prosperity prophets who buy theirs through exploitation of fears of their congregation and through sales of grace to fraudsters, but it is a national embarrassment when there is no one to call to order our elected political leaders who junket around the nation while those they were elected to serve wallow in poverty.

It is therefore a disservice to the nation for anyone attempting to separate Amaechi, a man who in spite of his disagreement with his PDP family shares the same PDP predilection of freely spending the taxpayer’s money as if they are answerable to none.

It is on record that Rivers State owns an AW139 helicopter, which it leased to a commercial airliner. It is also on record that Rivers State sold its Embraer Legacy 600, claim-

ing it was too expensive to maintain. It has also been said that Rivers State government last year sold its Dash 8-Q200 aircraft to Cross River State for $6 million which the later then leased to Aero Contractors to undertake commercial flights to and from Obudu airstrip. It was also reported by the authoritative Guardian on October 7, 2012 that Amaechi acquired a brand new Bombardier Global 5000 (N565RS) from Bombardier Canada for $45.7 million (N7.3 Billion) through the Bank of Utah Trustee account.

Defenders of Governor Amaechi should tell Nigerians what the poor people of Rivers State who coughed out N7.3b benefited from his last flight to Akure before being caught up in PDP family war often fought over sharing of posts and spoils of office. Perhaps they should also tell us the immediate benefits of the poor people of Taraba where Suntai Danbaba’s near suicide left five other Nigerians dead. The flight that led to the crash of a Nigeria Navy executive Augusta 109E helicopter, which killed Kaduna State Governor Patrick Yakowa, former NSA Andrew Owoye Azazi and four others, was not undertaken to better the lives of the poor who live on polluted waters of the Niger creeks or the people of Kaduna confronted at all times by religious and political strife arising from economic deprivations. Like Amaechi’s last flight in his state-of-the-art jet, it was undertaken to join presidential aide Oronto Douglas, a mere presidential aide who was burying his father.

It is an embarrassment that while leaders of advanced economies use commercial flights for their official engagements, huge resources needed for development are tied up by PDP stars like Amaechi, Danbaba and their tribe joined by even fraudsters who clog our air space with private jets. Our greatest tragedy is that we have no leadership that can call them to order by leading by example.

In this regard, a cursory survey of the list of private jet owners as published by the authoritative Forbes will show very clearly that PDP has failed our nation. We have on the list some indicted by the House committee probe on privatization The report which recommended that some privatized firms fraudulently bought by these con men be returned to the state was buried by PDP and the presidency. On the list also are some of those involved in fuel importation scam that in a sane society should be in jail Both the Farouk and Ribadu committee recommendations were rubbished The favoured Aig Imokhuede’s report has been sabotaged by the presidency, PDP and the judiciary. And featured prominently on the list are also some merchants of ‘grace for sale’ patronized by fuel and financial fraudsters.

Reflections on OATUU @ 40

By Comrade Issa Aremu Pa Micheal Imoudu were all union organisers who brought to bear their respective trade unions skills in contestation and negotiation to lower the British Union Jack. Even in later day liberated territories of Nambia and South Africa, trade unions were the touch bearers in the battle for freedom.

In recognition of the historic positive roles of African Trade Unions in 1973, OAU enouraged and consumated the formation of the OATUU. The government of Osagyfo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was even exceptionally appreciative by building a six-storey-building, “Hall of Trade Unions” for the Ghana Trades Union Congress. It is not by accident that OATUU has it’s secretariat in Accra until recently headed by Alhaji Hassan Sunmonu, the founding President of NIgeria Labour Congress, NLC. The selling point of OATUU is the unity of Africa’s trade union centres. African workers had always desired a continental organization as countervailing force to governments and employers who were equally organised at continental levels taking decisions that impact often negatively on jobs, wages and pensions among others. Trade unions were not immune from the ideological divisions of the Cold war era.

Indeed they were ideologically opposed into the defunct All-African Trade Union Federation (AATUF), the African Trade Union Confederation (ATUC), and Pan-African Workers’ Congress. OATUU is an offshot of these centres.

Sadly none offered discernable perspectives on OATUU at 40. Not long ago, African media uncritically downloaded the mantra according to President Barack Obama: Africa needs strong institutions not strong men. How can we build strong institutions in Africa, when we even lack knowledge of our institutions? OATUU with its secretariat in Accra (interestingly where the American President delivered his sermon in 2009) had been a strong and tested institution with committed selfless working men that included, Denis Akumu of Central Organisation of Trade Unions COTU (K) in Kenya, Hassan Summonu of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) among others.

OATUU, despite challenges of governance (military dictatorships in many countries until the latest democratization) and unfavourable economic climate (SAP) had made positive impact on the lives of African working men and women.

Proudly African, it has helped affliates ( South Sudan reportedly being the newest 55th member) to build capacity, especially in economic literacy. We must credit OATUU and other

progressive organisations with the African debt cancellations and debts write-offs at the turn of the century. As far back as late 80s, at a time it was fashionable for SAP imposed military regimes to outdo each other in slavish diligent repayments of dubious debts (even as they denied minimum wages and employment at home!) to it’s credit, OATUU, called and pressured for the unconditional and total cancellation of Africa’s debt. It has also been counted on the labour market institution building in the continent. OATUU played a decisive role in the transfromation of hitherto top-down OAU Conference of Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs into a more participatory present day tripartite OAU/AU Labour and Social Affairs Commission. Structural Adjustment programmes (SAPs) of the 80s collapsed due to the great struggles of OATUU’s aflliates notably NLC of Nigeria and TUC of Ghana. In particular NLC since 1988 had been resisting incessant fuel prices increases and leading “SAP riots” even at the risk of the illegal dissolutions of it’s executive twice under IBB and Abacha dictatorships.

With the support of the Chinese, OATUU has also built a Labour College in Ghana. Many would question the independence of OATUU if African workers and governments cannot build it’s infrastructure. If OATUU’s affliate unions independently built their offices, why not OATUU? There must certainly have been some disconnect!

OATUU should avoid the pitfall of the dependency mentality of African leaders who preside over capital flight and corruption in the continent yet still rely on the Chinese government to rebuild AU secretariat in Addis Ababa. Let’s us copy the OAU founding fathers who, based on self-reliance, built the old scretariat on African resources. Let’s us copy not ape China. Cooperation and partnership, not servitude! In the next 40 years, OATUU must consolidate on unity of actions in defence of rights of African workers. OATUU must also deepen it’s internal democracy. It’s last Congress in Algiers recently was more of hear say and murmurs compared to the open democratic contestations and participation that characterised the election of Comrade Alhaji Hassan Sunmonu in late 80s. OATUU that was loud in the struggle for enthronement of democracy in the continent must reduce it’s own internal democracy deficits. Brinkmanship, alien to trade union movement, must give way to comradeship and continental solidarity. Long Live OATUU! • Comrade Aremu, is Vice President and Chairman, International Committee of NLC

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THE NATION

EDUCATION Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.com

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

INSIDE

NUC disowns varsity ranking

email:- education@thenationonlineng.com

The Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) was written nationwide last Saturday. Though the test went well, there were untoward incidents in some centres.

THE National Universities Commission (NUC) has disowned some lists posted online claiming to rank the best 100 universities in Nigeria.

In a statement made available to The Nation, the management of the agency noted that it has come up with only one ranking - in 2002 - both based on performance of universities in accreditation exercises.

-Page 27

OOU recalls 100 lecturers, others NO fewer than 100 workers, including 50 lecturers of the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, who were relieved of their jobs under the Dr Alex Onabanjo-led Governing Council, have been recalled.

About 825 teaching and nonteaching staff lost their jobs between 2009 and 2010 in manners the victims and various...

-Page 37

CAMPUS LIFE

• Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori, Deputy Governor of the State of Osun, monitoring the UTME at Fakunle High School, Osogbo

•An eight-page section on campus news, people etc

Six UTME candidates die FOR months, they prepared for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) held nationwide last Saturday. They were in high spirits and looked forward to writing the exam.

Twenty-four hours to the DDay, some candidates travelling to write the exam in Onitsha, the commercial hub of Anambra State, died on the Enugu-Onitsha Highway when a palm kernel oil-laden tanker rammed into five of the buses conveying them.

-Page 29

The high, the low sides of UTME 2013 N O fewer than 1,629,102 registered for the Paper and Pencil Test (PPT) option of the 2013 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) held nationwide last Saturday. The examination was not without drama. The candidates, their parents and guardians, invigilators, security operatives and other examination officials were the cast in the drama.

At many centres, there were issues with centre changes, invigilation, lateness and examination malpractices. Despite the efforts of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to check examination fraud, many candidates, in some cases with the help of officials, circumvented the measures. They entered the exam halls with what is referred to as “contraband”.

Strictness The examination was either good or bad, depending on the candidate’s centre. Officials in some centres The Nation visited played strictly by the rules. They did not allow lateness; they dispossessed candidates of foreign materials before being

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie, Adegunle Olugbamila, Medinat Kanabe, Kolade Adeyemi, Nwanosike Onu, Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Clarice Azuatalam, Ernest Nwokolo and Stanley Uchegbu.

and other parts of the body.

A JAMB supervisor told The Nation that those apprehended would be handed over to the police.

"They (written answers) were collected from them before allowing them to enter the hall. We also warned them to drop whatever they had on them because if caught they would be made to fill the malpractice form. We have written the names of those we caught with answers in the hall, they have filled forms and we are going to hand them over to the police when they

allowed into the hall, and issued malpractice forms to those caught.

At other centres, the officials looked the other way, or even 'helped' the candidates for a fee.

Their malpractice forms were returned intact to JAMB. JAMB officials at SMA College, Jakande Estate, Oke-Afa, Isolo, a Lagos suburb, were strict. They frisked the candidates and before the examination started they caught many with prepared answers scribbled on small pieces of paper hidden under shirt sleeves, in shoes,

‘

We also warned them to drop whatever they had on them because if caught they would be made to fill the malpractice form. We have written the names of those we caught with answers in the hall, they have filled forms and we are going to hand them over to the police when they come

‘

come," he said.

He praised the teachers, saying they did a good job by cooperating with JAMB officials to fish out fraudsters.

Another invigilator said: "This school is very standard. I am impressed with the school and I recommend the school. Other private schools collect money but this one doesn't. I have worked in a private school before and I know what I am saying."

Candidates who wrote the examination at Pavillions 2 and 3 of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) saw invigilators as enemies or friends depending on the level of ‘understanding’. Many complained about strictness, sternness and harshness of some invigilators. They were said to have resisted cooperation, and the use of mobile phones which can be deployed in receiving answers via SMS. A female candidate, who wrote in Pavilion 3, described the invigilators’ strictness as wickedness.

"The invigilators and the supervisors were so wicked and strict. They didn't allow us to chat with friends, even the person staying beside you. The strictness of my invigilator compelled me to use my brain. I pray I pass this JAMB," she said.

Ekande Johnson, who wrote at the Definitive Library, UNICAL, also, according to him, used his brains because there was nothing like 'co•Continued on page 26

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

26

EDUCATION

The high, the low sides of UTME 2013 •Continued from page 25

operation' at his centre.

"All our invigilators squeezed their faces, starting from the beginning of the exam to the end. The security officers took our mobile phones from us but later returned them after the examination. In Physics and Mathematics, I just had to shade any alphabet that I felt will be the answer because I didn't know them," he fumed.

One girl was heard discussing with her friends afterwards that effective security meant she could not use her phone to receive answers she had paid an exorbitant amount for.

"I arranged with my mercenary to send me answers in Physics and Chemistry but the security was too tight that I had to drop my phone in my bag. What is hurting me now is that I paid the runs guy for three subjects but did not benefit from it. I pleaded with my invigilator to allow me enter with my mobile phone that this is the fourth time I’m writing JAMB but he refused," she said.

An invigilator at UNICAL, Kingsley Eneje, said the strictness was to ensure that no malpractices were recorded. He thanked JAMB for the maximum security measures taken to check malpractices, especially the biometric thumbprinting capture system which, since introduced in 2011, has helped reduce impersonation.

• Candidates verifying their data at one of the UNICAL centres

Compromised officials At centres where the invigilators and supervisors did not think collecting money to help candidates cheat was a bad idea, the rules were dumped. Candidates who did not prepare were happy, describing the invigilators as angels and thanking God for sending them their way.

At many centres in Kano and Jigawa states, candidates had a field day, using cell phones and other devices to get expo.

"Oga, by the grace of God, this is my last attempt for JAMB. I tried this examination for more than four times. But with what happened in the hall today, I am rest assured of a better score when the chips are down," one of the candidates told our reporter.

According to him, in collaboration with the invigilators and security agencies who allegedly collected some money from candidates, "we were given the freedom to do whatever we liked. It was like a jamboree and I thank God for everything.”

A candidate who wrote at Pavilion 2 UNICAL said his invigilator was God-sent because he “cooperated.”

"The exam was okay and our invigilator cooperated well as he allowed us to cooperate.

In fact, he was God-sent to help us," he said.

It was not only invigilators helping candidates. Security operatives were also indicted. At the Faculty of Arts centre, one of the three within the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, an official of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), one of the paramilitary bodies deployed by JAMB to provide security, was caught attempting to send answers to some candidates through two cell phones.

A microchip with solutions to Mathematics (Type A) was also found on him. The officer who identified himself as Kazeem Adewale was caught by LASU security guards.

Sandwiched between two security officials inside one of the university's vans, he started pleading, claiming the phones and microchips were given to him by his boss, another female officer who he simply identified as Adesanu.

He said in Yoruba: Egbon, ee de bami bewon; sebi Yoruba bii temi leyin naa nso (please big brother, kindly help me appeal to them) he said to our reporter.

His boss, Adesanu, denied giving the phones and microchips to the suspect. Adewale was handed over to men from Ojo Police Station.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Prof Sena Bakre, who coordinated the three centres within LASU, said she had suspected Adewale was up to no good.

"He (Adewale) was moving around with suspicion," said Prof Bakre. "He never stayed at his duty post. As soon as I realised this, I alerted LASU security to secretly place surveillance on him until he was eventually caught."

Prof Bakre also said she suspected Adewale's

•Tope, a candidate, pleading on his knees to be allowed to write after arriving at the SMA College, Isolo centre late and drunk. Behind him are parents interceding on his behalf.

‘Upon all the security I still carry my own enter." When asked by another how she did it, she said: "I carry am enter na." Pointing to another female candidate, she added: "See this girl ehn, she carry plenty paper enter and they no catch her’ atrocities had the backing of his superiors, adding that following the suspect's arrest, other NSCDC officials became nervous. She urged JAMB to beam its searchlight more on NSCDC officials, fingering them as one of the abettors of examination practices during the UTME. "For me, I no longer find this civil defence people dependable again. They are usually the ones that help many of these students get the answers either via cell phones or any other means. I think the authority should do something about this. These people have outlived their usefulness," she said.

To cut corners during the examination, many candidates registered in states or centres far from their homes. The Nation observed that thousands of candidates moved from one state to the other, especially from the Southeast to the Southsouth, Southwest and Northern states to write the examination, not because of inadequate centres as claimed during the registration, but because of fraud. They were helped by teachers and principals who charged them huge sums to organise special centres where they could write the examination and be assured of high grades.

According to Christian Ndu, a parent, in Nnewi, Anambra State, there was massive examination malpractice across board. Many who claimed to be principals of private schools and even government schools, and some cyber café operators, took their candidates outside Anambra to Cross River, Delta and Benue states to write the examination.

He said: "This generation of students could not write examinations in their schools but in

arranged schools outside their states with the connivance of school heads. They are destroying the future of our children. They would grow to be disasters in the various offices they would be working.

"I witnessed a situation where a school took over 300 students on Friday aboard Rivers Line Transport to schools in remote areas in Rivers and Cross River state and each student was forced to pay extra N3,500 for the exams excluding the normal JAMB fees.”

While officials collected money for examination malpractice, at the Community High school, Obioma in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, close to Anambra, the teachers charged candidates N500 each to make use of the schools chairs for the examination.

Some of the candidates told The Nation that the teachers made it compulsory for over 400 candidates in the school and anybody that failed to pay was not given the question papers or OMR sheets. Candidates that did not have enough were forced to borrow from their friends.

A female candidate told The Nation that the teachers must have made over N300,000 from the forced levy.

Lateness In the course of monitoring the UTME, The Nation discovered some candidates deliberately came late to enable them import answers into the hall.

In some centres in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Capital, some came late, when the invigilators would not be strict in their supervision. Their alibi was mainly distance

and transport hassles and in many cases they won the sympathy of the invigilators who allowed them to take the exams.

In some centres in Agege, Lagos, The Nation observed that a few candidates arrived more than one hour after the examination started and were not allowed into the halls. Many of them broke down in tears. They went on their knees or prostrated for the supervisors to allow them in.

Asked the reason for their lateness, some said they had to reprint their photo card (a one-page document detailing their names, registration number, centre name and number, institutions and programmes information, as well as their photographs) that morning because they learnt they needed a reference number which was only uploaded online recently.

But a supervisor at the Dairy Farm Senior Secondary School, Agege centre, Mr Oladayo Ibrahim, said the reprint was unnecessary as the candidates only needed to provide their registration and centre numbers for verification.

"I don't know why you troubled yourself to reprint this slip when nobody will collect it from you. What we need for the verification is only your name and centre number. You people just talked to yourselves and decided to do what JAMB did not ask you to do," he said to two candidates who came one hour late but were allowed into the examination halls.

But one young man who came after them was not that lucky though he laid prostrate on the sandy ground begging invigilators to beg the supervisor on his behalf. He pleaded in Yoruba: "When I got to the gate, they said I should reprint my slip so I picked a bike immediately; that was why I came late."

At Sanngo Senior Secondary School, another centre nearby, three girls came 90 minutes late and wept as they waited for the supervisor, Mr Ahmed Ojodu, to attend to them. They claimed to have gone to another centre located in Pen Cinema, which they could not name, where their names did not turn up when they thumbprinted. They had no answer when asked why it took them more than one hour to get to Sanngo which is less than 10 minutes from Pen Cinema by foot.

Reminding the girls that the exam started at 9a.m., he asked them to return home. “It is 10.30a.m. and you are just coming when some people are concluding their exam. Please don't harass me. Go home and come and write next year,” he said.

At Saint John of God Secondary School in Awka, Anambra State, more than 30 candidates were denied access to their centre because they were more than three hours late.

The Nation gathered that security men denied them access to the venue despite their pleas.

The reason, according to one of the teachers, was because they came to the centre at 1pm, when the examination started at 10a.m.

"If we allow the students to enter the hall, they would not have done any thing tangible when the examination had almost ended, so the best option was to stop them from disturbing those who are serious," the teacher said.

An the affected candidate, who gave her name as Chinenye, told The Nation that the teachers were just wicked, adding that some of them arrived at the gate at 11.30am but "they failed to open the gate for us, claiming that we were late."

Some candidates in the North were late because of transportation problem. A candidate said she found it difficult getting a tricycle to the venue.

"As you are aware, the state government banned the movement of commercial motorcycles and this greatly affected some of us that very day. For instance I paid through my nose to charter a tricycle to my centre; and apart from that, I arrived very late because it took me quite some time to get a tricycle that agreed to convey me to such a long distance.

"Again, for the fact that the exam day was the last Saturday of the Month which is observed as sanitation day in Kano, transporters did not come out on time, unknown to them that the government cancelled the exercise," Faith Emmanuel told The Nation.

Cellphones Candidates were scanned by men of the NSCDC with metal body scanners to detect mobile phones or any metal object. However, some of them soon devised a means to avoid detection of the phones by removing the batteries.

At the UNICAL centre, some candidates came with two mobile phones - one of which was submitted at the point of entry while the other was smuggled inside by removing its battery.

A candidate said once the battery is removed, •Continued on page 27

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

27

EDUCATION

NUC disowns 2013 Nigerian varsity ranking

Ag.IDAH Bursar POLYapFILE pointed MR James Oni Achumu has been

Ekwunife: don't scrap NECO

appointed Acting Bursar for the Federal Polytechnic, Idah, Kogi State.

The appointment approved by the Rector, Mr Matthew Itopa Akpata, follows the expiration of the second tenure of the outgoing Bursar Mr Gabriel Omaye Achaluda who assumed office in 2002.

Born on January 21, 1960 in Odochala, Ibaji Local Government Area of Kogi State, Achumu joined the services of the Polytechnic since 1980.

The Acting Bursar attended St. Theresa Roman Catholic School, Odomomoh, Kogi State (19641966), LGEA Primary School Idomonwu, Ebele, Edo State (1967-1972; and St. Anthony Catholic Secondary Modern School Iwo, Osun State (19731976). He is a trained accountant from various institutions of higher learning including the Federal Polytechnic, Idah, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu, and the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Before his present appointment, he has headed various units in the Bursary Department including Students Accounts, Treasury, and Main Accounts unit.

He is a member of many professional bodies including the Certified Public Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Economists of Nigeria, Institute of Stock Brokers, Chartered Information System Auditors, among others.

From Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Nnewi

UTME 2013

T

HE National Universities Commission (NUC) has disowned some lists posted online claiming to rank the best 100 universities in Nigeria.

In a statement made available to The Nation, the management of the agency noted that it has come up with only one ranking - in 2002 - both based on performance of universities in accreditation exercises.

The statement reads: "The attention of the National Universities Commission (NUC) has been drawn to some purported lists, making the rounds on the internet, of the 'Top 100' and 'Top 50' universities in Nigeria, which were alleged to be the outcome of a non-existing 'annual university rankings' by the National University Commission (sic).

"It has to be stated, unequivocally, that the lists did not emanate from the NUC. The Commission therefore totally dissociates itself from them.

"The first ranking of Nigerian universities by the NUC in 2002 was based on the performance of the universities' academic programmes in the 1999 and 2000 accreditation exercises.

"The 2002 ranking was based on data on the following: Percentage of

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

academic programmes of the university with full accreditation status; Compliance with carrying capacity (measure of the degree of deviation from carrying capacity); Proportion of the academic staff of the university at professorial level; Foreign content (staff); Foreign content (student); Staff with outstanding academic achievements; Research output; Student completion rate; Ph.D graduate output for the year; Stability of university calendar; and Student-to-PC ratio. The results of the above were duly published by the Commission and the same will be done for future exercises."

However, the agency noted that it is currently conducting institutional accreditation on the basis of which a form of ranking would emerge at a

proper time.

It said: "In May, 2006, NUC considered introducing institutional accreditation to complement programme accreditation. Institutional accreditation is a process of evaluating the activities of an institution against the criteria established by an accrediting agency. These include governance and administration, financial stability, admissions, personnel services, institutional resources, student academic achievement, institutional effectiveness, and relationships with constituencies inside and outside the institution.

“Following wide consultations, the instruments for this exercise were designed and pilot-tested in six universities (Three federal, one state and two private) in 2010. The instruments were fine-tuned, based on the findings of the pilot exercise and

•Prof Julius Okojie, Executive Secretary, NUC

NUC was ready for the full-blown institutional accreditation, which took off on 27 November, 2011. A total of 26 universities, selected, based on the fact that at least 70 per cent of all their programmeshad full accreditation, were involved in the exercise.

“The above is the build-up to the next ranking exercise by the NUC, which outcome will be made public, appropriately."

•Continued from page 26

A

MEMBER of the House of Representatives representing Anaocha/ Dunukofia/Njikoka federal constituency of Anambra State, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife has cautioned the Federal Government against scrapping the National Examination Council (NECO).

Mrs Ekwunife said the threat by the federal government to scrap the examining body would be counterproductive. She added that the country does not need to scrap the examination body but strengthen it to yield results.

She blamed poor and low standard of education on lack of proper training of teachers and called for re-introduction of regular tests for students.

"NECO is not the cause of low standard education and I want to advise the Federal Government against scraping it. It is our only examination body and they should also know that WAEC headquarters is in Ghana and most at times one has to wait for years in case of correction of error in one's name.

"I don't subscribe to the scraping of NECO because it is one of the most credible examination bodies we have in the country. What we must do is to return to constant examination on weekly, monthly and termly basis because students show more seriousness in examination and not continued assessment," she said.

•Ekwunife

•Alabi (middle) flanked by Mrs Esther Aworinde, Former President, Christian Booksellers Association of Nigeria (left) and Dr David Popoola, President, Booksellers Association of Nigeria at the briefing

Book stakeholders bemoan Fed Govt's neglect UBLISHERS, book sellers, authors, printers and other stakeholders in the book industry are lamenting government neglect which they say is retarding book development in Nigeria.

They spoke at a briefing to announce the Nigeria International Book Fair (NIBF) coming up between May 5 and 11 at the Multipurpose Halls of the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

Pioneer chairman of the Nigeria Book Fair Trust, Mr Dayo Alabi, who stood in for the incumbent chair, Mr Samuel Kolawole complained that the Federal Government has failed to evolve policies that would aid the growth of the book industry unlike India, which promotes its intellectual property both home and abroad.

P

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

While hailing the Indian government's support for their own to the extent that many publishers and booksellers from the country have registered to exhibit at next week's fair, Alabi cautioned that they would take over the Nigerian book industry if nothing is done to develop local capacity. He called on the Federal Government to establish a commission for the book industry.

"We don't have anybody in government that looks at any aspect of our lives to identify problems and analyse the solutions. In Nigeria, any policy that benefit the people is by accident. Four years ago, CAPAXIL, an umbrella body of professionals in India, came to Nigeria.

They were able to see the Minister of Education, the National Univer-

sities Commission and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC). If it was us, it will take one year to book an appointment.

"We are happy the Indians are coming to exhibit but we are not happy that they will take over the industry. Nobody is helping us to develop local books; nobody is helping us sell our books. Very soon we will all be selling local books," he said.

Speaking on the book fair, Executive Secretary of the NIBF, Mr Biodun Omotubi said 131 exhibitors, among them, 48 foreigners will be at the fair to sell books and transact other businesses.

He said the International Conference will discuss the theme: Investment in the Knowledge Economy as a Vehicle for Sustainable Growth and Development in Africa, on May 7.

VC laments varsities, agencies’ disconnect

T

HE Vice-Chancellor of the Niger State-owned Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBBU), Lapai, Niger State, Prof Ibrahim Kolo has accused development agencies and manufacturing industries of not utilising research findings by scholars from the nation's Ivory Towers to fast track the country development.

Speaking during the university's first inaugural lecture, the ViceChancellor noted that researches carried out in many areas of human endeavors with proven solutions by many scholars are abound but lamented that such findings are not being developed for the benefit of the country by our industries, development and government agencies.

Kolo said: ''In Nigeria, there is disconnect between what the

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

universities are doing in the area of research and what development agencies are doing. Government is supposed to build on what the university researchers have done, but that is not the case. The fact is there can be no development without researchers input.

"IBBUL like other universities has the mandate to teach and carry out researches in various areas of human endeavour. The sad aspect is that our development agencies and industries are not utilizing these findings. In developed countries findings of researches carried out by their universities are improved upon, but here we are yet to do that''.

The don cited the feat recorded by the Federal University of

Technology, Minna in developing Typhoid fever vaccine, but lamented that nothing has been done by various developmental agencies and companies on it after years of research and findings.

In order to remain relevant and in an effort to fulfill its mandate Kolo said that IBBUL lecturers, researchers and students are encouraged to carry out researches into areas of relevance to the state in particular and Nigeria.

In his 55-page lecture titled ''Mycotoxins: are they the silent killers," Gbodi, a Professor of Toxicology noted that Mycotoxins have dealt a great havoc on the food sector of the economy, stressing that livestock and farm produce are worst hit, as it takes its toll on the health and economy of the people and country.

there is no way the scanner will detect the phone.

After the exam, candidates from different centres in Lagos had a lot to say about how it went. Some spoke about how they were able to deceive the NSCDC officers. A female candidate said: "Upon all the security I still carry my own enter."

When asked by another how she did it, she said: "I carry am enter na."

Pointing to another female candidate, she added: "See this girl ehn, she carry plenty paper enter and they no catch her."

A female candidate who wrote at the Agidingbi Senior Secondary School, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos said in a phone conversation while on a bus after the examination that she was able to use the Mathematics answers sent to her mobile phone.

"I got Mathematics. That was the only one we used," she said.

In Ogun State, the NSCDC arrested 82 persons for examination malpractices.

The suspects who were arrested at different centres were caught using phones, books, palm tops, scientific calculators, among others to answer questions.

The Nation gathered that some of the suspects were texting question types to agents planted outside the centres and were getting responses from which they shaded the supposedly correct options on the answer sheet.

The NSCDC Commandant for the state, Mr Aboluwoye Akinwande, said the suspects were arrested in 118 centres across Ogun Central, Ogun East and West. He said 30 candidates were arrested in Abeokuta; 17 in Lisabi; nine, Ewekoro; and one each at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, AgoIwoye, and the Molusi College centres.

Akinwande said: "The first thing is that they have been made to fill relevant form. Investigation will be conducted,that will determine their culpability and then we can decide on trial as necessary information about them have been collected."

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

28

EDUCATION FUNAAB FILE Staff School relocates THE Federal University Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) Staff School, has moved to its permanent site on Alabata Road, main campus of the university after 15 years on a leased property at the mini-campus.

Speaking at the colourful inauguration of the new school, the FUNAAB Vice-Chancellor, Prof Olusola Oyewole, expressed appreciation to the founding fathers of the university for initiating the idea of a staff school.

The new building boasts of modern furniture and equipment, aside the large compound and beautiful landscape.

The staff school has some buses that can transport over 90 pupils at a time from Abeokuta town to the campus.

With the relocation, Oyewole expressed satisfaction that 16 out of the 25 inherited projects he met on assumption of office have been completed in less than a year. He said he would not allow any inherited project remain uncompleted.

‘Stop buying esa’ AN expert in Fruit Science, Prof Isaac Aiyelaagbe, has urged Nigerians to stop buying rotten tomatoes, popularly called esa in the Southwest.

Delivering the FUNAAB 39th Inaugural Lecture titled, Fruits: Food for the Birds? Aiyelaagbe elicited laughter from the audience when he admonished them not to buy “¹’a” (rotten tomatoes), any more.

He also lamented that though the country had between six and 15 per cent malnutrition rating, nutritional and health benefits of fruits remained unexploited.

A Humboldt Fellow and an ordained Anglican priest serving in non-stipendiary capacity in the Ibadan Diocese of the Church of Nigeria, Aiyelaagbe called for a re-orientation of the mindset of the Nigerian populace that fruits were not food meant only for birds or the sick.

Amaechi challenges RSUST on research

T

O ensure that the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), Port Harcourt attains the vision of its founding fathers regarding scientific breakthroughs, Governor Chibuike Amaechi has challenged the lecturers to embark on research projects.

Amaechi who gave the charge at the 25th convocation for the 2011/ 2012 graduates of the first stateowned university also noted that the growth, development and quality of universities are measured by the quality of their research output.

To this end, he counselled the university to vote funds for research and training to bridge the gap.

He also advised the authorities of the school to scout and recruit the best lecturers, promising, that his administration would pay their remunerations.

The Governor promised the university full financial autonomy, observing that the essence of training and retraining of its staff will enable them cope with the dynamics of academic challenges.

He, however, decried a situation

• From Right: Amaechi, Hon. Justice Adophus Karibi-Whyte JSC, (Rtd), and Prof Fakae at the convocation From Clarice Azuatalam, Port Harcourt

where lecturers turn themselves into businessmen and warned them against using official working hours to attend to their private businesses.

"You cannot be a lecturer and also a businessman. The business of lecturing is the business of studying and there is no time any lecturer will stop studying. I think that the university must vote funds for research and training. It is not enough that we are building hostels, offices and classrooms

without promoting training."

He also disclosed that his administration has concluded arrangements to commence the construction of the new RSUST at the Greater Port Harcourt City this year.

"We have finished with the due process and we will start building the infrastructures and various faculties of the university," he said.

In his welcome address, titled On a Steady Growth, the RSUST ViceChancellor, Prof Barineme Fakae said 5,453 graduands were awarded first degrees, post graduate

diplomas, masters and doctorate degrees.

Fakae urged the graduands to see their convocation as the beginning of a turning point in their personal lives.

The VC recalled how the university suffered unwarranted image battering by some unpatriotic elements stating the university has taken a resolve that strike is no more an option in any struggle for better service conditions as it has negative impact on the future.

Okojie questions capacity of academics

T

HE Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof Julius Okojie, has praised the annual international workshops of the Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), promising that henceforth, the commission will partner in subsequent editions.

This was part of Okojie's goodwill message at the opening of the university's fourth international workshop held at the university premises.

The three-day workshop had as theme: Learning in the age of rapidly changing technology.

By Adegunle Olugbamila

Okojie, who was represented by the immediate past Vice-Chancellor, Osun State University, Osun State, Prof Sola Akinrinade, was impressed by the theme of the workshop and calibre of resource persons. He noted that the low capacity of professionals to deliver quality education as the reason people think the education standard has fallen in Nigeria.

He said: "Indeed, the subject matter of this workshop is important for the future of higher education system in this country. Questions have been raised severally and over the years

on the quality of the output of the universities and indeed of the tertiary education system. Some have gone to the extent of declaring with glee that the standard of education in our tertiary institutions has fallen in spirit and in truth!

"A careful analysis will reveal that it is not the standards that have fallen but the capacity of the operators of our institutions to implement laid down standards at virtually all levels of the education system.

"One thing has also become glaring: there is a great need for capacity building for those tasked with impacting knowledge to our

students in the classroom. It has always been obvious that the PhD degree is a research rather than teaching degree. For most of the disciplines in our universities, lecturers only hold research degrees and not teaching qualifications. Even for those holding teaching qualifications, pedagogical trends over the years have witnessed dynamic innovation and changes that most are not familiar with. Initiatives such as this workshop constitutes important contributions to the capacity building process for our university lecturers."

Embrace new technologies, don tells teachers

A

• From left: Nollywood Actor, Mr Desmond Elliot; representative of the Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mr Joseph Alao,the winner, Jeremiah Ochalefu; Mr Okeme and the representative of the Chairman, Lagos State Universal Education Board (LSUBEB), Mr Saheed Ibikunle, at the event

COMPUTER engineer and lecturer at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Mr Edafogho Dennis, has advised teachers and school operators to embrace new technologies that can help teachers and students teach and learn better.

He said this at a press conference to introduce an ICT tool, a whiteboard that has been improved by a United Kingdombased company, Sahara Presentation Systems Plc, to do what other whiteboards cannot do.

He said: "The 21st century teacher should have a pen that is clever enough that when you make mistakes while writing the pen will correct you. A 21st century educator should be a high level educator."

Dennis said of all electronic boards, clever board is the best

Omo challenges pupils on future careers

P

UT them to task and they will not disappoint. That is what judges of the Omo Art Competition concluded about the artworks produced by primary school pupils that participated in the Imagine and Achieve Omo Art Competition 2012, organised by Unilever Nigeria.

They were challenged to prepare collages of their future careers using cardboards and empty Omo

packages as materials.

From bankers, doctors and judges, to accountants and pilots, the pupils employed the collages to describe their future professions.

Over 200,000 pupils from 5,100 schools in 15 states submitted entries for the first stage of the competition November last year.

Preliminaries of the competition were concluded in all states in February from which the best

schools were selected for the state finals.

The organisers disbursed N2.7millon as cash awards to the top three winners in each state.

At the Lagos finals held at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja, where over 100 art works were exhibited, the three winners rewarded were: Master Jeremiah Ochalefu of Ahmed Memorial Nursery/Primary School, Agege, Lagos who won the

star prize of N100,000 for coming first, Etim Okon Emma of New Wine Montessori School, Lagos (N50,000 for second place, and Master Justin Okor of Duro Oyedoyin Primary School, Surulere, N30,000 for third place.

In his remarks, Brand Building Director, Mr David Okeme said the competition was initiated to stimulate creativity among primary school pupils.

By Medinat Kanabe

and easy to use since it makes one read, hear, see, say, write, and remember 90 to 100 per cent when reading.

The board, which is called clever board 4, is said to be made to be convenient for Nigeria's hot environment.

The press conference, held at Oxbridge Tutorial College, GRA, Ikeja, attracted the attention of school administrators from over 50 Nigerian schools.

Speaking at the event, the Export Sales Officer, Mr Jack Wilson, said the board is far better than those that came before it like the touchlite 3.

Also speaking at the event, Louis Ijenwa, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Foresight Computer Technology, the firm partnering with Sahara Presentation Systems in Nigeria, said many boards have been introduced but the clever board 4 will offer more services.

He said:"The new board has flexibility of being used either as an ordinary whiteboard with the use of marker pen or as a fully functional interactive touch screen board, and that the preinstalled lynx educational software on the board comes with over 25,000 educational software and can be used on all interactive whiteboards."

29

Mission to save the environment

In students’ interest Page 31

*CAMPUSES *NEWS *PEOPLE *KUDOS& KNOCKS *GRANTS

Page 34

THE NATION

CAMPUS LIFE 0805-450-3104 email: campusbeat@yahoo.com THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.net

email:- campuslife@thenationonlineng.net

On the eve of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) held nationwide last Saturday, six candidates among those travelling to Onitsha in Anambra State to check their centres died in an accident. A palm kernel oil-laden tanker rammed into five buses, killing the candidates and injuring others. UCHE ANICHEBE (500-Level Law, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka) reports.

•Wreckage of vehicles at the accident scene... last Friday

PHOTO: UCHE ANICHEBE

‘I want to improve public health’ Charles Akhimien, (24), who just finished from Medicine and Surgery at the University of Benin (UNIBEN), has won the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Blogging Competition. The environment and public health blogger was the only African in the contest. Akhimien, who is billed to attend the Mongolia conference on the environment next month, spoke to OSATO EDOKPAYI (500-Level Crop Science) on his expectations.

Six UTME candidates die in road crash

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•Charles

•See page 30

OR months, they prepared for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) held nationwide last Saturday. They were in high spirits and looked forward to writing the exam.

Twenty-four hours to the D-Day, some candidates travelling to write the exam in Onitsha, the commercial hub of Anambra State, died on the EnuguOnitsha Highway when a palm kernel oil-laden tanker rammed into five of the buses conveying them.

The accident occurred at 3:30pm at the UNIZIK Junction of the highway, which is always packed with students.

The tanker hit five “pick and drop” buses, which were carrying passengers

at reduced fares under a pedestrian bridge beside Tracas Motor Park. The buses were operating close to the park.

Sympathisers, who rushed to the scene, wailed as bodies were removed from the mangled 18-seater vehicles.

Several others were injured.

Witnesses said more than 17 people died, but the rescue team of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) put the casuality figure at six.

Witnesses said the tanker, with Abia State registration number AE 729 UMA, which was on high speed, veered off the highway and rammed into the parked vehicles. The victims, who were mainly UTME applicants, were going •Continued on page 30

•French Embassy to partner UNICAL -P32•Anger as Olamide fails to perform at OAU -P33

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

30

CAMPUS LIFE

Pushing Between Out NEEDS and with needs (1) Agbo Agbo

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OURTEEN years ago (1999), Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka clamoured for Nigerian universities to be closed down for a year or two in order to fix the rot in the system. A through bred scholar and academic, he had seen the level the system had degenerated to call for a shutdown. We should bear in mind that even the most casual observer know that things are even worse today than it was back then. Many - scholars, parents, employers and concerned stakeholders - have also called for a state of emergency to be declared in the country’s education sector. Given the decay in Nigeria’s university system, it is not surprising that no Nigerian university ranks among the best 1,000 in the world. Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife was ranked best in Nigeria at 1,511 in the world by Webometrics, a global ranking organisation.

Concerned about the state of our varsities following a groundswell of public outcry, the Federal Ministry of Education on November 1 2012 set up the Prof. Mahmood Yakubuled Committee on NEEDS Assessment of Nigerian Public Universities; four months later the committee submitted its report to the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i. The committee’s report revealed that public universities are grossly mismanaged; engage in activities at variance with the National Policy on Education and are lacking in human and material resources. The varsities were accused of being incapable of supplying the nation’s manpower needs and are said to be bogged down by corruption of various kinds while offering education of poor quality, among others.

For the benefit of readers who may not know, a NEEDS assessment is a systematic process for determining and addressing needs, or lacuna between status quo and desired conditions or “wants”. The discrepancy between the status quo and desired condition must be measured to appropriately identify what the needs are. The need can be a

08052959489 (SMS only)

•aagboa@gmail.com desire to improve current academic performance or to correct infrastructural deficiency.

A NEEDS assessment therefore is a part of planning processes, often used for improvement in individuals, education/training, organisations, or communities. It can refine and improve a product such as training or service a client receives. It can be an effective tool to clarify problems and identify appropriate interventions or solutions. By clearly identifying and isolating the problem, resources can then be channeled towards developing and implementing a feasible and applicable solution. NEEDS assessments are only effective when they are ends-focused and provide concrete evidence that can be used to determine which of the possible means-to-the-ends are most effective and efficient for achieving the desired results.

Prior to the setting up of the committee, which was part of the 2009 agreement between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government, a vote of no confidence had since been passed on our varsities with the country losing billions of naira through education tourism. Recall that ASUU had in 2009 embarked on a four-month strike that had paralysed the entire public universities sector. On October 21, 2009, ASUU and the Federal Government reached a truce by signing an agreement. The fallout of the signed agreement include the approval of about 50 per cent salary increase for the university lecturers, administrative autonomy for the universities, 70 years retirement age for university professors and enhanced funding of the universities.

To state that there are crises in Nigeria’s education sector; from primary to tertiary is to state the very obvious, the evidences are there for all to see. What with lack of adequate infra-

Six UTME candidates die in road crash •Continued from page 29

to Onitsha to check for their examination centres.

The driver of the trailer might have lost control of the vehicle following a faulty brake, a witness told CAMPUSLIFE. He added that the uncontrolled speed of the driver may have caused the accident.

CAMPUSLIFE gathered that two of the buses were fully-loaded; the other three had a few passengers.

Sympathisers defied a torrential rain to rescue victims. The buses somersaulted several times and rested on their sides, making it difficult for the rescue team to remove the trapped victims.

The rescue team, which included policemen, FRSC officials, commercial drivers and students used various devices and materials to break the vehicles’ doors to remove victims.

Several UTME past question papers, exam slips and textbooks littered the scene.

The injured were rushed to the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) Teaching Hospital, Nnewi and Amakwu General Hospital, Awka. As at press time, the whereabouts of the trailer driver was unknown.

In tears, one of the injured applicants, Chika Onwuka, said: “I was travelling with my cousins - Oby and Fred when we heard a loud bang on our bus. Everybody started screaming. The windows shattered and fell on us. I did not know what was happening but I saw people running towards our direction. The door of the bus could not be opened; the rescuers broke it with an object and everybody started rushing out. I saw the tanker and I fainted when on seeing how a blue bus I saw a few seconds behind us was badly

damaged with dead bodies. I saw people bleeding seriously.”

Another victim, who did not give out his name, said: “I didn’t know how I came out of the bus. When I came down, I saw a man who had been eating groundnut on the last seat before the collision and I noticed he was still with his head broken.”

A driver, who simply identified himself as Goddy, said: “Today is a very bad day for us in this park. I saw the tanker coming on full speed. I think the tanker driver had the intention to hit the foot of the bridge but he missed and ran into the park at the same speed. I can say that many of the passegngers in the park were travelling for tomorrow’s (Saturday) exam.”

A driver of one of the affected buses, who did not give out his name, said: “The tanker hit the first two buses. The force sent the second bus to another bus which then hit my own bus, which was about moving to Onitsha. My bus is badly damaged; all the windows and windscreens are shattered and everyone, including I suffered injuries. But nobody died in my bus. Students going to write their JAMB exams in Onitsha and some elderly people were in my bus. Luckily, we all survived.”

A FRSC officer, who pleaded for anonymity, said the bodies had been deposited at the Amakwu General Hospital, Awka. He said: “The tanker hit those “pick and drop” buses that normally pick up passengers under the bridge at the front of Tracas Park. The affected buses did not have passengers’ manifest as required by law and this has put us in a difficult situation to identify the family members of the victims, most of whom were students.” He said six people died and 17 others were injured.

After the accident, commercial activities in the park was suspended till about 2pm the following day.

structure, high rate of school dropout and out-of-school children, mass failures in external secondary school examinations, brain drain of lecturers and now students, perennial industrial actions by various unions in the education sector, etc. A non-governmental organisation, Exam Ethics International, says Nigeria loses a whooping N1.5tn to education tourism. Of this sum, N160bn is spent by Nigerian parents on their children and wards’ education in neighbouring Ghana while they spent N80bn on same in the United Kingdom (this is however issue for another day).

The recent NEEDS assessment report shows that majority of the universities are grossly understaffed, rely heavily on part-time and visiting lecturers, have under-qualified academics and have no effective staff development programme outside the Tertiary Education Trust Fund intervention and the Presidential First Class Scholarship programme.

The report also affirmed that there are 37,504 academics (83 per cent of which are male) in the country’s public universities. This shows that only 17 per cent of academic staffers in public universities are female. That’s food for thought.

Also revealed in the report is that only about 43 per cent of Nigerian universities teaching staffs have doctorate degrees; instead of 75 per cent of the academics being between senior lecturers and professors, only about 44 per cent are within the bracket. Only seven universities have up to 60 per cent of their teaching staff with PhD qualification. Also, the ratio of teaching staff to students in many universities is 1:100. For instance, it is 1: 363 at the National Open University of Nigeria; 1:122 at the University of Abuja; and 1:144 at the Lagos State University.

Good, so how is the statistics measured in other climes? In Harvard University, it is 1: 4; Massachusetts Institute of Technology- 1:9; and Cambridge-1:3. The report also stated that there is numerically more support than teaching staff in the universities, instead of the other way round. In some universities, it was discovered that the non-teaching staff double, triple or quadruple the teaching staff. With regard to infrastructure, the committee found that physical facilities for teaching and learning in the public universities are inadequate, dilapidated, over-stretched and improvised.

As we daily clamour for the resuscitation of our comatose industries which we know is

critical for sustained job creation, do we have the manpower if this happens? It doesn’t appear so as the report also indicted our varsities in that regard. It says laboratories and workshops equipment as well as consumables are either absent, inadequate or outdated. Kerosene stoves are being used as Bunsen burners in some! Some engineering workshops operate under zinc sheds and trees, and many science-based faculties are running what is referred to as “Dry Lab,” due to lack of reagents and tools to conduct real experiments. The committee also documented that 163 of the 701 physical uncompleted projects it found had been abandoned.

That is definitely not all as there are still more to come in a Nation that wants to be counted among the top 20 economies by 2020. Take the issue of students’ enrolment; the report revealed that there are a total of 1,252,913 students in the public universities: 85 per cent undergraduates; five per cent sub-degree; three per cent postgraduate diploma; five per cent Master’s and two per cent Ph.D. As against the National Policy on Education that stipulates 60:40 enrolments in favour of science-based programmes, 66.1 per cent of them are studying arts, social sciences, and management and education courses.

Only 16 per cent of students are studying science and science-education courses; 6.3 per cent, engineering; five per cent, Medicine, while 6.6 are studying Agriculture, Pharmacy and Law. It beats my imagination how the ratio 60:40 science bias enrolment could be achieved given the deplorable state of science laboratories and workshops. It is noteworthy that enrolment continues to be a big issue in our universities.

Before completing the first part of this all important piece, it is pertinent to point out that the NEEDS report has already been submitted to another committee for “review”.

However, I would like to pose a few questions. Where were the regulators when all these malpractices and sharp-practices were being perpetrated? How are we sure this report will even be acted upon? Already, NASU and other unions within the system have started kicking against sections of the report that does not favour them. These notwithstanding, most Nigerians are familiar with the problems of the university system in the country, what we lack is the political will to address and redress the situation. For how long will we continue to move in circles as the problems await us?

‘I want to improve public health’ •Continued from page 29

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HAT is conscious consumption programme all about?

Conscious consumption is a social movement, which centres on the understanding that what we consume as food has some impacts on ourselves, our communities and our world at large. The campaign covers not just choosing what kind of food to buy and where to buy it, but also how to use what we buy and dispose the waste. We want people to be aware of what, when, where and how to consume some foods.

What drives your passion for the environment?

I have, since my childhood days, been concerned about the environment. As a people, we don’t get to be conscious of the environment we live in because we are facing numerous socioeconomic problems including mass poverty, corruption and insecurity. However, over the years, I have realised that even though we have our unique problems, environmental problems are global; so we cannot afford to be isolated. My work on climate change in medical school led me to find out that food waste, for instance, contributes one-third of the greenhouse emissions responsible for climate change. That is why I made the move. I derive my passion from making our environment a better place.

What is the UNEP blogging competition about?

It is a contest for green

bloggers, that is, the environmental bloggers, to write inspiring stories on this year’s theme for the World Environment Day, which is Think, Eat, Save. The task is to create awareness and call for actions to reduce food waste and loss across the food supply chain. My blog entry is titled The power of social media in ensuring conscious consumption and explores the opportunity of interaction platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and other social media to communicate our goals.

The social network site, I believe, can be used to educate people regarding their consumptive patterns and to monitor their progress daily.

What do you look forward to in Mongolia?

Mongolia is among the most vulnerable nations in the world to global warming. The country is facing enormous challenges including growing pressure on food security and water supplies as a result of the impacts of climate change. Yet its government is determined to meet these challenges and seize the opportunities of a less-polluting and more-sustainable future. I look forward to seeing how Mongolia is using renewable energy technology and harnessing its solar power potential, particularly in the sparsely populated Gobi region.

How do you intend to reach out to people, who are not on the social media?

I have the plan to take the message of conscious consumption to rural communities through public

health outreaches. I know the task won’t be easy because of our lack of environmental consciousness in Africa, but it is great that awareness is already on the social media.

We can build on the that and promote public health projects that would help us impact our environment positively. I know there are several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working on the environment but as I have won the competition, I will be a poster boy and a rallying point for them all. I will collaborate with the NGOs to rescue our environment from degradation.

What are the challenges you are facing in the campaign?

The major challenge is the people’s cynicism since there are many challenges facing us as a country. But if we can work together to reframe peoples’ thoughts on the environment and educate them on the consequence of climate change, we can overcome that.

How would you use the experience from the competition in your future endeavours?

This competition has provided me with a unique platform to share my perspectives with a global audience and I will explore that. There are several subspecialties in medicine.

Public health is particularly fantastic because one gets to prevent diseases.

We can do this by improving our interaction with the environment, especially our behaviour and lifestyles as these are critical to our health. I want to use this platform to inspire and educate people to make our environment safer, cleaner and healthier.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

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CAMPUS LIFE Gingered by the high prices of some goods at the University of Benin (UNIBEN), the Students’ Union Government (SUG) organised a weekly trade fair from which students are now benefiting. GILBERT ALASA (400-Level Foreign Languages) and VALOR IDUH write.

In students’ interest

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S the last academic session at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) was about ending, students faced what they called the “excesses” of traders on the Ugbowo Campus. The prices of some goods shot up.

Worried by the development, Osariemen Okuonghae, then aspiring to become Director of Welfare of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), pledged to bring down the prices, if elected. To students, it was an empty boast.

After Osariemen was elected, he liaised with his colleagues to hold a trade fair on students’ welfare.

On December 1, last year, some traders gathered at the June 12 Secretariat, the union’s building, to sell various products and food items at cheaper prices.

A week after, the news spread like wild fire. A swarm of buyers and sellers besieged the open Tetragon at the popular June 12 Shopping Complex. As expected, students took advantage of the discounted prices to shop to their hearts’ content.

Osariemen said the SUG market was part of the “Eat well, pass well” initiative of the Osifo-led Students’ Union administration, which he said was aimed at making students to feel the impact of the union.

He said: “We set the record today as the first SUG to hold a students’ fair in the history of this institution. As socialists, we are concerned about the welfare of our students. Naturally, students can stay for a semester without buying new clothes. But they can’t stay without food. We discovered

•Students buying food stuff at the fair...last weekend

that students comprehend better when they eat well. That is what informed this programme.”

When CAMPUSLIFE visited the market, the students were happy as they bought the highly discounted items. A bowl of garri, which used to sell for N700 went for N400. The same for rice, which was sold for N540 instead of N650.

Prices of other commodities, such as kerosene, canned and dietary foods were equally discounted.

A student-trader, Enadem

Eluseh, who brought items for sale, praised the initiative, noting that he had never experienced such a turnout of students since he started trading in the institution.

He said: “It has been a wonderful experience for me. Certainly, the buyers are happier than the sellers. Despite that we don’t make much profit here, the turnover is quite high and that, to me, is essential.”

But for Mama Osato, a food stuff

trader, profit was not the motive for “As parents, we equally have our children as students spread across the nation. So, we see every student as our child. We are driven by that motherly love and not the financial gain.”

Osarieme said the partnership with the traders was at no cost to the union. “At first, some of the sellers were doubtful. But when they saw the level of patronage by students, many of them started

bringing their product to the campus. As you can see, we have many traders selling their items cheap to students. This fair will continue to hold every Saturday.”

Yet, some traders jacked up their prices without reasons.

CAMPUSLIFE gathered that there was a disagreement between the union officials and a woman-trader, who inflated her prices without informing the union. The disagreement was later settled.

The SUG Vice President, Margaret Odia, said the union was on alert to ensure compliance with prices and quality. “We ensure we come here every Saturday to feel the pulse of the buyers and check fluctuations in prices. So far, the response has been wonderful,” she said.

When CAMPUSLIFE sought to know how the fair affected traders on campus, Mama Timothy, who deals in food stuff, said she was forced to reduce prices to survive in the competition. She said: “We all know that everybody, especially students, loves buying cheap items. With this fair, I have decided to reduce prices to keep my customers.”

Students, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, praised the union leaders for the initiative. Henry Chibueze, 100-Level Agriculture, said: “I am particularly thrilled by the affordability of items being sold at the fair as well as its closeness to the hostel. The prices are quite cheap compared to what is obtained outside. I think leaders of students’ unions across campuses need to take a cue from this idea.”

A 400-Level Civil Engineering student said it was his first time of witnessing such initiative as a student. “When I heard about the SUG market in the hostel, I thought it was a joke. But I am surprised at how this whole idea was put together. I pray it continues,” he stated.

Law students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, beat eight other universities to win the Moot and Mock Trial competition organised by the Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN). OPEOLUWA SONUGA (400-Level Law, OAU) reports.

Legal crossfire at UNILORIN

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HE Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State has won the Mock and Moot Trial contest held at University of Ilorin (UNILORIN).

The competition was part of the week-long activities marking the Law Week of the Faculty of Law, UNILORIN, in honour of frontline lawyer Mallam Yusuf Olaolu Alli (SAN).

The programme, which started last Monday, also featured oratory contest. Six universities - Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Bayero University, Kano (BUK), Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), AgoIwoye, and Ilorin study centre of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) - participated in the moot competition, which was the qualifying round for the mock trial held three days later.

The competition began at 10am last Tuesday in three courts. Each team must appear in two courts throughout the moot stage with a single judge.

The moot suits were centred on human rights issues within the Republic of Sambawa. The cases were composed of gay rights and quota for women representation in the National Assembly.

Each of the teams appeared once as applicant and as respondent in the moot trial. Only two counsel were allowed to argue for each team. Written memorials of the teams were marked by judges and the scores were added to the scores given for oral arguments canvassed by counsel.

At the end of the trial, BUK and OAU emerged with the highest scores, proceeding to the final lap of the competition - the mock trial.

On Wednesday, the oratory contest was held with three universities joining the fray, making nine contestants.

The institutions were Ekiti State University (EKSU), University of Ibadan (UI) and the host, UNILORIN. The nine schools fielded two speakers, who vied for the N40,000 prize.

The topic for the oratory contest was: The abuse of social media. OAU team won the contest and carted away the cash prize. UNILORIN team came second, winning N30,000, UNIZIK team took the third place prize of N20,000.

Adebayo Caleb, 400-Level Law, led the OAU team.

To relieve tension, the participants, on a picnic, went to the UNILORIN zoo.

The next day was the mock trial, the final lap of the competition. The teams of the two contending universities - BUK and OAU – were in high

•Caleb (third left) and Tobi (third right) with their colleagues displaying the plaque

spirits for the contest. Students and lecturers attended the programme, which started with oath taking by the accused and reading of the charges.

Afterwards, the prosecution counsel (OAU team) then went ahead to open their case.

The case was on rape of a female student in Kalakuta University of Science and Technology by her lecturer, a professor in the university. Details about the rape claim were sketchy, but the prosecution counsel were expected to establish the case beyond a doubt.

The prosecution called three witnesses; the victim, the medical doctor and the Investigating Police Officer (IPO). They were led in examination-in-chief, cross-examination as

well as re-examination with two documents accepted and marked as exhibits by the court.

After the prosecution closed its case, the defence counsel entered a “no case submission”, which means that the prosecutor has not adduced enough evidence to warrant the accused’s trial. After citing several authorities to support their case, the prosecution counsel were given an opportunity to reply.

Ruling on the “no case submission”, the judge held that the accused had a case to answer. The defence counsel then called the accused, Professor Olorounbi, who denied the allegation. He was also cross-examined before the defence counsel closed their case.

The opposing counsel were given an opportunity to prepare their final addresses for 10 minutes and argue their cases for another 10 minutes. Aliyu Imam, lead counsel for the defence team, addressed the court alongside his co-counsel: Tobi Adebowale, lead counsel for the prosecution also addressed the court alongside his co-counsel, Adebayo Caleb.

The OAU team was declared the winner of the mock trial, carting away the N60,000 cash prize. The BUK team came second and UNIZIK, third.

The Best Critique went to the University of Ibadan (UI), the Best Memorial went to UNIZIK and Best Counsel in moot rounds went to Aliyu Imam of BUK.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

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CAMPUS LIFE Rector charges freshers on discipline, hard work

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HE Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko (OKO POLY), Anambra State, Prof Godwin Onu, has advised freshers admitted into the institution to work hard to achieve excellence.

He also charged them to stick to the school regulation, saying they must shun cultism, drug abuse and examination malpractice, which he said could terminate the programmes of students involved in the vices.

Prof. Onu gave the charge at the 29th matriculation of the institution, which was held at the convocation arena. He reminded the students that the institution had zero tolerance for forgery, saying the management would not hesitate to terminate the admission of anyone found guilty.

He said: “I wish to state emphatically that you have nothing to re-

Be good ambassadors, Oyo students told

From Emeka Onwudinjo OKO POLY

gret; you have made a right choice as we have made great effort to improve your learning and place it to an enviable citadel of learning.”

The Registrar, Mr Tony Nwokolobia, told the students to live up to expectations, urging them not to engage in examination misconduct. He said the polytechnic was vigilant and had put measures in place to check security breaches in and outside the campus.

The Director of Students’ Affairs (DSA), Mrs Esther Odigwe, who told the freshers to adhere to matriculation oath, told them to take the bull by the horn by making their academics their priority.

Tochukwu Egwuatu, ND 1 Office Technology and Management, said she was happy

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•Prof Onu

being admitted into institution.

She described the Prof Onu as a “digital rector” for embarking on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) project. She promised to abide by the rules and regulations of the institution.

HE Federation of Oyo State Students’ Union (FOSSU) has welcomed its new students..

The programme started with an opening prayer by one of the students.

In his remark, president of the association Abdulgazal Mutairu urged the freshers to key into the vision of the association and be good ambassadors of the state.

The Staff Adviser, Dr Adesina Olojede, a lecturer in the Department of Continuing Education, advised the students to be serious with their studies, urging them to desist from acts that are detrimental to their stay in the university.

He said: “Oyo people are known as pace setters. They are a force to reckon with in every human endeavour. I urge you all to be good ambassadors of the state by abiding by the school rules and regulations.”

Dr George Eweniyi, a lecturer,

French Embassy to partner UNICAL

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HE Consul General of the French Embassy in Nigeria, Mr Francois Sastourne, has visited the University of Calabar (UNICAL) to foster collaborations and promotion of French as a second language.

Receiving the envoy on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof James Epoke, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), Prof James Utsalo, said the management was ready to partner the embassy to promote

•Igbasanmi (in bowler hat) with the students after the event

Association welcomes freshers

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HE Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) chapter of the National Association of Ondo Students (NAOS) has welcomed new members. The orientation was held at the Faculty of Arts lecture theatre.

Its President, Israel Fagbemigun, urged the students to imbibe the virtues of hard work and commitment to academic excellence.

In a lecture titled A Progressive students association: An imperative

From Kemi Busari OAU

for youth and environmental development, Information Officer of Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) Mr Ayo Igbasanmi noted that one way to bring progress and development to the nation was through youth development.

He advised the students to ac-

From Yinka Olatunbosun IBBU

spoke on the necessity of unity among Yoruba students. He urged Yoruba students in the institution to unite irrespective of their states of origin.

The Dean of Faculty of Agriculture, Prof Michael Ogunlana, who is a former Commissioner of Agriculture in the defunct Western Region, enjoined the students to protect the image of the country. He said: “Our heroes work tirelessly to make Nigeria great but it is unfortunate that the labour of heroes past is being wasted by the present generation.”

Prof Ogunlana praised the Southwest governors for their efforts to reclaim the lost glory of the region.

He described Governor Abiola Ajimobi as a man of vision, urging him to boost agriculture in the state.

From Sam Ibok UNICAL

French language.

The Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Prof Francis Angrey, said the faculty lacked learning facilities, exchange programmes and poor language laboratories.

The Head of Department of Modern Languages and Translation Studies, Dr Bassey Oben, who was with the school team, praised the envoy for the move, saying the visit would create opportunity for knowledge exchange with French students in the institution.

Sastourne promised that the embassy would continue to support the promotion of French language in the institution. He noted that there was need for assistance in providing materials and encouraging exchange programmes between the institution and French-speaking countries.

quire skills and ability that would make them outstanding in their various fields.

Manager of a food outlet on campus Mr Awosika Ibidapo spoke to the students on practical steps to be successful entrepreneurs. He said students must be focused on their priorities and cultivate an habit of time management. The association also presented awards to deserving persons.

Fellowship fights indecent dressing •Abimbola (left) presenting a prize to the Khadijat. With them is the Law students’ president, Morakinyo Bolarinwa

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ELLOWSHIP of Christian Students (FCS), Moddibo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH), Yola, has held a campaign against indecent dressing.

Its members, who were clad in black and white outfits, marched round the hostels with placards with inscriptions such as “Stop indecent dressing” and “God does not support indecent dressing” and others.

The President of the group, Ezekiel Bwala, 500-Level Mechanical Technology Education, said the rally was necessitated by the level of indecent dressing among students on the campus.

He said: “We are not here to judge or condemn anybody but to remind everyone that decency is the hallmark of Christianity and Islam. God frowns at immoral out-

Fresher wins marathon

A •Members of the fellowship during the campaign From Philips Ogbaje MAUTECH

looks because they don’t portray his original intension and purpose for mankind and is a form of misrepresentation of who God is.”

He urged Christian students to dress decently, saying indecency is

sinful before God. “Since nobody can see what is in your heart, it is only your appearance that people will judge and it is how you dress that people will address you,” he said. Christian literatures on dress code were distributed during the campaign.

400-Level Law student of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Abimbola Amusan, has organised a marathon for female students of the Faculty of Law. The race, which had 12 contestants, started at Anglomoz and ended at the Sports Centre.

Our correspondent gathered that the initiative was targeted at making female students fit.

Khadijat Ogunremi, 100-Level Law, won the race.

During the freshers’ orientation, Khadijat was given a cash prize of N5,000, a plaque and a

From Abass Aloba OAU

customised t-shirt with a magazine.

Esther Ansa, who came second, was given a plaque, t-shirt and a magazine. The third placed contestant got a plaque and a motivational magazine.

Other contestants were awarded certificates of merit.

Abimbola thanked God for the success of the event, expressing joy that there was no causality. He also appreciated the Law Student Society (LSS) for its support.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

33

CAMPUS LIFE Anger as Olamide fails to perform at OAU From Olufunminiyi Salawu OAU

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•Some of the student-teachers with their pupils during the teaching practise

Students complete teaching practice

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INAL year students of the Faculty of Education, University of Calabar (UNICAL), have rounded off their 12-week teaching practice exercise in various secondary and primary schools in Cross River State.

The exercise took the students a semester as against the six-week period being used for the exercise

From Sam Ibok UNICAL

in the past.

One of the students, Jacob Uwen, who was posted to Emilis Secondary School, said the exercise got him acquainted with the teaching profession.

While receiving the studentteachers at the faculty complex, the

Dean, Prof Florence Obi, congratulated them for successfully completing the exercise. He urged them to be good ambassadors of the institution.

In his remark, Teaching Practice Coordinator in the faculty, Dr C. A. Agbor, warned that students who failed to report to their station would repeat the exercise.

TUDENTS of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, who had anticipated to be thrilled by Hip-Hop sensation, Olamide, a guest artiste at a campus show tagged “Olamide in Kush Concert”, returned to their hostels disappointed, after several hours of waiting.

Weeks before the show, posters of the concert with pictures of the artiste were all over the campus while organiser Skinny Dee Entertainment and Kobina gave the show wide publicity on radio and social media networks.

Students came from Osogbo and other neighbouring cities to attend the show. The Afrika Amphi Theatre, where the show was supposed to take place, was locked at the time the show was to start. CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the concert did not hold due to some hiccups on the part of the organisers.

A source told our correspondent the organisers had “some issues” with the school management, which was why the later did not allow the facility to be used for the concert. It was also learnt that the organisers failed to secure a venue prior to event.

Our correspondent gathered that Olamide was in Ife for the programme and was lodged at Cameron Hotel by the organisers.

But he could not perform due to the closure of the venue. Olamide confirmed his presence in Ife on Friday

•Olamide

through his post on his Twitter account, which read: “Ife OAU…It’s for real. Baddo (his nickname) coming through tonight. Loud it.”

Disappointed students and youths, who came from far and near to watch the artiste’s live performance, paid N500 for ticket days before the event.

When it dawned on them that the show would not hold, the students were enraged and promised to get a refund of their money.

The next day, the artiste apologised to his enraged fans on Twitter. He twitted: “Sorry about yesternight OAU students. The venue was shut down by some Oga at the top. Think they have got issues with the organisers. Love you all.”

Campus journalists hold awards From Adebisi Adeniji UI

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•Ogunfidodo commissioning the block of toilets as staff and pupils of the school applauded him

Corps member builds toilet for school

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2012 Batch ‘B’ member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) serving at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Miss Ogochukwu Okoro, has donated three toilets to the Ansar-Ud-Deen Grammar School, Akungba-Akoko.

Miss Ogochukwu, an indigene of Anambra State and a graduate of Microbiology from the Anambra State University, Uli, also donated 12 school uniforms and 10 pairs of sandals to indigent pupils in the school.

She said the materials and facility cost about N800,000, praising the management of AAUA and some staff of the university for their contributions to the project.

She said: “I thank God for giving me the grace to make people happy. I want to specially appreciate Prof Femi Mimiko, the Vice-Chancellor of AAUA, and the members of staff for their support during the course of the project.”

The Corps member, who said she was fulfilled with the handing over of the facility to the secondary school, noted: “Life is not just how happy you are but how happy others can be through you. I have always had the desire to affect the society positively; that is why I embarked on project we

FromSeyi Oluwalade AKURE

are inaugurating today.”

Thanking the Corps member, the Principal, Mr Sulaiman Arogundade, who was excited by the project, said: “It is a surprise for us that a Corps member could have the wisdom to do something like this. Imagine, a Christian corps member executing a project of this magnitude in a Muslim school.”

He said the Corps member had demonstrated good leadership ability and prayed to God to give her grace to contribute more to the society.

The NYSC Zonal Inspector, Mr A.O. Ogunfidodo, praised Ogochukwu for exhibiting one of the core motives of the NYSC scheme.

The inspector called on individuals, communities, corporate bodies and government agencies to continue to give support to Corps members in their areas, stressing that such support would enhance the development of the society.

A special prayer session was held for the Corps member by pupils of the school. The Akungba chapter of Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Ni-

geria conferred a title of Yeye Atunluse Adinni of Akungba land on the Corps member, while the beneficiary school honoured her with a plaque of meritorious award.

HE Union of Campus Journalists (UCJ), the University of Ibadan (UI) chapter, has held an award ceremony. The event was held at the Trenchard Hall with the theme: Emphasising the Pursuit of Excellence in Career Develop-

ment.

The ceremony was attended by Managing Partner of Red Nigeria Media, Chude Jideonwo, Dr C.B. Ogbogbo, Babatunde Badmus, president of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), president of the Joint Association of Campus Journalists (JACJ), Tai Solarin University (TASUED), Adegoke Olalekan, president, and his counterpart in Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Oluwatobi Oseni, and former president of the group, Abraham Oladipupo.

The event also featured the presentation of prizes to winners of the Prof Oladele Osibanjo Inter-varsity Essay Competition with the title: Moral and educational decadence in the 21st century. A Law student of UI, Emeka Ezekwesiri, won the contest and went home with a Google Nexus tab.

Oluwakemi Ogunwale, also a student of the Law Faculty, came second and got a Blackberry Playbook while Blessing Ekun got a Samsung Y Duos as second runner-up.

Speaking on behalf of other winners, Emeka thanked the organisers of the competition.

Some individuals were honoured. They included the Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko; Minister of Agriculture Dr Akinwunmi Adesina; Managing Director, Dukedam Oil and Gas, Mr Gbolahan Odo and Prof Oladele Osibanjo.

ESSAY CONTEST FOR UNDERGRADS The Nation CAMPUSLIFE in collaboration with Blantyre newspaper, Malawi, AfricanLiberty.org and Network for a Free Society, is calling for entries into an essay competition. Details are as follows: Question: Nations which are economically free out-perform non-free nations in all indicators of well-being.

Discuss.

Eligibility: All students in any tertiary institutions (university, polytechnic, college of education and vocational school) in Africa.

The format of the text should be in MS word and not more than 1,500 words.

Interested student should please request for the background material from Adedayo

Thomas at adedayo.thomas@gmail.com, Wale at campusbeat@yahoo.com and Brian Ligomeka at bligomeka@bnltimes.com.

On the first page of the completed essay, please write your full name, department, year of study and name of institution.

Also include your email address and GSM line.

Send your entries to adedayo.thomas@gmail.com.

Entries will be received between March 28 and June 11, 2013. Entry sent after the deadline will not be accepted.

Announcement of winners: July 18, 2013. All participants will get a free CD of “Ideas for a free society”, which contains 100 textbooks on various field of studies.

Prizes: 1st - $1,000 and scholarship to 2013 Student and Young Professional African Liberty Academy (SYPALA) in Kenya from August 8- 11, 2013 2nd - $700 and scholarship to 2013 Student and Young Professional African Liberty Academy (SYPALA) in Kenya from August 8- 11, 2013 3rd - $500 and scholarship to 2013 Student and Young Professional African Liberty Academy (SYPALA) in Kenya from August 8- 11, 2013 4th - $300 and scholarship to 2013 Student and Young Professional African Liberty Academy (SYPALA) in Kenya from August 8- 11, 2013 5th - $100 We have eight consolidation prizes of $50 each.

34

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

CAMPUS LIFE Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) in partnership with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) organised a training for 200 women in two communities in Sokoto State on ways to reduce environmental degradation. HALIMAH AKANBI (200Level Law, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto) reports.

N

O fewer than 200 women in Gumbi and Dundaye communities in Wamakko Local Government Area of Sokoto State have benefited from the Committed to Green initiative and empowerment programme of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE), a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

The aim of the project, supported by the United States Embassy, is to reduce environmental degradation in rural communities in the country.

In 2011, SIFE entered into a partnership with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc to address the challenges of desert encroachment and to reduce the suffering of the affected communities through education and equipping the women with adequate skill and knowledge about the danger of the act.

The combined approach seeks to address the environmental sustainability and economic empowerment, which will make SIFE students to work with women within the affected communities to plant economic trees that will shield the earth. The initiative is also expected to provide the people means of livelihood and stoves that will reduce the amount of energy required for cooking by 80 per cent.

The students are expected to also provide briquette machine that transforms agro-waste into environmental-friendly materials, which can be used as alternative to firewood and train 100 men and women within the affected communities in viable skills to make them economically independent.

The main auditorium of Usmanu Danfodiyo University (UDUS), Sokoto was filled to capacity when the programme started at 3pm. The rural women were to be trained for eight weeks on the production of

Mission to save the environment

•Ambassador McCulley (third right) presenting briquette machine and the Save 80 stove to one of the districts’ leaders. With them are Prof Bagudo (second right), US Embassy official, Melissa Ford (third left), Mrs Ifedi (second left) and a university official

briquettes, which forms the bulk of deforestation activities embarked on by local communities in northern Nigeria. The women would also produce 80 stoves that will cook food in 15 minutes.

Sokoto State Governor State, Aliyu Wamakko, represented by his Commissioner for Environment, Dr Muhammad Kilgori, described the “Committed to Green” project as a brilliant initiative, which he said was in line with his administration’s programme to enhance the environment. He reiterated his government’s support for of empowerment of women and youth in the communities.

The US ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Terence McCulley, praised the resolve of the women and youths to reduce environmental degrada-

tion. While noting that Nigeria is one of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world, McCulley said he believed Africa could be the next world economic success if people were ready for the challenge.

He praised the organisers and partners in the SIFE project, saying the initiative was helping youths to secure their future. He said President Barack Obama believed Africa and America were partners in creating growth, adding: “The seed one plants today may one day grow to provide sustainable source of growth for the society.”

In her address, SIFE Country Director, Mrs Adesuwa Ifedi, praised the effort of SIFE students in UDUS in propagating the aims and objectives of the NGO in

Sokoto communities. She noted that the project was successfully launched in Katsina State, hoping the initiative would also succeed in Gumbi and Dundaye.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Risikuwa Arabu Shehu, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Prof A.A. Bagudo, said the university, as part of its community service, had been making efforts to discourage deforestation through its energy research centre by providing power for the host communities, thereby reducing the need for firewood. He pledged support for the green project.

The 80 stoves and wonder boxes (pots) were presented to the communities’ heads by Ambassador McCulley and Managing Direc-

tor, Northern Region of FCMB, Mr Adam Nuhu.

A beneficiary, Mallama Fatimah, who expressed gratitude to SIFE, said she was looking forward to a successful completion of the eight-week training.

The Dean of Students’ Affairs (DSA), Dr Ibrahim Magawata, in his closing remark, urged the SIFE team to monitor the beneficiaries’ activities during the training. He also advised the beneficiaries to be focused in the course of the training.

The SIFE Programme Manager, Mr Michael Ajayi, said briquette was a new source of energy made from agrowaste, sawdust and dry leaves among others. He said the machine burns slower and cooks faster, thereby saving time and energy.

An Abuja-based pastor visited the Moddibo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH), Yola, Adamawa State to pray for Christian students. PHILIPS OGBAJE (500-Level Information Technology) writes.

•Students singing praises at the event

I

T was an unusual evening last Wednesday at the Moddibo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH), Yola, Adamawa State. Christian students from all fellowships trooped to the Trinity Chapel to receive “winning tips” to conquer their challenges.

The venue was filled with students singing and dancing for God. It was the annual campus outreach of Pastor Goodheart Ekwueme, who visited the school to give students tips on how to live successfully on campus.

The theme of the programme was: Winning today on campus.

The event, which was organised in collaboration with the Association of Christian Fellowships

•Students trooping to the venue

How to win on campus (ACF), the umbrella body of all Christian students in the university, started about 5:30pm.

In his exhortation, Pastor Ekwueme took his lesson titled I am making a comeback from Luke 15:11-24.

He said: “Everything that happens to us in life is dependent on the choices we make”, adding that just as the prodigal son chose to come back to his parents despite his mistakes, Christians also must make amend and reconcile with God. He encouraged students to always take the right decision and

put God first in whatever they do, despite the sins they might have committed in the past. Setbacks were set up by God to call Christians back to their faith, he said.

Highlights of the occasion included ministrations by the choir of the ACF and from groups such as ; Effizee and Freke from Abuja.

Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, the ACF co-ordinator, Nnamdi Nnamani, 500-Level Physics, said the programme was aimed at helping youths in troubled times and bringing hope to those who felt their problems could not be solved.

Nnamdi expressed gratitude to

God for the success of the event in spite of challenges the association faced in the course of organising the programme. He described the turnout of students as “massive” and “beyond expectations.”

Blessing Ekhator, a final year student of Economics, said she received blessing during the revival programme. “There was spontaneous movement of the Holy Spirit unlike what we are used to in the campus; everyone who went for the programme and was blessed and motivated,” she said, praising ACF for putting the event together.

•Pastor Ekwueme

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

35

CAMPUS LIFE

That our mother tongue may thrive

iyulO alonikA yB

B

Y compelling teachers and lecturers to teach several subjects in English Language, the government has, inadvertently, relegated our native dialects or mother tongue in our national life.

I

N finance, we learn that money is anything that is generally acceptable as a medium of exchange. In the present world, this implies that there is virtually nothing anyone wants to do, that will not include money, even when one does not have it at hand. One always thinks or dreams of it.

That is why some people are always in deep thought whenever they are in need of money; some become hypertensive while some commit suicide because they cannot make money to satisfy their personal and family needs.

In the Scripture, God tells us that: “Money answereth all things, but the love of money is the root of all evil”. From this biblical verse, it is clear that money can make anybody that wants it and, at the same time, can destroy such a person.

A novelist in the Unites States was also reported to have said: “Money is the root of all evil, yet it is such a useful root that we cannot get on

For many in post-colonial Africa, the local language is for uncivilised people, still attached to their “inferior” roots. The rapid advancement in science and technology does not help the situation.

In this age, the ambition of the world is to unite all people under one language and cultures, which are rooted in western civilisation.

Perhaps, in years to come, speakers of local dialects would be seen as nomads of pre-civilisation period. Or a local people, as we always call rural dwellers in this part of the world.

However, language is the nutrient that nourishes the tree of civilisation and culture. In countries, such as India, the native language is the cohesive force that binds diverse nationalities of people, who share common folklore. Instead of the official language inherited from the British colonialists, Indians speak Hindi and conduct the affairs of government in the same language so that citizens that did not understand English can know what is going on.

But this is not the case in Nigeria and many African nations. I remembered my elementary school

when one of my teachers would say she could never speak other language except her dialect, which she used to speak. What made her to have such belief was not clear to us - her pupils - but now, the woman’s conviction has made people to respect her through her outspokenness.

In Nigeria, as a child grows up, he will pick up varieties of languages through formal and informal learning process. Apart from his mother’s tongue, any language a child is able to speak, according to one of my lecturers, is called second language.

We have English language as official language in Nigeria. This is the same in Ghana Republic and some Anglophonic African countries. In Ivory Coast and other Francophone countries, French is the official language. Alas, all these languages are alien to our culture but we give them relevance and make them as language of communication among ourselves.

The nub of this discourse is to expose how people ridicule their languages and classify them as local.

What is local in my Yoruba language, for instance, when some set of people in South America speak

The vanity of wealth without it anymore like we can without potatoes.” The power of money cannot be underestimated because it could be used to solve various problems in the home front and societal ills.

In Nigeria, this is the case. Our leaders always throw money at any problem that threatens the unity of the country. This is ýwhy people in all parts of the nation have become obsessed with money so much so that it has bred corruption.

Corruption has become endemic, especially among politicians and civil servants. Youth, students and teenagers are also affected by the malaise. The affluent and the poor want to get money at all cost.

For poor students in the higher institutions, they always see their peers who come from wealthy

homes as angels and wish to be like them, forgetting the fact that all fingers are not equal. Female undergraduates who cannot wait for their time engage in prostitution, going out with sugar daddies. The guys become cultists and notorious armed robbers to get money to impress their peers on campus.

There are many example of corruption that will continue to ring in the psyches of Nigerians. We have the scandal involving a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, who was accused of contract inflation to the tune of N894 million by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

Another that keeps ringing a bell in the mind of the people is that of Hon. Farouq Lawan, a member of the House of Representatives, known as Mr Integrity. Lawan’s

the language with pride?

Maybe that is the reason why majority of students are failing in indigenous language examination.

Nowadays, hardly can we see educated parents speaking their dialect to their children. This makes me remember short Yoruba prose that we used to recite during my primary school days.

The text was about an elderly woman who carried one of her grandchildren on her back for an outing. Unfortunately, the old woman could not understand the language of child when he wanted to defecate. Frustrated, the child used different signs to demonstrate what he wanted to do but the old woman could not understand; she thought the child was looking for his shoe. Before the woman could understand her grandchild, the kid had embarrassed her by defecating everywhere.

This, in a simple way, explains why parents must speak their dialect to their children and allow the children to also learn the so-called local language. The origin of mother’s tongue is based on the notion that linguistic skill of a child is honed by the mother. Therefore, the language being spoken by the integrity was tainted when he allegedly collected a bribe from Mr Femi Otedola, a business man, whose oil company was part of the indicted firms that defaulted subsidy largesse.

As I write this, the EFCC is still in court to prosecute the former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, in a multi-billion corruption cases.

All these instances indicate that money is the basis of evil. Everybody wants to have it. The rich want to get more of it to impress and oppress the poor, while the poor want to have to make the point that making money is not the exclusive preserve of the rich.

In all, it should have been clear to us that all is vanity upon vanity.

Where are the rich people of yesteryears? Where are their riches?

Money has both the good and bad ends. We should all devote more time praying for our lives and the country so that God can intervene

Education as nuisance to the society

By Modiu Olaguro

A

POLOGIES to Dr Segun Oni of the Faculty of Education, University of Lagos (UNILAG), for the headline of this piece. He was the one who used the line to describe the current state of the nation’s educational system at all levels.

The Encarta dictionary defines nuisance as somebody or something irritating or something not allowed by law because it causes harm or offence, either to people or to an individual person. The same dictionary further states that an educated person is one that is well taught, cultured

and knowledgeable.

Education is a tool for national development but how has it become a nuisance to the society? In October 2009, a member of the House of Representatives, Dipo Oyedokun, gave an astonishing revelation that over 40 million Nigerian youths are jobless in a country of 160 million. The figure represents 26.9 per cent of the population.

Education becomes a societal nuisance when the products of our prestigious ivory towers turn out to be of little benefit to the society as a result of lack of appropriate skill for self-independence and unwillingness to engage in selfless service to fellow citizens. This becomes a burden on the society as witnessed in the large number of underpaid and jobless graduates in the Nigeria.

An educated person is expected to possess basic skills, which ought to distinguish him and make him a better person than an illiterate. Such skills include knowledge, values, intelligence and a good sense of judgment. But reverse has been the case as the so-called graduates have, over the years, demonstrated lack of necessary skill to succeed even in personal business.

An average university graduate is expected to have undergone courses

on entrepreneurship, which is a vital tool for creativity and self-independence. But most students take those courses for good grades and not to get the maximum benefit from it.

Little wonder they end up as job seekers and not job providers.

Our tertiary institutions are today theatre gang murder. Recently, a cult clash in the Lagos State University (LASU) claimed the life of at least three undergraduates of the institution, thereby causing fear among students.

Many students are engaging in examination malpractice to get admission into tertiary institutions. In many cases, examination date have been postponed, questions changed as a result of leakage and corruptions by some lecturers. This disturbing depravity has over the years made the Nigerians to lose faith in our education system.

Some wealthy Nigerians have been sending their wards for schooling oversea and the implication of that is our economy loses over $2billion to such act.

The situation is further aggravated when we consider the performance of our students in external examinations such as West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO).

In WAEC for instance, the average failure are 72 – 75 per cent in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 in a country that prides itself as the giant of Africa, which is ambitious to be among the best 20 economies in the year 2020.

The sorry state of the educational system has been blamed on the fact that our education system operates on faulty and outdated curricula.

Our students’ desire for education is geared towards the acquisition of certificates only and not knowledge.

Several Nigerian graduates do not fit into R.S. Peters criteria of who an educated person should be as highlighted by Isiche (Ph.D) in his book, Philosophy of Education.

In the book, a graduate is expected to have a body of knowledge and understanding of basic principles. This implies that a supposedly educated person must not only be knowledgeable but he must also understand the reasons behind the knowledge. It is not useful if a person can answer a question but finds it difficult to explain how he arrived at the answer.

The second criterion in R.S. Peters’ book is “cognitive criterion” that requires an individual to possess great knowledge in his field of study and

mother will be the first language that the child will learn.

In 2006, locals in a city in Australia, Sydney, gathered together to celebrate International Mother Language Day in a colourful way.

Can we also start something like this to prevent our dialects from going into extinction?

Research carried out in several countries on the place and role of mother tongue in education and learning has lead UNESCO to conclude that: “Children who begin their education in their mother tongue make a better start, and to continue to perform better than those for whom school starts with a new language.”

In a nutshell, mother’s tongue or native language should be encouraged to flourish among Africans.

It favours a sound educational development of a child, thus laying the good foundation for intellectual and economic development. It gives a sense of identity to human being in a globalised environment and lays a solid foundation for the cognitive development of those who speak it.

The mastery of one’s mother’s tongue can go a long way in producing a world-class personality.

Akinola, NDII Mass Comm., OFFA POLY

By Muibat Salam and stop the corruption cesspool into the nation has sunk.

Muibat, recently finished from Mass Comm., MAPOLY related discipline. Such person must be able to deliver when called upon to solve problems. That the country is lacking in this quality of graduates is not an understatement. We have many graduates, who cannot not speak, write or express themselves in the clearly even in their mothers’ tongue.

The third is “commitment criterion” that requires an educated person to be conversant with the standards emanating from his field.

Graduates must be aware of new trends and practices and also work assiduously towards making meaningful contribution to the development and progress of his discipline.

The fourth is “transformation criterion”. This, in my opinion, is the most important of the four R.S. Peters’ criteria. It serves as combination of the first three. It means that an educated person must be totally transformed in deed and in action as a result of the education he has acquired; he must see things differently, analyse issues saliently and be a responsible member of the society.

It is obvious that quite a number of today’s youths do not fit into the four criteria as highlighted by R.S. Peters. Let all hands be on deck towards the realisation of these progressive criteria in other to revive our ailing education system.

Modiu, 300-Level Mathematics and Education, UNILAG

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

36

CAMPUS LIFE

•The students posing behind Oranmiyan staff

•Some of the students playing at Olumerin Waterfall

About 60 students of Osun origin in the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) take toured many ancient institutions in their home state. WALE BAKARE (300-Level Zoology) writes.

F

OR three days, about 60 students of Osun origin studying at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) visited various ancient institutions and sites in their home state on excursion.

According to Abdulmojeed Fasasi, president of National Association of Osun State Students (NAOSS), the visit was to familiarise members with the culture of the State of Living Spring.

When the students reached their destination, their first port of call was the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC) in Ile Aweyi area, where they were received by the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Tunde Adeyemo.

Conducting them round the corporation, Adeyemo said the corporation was inaugurated in 2001

A homecoming event by former Governor Bisi Akande, with the motive to educate, entertain and inform the public.

On their arrival at the palace of Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji, the students were received by the Jagun of Osogbo, Chief Gabriel Oparanti, who welcomed them to the ancient town.

The monarch advised the students against keeping bad company, saying they must be good ambassadors of the state in line with its Ipinle Omoluabi epithet.

On the second day, the Osun Groove and Olumerin Waterfall in Erin Ijesha hosted the students. To

make their expedition memorable, the tourists played various games, having fun at the water fall.

The tour guide told the students how Osogbo came into existence.

Alaro and Olutemenhin, in the course of hunting, got to a river, in which one of them urinated and heard a voice saying “Oso Igbo” from where Osogbo derived its name. The river is worshipped every year.

At the National Museum, Ife, Mrs Bolanle Aleshinloye, a worker in the museum, told the students: “The history of Ile Ife is woven around Moremi. Oral tradition

On and Off Campus By Solomon Izekor 08061522600

claims that Moremi, a fearless, courageous and exceptionally beautiful woman was from Offa.

She married Ooni Oranmiyan and helped Ife to overcome the seemingly super human Igbo warriors who hid behind palm trees to attack, enslave and impoverish Ife people. Her patriotic strides brought about the establishment of Edi festival and the evolution of Moremi groove and shrine, which are still meeting the cultural and religious needs of the people.” The students also visited palace of the Ooni of Ife, and IleIfe. Abdulmojeed, 400-Level Bio-

chemistry, said: “What I saw during the excursion made me to know that Nigeria is not only a nation blessed with natural resources but also blessed with rich cultural heritage. We should have a great sense of pride in our culture because if we don’t do that, non-Africans will believe we don’t have a background.”

Arikewuyo Zaniab, History 200Level, said: “Osun State has a fantastic heritage. I believe something good will happen if our government can harness the potential of these tourist sites.”

Also, Jibril Aliyu, 400-Level Biochemistry, said: “I praise the leaders of the association for this wonderful opportunity. The problem with our country is the failure to tap and generate wealth from our rich heritage.”

Southeast students get leaders

T

HE National Association of Southeast Nigerian Students (NASENS) has elected new leaders. The election took place at Ohaneze Ndigbo Secretariat in Enugu State.

Peter Edeh, a student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, was elected president of the association. Georgette Ekechukwu, a student of Abia State University (ABSU) became the Vice President (Internal), while Gloria Okolikeotti, student of Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Enugu, was elected the Vice President (External).

Others are Secretary General, Nnanna Ezichi-Iko, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Assistant General Secretary, Uchechukwu Awagu, Federal Polytechnic, Oko (OKO POLY), Public Relations Officer Franklin Agu, Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT), Director of Transport, James Uduma, UNEC, Director of Mobilisation, Kelechi Idemili, UNN, Director of Academics, Shedrack Akaa, UNEC, Director of Finance, Chukwuemeka Otta, Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), and Michael Ede, Ebonyi State University (EBSU), who is the Treasurer.

Peter thanked his supporters for their efforts towards his election. He promised to protect the image and integrity of the association. Former President of the association, Kingsley

From Gerald Nwokocha ENUGU

•Kingsley

Chidozie, welcomed the new leadership.

He charged them to fight and protect the interest of students.

Kingsley thanked Ohanaeze Ndigbo Leadership for making the election peaceful. He commended Enugu State Command of the police, State Security Service and Nigerian Army for their assistance during the polls.

The leaders have been sworn in.

The event witnessed the presentation of awards to some Igbo leaders.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

37

EDUCATION

OOU recalls 100 lecturers, others

N

O fewer than 100 workers, including 50 lecturers of the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, who were relieved of their jobs under the Dr Alex Onabanjo-led Governing Council, have been recalled.

About 825 teaching and nonteaching staff lost their jobs between 2009 and 2010 in manners the victims and various labour unions in the institution described as "arbitrary, witch-hunting, illegal and destructive."

A breakdown of the sacked workers showed that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had 150 of its members relieved of their jobs when Onabanjo, who was appointed by the administration of Gbenga Daniel, was in charge; while 100 others left on their own because of the harsh academic

From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

climate.

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) had 265 of its members sacked in the downsizing blizzard while the rest were spread between NonAcademic Staff of Educational Association Institution (NASU) and one other union.

The Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof Adejimi Adesanya, announced the recall of 50 lecturers and 50 nonacademic staff at the main campus following the recommendations of a "broad-based committee" set up by the university management to review the case.

Adesanya, who made this known at the opening session of a two-day regular Universities Trade Group Council meeting of NASU, hosted by the OOU chapter, added that

more would be recalled as soon as the financial status of the university improved.

Over 200 NASU delegates from states and federal universities attended the meeting.

The Ag. VC spoke in reaction to an appeal by the NASU OOU branch Chairman, Comrade Rahman Adewole, to the management to "give the staff and students’ welfare its deserved priority, to hasten the recovery process presently taking place in the university."

Adewole said: "We appreciate the fact that, the university is gradually picking up and as long as the union is striving not to exert much pressure on the system, we want to trust that the University Management as well on the Governing Council will demonstrate utmost good faith in

their dealing with the Union."

The NASU boss also urged the university to address the issue of non-remittance of its 7.5 per cent share of the contributory pension fund.

"It is most disheartening to note that up till today, staff in the University that voluntarily agreed to join this Pension Scheme in 2008 are yet to know their fate on the retirement benefit with the continued refusal of the university to remit the 7.5 per cent counterpart funding expected of it.

"Although it is a state wide problem, we appeal to the university’s Governing Council to give this very important aspect of staff welfare the priority it deserves. Moreover that our sister University in Ogun State (TASUED) had been paying both legs fully since inception."

FUTO for Fulbright scheme From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

T

HE students of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) will be among those to benefit from the United States (US) Government Fulbright Scholarship Scheme just as the university authorities and the US government have entered into discussions on exchange programmes.

Another team of US officials from the Public Affairs Section of the US Consulate in Lagos visited the university to offer skills for effective internal research to FUTO workers to improve their internet search experience.

The Cultural Affairs Assistant, Mrs Chinenye Uwadileke, who represented the US Consulate, told the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Chigozie Asiabaka that the Consulate intends to reach out to selected universities to take advantage of the education opportunities offered by the US government.

She said besides the 400-Level students recommended for the programme, the scheme would also accommodate academics who intend to pursue their doctorate and post- doctorate degrees in the United States, as well as the FUTO International Secondary School.

Prof Asiabaka thanked the US Consulate for choosing the university for the Fulbright scheme.

He said his vision was to transform it into a world-class institution.

Prior to the selection, Asiabaka said the university had established exchange programmes with the University of Georgia, Athens, USA, Dillard University, New Orleans, Louisiana State University, Barton Rogue and Wayne State University Detroit, USA.

UNILORIN FILE

Varsity gets training THE Transatlantic Negotiation School of Business, California, USA, has made an offer of free training on negotiation, leadership and effective communication skills to students of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) this month.

President, Transatlantic Negotiation School of Business, Mr. 'Lade Adeyemi, told the UNILORIN Vice-Chancellor, Prof Abdul Ganiyu Ambali, that the institution is the first to be selected in the country for the programme because of its cyber presence and products.

He added that the training to be held for two days would focus on capacity development and entrepreneurship prowess building, after which the best two students would be sponsored on an all-expense-paid trip to the Harvard Negotiation and Leadership School, USA. He presented copies of his book, Negotiating as a Pro: 50 Key Techniques to principal Officers of the university.

In his response, the ViceChancellor, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Prof Bayo Lawal, praised the group for selecting UNILORIN as the first beneficiary of the training in the country.

Electoral panel for SUG polls

• A cross section of the new students

Jonah Jang gives Plateau varsity N2b • School matriculates 430 freshers

T

HE Plateau State government has given the Plateau State University, N2billion, for infrastructural development.

Its Vice-Chancellor, Prof Doknan Danjuma Sheni said at the matriculation of students for the 2012/2013 academic session at the school campus in Bokkos that funds would be used to construct projects in all faculties.

"I am glad to reveal to you that the governor of Plateau State Da Jonah Jang has graciously approved over N2 billion for the development of the university. The governor said the approved sum is for the commencement of massive infrastructural development of the school which will commence almost immediately.

"The sum will be deployed immediately for the construction of the university main gate, fence, administrative block, and Faculty of Arts

From Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Jos

and Social Sciences. Works has already commenced with the construction of Faculty of Management Sciences, lecture hall and Entrepreneurship Centre," he said.

Sheni admonished matriculating students to shun cultism and face their studies with seriousness.

"Today's event could be likened to an initiation ceremony for our new undergraduates and will mark their

formal acceptance into the university. I therefore wish to formally welcome you all into the university community.

"The university under my management is in agreement with the state government to provide the most conducive atmosphere for our students to have smooth memorable studies.

"We have a duty to tailor your mind to only those things that are aimed at fostering the attainments of your academic and social goals,” he said.

AS the UNILORIN Students’ Union prepares for its election on May 9, a 20-member Independent Students Electoral Committee (ISEC) has been constituted.

The committee, which comprises two students from each faculty, is saddled with the responsibility of conducting a free, fair and credible election.

Members of the ISEC include: Ali Jubril, Chairman and Olubuse Ayodele (secretary), and Okunola Taofeeq, (PRO). Others members are: Okoh Uzu Harrison, Giwa Sulyman, Akande Bimbola, Salami Tunde, Adeleke Akintunde, Adekunle Philip and Olushola Ibrahim, Bolaji Muibat, Mustapha Asiat, Lawrence Oluwaseun, Rufai Jamiu, Akogun AbdulRasheed, Oketa Olalekan, Ogedengbe John, Aliyu Bashir Adieza, Olumobi Adewale and Aweda Jeremy.

Meanwhile, the ISEC has announced a time-table for the election of new Students Union Central Executive Council and Students Representative Council.

AUN alumnus for wildlife workshop

A

N alumnus of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, Geoffrey Nachamada, will attend a Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) workshop hosted by the African Wildlife Foundation in Arusha, Tanzania, from tomorrow to May 10.

The workshop will train Nachamada, who is also the Regional Representative of the institution, on the software that monitors wildlife conservation.

"There are very few Africans who specialise in conservation," said Nachamada, who graduated in 2009. "I am very pleased to have this opportunity to learn how to use this wonderful new technology

that will be very useful to those of us who work in this field."

The President of the university, Margee Ensign, said the university was proud of Nachamada's work in conservation, commitment to continuing his education, and thrilled that he has been chosen to attend the workshop.

Nachamada is the first AUN alumnus to study Conservation Biology at masters level. After his Bachelors degree in Natural and Environmental Science, he won a highly competitive scholarship to attend the United Kingdom's Oxford Brookes University. He received a graduate degree in Conservation Biology in 2012.

•President, Akwa Ibom State Community (AKISCOM), Lagos State chapter, Prince Elijah Ifot (middle) flanked by the Chairman, Education Committee, Elder Samuel Bassey (left) and AKISCOM PRO, Mr Bassey Ekpeyong at a briefing to announce an education endowment fund by the association held at Folashade Close, Surulere...on Tuesday.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

38

EDUCATION CU marks Malaria Day

C

OVENANT University (CU) Otta, Ogun State, has joined the rest of the world to mark 2013 World Malaria Day. It organised free malaria tests and treatment for the residents of KetuAdie-Owe in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area.

The university, through its Community Development Impact Initiative (CDII), last Friday extended the gesture to the community in a bid to eradicate malaria and its effects in the area.

The theme for this year's event was Invest in the Future: Defeat Malaria The event, which took place at Ketu-Adie-Owe Primary School playground, was attended by over 600 adults and children who were tested and treated for malaria and also given quality insecticide-treated nets free.

Speaking at the event, the Chairman, Covenant University CDII, and the representative of the Vice-Chancellor, Dr David Orodu, said the event was the university's effort at contributing her quota to the development of her immediate community. He added that it was not the first time CU would be out on such occasion to ensure the eradication of malaria scourge in her surrounding communities.

Orodu praised the support of the local government, its officials as well as the community for turning out in large number for the programme.

The representative of the Chairman, Supervisory Councillor for Health in the area, Isiaka Balogun, encouraged the people to always visit the health centre and avoid self medication whenever they have any health challenge.

In his comment, the representative of the community leader (Baale) of Ketu-Adie-Owe, Chief Akanbi Ola Olukosi, thanked the university for considering the community for such programme. He enjoined residents to always turn out whenever such a programme is organised.

The World Malaria Day is celebrated on April 25 of every year with a theme focusing on the eradication of malaria. It would be remembered that CU reached out to the people of Ilogbo community during the previous edition.

SCHOLARSHIPS APPROACHING DEADLINES University of East Anglia Science Foundation Scholarships for International Undergraduate Students University of East Anglia Science International Foundation Scholarships Course(s) Offered: Sciences (Pure, Health, etc) Course Level: Undergraduate Provider: University of East Anglia Country to Study in: UK Scholarship Description The University of East Anglia Faculty of Science and INTO University of East Anglia invites applications for the University of East Anglia, Faculty of Science Foundation Scholarships.

Successful completion of the International Foundation programme (subject to meeting the specified course requirements) leads to direct entry to Year 1 of an undergraduate degree course at the University of East Anglia.

Eligibility Applications to these scholarships are open to all international fee-paying students who: •Hold an unconditional offer to an INTO UEA International Foundation pathway in: •General Science •Pharmacy, Biomedicine and Health •Physical Sciences and Mathematics •Mathematics and Actuarial Sciences “And intend to progress onto a degree

programme within the Faculty of Science at the University of East Anglia.

Eligible groups International students from any country, EXCEPT the UK/EU Participating Institutions Faculty of Science, University of East Anglia, UK Fields of study Eligible degree programmes for this scholarship include: " MPharm Pharmacy " BSc Biomedicine " BSc Actuarial Sciences "BSc Environmental Geography and Climate Change " BSc Mathematics with Business Number of awards Three scholarships will be given - 2 scholarships are available for September 2013. 1 scholarship is available for January 2014 Sponsorship duration The International Foundation programme lasts for three terms (i.e two years) and there are two start dates available: September 2013 and January 2014.

Scholarship benefits Each award is valued at £13,450 each.

50% of the scholarship amount will be deducted from the International Foundation course fees. 50% of the scholarship amount will be deducted from the first year of your undergraduate degree fees upon

successful progression to an eligible course at the University of East Anglia.

Method of Application Apply for the International Foundation pathway in one of the eligible Science pathways at INTO University of East Anglia.

Once you have received an unconditional offer to study with us, please complete the essay question at the end of the Application Pack(pdf) and return it by e-mail to into@uea.ac.uk.

DEADLINES: For September 2013 entry, the deadline is Monday 22 July 2013. All scholarship applications received by this date will be considered and successful candidates will be notified by Monday 5 August 2013.

For January 2014 entry, the deadline is Monday 18 November 2013. All scholarship applications received by this date will be considered and successful candidates will be notified by Monday 25 November 2013.

Application Deadline: 22 July / 18 November 2013 Open to International students: Yes Read more: http:// www.studyandscholarships.com/2013/03/ university-of-east-anglia-science-internationalfoundation-scholarships.html#ixzz2Rrs5swIF

Western Delta varsity graduates 198

A

BOUT 198 students have graduated from the Western Delta University, Oghara in Delta State.

They were the first set to be awarded first degree at the school's maiden convocation. Interestingly, no one made a First Class at the ceremony held last weekend.

The two best graduating studentsEfevberha Oghenevbaire and Emuobohwo Joy - were awarded N100,000 each by the institution and a scholarship by the Delta State government for post-graduate studies in any foreign university of their choice.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Peter Hugho, warned parents against sending their wards to neighbouring universities in Africa, especially those along the West African coast.

Hugho said the web metric ranking of African universities showed that universities in Ghana, for instance, were not better than their Nigerian counterparts.

Hugho stated that the instability in

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

academic calendar, protests by various interest groups in Nigeria's public universities, which are major factors adduced by parents for sending their children to foreign universities, are non-existent in private universities.

He said: "It is my contention that private universities are on to rescue the education system from the decadence into which it is sliding. This is because the student will be getting good quality education free of mini-

mal vices, and in a well-organised and regulated environment."

Pro-Chancellor of the institution, Prof Andrew Onokehoraye, called for amendment of the laws establishing the Tertiary Education Trust Fund to accommodate private universities in the areas of research and scholarships.

The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin said private universities generate their own funding, and are expected to play by the same rules in terms of infrastructures, ad-

missions, teaching and research as prescribed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and JAMB. Prof Onokehoraye insisted that the goals of universities whether federal, state or private are to produce educated workforce that will meet the nation's needs in the 21st century.

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan who announced the scholarships for the two best students, promised to support the university in actualising its dreams.

ACE admits over 4,000

O

VER 4,000 students have been admitted for the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) and degree programmes of the Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo State for the 2012/2013 academic session.

The Deputy Provost, Dr Abayomi Olajuyibe noted that over 10,000 students picked the college as their first choice while filling their Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) forms.

Olajuyigbe, who disclosed this during an orientation programme organised by the management for the new students, said the management is still expected to give admission to more students.

He warned the students not to get involved in any activity that may abort their admission prematurely.

He said the purpose of the orientation was to ensure the students imbibe the college culture.

Olajuyigbe said ACE had produced some distinguished alumnus such as the JAMB Registrar, Prof Dibu Ojerinde, and two lawmakersOluremi Tinubu and Bamidele Aturu, among others.

His words: “Students, particularly you ladies, don't allow anyone to deceive you. As a lady, you must be diligent. Do not involve yourself in activities that may make you lose focus on your purpose here.

"I am encouraging you to face your studies which I believe is the primary assignment you are here for. Here in

From Leke Akeredolu, Akure

Adeyemi, we do not encourage cultism, indecent dressing. There is a committee in charge of this and if you are caught, you may blame penalised."

Also, the Dean of Student Affairs, Natheiel Olarinoye advised the students to shun acts that would put them in trouble.

•Mrs Eneji receiving her certificate from Mr Peters

Education, training key to growth, says ASCON chief

F

OR any human capacity development to be successful, education and training are twin indispensable factors, says ASCON Director-General Mr Ajibade Peters.

While education equips individuals to cope with life's challenges, training on the other hand, makes an employee more efficient and productive in the performance of his or her duty, Peters added.

"This captures essentially the major functions of Management Development Institutes (MDIs) such as ASCON,” said Peters. “In fact, it has been said in certain quarters that the training institutions have been set up to fill the gaps left by universities in terms of skills and competencies which people require to perform specific tasks in the work environment."

Addressing the 98 graduands at the end of the regular course of the college on Thursday last week, Peters

By Adegunle Olugbamila

urged them to realise that the world is fast drifting towards knowledge economy, noting that the only way to guarantee better result is via capacity development which he says, drives the entire process.

"We (ASCON) are to make meaningful contributions towards the attainment of government's transformation agenda. Herein lies our pride in ASCON-the ability of the participants to successfully undergo the rigours of the courses these past two weeks is a testimony of the participants' preparedness for the challenges ahead.

The gains of the training, according to Peters, include, among other things; improved employee performance and productivity; reduction in accidents and wastages; motivated and happy staff; shorter jobs learning period and the reduced costs that follow; reduce conflicts and

stress in work environment; positive work culture; and improved quality of services leading to greater customer satisfaction.

"The above benefits to individuals and their organisations will certainly translate into more effective and efficient service delivery. Some of the drivers and elements of effective service delivery are responsiveness, accessibility, timeliness, empathy, professionalism and reliability. With skilled, knowledgeable, motivated and satisfied personnel who have cultivated the right attitude to work performed in an organisational and cultural setting, a nation or organisation will already be on the path to effective service delivery and a happy citizenry customers. This is the way for effective transformation."

Some of the graduands however lauded the college. One of them, Mrs Rose Eneji Head of Local Govern-

ment Cross River State, described her experience as 'wonderful'.

"This is my first time here, Eneji said, "and everything works including power and water. The resource persons are simply competent; lectures are timely and they showed high level of understanding to us as adult learners. I now have broader knowledge and more sharpened skills in human resources management; and with this, I intend to improve the system when I'm back at my duty post."

Assistant Director Administration, Public Complaints Commission Kaduna State Mr Bawa Agan, spoke of what he would be taking home.

"I am the head of the training unit.

I am the type that is usually shy when addressing the crowd. Now this training has given me the prerequisite skills for self confidence.

Aside, I can also present well on any given topics."

39

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

EDUCATION

School celebrates 30th anniversary

I

T was an excitement-packed programme by pupils and teachers of Pampers Private School, Alaka, Lagos, to commemorate the school's 30th anniversary last Friday.

There were musical, drama and poetry presentations by the pupils and teachers interspersed with hymns, scripture readings and prayers. Though the wet weather interrupted the programme and forced guests and pupils into the school's small chapel, it did not dampen the joyous mood in the room.

The highlights of the event were the musical presentation by teachers and the recognition of academic and non-academic staff that had spent 20 years or more in the school.

During the musical presentation, the teachers, dressed in grey apparels with a touch of red, filed to the podium from two aisles while two of them sang the solo of Whitney Houston's I believe the children are the future; others joined in the singing on the stage.

As the song ended, they filed back to their seats, hugging the pupils as they went along.

For the staff recognition segment, Director, Quality Assurance, Mrs O.M Aderonmu, called out more

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

than 20 teaching and non-teaching staff some of whom had stuck with the school from when it started on April 23, 1983 at No 39, Johnson Street in Bode Thomas, Lagos, until it expanded to its present expansive location in Alaka Estate, to join in the cutting of the anniversary cake.

Mrs Aderonmu, who stood in for her mother and founder of the school, Mrs Dolapo Odunlami, thanked them for their support and contributions to the school's success.

"At this moment in time, with a heart filled with gratitude, admiration, pride and joy, I would like to acknowledge some special members of staff, who have served this school for 20 years and above. Thank you for your years of sacrifice, loyalty and dedication. The King of Kings will reward your labour of love in Jesus name, Amen," she said.

She also thanked parents for believing in the school, and the pupils, who she said were the reason for its establishment in the first place.

However, her best words were reserved for her mother, whom she described as courageous, determined, resourceful and

• The pupils during one of the presentations

hardworking.

Mrs Odunlami was also eulogised by some of the long-serving teachers who told The Nation, they remained with the school because of her nurturing attribute.

Mrs Christiana Iwoka, who said next January 9 would mark her 30th year in the school, said Mrs Odunlami is the ideal employer.

"I think I find joy working with Mrs

Odunlami. In payment of salaries, she does not delay. As a teacher, she provides all the teaching aids you need to teach. She gives opportunity for further education. I came in with a Grade II certificate and I am proud to say I am a graduate today," she said.

Another teacher who preferred not to be named said he has stayed on

Indomie shortlists for sixth Heroes award

D

• From left: Head of Marketing, Dufil Prima Foods PLC, Manpreet Singh with Ashiwaju, Singhal and MD BD Consult, Mr Tola Bademosi at the Heroes award briefing.

Oyo to establish libraries in public schools

T

HE Oyo State government, has approved the establishment of libraries in primary and secondary schools across the state.

In addition, library periods have been reinstated in schools, thus making it compulsory for all free periods on the school's time-table to be converted to library periods.

Director of School Library Services, Oyo State Library Board, Pastor Oluyemi Akintunde, said this at the 26th anniversary of Thomas Ayorinde Memorial Library, Akinmoorin Grammar School, Akinmoorin.

Pastor Akintunde, who attributed lack of good reading habits among students to non-availability of libraries in most schools, said the governor's gesture would enable students inculcate reading habits and library uses at young age.

He stated that in line with government's desire to improve the reading needs of students and the populace, the Board has created a Department of School Library Services saddled with the responsibility visiting and monitoring the libraries, as well as organising book fairs, talks, public lectures, career talks, library day in schools, and offering free technical assistance

From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo

where necessary.

In his speech titled: Reasons why students should use the library much more intensively than hitherto is the practice, Akintunde explained that apart from providing a framework for academic success in present school and increasing student's chances of better performance in higher institutions of learning, the board also provides up-date resources to keep students abreast of developments in all disciplines of knowledge, most importantly in this computer age and internet services through which the world has now become a global village.

He said: "Studies have shown that a student even the most brilliant one can acquire more than 25 per cent of what is being taught in the classroom, and unless such a student personally develops and masters the art of reading , he or she will be missing out on the remaining 75 per cent which will result in his or her poor academic performance.''

"We praise the donor of Akinmoorin School library building, reading materials, and other learning resources for the benefit of the students. This development has made Akinmoorin Grammar

School, a model school library that other schools would be motivated to emulate; and this has by no means sustained the interest in promoting reading culture amongst our budding youths in Akinmoorin community.”

for 23 years in the school because of his passion for young children, and the accommodating virtue of the proprietress.

"I have been here for about 23 years because of the passion to work with children and because of the motherly nature of the proprietor who is very accommodating, tolerant, god fearing and who corrects with love.

UFIL Prima Foods Plc, makers of Indomie noodles, are set to initiate the search for the 2013 heroes' awards in which three outstanding children would be picked, recognised, rewarded and celebrated for their acts of heroism.

In order to be honoured with this award, these children would have made notable sacrifices at great risks to themselves while striving to survive despite the unfavourable conditions they find themselves.

Speaking at a briefing last week, the company's CEO, Deepak Singhal, told The Nation that 15 children have received the Independence Day awards and have had their names engraved in gold in the Indomie Hall of Fame as Nigerian heroes.

He added that the company is about to discover another set of heroic children. Singhal spoke at Saffron Restaurant and Bar in Victoria Island, venue of the event.

He said: "This initiative is in consonance with the core values and deep-rooted belief of our company and the brand Indomie, that every child indeed possesses an innate ability to become great. There is no doubt that Nigeria is privileged to be blessed with several young people who posses exceptional char-

By Sampson Unamka

acter for service and milk of human kindness flowing in them".

He added that it is essential for these children to be acknowledged and celebrated publicly in order to encourage and instigate more noble acts in them as they would hold various leadership positions in the country in future as their present abilities have already indicated.

In addition to this year's independence awards, Singhal said a new package- 'academic awards' a newly-introduced package by Dufil Prima Foods, would be spiced with the already existing awards.

The outfit's Public Relations Manager Mr Tope Ashiwaju said apart from the Independence Day award the company will be awarding excellent performance from the first three students nationwide who have written their SSCE/WAEC exams. He said winners will be determined by WAEC and NECO. Asiwaju said once WAEC presented the best students from the zones of the country, the company, rather than relying on WAEC, will also set up its exams for students who qualified from the zones to finally determine the top three and their consolation prizes which will be presented to them at the Indomie Independence Day award.

• Pupils of Edgewood College, Lekki during their Inter-house sport competition

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

40

EDUCATION

Registrars seek review of tenure law

T

HE Committee of Registrars of Nigerian Universities, (CORNU) has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to amend the law reducing the tenure of Registrars of federal universities to a single term of five years.

Their stand is contained in a communiqué issued after the committee's 54th business meeting held from April 24 to 26 at the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado Ekiti.

They claimed that it would disrupt continuity.

"This unfortunate scenario is better appreciated if viewed in the reality of the new federal universities where the Vice-Chancellors and Registrars were appointed the same day and would leave on the same date. The law will disrupt the continuity and stability in the university system

By Medinat Kanabe

which university Registrars epitomise as institutional repository," the statement reads.

Expressing concern over the declining quality of service delivery in universities, the committee appealed to members and all stakeholders to, as a matter of urgency, address the decline through training, capacity building as well as mentoring younger administrators, if Nigerian universities are to take giant strides in the 21st Century.

They also expressed concern over the declining quality of facilitators in the university system and called for an urgent review of recruitment processes by ensuring that well qualified staff are attracted and retained in the system. CORNU also urged universities to embrace

International best practices if they want to remain globally competitive.

CORNU members praised the Federal Government for inaugurating the Governing Councils for some of the federal universities adding that the newly established universities do not yet have councils.

It was also stated that there is a need to explore areas of collaboration with similar bodies the world over like the Association of Heads of Administration in the United Kingdom (UK) and synergise with them to enable members share experiences that will enhance their productivity and performance. "Such collaboration would not only leverage on members competences but would also internationalise their operations," it stated.

The meeting which was attended by 63 registrars from federal, states and private universities from all the six geo-political zones of the country, elected the registrar of theEkiti State University Ado-Ekiti Dr Omojola Awosusi as its new chairman to take over from Mr Ayorinde Ogunruku.

• From left: Council member, Prince Gabriel Adenigba; President and Chairman of Council, Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN), Mr Teslim Busari; special guest of honour and former Attorney-General/Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo(SAN); and Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, ICSAN, Mr Dele Togunde, at the institute's 12th induction in Lagos.

NANS pleads with Jonathan on security

T

HE National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has decried the rising wave of insecurity, urging President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure security of lives and property before the 2015 general elections.

The National President of the association, Comrade Yinka Ayefele, said this in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, when the group conferred an outstanding leadership award on the Kwara State National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Coordinator, Mrs Ezinne Ezekwe.

Ayefele, represented by NANS Senate President, Joshua Donald, said: “Nigerian students are not happy with the security level of this country because it is affecting us. We are

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

having some crisis in some universities and polytechnics across the country. Insecurity has led to the loss of lives of many students.

“We are pleading with President Goodluck Jonathan to address insecurity before the next election.

“We have advised students not to get involved in political thuggery.

Anyone used as a thug is not a wellbehaved student because we have this guideline that we should not be used as thugs. We are the leaders of tomorrow. We are the ones that will deliver the future of the country to a greater and loftier position."

Appreciating the students for the award, Mrs Ezekwe urged them to

embrace hard work and other positive values.

She said: "These students are youths who are leaders of today and the future of the country. There is a saying: 'a country without educated youths is a country without a future.'

As future leaders, let integrity, peace and hard work remain your watch words as you lead over 50 million Nigerian students/youths to finding their place in the society.

"In fighting for your rights, you must not be violent in your agitation. Do not confront the government but use dialogue and peaceful approach to let your demands known. Do not allow anybody to use you for selfish ends."

150 exhibitors for expo

A

N education branding firm, Edumark, is putting up a onestop shopping and training event for educational products and services for two days next month. It is tagged the Total School Support Seminar/Exhibition (TOSSE).

CEO, Edumark, Mrs Yinka Ogunde, said at a briefing last Thursday that the event, planned for June 6 and 7, at the 10 Degrees Event Centre, Oregun, will bring school owners, administrators, teachers, policy makers, parents and pupils under one roof with education products and services firms including publishers, school furniture producers, ICT training and infrastructure providers, among others with the aim of adding value to the lives and businesses of participants.

Beyond selling products and services, Mrs Ogunde said a unique feature of TOSSE will be the 27 seminars that will address all areas of school

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

administration as well as capacity building and motivation for members of staff and pupils. She added that the topics of the seminars have been chosen to tailor-fit the various stakeholders in the school system.

While school owners may be interested in the topics: Growing your Enrolment Numbers; Passing the Baton of School Management: Legal Issues to Consider; Steps to consider before raising a bank loan for your school, and Staff Policy: An Interactive Session for School Owners, teachers will find useful classroom tips from the seminars on: Managing Behavioural Difficulties in Young Learners; Keeping the Teaching Passion Alive; or Motivating Students for Better Performance among others.

Mrs Ogunde, who said experts have been sourced to speak on many of the topics, added that close to 150 exhibi-

EDUTALK

with

Is the trouble with JAMB or us?

L

AST Saturday, I covered the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for the seventh time. Save for the 2012 edition and one other year, I have not missed visiting the Dairy Farm School complex to monitor the examination in the past nine years. The two schools within the complex, Dairy Farm Senior Secondary School, and Sanngo Senior Secondary School always serve as

Kofoworola

Belo-Osagie Kofosagie@yahoo.com 08054503077 (SMS only)

centres yearly - for the Universities Matriculation Examination (UME) and the Monotechnics/Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Matriculation Examination (MPCEME) which have now been combined as the UTME. I remember the first UME I covered in the complex in 2005. I spent most of the time at Sanngo because it was the centre of the action. What I witnessed that day could have made a good movie script. Security was so porous that almost anybody had access to the candidates. Mercenaries had little difficulties distributing answers from class to class (the centre supervisor shouted himself hoarse trying to stop them). Invigilators also provided as many candidates as paid with answers. Many candidates waited in vain for one particular point man to come to the centre with expo. His alias was Passman. They had paid a lot of money to him but he disappointed them. He came after the examination had ended (He must have had so many centres to cover). Then, mobile phones were not so cheap that students could afford them so that was why they needed him to physically bring the answers to their centres. I felt sad seeing many candidates, his clients, surround him, bemoaning their fate because of his absence. I wondered how able-bodied and healthy young people with their heads intact could allow such nonentity to hold their destinies in his hands - and all because they were unwilling to work hard. It was a shameful experience - examination malpractice at its worst.

In the past four or five years however, things have changed generally in the conduct of the UTME. JAMB has done a lot to improve the examination including beefing up security at centres, introducing biometric screening to eliminate impersonation, and banning the use of mobile phones in the examination halls among others.

Unfortunately, while these measures have worked, they will not help to totally eradicate or reduce examination malpractice to the barest minimum. This is because the biggest threats against them are human beings, officials, candidates, that are meant to make them work. If an official fails to report candidates caught with microchips (prepared answers) or cell phones but turns the other way because he has received a bribe, then malpractice will continue. If candidates refuse to study knowing they can get ready-made answers on the d-day, then we are still far from winning the war against examination fraud. If teachers continue to encourage candidates to cheat by arranging centres for them, solving questions and sending via SMS or abusing their office as invigilators and teaching them in the examination hall, then the malpractice forms will never be filled.

Perhaps in addition to investing in security and new technologies to beat malpractices, JAMB should invest in re-orientating the candidates that will write the examination, and the officials that will manage them.

But is this a task for JAMB alone? Certainly not.

‘Unfortunately, while these measures have worked, they will not help to totally eradicate or reduce examination malpractice to the barest minimum. This is because the biggest threats against them are human beings, the officials, candidates, that are meant to make them work. If an official fails to report candidates caught with microchips (prepared answers) or cell phones but turns the other way because he has received a bribe, then malpractice will continue. If candidates refuse to study knowing they can get readymade answers on the d-day, then we are still far from winning the war against examination fraud’

From my Inbox Re: Combating Sexual Abuse (Thursday, May 02, 2013)

•Mrs Ogunde

tors from home and abroad, have registered to be part of the event.

Speaking on the value of such event, Mrs Ogunde said Nigeria has the capacity to become the education hub for West Africa given the presence of many top quality private schools in the country which she said can compete with those in many other parts of the world.

My Sister, I wept when I read your story on "Sexual Abuse". For a father to abuse his daughter sexually is a proof that we are in the end times.

Ministers of God should digress from the message of prosperity to that of salvation. Bless you my sister. CSP Agans-Irabor Osagie J. One problem schools have in employing teachers is how to get accurate information on those they want to employ. For example, I don't think Nigeria has any sexual offenders' register or database like in developed countries. Also, I doubt if most employers ask for letters of reference from the last employers of the applicants. People are just employed without background checks. There is no art to find the mind's construction in the face. Employers of teachers need to develop ways to do background checks on applicants before employing them to be around children. 08077375--.

43

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

CONSTITUTION REVIEW The House of Representatives has collated the views of Nigerians on the proposed constitution review across the 360 constituencies. But can the amendment reflect public opinion? ask VICTOR OLUWASEGUN and DELE ANOFI.

Can National Assembly uphold public opinion?

O

N November 10, last year, the House of Representatives organised public hearings across the 360 constituencies on the proposed constitution amendment. Following the sessions, 43 items were identifiesd as the most important issues germane to the proposed amendment.

These issues include the immunity for the President and members of the Federal Executive Council, Sovereign National Conference SNC), state police and true federalism. Others are tenure of office holders, state creation, autonomy for Houses of Assembly, financial autonomy for the local government, indigeneship and citizenship and Diaspora voting.

When the Emeka Ihedioha-led Constitution Review Committee kicked off the assignment on April 18, many Nigerians doubted the sincerity of the legislators.

However, the Deputy Speaker assured them that, not only would the people be carried along, the amendment would reflect their wishes.

Now that the collated views have been presented to the House by the committe, the fear has resurfaced again. Will the views collated by the House form the main thrust of the constitution amendment?

At the presentation, Ihedioha ruled out the manipulation of the public opinion, stressing that the collated views would not be doctored or tampered with.

The National Assembly only approached the people with items that they felt were of utmost importance. No addition was permitted at the public hearing.

Of the 43 items, 24 were considered by the people and 19 discarded. For instance, the decision of the people that Section 197(1) (b) be amended to abolish the State Independent Electoral Commission so that all elections are conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission is still being frowned at some quarters. This is Item 3 on the list.

Also, Item 13 generated ripples.

While some felt that unelected local government should be denied funding, others felt that it would inflict pains on the grassroots.

Item 13 was also an emotional issue. There was disagreement over whether the states should create councils without approval by the National Assembly.

According to the committee, state police was rejected by 307 constituencies. The question was: “Should Section 214(1) be amended to enable the establishment of a state police”. 292 constituencies said that the country should maintain the current police structure and system as in the Constitution.

The rotational presidency advocated by some Nigerians was defeated as 275 constituencies rejected the proposal that a provision be inserted in the constitution for the rotation of the Office of Presi-

• House of Representatives in session

ISSUES • True federalism • State police • Immunity for President and FEC members • Local government autonomy • Role for traditional rulers dent between the North and South.

In addition, 210 constituencies opposed the proposal that the Office of President should rotate among the six geo-political zones.

On the other hand, 147 said yes and three refrained from voting.

The voting pattern may not dissuade the advocates of zoning.

Analysts contend that the verdict of thye constituencies may not silence them too long.

In the report, one resolution stands out. This is contained in Item 8. Many Nigerians insisted that Sections 81 and 121(1) of the Constitution should be amended to require the President and governors to prepare and lay the annual budget before the Parliament, at least, three months before the end of a financial year. Hailing this resolution, many legislators said that it would avert budget failure.

Across the constituencies, indigeneship generated passion.

But the majority voted that indigeneship should be defined to include the persons who have resided in an area for a long period and these Nigerians should be

• Indigeneship and citizenship • State creation • Autonomy for House of Assembly • Diaspora voting • Rotational Presidency • Sovereign National Conference

entitled to the rights, duties and privileges of citizenship. Many observers believe that this limit the tension and conflict between indigenes and settlers. However, in Southwest, traditional rulers have cautioned that rights for settlers have limitation adding that they cannot aspire to traditional thrones.

Predictably, many constituencies voted for financial autonomy for the local governments. They canvassed the abrogation of the State/Local Government Joint Accounts.

However, members of the civil society groups have pointed out that the House had manipulated the public hearings to elicit predetermined responses to the items.

An example is Item 36, which asks the question:“Should the derivation component of revenue allocation be increased to, at least, 20 percent? 224 constituencies voted against it, 125 favoured the proposal and 11 abstained.

On state creation, there were antagonistic answers. Many constituencies that would not ben-

efit from the exercise voted against it.

The analysis shows that 205 constituencies voted ‘Yes’, 14 voted for one state, five voted for two states, 32 voted for six states, seven voted for seven states, 22 voted for 12 states, three voted for 13 states, and 13 voted for 14 states.

Furthermore, one constituency voted for 16 states, 107 constituencies voted ‘Yes’, 133 voted ‘No’ and 22 were undecided.

Item 15 possed a challenging question: “Should the Second Schedule, Part 1 be amended so that some of the items, including those listed below be moved from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent List – (a) Fingerprints, identification and criminal records; (b) Insurance; (c) Labour, etc; (d) Prisons; (e) Public holidays; (f) Railways. (g) Bankruptcy and Insolvency (h) Registration of births and deaths. There were multiple answers.

According to the report, 170 constituencies voted ‘Yes’. 10 voted for sub-section (a) alone, 15 voted for sub-section (b) alone, 11 voted for subsection (c) alone, 10 voted

‘In the report, one resolution stands out. This is contained in Item 8.

Many Nigerians insisted that Sections 81 and 121(1) of the Constitution should be amended to require the President and governors to prepare and lay the annual budget before the Parliament, at least, three months before the end of a financial year. Hailing this resolution, many legislators said that it would avert budget failure’

for subsection (d) alone and 12 voted (e) alone.

Similarly, 15 constituencies – voted for subsection (f) alone, 6 (g) alone and 34 subsection (h) alone. while 57 Federal Constituencies wholesomely voted ‘Yes’, 181 voted ‘No’ and 9 were undecided.

However, Nigerians achieved consensus on some points. They supported the amendment of the Section 308 of the Constitution alter the immunity for the President, Vice President, governors and deputy governors, except on civil proceedings.

The rejection of immunity by Nigerians contrasted with the clamour for immunity by the federal legislators. In the House of Representatives, the two consolidated bills on immunity have passed through the second reading.

The bills, which were sponsored by the Chairman of the House Committee on Justice, Hon. Ali Ahmed, and Hon. Ralph Igbokwe, were consolidated, passed and subsequently referred to the ad hoc committee on the Review of the Constitution. Could the House be working at cross purposes with the wishes of the Nigerians?, many have asked.

House of Representatives members who spke with our correspondents have clarified that the immunity being sought by the legislators would not insulate them from criminal proceedings.

The proposed constitution may enhance wider participation in governance. This has reflected in the push for constitutional roles for the traditional rulers. 202 constituencies voted in favour of the proposal, 155 were against it and three abstained.

Applauding the committee, the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly, Senator Joy Emordi, said that the outcome of the public session has negated the calls for a national conference.

She lauded the decision on the state creation, presentation of the budget proposal to the National Assembly three months before the end of the fiscal year, release of funds for unelected local councils, and the state electoral commission. Emordi observed that, if these issues are resolved, there may be no need for a Sovereign National Conference The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)’s representative, Charles Edosomwan, who is also the Chairman of the body’s Constitution Review committee, warned that the result should not be taken wholesome, since it was based on voting.

He however, expressed optimism that the proposed constitution would be based on consensus.

The public hearings and collation were laced with flaws. But political analysts have commended the House for the steps taken so far. The question is: will the final decision of the House on the constitution review reflect the wishes of the people?

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

44

POLITICS In the First Republic, Chief Ayo Fasanmi was the President of the Action Group (AG) Youth Association and member of the House of Representatives. In the Second Republic, he served as a Senator. The octogenarian Afenifere and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain spoke with SOJI ADENIYI on the political situation in the Southwest and the country.

UPN can’t bounce back, says Fasanmi W

HAT is your reaction to the move by the leader of the Oodua Peoples Congress(OPC), Dr. Fredrick Faseun, to resusitate the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) led by late Chief Obafemi Awolowo?

Faseun is someone I have a lot of admiration for. In the interview I granted about a month ago, I let the people know that we are related, not only in friendship, but in marriage. The question is: what is his intention, particulary at this point in time. Is the intention genuine? A young man in the camp, not Faseun, recently called me on the phone and informed me that they wanted to resusitate the UPN and would like to know if I wanted to be party to the arrangement. I said “No.” I cannot be party to a sabotage.

I have always advocated the re-alignment of the progressive elements in the political parties in this country because that is the only legitmate process by which the Peoples Democratic Party can be thrown out of governance. As a matter of truth, when I gave evidence at the Awolowo’s trial many years ago, I said that I believed that the coming together of the progressive elements was necessary for salvaging the country from disintegration. What I said about fifty years ago is still truthful and relevant till today.

The balance sheet of the PDP today shows that there is so much to worry about in the country.

Look at the decay in the infrastructure, insecurity and mass unemployment that have reached an alarming level. And as you know, devil finds job for an idle hand. If you dont give the youths the jobs they deserve to get what do you expect, nothing but crisis and insecurity wll result. And look at the PDP as at today. It has reached an irreversible stage of complete disintegration. So, when four political parties; the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress of Political Congress (CPC), the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and the All People Grand Alliance (APGA); decided to form the All People Congress (APC), I saw the development as a political panacea to the headache of this nation.

Now that Faseun has come up with the idea of rescusitating the UPN, what do you think is up to?

I read some of the statement he made in the newpaper. I that any alliance that will confront the people must be based on principles and ideology and I know that the leaders of these four political parties are serious-minded politicians whose antecedents are well known in the country. And I am very confident that, by the grace of God, the APC will succeed. But I also keep asking myself what Faseun is really up to?

Is it an attempt to cause disaaffection among the rank and file of the politicians in the Southwest?

Is it an attempt to break the unity among the politicians in the ACN, which is dominating in the Southwest? Who are the people that will join the crusade to rescusitate the UPN? If Faseun had a good intention, why did he not advocate

‘But I also keep asking myself what Faseun is really up to? Is it an attempt to cause disaaffection among the rank and file of the politicians in the Southwest? Is it an attempt to break the unity among the politicians in the ACN, which is dominating in the Southwest? Who are the people that will join the crusade to rescusitate the UPN? If Faseun had a good intention, why did he not advocate or convene a conference of all progressive parties? So, I see a proposed attempt to rescusitate the UPN as a clever device to divide the rank and file of progressive politicians and people should be very careful’ • Fasanmi

or convene a conference of all progressive parties? So, I see a proposed attempt to rescusitate the UPN as a clever device to divide the rank and file of progressive politicians and people should be very careful. And when I read a statement by Faseun that the tree and branches will be uprooted and I was asking myself that does he want to replicate the kind of crises in another form in the Southwest, as it has happened in other geo-political zones? There is the Boko Haram insurgency in the North, kidnapping in the Southeast and militancy in the Southsouth. Is he trying to introduce a political ingenuity of chaos into the peaceful Southwest?

I dont know what he is really up to by saying the tree and its branches will be uprooted. As I said, I have a lot of admiration for Faseum, but I can not understand his intention for planning the rescusitation of the UPN, particularly at this point in time. I am sure his intetion is not to promote peace and progress of the Southwest as a region.

Is Fasehun not inventing another platform to fight for Yoruba interest?

It is not going to be a viable platform to represent the Yoruba interest. It is going to be a political exercise in chaos and futility. What does he want to acheive and who are the members, the people to use for this end? I fault his timing, more so, at the time the APC wants to get registered and I still can not really understand his intention. So, I am baffled.

Can the APC dislodge the PDP, which has indicated its intention to win in 32 states in 2015?

I can only describe Jonathan’s target of thirty two states in the 2015 general election as a big joke. Look at the Southwest, for instance. We are going to have two elections next year - one in Ekiti State and another in Osun. Do you think, with the massive development going on under the indefaigable leadership of Fayemi and Aregbesola, the PDP will ever have an headway? I dont see this happening. I was recently discussing with a friend and we both agreed that there is no way the PDP can make any headway anywhere in the Southwest. So, I dont know where Jonathan will get his thirty two states. I dont see things being the same in the 2014 and 2015 elections, if the APC is not guided by personal ambition, but people first. I will advise the APC leaders to shun personal interest. Their ultimate should be the masses. The masses are suffering, particularly under the Jonathan Administration and they are looking for a redeemer. So, if the APC is not guided by personal interest, it is the only alternative. Nigeria will next year celebrate its centenary. What have we to show for it? So, I think APC, guided by sound principles, will deliver. Though people may be refering to the past alliances, but today, I can confidently say Nigerians now have known better.

Can the crops of leaders in the Southwest reenact the feats of your leader, the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo?

Awolowo was a fantastic person. He had very rare qualities that you cannot find nowadays.

But judging by the transformation that is now going on in the Southwest, from Lagos State to Ogun State, Oyo State, Osun State and Ekiti State, the region is blessed. At a time, they picked Aregbesola as the best governor in the country.

In far away South Africa, Fayemi was recorgnised as best governor in Africa. Also, many that have come to Osun State have acknowleged Aregbesola’s brilliant performance. Even Senator Chukwumerije, a PDP person and chairman, Senate Committee on Education, commended the Aregbesola Administration. He said what he saw here was the best in the entire country. The antagonists and protagonists of the ACN said the region had never had it so good and the Southwest has become a shining example in the country. To be a shining example, there must be sterlin qualities the leadership in the region must demonstrate.

And these leaders are following the foothsteps of Chief Awolowo, in terms of performance, transparency, accountability and integrity. I have not seen any of them beig dragged before the anti-graft agencies; the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other Crimes Commission (ICPC). These are young men who are emulating the visionary like Chief Awolowo.

And I think they should be given time becuase Chief Awolowo was in the leadership saddle for many years, starting from the time of Egbe Omo Oduduwa to the time he founded the Action Group (AG), and later, the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). These young men are just starting and, at the rate of development we are witnessing, the revolutionary transformation has shown that they have taken after the visionary leadership of our great leader, Chief Awolowo.

And I believe that what is going on in the South west can be expanded by 2015, if the APc can take over the central power there would be an effective leadership change.

Can the regional integration achieve the desired result?

I don’t see anything wrong in the regional integration. In a federal system of government, that kind of arrangement is very good. It means working together to achieve progress for the people of the region. Awolowo started this many years ago. It will help all parts of the region to benefit from one another’s strenght. Regional integration can promote understanding by pooling your resources together in the interest of the people in all the parts of the region and that does not mean that the region will be enstraged from the central government. Aferall, unity begins at home. So, I believe in the regional integration agenda. It is just starting. Let us wait a year more.We will see the good result it will produce, in terms of economy, social infrastructure and many more. When you pool your resources, it could be very helpful and beneficial to the people of the region.

Imo State House of Assembly Speaker Benjamin Uwajumogu spoke with OKODILI NDIDI on the controversy generated by the impeachment of the former deputy governor, Mr. Jude Agbaso.

‘We did not receive bribe to impeach Agbaso’

• Uwajumogu

W

AS there a plan by the House of Assembly to impeach the former Imo State deputy governor before the controversy?

Imo State House of Assembly never at any time thought about impeaching the former deputy governor. That was never on the card. In this state, everybody knows that the executive and the legislature are

getting on well. On the contrary, if there was anybody whose impeachment was talked about, it was Governor Rochas Okorocha.

How did the impeachment of Agbaso begin?

Jude Agbaso’s impeachment is unfortunate. Sometimes in June last year, we got information from the executive about an over payment made to a contractor, who still abandoned the site. And the House of Assembly, as a responsible House, cannot sit down and watch without acting when it’s obvious that the state government money was involved. Investigations commenced and the former deputy governor was invited by the committee set up to investigate. The directors and permanent secretaries from the Ministry of Works, of which he was also a commissioner.

And actually, it was the deputy governor and the governor that initially arrested the J-PROS Managing Director, Mr. Dina Joseph. It was

in the police station that Mr. Dina made the confessions and signed the report that indicted Jude Agbaso.

But we heard that he has brought the MTN call log. Are you aware of this?

All we hear about is that he has brought his call logs; we are yet to have it published in any newspapers or submitted to the House of Assembly. And he had the opportunity of defending himself after the House submitted his report, which was published in the newspapers and on the internet for everybody to read. How the House came to its conclusion is there. The judiciary set up a seven-man panel to investigate those allegations. The former deputy governor had an opportunity to go to the seven-man panel and clear himself, but he did not.

The Agbasos claimed that the House did not do a thorough job, claiming that the money has been traced to Dubai. What is your reaction?

We are not an investigative agency. Imo State House of Assembly is a law-making institution. We are not bound by the rules of engagement of the law enforcement agency. In the House of Assembly, we deal with what we have seen. What we were investigating was the reason for the stoppage and abandonment of projects. He abandoned the road for more than eight months, and when thie impeachment started, the man moved back to site. The committee called the police and the police arrested him. And it’s very interesting the statement the contractor made at the police station.

Also, in the contractor’s statement, he indicted the former deputy governor. But that matter is still for another day.

What was Governor’s role in the investigation?

The governor only tried to interfere in the investigation of the House because, some time ago, His

Excellency invited me that he was on his way to Abuja when he heard the information that the House was about commencing the impeachment proceedings against his former deputy governor. I told him there was nothing like that, that we are just investigating the abandonment and stoppage of work by some contractors. That didn’t amount to impeachment because the process of impeachment is a long process and it is not something you just start because you want to remove somebody. It’s a long process. At a point that this matter came to the House, and the governor called, I can tell you that no member of the House of Assembly ever thought of impeaching the former deputy governor. But the committee had started its work and invited the former deputy governor and other l directors in the Ministry of Works and there was no going back on what should be done.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

45

THE NATION

NATURAL HEALTH E-mail:- health@thenationonlineng.net

The Federal Government plans to standardise traditional medicine. Complementary and Alternative Medicine practitioners say the government should extend the same gesture to them. OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA reports.

Why alternative medicine should be recognised C

OMPLEMENTARY and Alternative Medicine (CAM) offers treatment without the use of drugs.

CAM covers, among others, acupuncture osteopathy, chiropractic, magneto therapy, iridology, palmmistry, dream interpretation and aromatherapy.

All these fields provide healing for people just as traditional medicine that uses mainly, herbal plants and ingredients. In Nigeria experts in CAM are registered by Medical and Dental Council (MDCN). No fewer than 15 have been registered so far.

But as the government is working round the clock to standadise traditional medicine and regulate its practitioners, CAM practitioners are asking the government for similar treatment.

According to CAM practitioners’ spokesperson Prof Magnus Atilade, a Chiropractor, in developed countries, CAM has been recognised as an option in health care delivery system.

“Here, in Nigeria, the Medical and Dental Council (MDCN) recognises it. I was the first CAM practitioner to be registered by MDCN. And the first representative to serve on that council. That means CAM has ben put under orthodox medicine.

“Unfortunately, CAM has not given prominence, backing and support by government. Name any developed country, CAM is enjoying tremendous support in terms of regulation, funding and patronage. But her in Nigeria, CAM is

‘CAM has not been given the prominence, the backing and support by government. In developed countries, CAM is enjoying tremendous support in terms of regulation, funding and patronage. But here in Nigeria, CAM is yet to experience that, it has only been recognised’

•Atilade

yet to experience that, it has only been recognised.”

And the way forward? Prof Atilade said: “Let governemt create a regulatory arm in MDCN that can regulate

CAM practitioners comprising seasoned experts. Also, old hands in CAM should be allowed to screen and train upcoming ones and recommend them

Tap into benefits of Moringa, govt told

‘Onion can123456789012345678901234567890121234567 cure many ailments’

O

NION is not just a recipe, it offers much more health benefits. A dietician at the Garki Hospital, Abuja, Miss Yemisi Olowookere, has said.

She recommended the consumption of onions as a remedy for many ailments.

According to her, “Eating raw onions can stop or relieve an asthma crisis because of its anti-allergic and broncho-dilator properties which effects can last up to 12 hours. Inhaling the essential oil in onions is beneficial and more appropriate for children.”

Ms Olowookere said the consumption of onions is important because of its therapeutic, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and other beneficial properties.

She said onion is a vegetable that gives an excellent taste to dishes and can be found in different colours such as yellow, red and white.

Olowookere said: “It also has low calories, while proteins are present in small proportions with negligible fat content.

“Onions help prevent thrombosis, a formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. This is because they have anti-platelet adhesiveness in fresh onions as well as cooked onions.”

She said onions had been found to very good for people suffering from high blood pressure, adding that onions are diuretic as they could increase secretion of urine, as well as alkalise foods.

“They help produce inflammation

Ma

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and are beneficial for those suffering from neuritis; vertigo and bronchitis as regular consumption of onions also prevent colon cancer. They contain essential oils that are responsible for onions typical odour,” she said.

Ms Olowookere said the vegetable fibre diminished the absorption of cholesterol and anti-diabetic action which can delay the passage of sugar into the blood stream.

She said onions are also good for diabetes and would improve their hair, finger, toe nails and the eyes.

“They have anti-allergy properties; they are slight laxatives and help the body in destroying worms and other parasites. Researchers have revealed that onions prolong longevity,” she said.

The dietician said extracts from onions are rich in a variety of sulphides and provides protection against tumour growth.

She said onions stimulates the detoxifying function of the liver as well as improve the activity of other digestive juice producing glands.

Ms Olowookere, however, said studies had shown that people, who eat onions and garlic, had much lower risk of developing stomach cancer.

“Therefore, abundant onions consumption is fully justified as a cancer preventive and as a complement to treatment of certain type of cancer such as that of the stomach and the colon,” she stated.

• Source: NAN

for registration with MDCN. “At the level of screening, it will be established if the applicant is qualified, have the required prerequisite to practise the chosen field. This is because it is human life that is involved, and life is sacred, and must not be toyed with.”

Though happy that traditional medicine and CAM have been differentiated, Prof Atilade wants government to give complete autonomy to the two fields.

“National Association of Traditional Medicine Practitioners (NANTMP) has been recognised as an association but thefield is yet to be supported just like CAM. So the authorities should be proactive by doing the right things for the two fields. Let there be complete separation and regulations for the fields, so that they become distinct semi autonomous bodies.”

According to Prof Atilade: “Funding should not be a problem to either fields.

Because practitioners in either fields are ready to spend their resources to support the development of the fields.

“When autonomous bodies are set up to regulate the practices, then ethics and standards can be worked out. And the practitioners will be respected as professionals.”

He threw a challenge to all and sundry in either fields, “they should go for training and re-training, obtain right qualifications and have human feeling so as to handle lives.”

HE Federal Government has been urged tap into the benefits of moringa - a cure-all plant known as ‘miracle tree’. It is known in the North as Zogale,the Yoruba call it Oruwo.

According to the Vice President, Moringa Association of Nigeria (MAN), North Central, Dr Jacob Odiba, the plant, which is medicinal and rich in essential vitamins that the body needs, can help transform the economy by providing jobs for the people.

He said the plant could also be used to purify water to make it safe.

“The Federal Government’s only manufacturing plant for purification of water with moringa is at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State.

It has been using the plant as a purifier with the support of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for water.

The quality of water purified with moringa is better than that of alum,” he stated.

Odiba said water is an essential part of life, which should be given attention, adding that it would do the country a lot of good if the Federal Government could invest in the plant to ensure the provision of clean water, among others.

This, he said should be carried out in the states and local government areas the country.

T

By Wale Adepoju

He said all parts of moringa such as trees, leaves and seeds are useful.

Speaking further on the plant’s economic value, he said: “We had an international submit in Ilorin, Kwara State last year and people came from South African, Kenya and United States, among other to brainstorm on many benefits of the plant.

“It has economic benefits because it can add to the country’s foreign exchange earnings and provide jobs for many people.

Odiba said the plant has been laying fallow until a couple of years ago when its benefits came to light.

“Moringa is one of the herbs we have in this country. It has been with us for over 500 years ago but little did we know of its importance. But today with research findings we discovered that Moringa is highly medicinal.”

The plant, Odiba said can cure 300, diseases and ailments, adding that it also has nutritional values.

He said moringa product ar good for the children and adults because they help to support the nutritional needs of people as it provides essential nutrients they need.

“When you are living on Moringa you have every vitamin that you need in your system and that will keep you going without enough food. Its nutritional value is very high compared to any other plant across the world,” he added.

CLINIC DAY RETURNS NEXT WEEK

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

46

NATURAL HEALTH Premature ejaculation, PID, hormonal disturbances‌‌

Some nutritional answers to infertility problems (4)

I

N 1988, Burton Goldberg and the editors of ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE DIGEST got 26 American doctors to discuss, in a book, the herbs and other unorthodox procedures they employ to treat chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and environment illness. These diseases had reached epidemic proportions in the United States, mainstream medicine either had no permanent solution to their nuances or were complicating matters, but some doctors using alternative medicine protocols were achieving good results.

The ground breaking book was appropriately entitled "Chronic Fatigue, Fibromalgia and Environmental Illness". It was subtitled "26 Doctors Show How They Reverse These Conditions with Clinically Proven Alternative Therapies."

I guess you'd ask: "what has this got to do with fertility challenges?"

My answer will be: "Well, probably everything you can think of."

Didn't our wise elders discover long ago, that whatever troubled the eye affected the nose as well? That's another way of saying the entire body is interlinked. Chronic fatigue is loss of energy in the cell. Well, can a fatigued ovary or testes produce optimal levels of hormones required for fertility?

Fibromyalgia is pain in the nerves, muscles, tendons and connective tissue. Pain is an indication of irritation or gross poisoning. Which organ or system can work optionally in this condition? Isn't infertility another way of saying the reproductive organs are not functioning optimally?

Environmental illness is caused by all those poisons (chemical, noise, heavy metals or electricity or radiation) to which we are all exposed these days in huge magnitude. Only last week, this column tried to explain how heavy metals, especially mercury, may cause infertility. These 26 doctors speak elaborarately about mercury poisoning. I learned all over again from Dr. Dierich Klinhadt, M.D., P.h.D., that mercury and other heavy metal poisoning is a cause of premature ejaculation, from which many Nigerian men suffer, and Pelvic Inflamatory Disease (PID), a cause of gynaecological disorders experienced by women, and prostate problems in men.

Now, I can see many people sit up smartly, eyes opened wider. How I wish that I remembered Dr. Klinghard last Saturday when a young woman called on me in the office for a herbal solution to premature ejaculation. She is a pharmacology student at a university who was researching into herbs that may correct the problem. She was to open up some rats and inject the Vas deferens with chemicals which would induce premature ejaculation. Thereafter, she would inject infusion of these herbs in varying dosages to see which works best. As premature ejaculation was an outcome of nerve and smooth muscle spasms, which may occur in any part of the body, I made some useful suggestions to these; I would now add Dr Klinghadt's.

But before I come to Dr Klinghadt, I would like to mention again that mercury exposure comes not only from mercury amalgam tooth fillings but, also, from water and fish oil. Many people now know of the importance of fish oil supplements for DHA and EPA, to protect the brain, eyes, nerves, ovaries and testes, the kidneys and to prevent or to moderate inflammation and pain. But the wrong type of fish oil may not only be counterproductive; it may be but deadly. For industrialised nations dump a lot of mercury waste into the oceans and seas. All manner of fish in deep sea are, therefore, exposed to mercury poisoning. We not only eat fish but use the oil for medicine as well. Some countries are strict about the quality of fish oil sold as food supplements. Some others do not bother so much. If these do at all, it is only about fish oil sold in their domestic markets. The export market, in Europe, Canada and the United States, where standards are high, count little. A pharmacist educated me about this about 20 years ago. I wanted to buy from his store the bottled brand of Cod Liver Oil. The price he called was about three times the price of the popular brands. I asked him why this was so. He told me the one he stocked was made in Hull, England, the other from Asia. As of today, this huge price gap occurs, also in the Cod Liver Oil softgel market in Nigeria. To worsen matters, unscrupulous Nigerian businessmen who cannot get the rules bent for them in Europe ship-in poor quality products from elsewhere. There is no doubt that these products would be cheaper where the producer did not have to spend extra money cleaning out mercury from Cod Liver Oil or other fish oils. Perhap these traders do not even know the implications of their corner - cutting. For me, and perhaps for other people who cannot do without Cod Liver Oil or fish oil, this old Yoruba adage counts much: Eni ti o nwa ifa, nwa ofo (whoever seeks cheap, seeks misfortune.)!

Dr. Klinghardt It is now well known that (1) Mercury from tooth fillings or other sources converts in the body from elemental mercury to methylmecury, which is about 100 times more poisonous and easily crosses the brain blood barrier to lodge in brain cells and damage them. Maybe this is why cases of brain tumour are growing in number.

(2) In the brain, Methylmecury has been blamed for "neurodepressive diseases such as Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

(3) Within 24 hours of injecting any muscle of a monkey with a minute dose of mercury, it appears in the brain and spinal cord, and later in the lungs and lining of the kidneys, bloodstream adrenal glands, lungs, connective tissue and the endocrine glands.

(4) In the brain, mercury tends to lodge in the

hypothalamus, which controls the sympathetic nervous system which, in turn, controls such activities as heart beat, digestion etc.

(5) If mercury attaches to the cell membrane, it may so transform the cell that, misrecognising it as a foreign body, the immune system attacks the cell.

(6) Unlike in other parts of the body where half of mercury concentrations may be expelled in about six weeks, mercury is more tenacious in the nerves.

As Dr. Klinghard puts it: "The main devastating effect of mercury in the nervous system is that it interferes with the energy production inside each cell. The nerve cell is impaired in its entity to detoxify itself (and excrete the mercury) and in its ability to nurture itself. The cell becomes toxic and dies, or lives in a state of chronic malnutrition. A multitude of illness usually associate neurological symptoms result": The editors of this book cite some of these as "chronic viral and fungal illness, recurrent episodes of bacterial infection and chronic fatigue". They add: "By curious self-preservation reflex of the body, the emergence of these conditions can be viewed as a way of accommodating the heavy metal presence, speculates Dr.Klinghard. Most of not all chronic infectious diseases are not caused by immune system to an otherwise lethal heavy metal environment" he says. Mercury suffocates the cells and they die, so the immune system cultivates fungi and bacteria which are able to bind large amounts of the toxic metals in their respective cell walls, thereby enabling the patient cells to breathe".

The implications, of course, are that these micro organisms will deplete the body's food pantry and emit toxic wastes which have to be promptly and efficiently evacuated."

Noting that mercury exposure causes a severe zinc depletion, as zinc, involved in the production of about 200 enzymes is needed to bind to and evacuate mercury, Dr. Klinghard suggested: "As soon as anybody has any type of medical illness or symptoms, whether, medical or emotional, the amalgam fillings should be removed and the mercury resides should be eliminated from the body, especially the brain".

Neural therapy As reported in this book, this medical procedure may help reproductive and prostate problems caused by mercury or other heavy metal poisoning of the nerves.

The thought behind this therapy begins with the fact that mercury is heavier than water which is why, like similar metals, it is called a heavy metal, Being heavier than water, mercury literally "falls" to the floor of the body. In the mouth, it affects the lower jaw, gums and teeth. It makes the thyroid gland in the neck underactive (hypothynedism), a cause of sluggishness, obesity and reproductive hassles. In the pelvic floor, close to where reproductive organs are located, mercury and other heavy metals accumulate in the frankenhauser's ganglion. This is a nerve junction box or relay station, so to say.

As the editors of the book report Dr Klinghardt saying: "An accumulation of mercury in this nerve plexus accounts for premature ejaculation and an enlarged prostate. In men and endometriosis, pelvic pain, and hormone dysfunction in women".

To understand neural therapy and how it may help infertility and a variety of other health discomfitures, one must understand the lay-out of the nervous system. This system is like an outlay of telephone wires which connect every table telephone nationwide to a central control unit. In the body, this unit is the body, and the table telephone sets are in every organ, every cell. There are two broad types of Nervous System: The (1) Central nervous system (CNS) which controls all Voluntary activities, and the (2) Autonomic Nervous system (ANS) which control involuntary activities such as the heart rate, digestion perspiration, breathing, blood circulation etc. The ANS branches into the (a) sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and the (b) Para Sympathetic Nervous System (PSNS). The Sympathetic nervous

e-mail: femi.kusa@yahoo.com or olufemikusa@yahoo.com

system sympathises with our desire for survival and do many things, including pumping us with hormones such as adrenalin, and extra blood sugar, to prepare us for emergencies (fight or flight). This is a stressful situation we need to traverse to survive.

The Parasympathetic nervous system calms us down when the dust has settled. If we have to be permanently on fire, as it were, our lives would be short. So would it also be if there was no occasional short fire to pep us up. This, a healthy balance must exist between both arm of the Autonomic Nervous System if our systems are to run well. Any wonder that hormonal imbalances have been linked to inco-ordination of the nervous system!

Now, these nerves do not run in unbroken straight lines.

There are what we may call "function boxes" along the long lines. These "boxes" are actually a bundling of nerves called the nerve ganglia. A single bundle is a gaglion. Mercury and other heavy metals travel down the nerve pathway to, and accumulates in the ganglia. In the ganglia, the accumulation blocks nerve flow. The blockage of nerve flow is better understood by the example of blockage of blood circulation or lymph circulation. There is tension in and around tissue and organs which are cut off from supplies. Hypertension, organ damage, heart attack and strokes may follow. Unhindered nerve flow not only opens communication and feedback linkages between the brain and all parts of the body, nerve energy from cerebrospinal fluid keeps the cells alive. Many of the articles of fashion popular among women, such as the lipstick (contains thallium), jewelry, hair treatment chemicals, bath soaps and body creams, for example, leach dangerous substances into the bloodstream, and from there into the nerves and the ganglia.

In neural therapy, Dr Dietrich Klinghardt and other doctors mentioned in the book inject ganglia, scars, muscle trigger points, acupuncture point etc, with substances which relax blockages and tensions in them, and then frees bound, built-up poisons for elimination.

In respect of the Frankenhauser's ganglion, where, as easier stated, heavy metal toxicity Can cause premature ejaculation in men and pelvic inflammatory disease and hormonal imbalance in women, the editors of the book say: "Neural therapy cleans up" this ganglion (just above the pubic bone) with a local anesthetic. This opens up most of the ionic channels in the cell wall; the cell is then able to excrete a high number of its toxic components' This painless injection spurs the body to dump a large amount of mercury into the urine: Dr Klinghardt says.

When I remember many cases of premature ejaculation and chronic erectile dysfunction which defy many nutritional supplements and herbs, and of many uncompromising female fertility problems, I wonder if the frank Hauser's ganglin is a hurdle yet to clear.

Helpful as neural therapy of Frank Hauser's ganglin is for the liberation of the reproduction system, for example, Dr Klinghardt follows up the therapy with herbs such as CHLORELA and CILANTRO (PARSELY) to usher the toxins out the blood and bowels.

The editors say: "The herb Cilantro is known to detoxify the brain and central nervous system of heavy metals. Taking it in an alcohol - based tincture guarantees fast delivery of the Cilantro to the brain, he says.

But while Cilantro moves heavy metals out of the brain and spinal cord, it doesn't evacuate them from the body. This lob goes to Chlorella an algae and the likes of it, which bind mercury and eliminates it through faeces. For this, 12 capsules (each of 330mg) daily are prescribed.

Dr Daniel F Royal, D.O, says he, too, uses Chlorella to detoxify the body, especially connective tissue, of mercury and heavy metals. In his arsenal, also, are L - glutathione, Kyolic, Garlic, Silymarin (milk thistles), Vitamin CC 8,000-16,000 mg daily, or decrease to tolerable dosage of diarrhea occurs, Vitamin B Complex, Pregnerolone, DMPS (2 - 3, dimercapfopane, 1 sulphate) probiotics and used by Russians to treat workers injured by exposure to heavy metals and then researched in Germany and Japan for about 40years.

In the case study of heavy metal detoxification presented

by Dr Van Benschowtein, Chinese herbs were used to clear bacteria, Viruses and heavy metals. These included "Chrysanthemum, Angelica dahurica, Isatis, Buplerurumum, Salvia, Playfycodon, Lucicidium and Fractus lucium.

What a week it is again. A promise remains a debt. I haven't forgotten about the promise on Yarrow and Wheat Germ Oil, two fertility aids, especially for women. I got carried away by heavy metal poisoning which many women suffer from without realising it. Often, one meets a woman whose neck has been "burned", so to say, by poor quality metal necklace.

The skin rejected the metal, but it was forced upon it in the name of fashion. I know of a young woman who reacts to any metal necklace, whatever the quality. She always fell ill. I've seen people who have burning sensations all over. While this may be a signal over of elevated blood sugar or excess Uric acid, for example, couldn't heavy metals have disturbed normal cellular life in the glucose balancing mechanism?

When vision fades or dulls, are heavy metals in the optic nerve? There is no doubt that they present in rheumatoid arthritis. Detoxification of poisons from the body is in urgent need of mankind today. Thank you Mr. Burton Goldberg and editors of Alternative Medicine Digest for a wonderful book which I recommended for home health libraries.

Tel: 08116759749, 08034004247, 07025077303

To be continued

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

46

NATURAL HEALTH Premature ejaculation, PID, hormonal disturbances‌‌

Some nutritional answers to infertility problems (4)

I

N 1988, Burton Goldberg and the editors of ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE DIGEST got 26 American doctors to discuss, in a book, the herbs and other unorthodox procedures they employ to treat chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and environment illness. These diseases had reached epidemic proportions in the United States, mainstream medicine either had no permanent solution to their nuances or were complicating matters, but some doctors using alternative medicine protocols were achieving good results.

The ground breaking book was appropriately entitled "Chronic Fatigue, Fibromalgia and Environmental Illness". It was subtitled "26 Doctors Show How They Reverse These Conditions with Clinically Proven Alternative Therapies."

I guess you'd ask: "what has this got to do with fertility challenges?"

My answer will be: "Well, probably everything you can think of."

Didn't our wise elders discover long ago, that whatever troubled the eye affected the nose as well? That's another way of saying the entire body is interlinked. Chronic fatigue is loss of energy in the cell. Well, can a fatigued ovary or testes produce optimal levels of hormones required for fertility?

Fibromyalgia is pain in the nerves, muscles, tendons and connective tissue. Pain is an indication of irritation or gross poisoning. Which organ or system can work optionally in this condition? Isn't infertility another way of saying the reproductive organs are not functioning optimally?

Environmental illness is caused by all those poisons (chemical, noise, heavy metals or electricity or radiation) to which we are all exposed these days in huge magnitude. Only last week, this column tried to explain how heavy metals, especially mercury, may cause infertility. These 26 doctors speak elaborarately about mercury poisoning. I learned all over again from Dr. Dierich Klinhadt, M.D., P.h.D., that mercury and other heavy metal poisoning is a cause of premature ejaculation, from which many Nigerian men suffer, and Pelvic Inflamatory Disease (PID), a cause of gynaecological disorders experienced by women, and prostate problems in men.

Now, I can see many people sit up smartly, eyes opened wider. How I wish that I remembered Dr. Klinghard last Saturday when a young woman called on me in the office for a herbal solution to premature ejaculation. She is a pharmacology student at a university who was researching into herbs that may correct the problem. She was to open up some rats and inject the Vas deferens with chemicals which would induce premature ejaculation. Thereafter, she would inject infusion of these herbs in varying dosages to see which works best. As premature ejaculation was an outcome of nerve and smooth muscle spasms, which may occur in any part of the body, I made some useful suggestions to these; I would now add Dr Klinghadt's.

But before I come to Dr Klinghadt, I would like to mention again that mercury exposure comes not only from mercury amalgam tooth fillings but, also, from water and fish oil. Many people now know of the importance of fish oil supplements for DHA and EPA, to protect the brain, eyes, nerves, ovaries and testes, the kidneys and to prevent or to moderate inflammation and pain. But the wrong type of fish oil may not only be counterproductive; it may be but deadly. For industrialised nations dump a lot of mercury waste into the oceans and seas. All manner of fish in deep sea are, therefore, exposed to mercury poisoning. We not only eat fish but use the oil for medicine as well. Some countries are strict about the quality of fish oil sold as food supplements. Some others do not bother so much. If these do at all, it is only about fish oil sold in their domestic markets. The export market, in Europe, Canada and the United States, where standards are high, count little. A pharmacist educated me about this about 20 years ago. I wanted to buy from his store the bottled brand of Cod Liver Oil. The price he called was about three times the price of the popular brands. I asked him why this was so. He told me the one he stocked was made in Hull, England, the other from Asia. As of today, this huge price gap occurs, also in the Cod Liver Oil softgel market in Nigeria. To worsen matters, unscrupulous Nigerian businessmen who cannot get the rules bent for them in Europe ship-in poor quality products from elsewhere. There is no doubt that these products would be cheaper where the producer did not have to spend extra money cleaning out mercury from Cod Liver Oil or other fish oils. Perhap these traders do not even know the implications of their corner - cutting. For me, and perhaps for other people who cannot do without Cod Liver Oil or fish oil, this old Yoruba adage counts much: Eni ti o nwa ifa, nwa ofo (whoever seeks cheap, seeks misfortune.)!

Dr. Klinghardt It is now well known that (1) Mercury from tooth fillings or other sources converts in the body from elemental mercury to methylmecury, which is about 100 times more poisonous and easily crosses the brain blood barrier to lodge in brain cells and damage them. Maybe this is why cases of brain tumour are growing in number.

(2) In the brain, Methylmecury has been blamed for "neurodepressive diseases such as Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

(3) Within 24 hours of injecting any muscle of a monkey with a minute dose of mercury, it appears in the brain and spinal cord, and later in the lungs and lining of the kidneys, bloodstream adrenal glands, lungs, connective tissue and the endocrine glands.

(4) In the brain, mercury tends to lodge in the

hypothalamus, which controls the sympathetic nervous system which, in turn, controls such activities as heart beat, digestion etc.

(5) If mercury attaches to the cell membrane, it may so transform the cell that, misrecognising it as a foreign body, the immune system attacks the cell.

(6) Unlike in other parts of the body where half of mercury concentrations may be expelled in about six weeks, mercury is more tenacious in the nerves.

As Dr. Klinghard puts it: "The main devastating effect of mercury in the nervous system is that it interferes with the energy production inside each cell. The nerve cell is impaired in its entity to detoxify itself (and excrete the mercury) and in its ability to nurture itself. The cell becomes toxic and dies, or lives in a state of chronic malnutrition. A multitude of illness usually associate neurological symptoms result": The editors of this book cite some of these as "chronic viral and fungal illness, recurrent episodes of bacterial infection and chronic fatigue". They add: "By curious self-preservation reflex of the body, the emergence of these conditions can be viewed as a way of accommodating the heavy metal presence, speculates Dr.Klinghard. Most of not all chronic infectious diseases are not caused by immune system to an otherwise lethal heavy metal environment" he says. Mercury suffocates the cells and they die, so the immune system cultivates fungi and bacteria which are able to bind large amounts of the toxic metals in their respective cell walls, thereby enabling the patient cells to breathe".

The implications, of course, are that these micro organisms will deplete the body's food pantry and emit toxic wastes which have to be promptly and efficiently evacuated."

Noting that mercury exposure causes a severe zinc depletion, as zinc, involved in the production of about 200 enzymes is needed to bind to and evacuate mercury, Dr. Klinghard suggested: "As soon as anybody has any type of medical illness or symptoms, whether, medical or emotional, the amalgam fillings should be removed and the mercury resides should be eliminated from the body, especially the brain".

Neural therapy As reported in this book, this medical procedure may help reproductive and prostate problems caused by mercury or other heavy metal poisoning of the nerves.

The thought behind this therapy begins with the fact that mercury is heavier than water which is why, like similar metals, it is called a heavy metal, Being heavier than water, mercury literally "falls" to the floor of the body. In the mouth, it affects the lower jaw, gums and teeth. It makes the thyroid gland in the neck underactive (hypothynedism), a cause of sluggishness, obesity and reproductive hassles. In the pelvic floor, close to where reproductive organs are located, mercury and other heavy metals accumulate in the frankenhauser's ganglion. This is a nerve junction box or relay station, so to say.

As the editors of the book report Dr Klinghardt saying: "An accumulation of mercury in this nerve plexus accounts for premature ejaculation and an enlarged prostate. In men and endometriosis, pelvic pain, and hormone dysfunction in women".

To understand neural therapy and how it may help infertility and a variety of other health discomfitures, one must understand the lay-out of the nervous system. This system is like an outlay of telephone wires which connect every table telephone nationwide to a central control unit. In the body, this unit is the body, and the table telephone sets are in every organ, every cell. There are two broad types of Nervous System: The (1) Central nervous system (CNS) which controls all Voluntary activities, and the (2) Autonomic Nervous system (ANS) which control involuntary activities such as the heart rate, digestion perspiration, breathing, blood circulation etc. The ANS branches into the (a) sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and the (b) Para Sympathetic Nervous System (PSNS). The Sympathetic nervous

e-mail: femi.kusa@yahoo.com or olufemikusa@yahoo.com

system sympathises with our desire for survival and do many things, including pumping us with hormones such as adrenalin, and extra blood sugar, to prepare us for emergencies (fight or flight). This is a stressful situation we need to traverse to survive.

The Parasympathetic nervous system calms us down when the dust has settled. If we have to be permanently on fire, as it were, our lives would be short. So would it also be if there was no occasional short fire to pep us up. This, a healthy balance must exist between both arm of the Autonomic Nervous System if our systems are to run well. Any wonder that hormonal imbalances have been linked to inco-ordination of the nervous system!

Now, these nerves do not run in unbroken straight lines.

There are what we may call "function boxes" along the long lines. These "boxes" are actually a bundling of nerves called the nerve ganglia. A single bundle is a gaglion. Mercury and other heavy metals travel down the nerve pathway to, and accumulates in the ganglia. In the ganglia, the accumulation blocks nerve flow. The blockage of nerve flow is better understood by the example of blockage of blood circulation or lymph circulation. There is tension in and around tissue and organs which are cut off from supplies. Hypertension, organ damage, heart attack and strokes may follow. Unhindered nerve flow not only opens communication and feedback linkages between the brain and all parts of the body, nerve energy from cerebrospinal fluid keeps the cells alive. Many of the articles of fashion popular among women, such as the lipstick (contains thallium), jewelry, hair treatment chemicals, bath soaps and body creams, for example, leach dangerous substances into the bloodstream, and from there into the nerves and the ganglia.

In neural therapy, Dr Dietrich Klinghardt and other doctors mentioned in the book inject ganglia, scars, muscle trigger points, acupuncture point etc, with substances which relax blockages and tensions in them, and then frees bound, built-up poisons for elimination.

In respect of the Frankenhauser's ganglion, where, as easier stated, heavy metal toxicity Can cause premature ejaculation in men and pelvic inflammatory disease and hormonal imbalance in women, the editors of the book say: "Neural therapy cleans up" this ganglion (just above the pubic bone) with a local anesthetic. This opens up most of the ionic channels in the cell wall; the cell is then able to excrete a high number of its toxic components' This painless injection spurs the body to dump a large amount of mercury into the urine: Dr Klinghardt says.

When I remember many cases of premature ejaculation and chronic erectile dysfunction which defy many nutritional supplements and herbs, and of many uncompromising female fertility problems, I wonder if the frank Hauser's ganglin is a hurdle yet to clear.

Helpful as neural therapy of Frank Hauser's ganglin is for the liberation of the reproduction system, for example, Dr Klinghardt follows up the therapy with herbs such as CHLORELA and CILANTRO (PARSELY) to usher the toxins out the blood and bowels.

The editors say: "The herb Cilantro is known to detoxify the brain and central nervous system of heavy metals. Taking it in an alcohol - based tincture guarantees fast delivery of the Cilantro to the brain, he says.

But while Cilantro moves heavy metals out of the brain and spinal cord, it doesn't evacuate them from the body. This lob goes to Chlorella an algae and the likes of it, which bind mercury and eliminates it through faeces. For this, 12 capsules (each of 330mg) daily are prescribed.

Dr Daniel F Royal, D.O, says he, too, uses Chlorella to detoxify the body, especially connective tissue, of mercury and heavy metals. In his arsenal, also, are L - glutathione, Kyolic, Garlic, Silymarin (milk thistles), Vitamin CC 8,000-16,000 mg daily, or decrease to tolerable dosage of diarrhea occurs, Vitamin B Complex, Pregnerolone, DMPS (2 - 3, dimercapfopane, 1 sulphate) probiotics and used by Russians to treat workers injured by exposure to heavy metals and then researched in Germany and Japan for about 40years.

In the case study of heavy metal detoxification presented

by Dr Van Benschowtein, Chinese herbs were used to clear bacteria, Viruses and heavy metals. These included "Chrysanthemum, Angelica dahurica, Isatis, Buplerurumum, Salvia, Playfycodon, Lucicidium and Fractus lucium.

What a week it is again. A promise remains a debt. I haven't forgotten about the promise on Yarrow and Wheat Germ Oil, two fertility aids, especially for women. I got carried away by heavy metal poisoning which many women suffer from without realising it. Often, one meets a woman whose neck has been "burned", so to say, by poor quality metal necklace.

The skin rejected the metal, but it was forced upon it in the name of fashion. I know of a young woman who reacts to any metal necklace, whatever the quality. She always fell ill. I've seen people who have burning sensations all over. While this may be a signal over of elevated blood sugar or excess Uric acid, for example, couldn't heavy metals have disturbed normal cellular life in the glucose balancing mechanism?

When vision fades or dulls, are heavy metals in the optic nerve? There is no doubt that they present in rheumatoid arthritis. Detoxification of poisons from the body is in urgent need of mankind today. Thank you Mr. Burton Goldberg and editors of Alternative Medicine Digest for a wonderful book which I recommended for home health libraries.

Tel: 08116759749, 08034004247, 07025077303

To be continued

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

47

THE NATION

e-Business 08111813065 e-mail: lukajanaku02@yahoo.com

Electronic banking, electronic frauds With the introduction of electronic banking, many thought that frauds would become a thing of the past. How wrong they are. Bank frauds are rising more than ever before despite the coming of mobile money, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), among other electronic banking products. LUCAS AJANAKU reports.

T

HE MANAGING Director, SO4 Engineering Services, Soji Oluwasuyi, will not forget in a hurry what happened to him about four years ago when he lost money through the automated teller machine (ATM).

According to him, he withdrew N20,000 from a branche of his bank on Idimu Road, a Lagos suburb and headed for the Island to fix an electrical fault for a client.

“I was on top of the roof when a text message (alert) came to my mobile phone. When I opened it, it was a transaction alert that N40,000 had been withdrawn from my account in Gbaja Market. That was the first time I will hear about the existence of a market bearing that name. I screamed and someone told me it was somewhere in Yaba area or so. I was shocked because I still had the ATM card in my breast pocket. The following day, I rushed to my bank to complain and I was given a piece of paper to write a petition. I did that but that ended the story,” he said.

He was just one of those who lost money to the ATM fraud that rocked the industry during the formative years of its adoption.

The situation has since changed with the introduction of fraud-resistant technology in ATM cards.

Deputy Governor, Banking Supervision, CBN, Tunde Lemo, said ATM fraud has gone down tremendously to about 98 per cent.

But it is against the backdrop of previous experience and the fact that Nigerians are smart that a recent report of the global information technology (IT) security firm, MWR InfoSecurity becomes relevant.

Mobile banking on Android phones could put consumers at risk of fraud and cost banks millions a year, MWR InfoSecurity warned.

MWR Labs, the research arm of MWR InfoSecurity, investigated the security standards of leading Android mobile phone brands to determine the exposure to risk of consumers who use mobile devices phones for online banking, Mybroadband, noted.

According to a recent research, Android is the leading phone platform with over 50 per cent market share, driving the development of mobile banking apps for the Android ecosystem while results indicated that on some handsets, as many as 64 per cent of manufacturer-added applications or apps were exposing users to serious security issues.

Commenting on the development, Managing Director, MWR, South Africa, said: “We found that while banking apps were generally well written and had very few security issues, the integrity of consumer phones was often compromised by software provided by the phone manufacturer or additional software added by the network provider, exposing online banking customers to potential fraud.

“Some of the leading Android handset manufacturers are already looking at shipping mobile devices with native near-field communication (NFC) payment functionalities but if the software in the phones is not secure, the risk will then be even higher.”

According to him, the increasing number of merchants migrating to smartphone based Point of Sale (POS) devices, by using Bluetooth or directly connected chip-and-pin accessories for iPhone or Android, for example, is symptomatic of the fact that mobile phones will become a critical element in the payment chain, warning that if they are not adequately protected, they could introduce additional risks for card fraud that could cost banks millions a year.

These findings were illustrated by the ruling on HTC by the Federal Trade Commission in the United States of America on Feb-

• Lemo

•Akano

• Okegwale

ruary 22 that directed that HTC take immediate action to address security weaknesses in the software developed for its mobile devices that allowed location tracking and the theft of personal information stored on users’ phones.

According to MWR Labs, six classes of potential vulnerabilities in apps and packages in the leading brands and mobile phones were looked at using a modified version of Mercury, its security testing framework, to automatically scan the devices and identify security weaknesses, adding that it discovered security vulnerabilities in software added by phone manufacturers or network providers which could be targeted by a malicious application inadvertently downloaded by the user.

The report added that these weak apps often have more permission that allow them to access contacts, make telephone calls and even record the content of those calls, meaning that the potential consequences are serious and sensitive data could be compromised in the process.

Other apps were also discovered that allowed further apps to be installed with an arbitrary set of permissions, essentially leaving consumers fully exposed to fraud.

“The move by consumers away from PC’s for online banking to mobile platforms will inevitably be followed by the criminal gangs who have been successfully targeting online banking for years. We have already seen many examples of malicious apps sending premium rate text messages and expect there will be a natural progression to higher value areas such as payments and banking,” Grobbelaar said.

Managing Director, New Horizons, Tim Akano, warns that the banking industry will be the target of attack this year. According to him, hackers will compromise the net-

work of the lenders and sell data for profit.

The warning notwithstanding, mobile money has continued to face some challenges in the country leading to its sluggsih uptake.

Managing Director, Parkway Projects Limited, Uzor Eziukwu, disagrees. He said the uptake has not been slow, adding that it would take sometime before the initiative would be stabilised in the country.

Parkway is a leading provider of home grown e-banking and e-payment solutions in Nigeria and reaching out to the rest of Africa “I don’t agree that it has been slow and sluggish. Generally, financial services have their life cycle. We have the same experience with ATM cards, which took about three years to pick up. We are just one year into mobile money or mobile payment, the response is ok but there are challenges like infrastructural challenges but it is still (in its) early days, we will get all these things sorted out,” he said.

According to Visa Incorporated and Fundamo, the Visa-owned mobile money platform, while the market has potential to lead the world in mobile money, only 35 per cent of the citizens are aware of mobile money A study by Visa revealed that only 35 per cent of respondents were aware of mobile money versus an average of 56 per cent across all six of the emerging markets surveyed.

According to the study, there were 110 million mobile subscribers in Nigeria, but only 56 million of them have bank accounts, making it one of the most exciting mobile money markets in the world because of its huge potentials. The report noted: “Consumers’ needs for financial services are far more sophisticated than previously believed and go well beyond the established transaction

set offered by mobile money services today.”

The Visa study suggested that the success of mobile financial services was determined by how deeply a mobile money provider understood its customers and tailored the service to their needs as well as those of mobile money agents from service menus to marketing and education.

To raise awareness and drive adoption, it said providers needed to educate consumers on the key benefits and uses of mobile money services, whilst tackling barriers to uptake. According to the study, 83 per cent of respondents in Nigeria cited “safety of not having to carry around a lot of cash” as the primary benefit of mobile money, adding that the greatest barrier to adoption in the country was whether those money was sent to would know how to receive it.

A mobile payment expert, Emmanuel Okegwale, identified mobile banking application interoperability as a key challenge in developing a sophisticated mobile payment system in the country. “The single reason for this is the manner in which mobile phone applications evolved over time, device manufacturers focused on particular standard and this led to a proliferation of applications. The financial regulator, CBN, should look into this issue at this early stage so that mobile banking ecosystem can be robust with national standard that cuts across banks.

“Bank-specific mobile banking platforms is akin to having each bank deploying its own ATM technology which other bank customers cannot access,” he said, adding that interoperability can also help to evolve a standard that will enable low end phones, which are excluded, to do mobile banking.

He said apps distribution for mobile banking is another area where some banks are facing challenges. According to him, while some forward looking banks are overhauling their gateways and reducing their reliance on mobile operators’settings to enable customers’ phones, others are actually asking that customers come with regular operator settings, which in many instances, might not be correct configurations settings.

Analysts say mobile banking holds the solution for the CBN’s financial inclusion strategy. They, therefore, urge stakeholders in the ecosystem to find a way round the security challenge.

‘We found that while banking apps were generally well written and had very few security issues, the integrity of consumer phones was often compromised by software provided by the phone manufacturer or additional software added by the network provider, exposing online banking customers to potential fraud’

48

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

e-Business Minister, Dabiri-Erewa seek support for girl education in ICT

M

•From left: Head of Human Resources, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. Kunle Olaifa; Business Head, Hand Held Products, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr.Emmanouil Revmatas and Marketing Manager, Hand Held Products, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Ms. Olajumoke Okikiolu at Samsung Electronics’ Monthly Breakfast Meeting in Ikeja, Lagos.

MTN not involved in ‘cold calling’, says official T

ELECOMS giant MTN Nigeria has denied calling its customers to advertise its products amid subscribers complaints of cold, intrusive and provocative calls and text messages.

Cold calls are calls that are unsolicited and are, therefore, considered a provocative intrusion into the privacy of people.

Its General Manager, Public Affairs, Funmi Omogbenigun, also said the telco had made provision for subscribers to choose not to get ‘service notifications.’

“MTN does not cold call customers for advertising purposes. For service notifications, there are facilities for customers to opt out.

With respect to product or service- related messages, MTN follows NCC directives, which stipulates the frequency and schedul-

ing of such messages. However, in some instances, network factors may cause late delivery which is unintended and always regrettable. This is the (an) exception,” she explained in a response to an electronic mail or email sent

by The Nation.

On what the telco is doing to check the excesses of its customers that buy bulk short message services (SMS) and resell to their customers because that has also been identified as part of the problem, she said the telco does its best to filter spam messages.

“We do our best to filter spam SMS from identified spammers.

There are genuine SMS delivery requests to large groups of subscriber numbers which we are

obliged to deliver (e.g. corporate clients with large employee base).

However, in an era of ‘net neutrality’, where spammers abuse internet protocols, it is difficult to intervene,” she explained.

Director, Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Ojobo said the commission has been inundated with complaints from subscribers over unsolicited SMS and calls.

He said the build-up to the implementation of MNP may have accounted for the surge in the volume of intrusive calls in the country.

“The operators probably want to get across to as many subscribers as possible now that MNP implementation is round the corner,” he said, adding that with the kick off of MNP, the situation would be normalised.

INISTER of Science and Technology Prof.Ita Okon Bassey Ewa has called for the education of girls in information communication technology (ICT) so that they could actualise their dream and compete with their counterparts in other parts of the world.

The minister, who spoke at the Girls ICT Day celebration convened by a group, Women in Technology (WITIN) in Lagos, pledged his ministry’s support for girl-child education in building science and technology innovation so that they can achieve their goals.

House of Representatives Committee Chairman on Diaspora, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said the event, which was set aside by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), would help develop girls in the world of ICT and prepare them

By Deji Fakorede

for future leadership position.

She promised to liaise with the chairman, House Committee on Science and Technology to meet with WITIN so that the two could synergise to support the girls child initiative in ICT. She charged girls to be focused in their dream to achieve their set goals, adding that the girl-child education initiative should be encouraged at all levels.

The President of WITIN, Mrs Martha Alade, said the workshop was aimed at encouraging girls into ICT to compete favourably with their counterparts in other parts of the world.

She, however, said only 23 per cent of women has access to internet in sub-Sahara Africa, adding that WITIN plans to go to the rural areas to educate people about ICT.

HP unveils ElitePad 900

H

P has unveiled the HP ElitePad 900. It is a tablet that balances a beautiful design with enterprise-grade features, functionality and support.

Designed for business, government healthcare and retail, it features HP ElitePad Smart Jackets, which add connectivity options and longer battery life along with specific add-ons that customise the tablet for specialised uses.

The HP ElitePad is an ultrathin, lightweight Microsoft® Windows 8 tablet that delivers features to keep IT managers happy and touts a design that employees will crave.

It offers full serviceability, enhanced security and manageability found in HP Elite PCs, packed with a battery that passed over 115,000 hours of tests.

Speaking at the launch of the HP Elitepad 900 in Lagos, Ify Udoji, the Category Manager, PC HP Nigeria

By Sampson Unamka

Limited, said: “The Elitepad 900 is not a mere tablet, but a total enterprise solution targeted for your business needs. The product comes in a thin, sleek design and offers one up to 18 hours of non-stop Elitepad magic from day-to-day with its expansion jacket.”

Consumer Channels Group Director, Microsoft, Mark Ihimoyan, said: “One of the features of the HP Elitepad 900 is that it allows one to consume and create content. Also, with the product, one can go from a touch screen to a non-touch screen function just at the click of a button, thus catering to the needs of varied consumers. We are proud of our partnership with HP and excited to be here at the unveiling of this device. If you want to stay on the cutting edge of technology, this device is a must.”

Airtel: We’re ready for number portability Firm introduces VivoBook series

A

IRTEL Nigeria is ready to implement the Mobile Number Portability (MNP), its Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer Segun Ogunsanya has said.

Ogunsanya said with Airtel’s robust and expanded 3.75G network coverage, many subscribers who had waited so long to join the ‘best friends network’ could exploit the window offered by the MNP to realise their dreams.

He said Airtel was the first telecoms operator in the country to call for the implementation of MNP during its brand launch on November, 19, 2010 at the Hilton

Hotel in Abuja.

“I am happy to inform you that we have done all our homework and we are fully ready for the MNP go-live date. Airtel has transformed its network, investing over $1.5billion to improve network efficiency and quality. ‘’Airtel was the first telecoms operator to complete 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) trial in Nigeria and also the first service provider to roll out HD (High Definition) voice in the country,” he said.

He added that the telco has altered the nation’s telecoms landscape with its tariff and

value offerings with the launch of several groundbreaking tariff and service platforms, including 2Good Offers, MAMO (My Airtel My Offer) and a bouquet of data offerings, pointing out that with such an impressive record, he had no doubt that Airtel was the network of choice to Nigerians.

Director, Regulatory Affairs and Special Projects of the firm, Osondu Nwokoro, who spoke on how the MNP works, said Airtel has a history of being customer-centric as evident in the numerous customer service awards it had won.

How to curb cable theft, by telecom chief

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HE vandalism of metro terrestrial optic fibre cables can be curbed by using aerial optic fibre cables, the Head of Business Solutions and Sales, Phase 3 Telecom, Otuya Okecha, has said.

Speaking after receiving the ‘Best Telecommunication Broadband for Education Award’ at the Eighth Titans of Tech Conference and Expo Award in Lagos, he said embracing aerial fibre optic fibre cables is a bulwark against vandalism of cables and its attendant disruption to service delivery.

He explained that with its strategic positioning of optic fibre cables over high tension power lines for broadband penetration with high speed and great connectivitity, it would be difficult to for vandals to wreak

havoc on the cables.

He said firm has made remarkable expansion in the provision of bandwiddth to companies and schools across the country, adding it is the first indigenous company to deploy fibre optic cables in the country.

Okecha said the company has areial fibre optic cables covering over 4500km, adding that with the placement of the telecoms infrastructure, are not vulnerable to vandalism.

He reiterated the firm’s committment to services delivery, especially in the provision of excellent bandwidth for the development of the country’s educational sector to generate and harness the huge potentials inherent in technologically-driven education sector.

“We will continue to champion the adoption of a very active and sustainable e-learning system that is at par with global standards. This informed the choice of we made in focusing on the promotion of e-learning in schools. We will also take active role in the development of sports which has a huge potential to engage the nation’s youthful population,” he said. “e-learning is key to the knowledge economy. We will continue to support the educational sector in the country through the provision of bandwidth to make teaching and learning more exciting for students not only to excel in their academic pursuits but to have the needed confidence and intelligence to compete with their counterpart on the global scene,” he added.

G

GLOBAL consumer notebook vendor, ASUS, has introduced the VivobookS200 in Nigeria.

It forms the beginning of devices in screen sizes ranging from 11.6" to 15.6".

According to firm in a statement, optimised for Microsoft Windows 8, ASUS VivoBooks has an attractive, durable, and very portable design and integrates ASUS SonicMaster audio and 2-second instant on with 32GB of WebStorage cloud space for three years.

The ASUS VivoBooks embodies a new way of offering enjoyable and intuitive notebook experiences to customers.

Simplice D. Zaongo, Country Product Manager, ASUSTek Computer Incorporated, said, “The ASUS Vivobook range is developed around natural touch as key to incredible user experiences and greater cus-

tomer happiness.” According to him, VivoBooks add greater happiness to lives providing the finest touch technology for more natural and rewarding interaction.

He said VivoBook Series products have been designed with stand-out aesthetics, true-to-life sound, and instinctive touch that are ideal for the increasingly cloud-based nature of computing, supporting seamless connectivity and usage on the go while specifically aimed at making people happier through the use of technology they can rely on wherever they may be.

He explained that from a technology and engineering standpoint, the primary purpose of VivoBook is to provide completely intuitive touch experiences optimised for Microsoft Windows 8, stressing that touch is much more than just a feature: it is the very essence of the VivoBookexperience.

MainOne, Microsoft partner

U

NDERSEA cable firm, MainOne Cable Company is partnering with Microsoft Imagine Cup competition, a premier student technology challenge, where student innovators compete to produce various application ideas and implement them from concept to marketplace with Microsoft’s resources.

Imagine Cup is part of Microsoft’s YouthSpark initiative, a way for young entrepreneurs, innovators and developers to have the opportunity to develop an idea, create a product, set a clear business plan and take their product to market. All Imagine

Cup Worldwide finalist teams are eligible to apply for Imagine Cup grants, a three-year $3million investment by Microsoft to help students turn their ideas into reality. Microsoft BizSpark, another YouthSpark initiative, enables Imagine Cup participants to launch star-tup businesses in their communities and across the web.

Head of Marketing, Main One Cable, Mrs. Jumoke Akande, said: “New technologies are rapidly changing businesses, sociopolitical landscapes and the lives of consumers in Nigeria, Africa as a whole, and other parts of the world, and the speed of adoption is inspiring.

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NEWS ‘Don’t cause disunity in Yorubaland’

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HE award of the contract for the protection of pipelines in the Southwest to the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) has been described as “an attempt to divide the Yoruba nation and facilitate President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election in 2015".

A pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, the Coalition of Oodua Self-Determination Groups (COSEG), said this after its monthly meeting with its state and local government coordinators.

In a statement by the Chairman of its Coordinating Council, Mr. Ifedayo Ogunlana and Secretary Rasaq Olokobaa, COSEG alleged that the contract was to cause disunity in the region.

It said: “The contract for the protection of pipelines in the region cannot meaningful address the national problems.

What we need is a holistic approach to governance, which can guarantee jobs for unemployed Yoruba youths and the rehabilitation of roads across the region, which have become death traps, among other things.

“We shall not allow anybody to use us against one another because of any selfish ambition for the 2015 general election. The process leading to the award of the contract by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) does not only lack sincerity; it is also faulty, mischievous and selective.

“Private participation in securing pipelines shows that all hope is lost in the Nigeria Police, so we advocate that the force be disbanded and our call for state policing should be heard.”

ARG urges Senate to address problems

A

PAN-YORUBA group, the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), has urged legislators to focus on solving the nation’s challenges, especially the Boko Haram insurgency, instead of getting involved in the campaign for a six-year tenure for the President and governors.

It said the Senate’s action and inaction have contributed largely to bad governance.

In a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kunle Famoriyo, ARG said: “The Six-Year Tenure Card is to divert our attention from the national miseries of our time. Going by media reports, the Senate Committee on Constitution

Review has recommended a single six-year tenure for the president, vice-president, governors and their deputies.

“If we understand the recommendation as it was reported, vice-presidents and deputy governors would not be able to present themselves for election into the offices of their bosses, should they ever occupy that office, even if for one day and by whatever means (illness or impeachment of their bosses).

“Nigeria is another planet entirely from the rest of the world. First, ARG thinks no one would be averse to a single term for the president and governors, if one considers the disruptions and

T

age our leaders to think of bequeathing a legacy and focus more on governance than on politics. However, we differ with the Senate committee’s recommendation on two points: 1. We believe a single term of five years is enough and there should be nothing stopping a good deputy from aiming to succeed his boss or from being sponsored by a political party. Denying credible and deserving deputies of being sponsored by a party is to trample on the people’s right to choose their leader.

“2. The Senate is yet to make any legislation that will impact on the standard of living in the country. The Senate appropriates money and how it should be spent,

but at the end of the year, those tasked with executing the budget come back with 20 per cent performance, yet they demand and get another appropriation without any backlash.

“The Senate’s action and inaction have contributed largely to the bad and inefficient governance in Nigeria. Therefore, its utmost priority should be peopleoriented legislation that will eradicate poverty and put food on the table of the common man.

“A six-year tenure is not the fundamental challenge confronting Nigeria. The Senate should focus on tackling structural problems, without which we are moving nowhere.”

•From left: Director, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria PLC, Rev. Isaac Agoye; the Managing Director, Mr. Peter Eshikena; the Chairman, Mr. Jacob Moyo Ajekigbe and two directors, Ms. Evelyn Oputu and Mr. Freek Rijna at the company’s 40th Annual General Meeting (AFM) in Lagos. PHOTO: DAYO ADEWUNMI

Ekiti to install surveillance cameras

Alaafin urges monarch to respect all religions HE Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, has urged the newly-crowned Oluaso of Iberekodo, Oba Jamiu Badmus, to treat Christians, Muslims and traditionalists equally and with respect, if he wishes to enjoy a peaceful reign.

The Alaafin spoke in his palace when the Oluaso visited him.

He said an Oba cannot reign successfully, if he offends any of the leaders of religious groups.

Oba Adeyemi said: “There is no way you can conquer them because they pray everyday and night for us to succeed in the task ahead of us. And when we die, they bury our remains.”

Urging the young Oba to protect his people’s culture by introducing cultural festivals quarterly and yearly, he said: “By so doing, the cultural heritage of your ancestors will not go into extinction. As traditional rulers, that is our responsibility.

“Respect the Obas before you, if you want those behind you to accord you with respect. Cooperate with traditional rulers in your domain and outside. Use your youthful age to seek knowledge, even when it requires traveling outside the country. Do not spend your youth looking for money. Money

continued politicisation of governance in our country.

“Usually, re-election talks begin about six months into the first tenure, and this rages into the second tenure, when the politics of finding a ‘worthy’ successor takes centre stage.

“This current system of renewable term and the opportunity to become a ‘kingmaker’ thereafter have combined to make our politics and elections too costly for our polity. We spend so much on elections and this has made politics one of the most-rewarding ventures in Nigeria, especially for political jobbers.

“ARG is of the opinion that a realisation of an un-renewable term may encour-

will come when you seek knowledge.

“Move closer to your people. Let them know you for your philanthropic gesture. Let your people know you for good things and cut your cloth according to the cloth available.”

On his observation during the Oluaso’s coronation, the permanent chairman of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs said: “Throughout my stay in your domain, nobody chanted the praises of your forefathers. Please, note it because it is very important. Train your Olori on this aspect, because when you lose your temper, she has to chant the praises of your forefathers to calm your temper.”

Oba Badmus, who was accompanied by the Care-

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•Oba Adeyemi

taker Chairman of Ibarapa East Local Government Council, Mr. Bola Olawore, thanked the Alaafin for his support and “wise counsel”.

He pledged his support for Oba Adeyemi, saying: “I will forever remain loyal to the institution of the Alaafin.”

HE Ekiti State Government is planning to install surveillance cameras in strategic parts of the state.

This is to tighten security and prevent crime.

Governor Kayode Fayemi spoke on Tuesday in Ado– Ekiti, the state capital, during a stakeholders’ meeting with traditional rulers, security agencies and representatives of transport unions and subethnic groups.

He also said he got a message from the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, that the President has approved the establishment of a military base in the state.

Fayemi said there was need to tighten security, especially as Ekiti is the gateway between the Southwest and the North.

He said soldiers would now have patrol points in all boundary towns to prevent

•State gets military base criminals from creeping in from neighbouring states.

The governor called for collaboration between stakeholders and security agencies. He said a similar meeting would be held with political parties to ensure security as the 2014 governorship election draws near.

Fayemi said the state government is meeting with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to obtain emergency lines, through which residents can easily contact security and emergency agencies.

On complaints that some security agents divulge the identities of informants, he said the state government would send a bill to the House of Assembly for witness protection.

Commissioner of Police

Sotonye Wakama urged residents to continue to assist security agencies by giving them information.

He said they should call 08062335577 when in distress.

The Co-chairman of the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council, Bishop Felix Ajakaye, warned journalists against sensational news reporting, saying security reports should be objective.

Also at the meeting were House of Assembly Speaker Adewale Omirin; traditional rulers; the State Director of the State Security Service (SSS); a representative of the Commander of the Nigerian Army, 33 Artillery, Okitipupa; the State Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the State Comptroller of Immigration, among others.

Oyo adopts public-private partnership to renovate hospitals

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HE Oyo State Government is set to renovate state-owned hospitals through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with foreign and local consultants.

Governor Abiola Ajimobi spoke on Tuesday at his office in Ibadan, the state capital, while receiving a delegation of the Malaria Control Partners, comprising the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington and the President’s Malaria Initiative.

Ajimobi said the partnership would revitalise the health sector and improve public health.

He said under the arrangement, doctors and other health practitioners are to equip and run the hospitals while the government would subsidise the cost to make them accessible to residents.

Ajimobi said: “We are going to introduce PPP in some of our health centres and hospitals. We will bring in doctors and practitioners, who will equip and run the hospitals, while the government will subsidise the cost. We are starting with the Adeoyo Hospital in the next three months.”

The governor said his administration has taken steps to improve health care delivery, adding that over half a million people have benefited from its free health missions.

Praising the efforts of the Malaria Control Partners to eradicate the disease in Nigeria, he said: “We are committed to the eradication of malaria in Oyo State. Malaria is the number one killer of our people. It claims more lives than AIDS. We will use everything we have to eradicate it. We have taken

steps towards improving the health of our people.”

The Presidential Malaria Advisor, Dr. George Greer, said over N2 billion has been invested in malaria control in Oyo. He said: “We thank the Oyo State Government for its efforts toward reducing malaria. The collaboration with your state has provided positive results and we will always support Oyo to eradicate malaria.”

The state’s Mosquito Net Ambassador and wife of the governor, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi, said mosquito-treated nets have been widely accepted by the people.

She said by 2015, malaria would have been reduced to a zero level.

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EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 30-04-13

First Bank’s FBN Holdings record N76b profit

F

BN Holdings Plc, the holding company for First Bank of Nigeria and its former subsidiaries, quadrupled net profit in its first operational year as improved cost efficiency and substantial growth in market share boosted the financial services holding company to a cheery start.

Audited report and accounts of FBN Holdings for the year ended December 31, 2012 was released yesterday, following approvals of all regulatory agencies and confirmation of its compliance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Key extracts of the report showed that profit after tax increased by 306 per cent to N75.7 billion in 2012 as against N18.6 billion in 2011.

Profit before tax jumped by 158.5 per cent from N35.8 billion to N92.7 billion. The net bottom-line implied earnings per share of N2.33 for 2012 compared with 60 kobo in 2011.

On the strength of the strong bottom-line performance, the board of directors of the company has recommend distribution of N32.6 billion as dividends to shareholders, representing a dividend per share of

•Declares N33b dividend

By Taofik Salako and Tonia Osundolire

N1.

The bottom-line performance rode on the back of 31 per cent increase in gross earnings, driven primarily by core commercial banking operations. Gross earnings closed 2012 at N359.8 billion with net interest income rising by 27.8 per cent from N176.2 billion to N225.2 billion. Non-interest income also grew by 20.1 per cent.

The balance sheet of the company also emerged stronger with 11.4 per cent increase in total assets from N2.9 trillion to N3.2 trillion.

Total customer deposits grew by 23 per cent to N2.4 trillion, with approximately 80 per cent of total deposits in the low-cost segment.

Shareholders’ funds increased by 19 per cent to N438.8 billion.

Chief executive officer, FBN Holdings, Bello Maccido, said the continued healthy growths of the businesses of the holding company in the face of heightened competition underscores the confidence reposed in the group by the public, the strength of the

brand, benefits of the large retail customer base and footprint, multiple service channels and the depth of relationships across various customer segments.

He outlined that having used 2012 to restructure the First Bank Group into a non-operational holding company with oversight of four major business groups-commercial banking, investment banking and asset management, insurance and other financial services, the group would now focus on consolidating its leadership position in Nigeria.

“Strong natural synergies and cross-selling opportunities exist across the Group, and we are intensifying our efforts to facilitate the realisation of these synergies, crytallise cross selling opportunities and deepen the relationship with our customers,” Maccido noted.

According to him, the solid retail platform in the commercial banking business gives the group the ability to harness latent growth in its insurance and asset management businesses.

“We believe the approach of revenue maximisation, underscored by implementation of robust risk management practices, will enhance shareholder value in the medium to long term,” Maccido assured.

NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 1- 05-13

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THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

MONEY LINK Agbaje, Aig-Imoukhuede vie for African Banker of the Year

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WO bank chief executive of ficers (CEOs) from Nigeria, Segun Agbaje of Guaranty Trust Bank and Aigboje AigImoukhuede of Access Bank are top contenders for this year’s African Banker of the Year award.

Agbaje won the award last year.

Other candidates for this year’s award are Andrew Alli, President and CEO, Africa Finance Corporation; Joao Figueiredo, CEO and Chairman, Unico Bank and Dr Charles Kimei, Managing Director, CRDB, Tanzania.

The winners will be announced at the Awards ceremony on the May 29, during the annual African Development Bank (AfDB) meetings in Marrakech, Morocco.

A statement from the African Banker Awards organisers said the biggest banks across the continent will continue to dominate the list of nominees on many criterion.

It said the hotly contested African Bank of the Year category matches some big players in African banking. Standard Bank Group, Africa’s

largest bank by assets and equity will face stiff competition from Standard Chartered; Equity Bank, Kenya; Attijariwafa Bank, Morocco and Guaranty Trust Bank, Nigeria.

It said the Awards Committee was particularly impressed with the Deal of the Year category and also by the entries in both the Financial Inclusion and Socially Responsible Bank categories.

Commenting on this year’s entries Omar Ben Yedder, Publisher of African Banker magazine, said: “I remain a staunch defender of the positive role banking institutions can play.

The two biggest listed companies in China are both financial institutions and they play a critical role in the economy. The same can be said about many banks in African”.

He said the entries seem to get better year after year, noting that the variety of entries and the quality of these entries, especially in the Deal of the Year category, illustrate the increased sophistication and the growing investment banking activity, which is happening across Af-

Foundation seeks improved cash flow for MSMEs

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•Agbaje

•Aig-Imoukhuede

rica. These he said is very encouraging. “Through the awards we are trying to create a benchmark and to promote best practice. And the committee was highly encouraged by the examples of leadership, innovation and dynamism highlighted in this year’s entries,” he said.

The African Banker Awards is organised by African Banker magazine, IC Events and BusinessinAfrica

Events. It is a landmark event that brings together over 500 key industry players and top government officials from Africa and around the world to celebrate excellence and best practices in African banking and finance.

A distinguished and independent panel of judges, known and respected for their expertise on the African banking and finance industry, will decide the final winners of each category.

ANAN President flays multiple taxation

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HE Federal Government and other tiers of government should do away with multiple taxes, the newly-inaugurated President of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) Alhaji Sakirudeen Labode said.

In a statement, Labode, who was inaugurated in Abuja last Tuesday as the eighth President of the association, said stoppage of multiple taxation system had become necessary with the introduction of new tax regime in the country.

He explained that multiple taxes distract and irritate businessmen and

would-be investors. According to him, by doing away with multiple taxes, more corporate organisations and individuals would be brought into the tax net. “Let me emphasise that apart from PAYE, any tax assessment not based on verifiable financial statement is punitive, unfair and unjust,” he said.

Labode, a former Director of Finance and Supplies of the Defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) urged the government to ensure strict adherence to necessary financial regulations and standards in both the public and private sectors. He pointed out that this remains the antidote to the present chal-

lenge.

He said that with the support of the Council of the association, the focus of his administration will be on technical capacity building for members and the development of the Nigeria College of Accountancy (NCA), Jos, the postgraduate training arm of the association.

The former President, Ogun State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, added that his administration would also focus on corporate governance and global best practices as well as infrastructural development. He said that attention

would also be given to fulfillment of international obligations, improved corporate social responsibility, assistance to tertiary institutions and public policy advocacy. He said that the NCA would be repositioned as the most preferred centre for training of professional accountants on the continent.

According to him, the Council will be called upon to approve the teaching of French language as the Nigeria was surrounded by French- speaking countries whose citizens had always shown eagerness to benefit from the opportunities offered by the college.

FGN BONDS

DATA BANK

Tenor

Amount N

Rate %

M/Date

3-Year 5-Year 5-Year

35m 35m 35m

11.039 12.23 13.19

19-05-2014 18-05-2016 19-05-2016

WHOLESALE DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM Amount Amount Offered ($) Demanded ($)

MANAGED FUNDS Initial Current Quotation Price Market N8250.00 5495.33 N1000.00 N552.20

NIDF NESF

OBB Rate Call Rate

Price Loss 2754.67 447.80

INTERBANK RATES 7.9-10% 10-11%

PRIMARY MARKET AUCTION (T-BILLS) Tenor 91-Day 182-Day 1-Year

Amount 30m 46.7m 50m

Rate % 10.96 9.62 12.34

Date 28-04-2012 “ 14-04-2012

O/PRICE

C/PRICE

CAP IKEJAHOTEL CCNN WAPCO WAPIC FCMB DANGCEM DANGSUGAR NB ACCESS

38.70 0.84 8.00 71.99 1.02 4.30 156.12 7.26 160.02 9.49

42.57 0.92 8.60 77.00 1.09 4.50 162.00 7.49 164.90 9.77

CHANGE 3.87 0.08 0.60 5.01 0.07 0.20 5.88 0.23 4.88 0.28

COSTAIN WEMABANK FBNH MAYBAKER LEARNAFRCA NEM CILEASING UBCAP NEIMETH AIICO

O/PRICE 1.30 1.31 19.93 1.81 2.12 0.73 0.53 1.19 0.82 0.86

Exchange Rate (N)

Date

350m

150m

150m

155.2

2-7-12

350m

138m

138m

155.8

27-6-12

350m

113m

113m

155.7

22-6-12

CAPITAL MARKET INDEX Currency

Year Start Offer

Current Before

C u r r e n t CUV Start After %

NGN USD

147.6000

149.7100

150.7100

-2.11

NGN GBP

239.4810

244.0123

245.6422

-2.57

NGN EUR

212.4997

207.9023

209.2910

-1.51

NIGERIA INTER BANK (S/N) 149.7450

154.0000

154.3000

-3.04

153.0000

155.5000

-2.30

154.0000

156.0000

-1.96

(S/N)

NSE CAP Index

27-10-11 N6.5236tr 20,607.37

28-10-11 N6.617tr 20,903.16

Name

Bureau de Change 152.0000 Parallel Market

153.0000

DISCOUNT WINDOW Feb. ’11

July ’11

July ’12

MPR

6.50%

6.50%

12%

Standing Lending Rate ,, Deposit Rate ,, Liquidity Ratio Cash Return Rate Inflation Rate

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 1.00% 12.10%

8.50% 4.50% 25.00% 2.00% 12.10%

9.50% 5.50% 30.00% 2.00% 11.8%

% Change -1.44% -1.44%

MEMORANDUM QUOTATIONS

ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH KAKAWA GUARANTEED STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE INVE AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUND LOTUS CAPITAL HALAL BGL SAPPHIRE FUND BGL NUBIAN FUND FBN MONEY MARKET FUND FBN FIXED INCOME FUND NIGERIA INTERNATIONAL DEB. PARAMOUNT EQUITY FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CENTRE-POINT UNIT TRUST STANBIC IBTC NIG EQUITY • ARM AGGRESSIVE

LOSERS AS AT 1-05-13

SYMBOL

Amount Sold ($)

EXHANGE RATE 6-03-12

(S/N)

GAINERS AS AT 1-05-13

SYMBOL

HE Foundation for Skills Development (FSD) has called for improved cash flow for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) operating in the country.

In a statement, the foundation said issues around finance and accessing incentives for MSMEs will be discussed the ninth series of its MSMEs seminar for women holding in MAN House, Ikeja Lagos on May 9.

FSD Executive Director, Mrs. Omowale Ogunrinde, said the purpose of the seminar is to equip small business owners, particularly women, with information to grow their businesses, adding that such would help more women connect with available resources in the public and private sectors of the economy.

FSD is partnering with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the United States Embassy, UPS, Field of Skills and Dreams, VTE Academy and other organisations on the seminar. “MSME seminar has impacted several business owners across the country positively with great success stories. The seminars feature successful business owners telling their personal growth stories, life coaches, business training consultants and government agencies offering counselling sessions” she said. Speakers at this session include President of Songhai Centre, Father Godfrey Nzamujo; Managing Director/ CEO of Main One Cable, Funke Opeke and former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Sanders.

Offer Price

Bid Price

9.17 1.00 138.34 143.59 0.80 1.15 1.07 100.00 1,000.00 1,805.48 15.86 1.39 1.87 10,855.53

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1.17 1.18 18.65 1.70 2.00 0.70 0.51 1.15 0.80 0.84

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• STANBIC IBTC GUARANTE • AFRINVEST W.A. EQUITY FUNDARM AGGRESSIVE

NIBOR Tenor 7 Days 30 Days 60 Days 150 Days

Rate (Previous) 4 Mar, 2012 9.0417 9.6667 11.2917 12.1250

Rate (Currency) 6, Mar, 2012 10.17% 11.46% 11.96% 12.54%

•

Movement

OPEN BUY BACK Previous

Current

04 July, 2012

07, Aug, 2012

Bank

8.5000

8.5000

P/Court

8.0833

8.0833

Movement

THE NATION THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2013

56

CITYBEATS

CITYBEATS LINE: 07059022999

'Who will save our only child?'

•Parents of six-month-old with heart disease seek help

H

IS parents' joy knew no bounds when he was born, especially being their first child. Thus, they gleefully christened him, Ayomide (my joy is here) - on the eighth day. It was amid merry-making. Quite sadly, today - just six months after - the same bundle of happiness has turned his family's fountain of anxiety.

It all started about five months after his delivery, when Ayomide's health situation started giving his father, Mr Sherif Rasak Lamidi, and mother, Beatrice, sleepless nights. It was when they suddenly observed that he was taking ill frequently. Besides, they observed that he was behaving strangely.

At the height of their apprehension, they took him to the hospital for a medical check. Following the medical examination, it was established that baby Ayomide had four holes in his tender heart.

This heart-rending revelation devastated his parents, who wasted no time in taking him to the Akwa Ibom University Teaching Hospital (AIUTH), where further treatment was given him after it was confirmed that the baby's heart was harbouring four holes.

Not satisfied with the treatment got at the stateowned hospital, Ayomide's poor parents took him to a private hospital, following sympathisers' advice. There, they parted with N60, 000 for his treatment. At a point, they found it hard to cope with the bills; thus, Ayomide's embattled parents were advised to take him to Lagos for better medical attention. They complied, but only the mother made the trip to Lagos.

Mrs Lamidi took her baby to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja. There, again, it was confirmed through an xray that Ayomide had four holes in his heart.

Though the woman affirmed that the boy got treatment from the hospital, she was not satisfied with the baby's condition. Hence, she took him to the Kanu Heart Foundation (KHF), where she was told she would need to cough up N2.6 million for the surgical operation the boy requires to get well. Now, getting the money has become the family's headache.

Ayomide's mother, who took her agony to the Lagos Headquarters of The Nation yesterday, narrated her ordeal since the illness started, saying: "It was observed when he was about five months old. He fell sick frequently and we were taking him to hospitals for checks. We were told

‘

It has not been easy for me to bear the pains, being my first child ... He coughs every time, breaths fast and gets slimmer by the day

By Amidu Arije

‘

that he was breathing fast; hence, we were asked to go for "echo test" which I did. After this test, doctors told us that Ayomide had four holes in his heart. I was told to take him to India for a surgical operation."

She added: "I later left Akwa Ibom for LASUTH. There, too, we were told that my baby was having four holes in his heart. Since then, I have been moving from one place to the other in desperation to help him live well. I went to the Kanu Heart Foundation for more medical care in April. I was told to register with N15, 000. I told them I didn't have that kind of money for registration. It was there I met an Indian who told me that my baby would need N2.6million for surgical operation in India. He also said he was in a critical condition that must be handled promptly."

At that point, she fought tears as she further recounted her bitter experience: "It has not been easy for me to bear the pains, being my first child. It has remained a tough heartache for us since this ailment started. He coughs every time, breaths fast and gets slimmer by the day."

She urged public-spirited Nigerians to help her family raise the N2.6 million for her child's surgical operation in India.

"This is why I am here. I'm crying out to all Nigerians to please help us with their widow's mite to enable us to take the baby to India for the operation," she said.

She said a Union Bank account, 0031929139, domiciled under the name, Lamidi Sherif Rasak, is available for any Good Samaritan.

The couple's phone numbers are 08137499987 and 077065554333.

Lagos renews strategies against flood

'Govt must build affordable houses'

F

By Dada Aladelokun, Assitant Editor

T

O effectively forestall flooding in Lagos State during the coming rainy season, the Ministry of the Environment has deployed resident engineers and Drainage Maintenance Officers (DMOs) to tackle flood-related challenges that may arise in any of the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).

The commissioner, Mr. Tunji Bello, said the development was among the series of strategies initiated by the ministry to curb flooding in the state.

He further stated that the officers' phone numbers had been made public to afford residents the opportunity to access them with complaints over drainage challenges with a view to solving them.

Bello had, last month, warned residents about the pattern of rainfall, its intensity and volume to be expected in the state this year, adding that the ministry had commenced some anti-flooding programmes since December, last year.

Some other anti-flooding programmes in place include the: Pre-rainy season maintenance, cleaning and dredging exercise; midrain cleaning and dredging programme; postrain cleaning programme; all-year cleaning and desilting programme by the Emergency Flood Abatement Department (EFAD); motorised campaign in Low-Line Areas; mass media campaign, and motorised campaign in markets/motor parks, among Lagosians, Bello said, are expected to call the phone numbers of the engineers and other maintenance personnel to report issues of blocked

• Mrs Lamidi and the baby ... yesterday

• Bello

drains/canals and other flood-related challenges in their areas.

The personnel, he also said, are expected to liaise with Community Development Associations (CDAs), resident/landlord/tenant associations, to guide them. The commissioner added that general and other complaints can be sent to the ministry's email address: publicaffairs@moelagos.org.

He further explained that the move became necessary following predictions by meteorologists that more rains are likely to be recorded this year.

He noted that Lagos, like every other coastal city, is prone to flooding, but added: "As a responsible government that is accountable to the people, our plan is to put in place measures and programmes to reduce to the barest minimum, the incidence of flooding, as no nation can promise a flood-free state any longer, owing to the effect of climate change."

ORMER Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar has punctured the argument against government direct involvement in providing homes for Nigerians in the interest of low-income earners who are at the mercy of extortionate property developers.

He spoke at the 13th edition of the Lagos Housing Fair with the theme: "Climate Change and Housing Delivery" in Lagos.

Abubakar urged government at all levels, developers and financiers to see housing as a long-term investment with long period of gestation, regretting that many Nigerians do not have access to decent accommodation.

Abubakar said: "The rapid growth rate of the nation's population which exacerbates the urbanisation trend has worsened the housing situation. While our cities and towns experience problems of quantitative housing, the scenario in the rural areas is qualitative.

By Okwy Iroegbu-Chikezie

But despite these challenges, I still believe we can reduce the gap in quality and quantity of our housing situations."

He noted that housing development could have multiplier effects on many other sectors of the economy such as land purchase, design stage and actual construction, where artisans and professionals are engaged, added to the patronage that would come the way of building material manufacturers.

President, Commonwealth Association of Land Economists, Mr. Segun Ajanlekoko, also frowned at the prohibitive cost of housing and asked government to explore ways to cut it down.

He also sought patronage for local building materials, noting: "Any nation that cannot provide houses for its citizens won't develop beyond a certain limit."r

'Ekiti signage agency fair to all'

T

HE laws regulating outdoor advertisement in the state will apply to all, irrespective of people’s political affiliations, the Director General, Ekiti State Signage and Advertising Agency, Prince Adewole Ajakaye, has said.

Denying allegation that opposition politicians’ billboards in the state were removed, he said "only those billboards for which their placers had not paid were removed."

His reaction followed an allegation by two aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Governor Ayo Fayose and Dr. Peter Obafemi, that the government had applied the laws to "favour its own plans and purpose".

Fayose had alleged that officials of the agency had broken into his office in the Adebayo area in Ado and removed all billboards bearing his portraits. But the DG had stated those whose billboards were removed because their owners

From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

failed to make requisite payments to the agency.

Ajakaye said: "Anytime we take unfavourable actions, they always raise the allegation of victimisation. Erection of billboards is being regulated in Ekiti State and they are all aware; so, we expect them to pay the requisite fees.

"We have always been careful in our actions. We always give our actions human face. We only removed the affected billboards carefully to make people patronise us as an income-generating body."

The agency's Director of Operations, Mr Ariyo Emmanuel, said some of the PDP aspirants had misinformed the public that they had fully paid, even when part payment was made.

He urged politicians and outdoor advertising practitioners to always bring their receipts to the agency when payments are made to prevent the removal of their billboards.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2013

57

CITYBEATS LINE: 07059022999

Akiolu seeks market’s relocation

T

HE relocation of the popular Jankara Market from Lagos Island will end traffic gridlock and restore sanity to the area, Lagos monarch, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, has said.

Maintaining that road-side trading had remained a problem in the area, the monarch said there should be plans to develop the off-shore area of Adeniji-Adele axis to ease commercial activities on the Island.

The monarch made the suggestions before the Tribunal of Enquiry on Fire and Explosion Incidents set up by Governor Babatunde Fashola, following the fireworks explosion that rocked Ojo-Giwa and Okoya areas of Lagos Island, last December.

Although, the royal father backed plans by the government to partner with the property owners to build an ultra-modern market complex on the burnt site, he said the traders must pledge to ensure their activities would not affect free flow of traffic in the market area.

He said: "If the government can expand the Jankara market to almost eight times of what it used to be with adequate parking lot, sanity will definitely return to the place and I am sure that place will be put into better use. The ben-

By Wale Ajetunmobi

efit of the expansion is that the government will know the number of shops or anything they put there. The government would be able to collect whatever its due from the tenants there, while those that engage thirdparty rent will be checked because it is their activities that caused the problem we are resolving."

Oba Akiolu condemned property owners, who converted their residential buildings to commercial use, saying: "Some of them have even sold their so-called family houses and relocated to Mushin where they live in one room."

He said the level of destruction witnessed in the Jankara market fire incident could have been prevented if traders were not transacting on the road, adding that many buildings were consumed because the Lagos State fire fighters could not access the area on time.

He said: "If you see the kind of traffic obstruction in the area, you will know that the traders caused why the fire fighters could

not gain access to Jankara. They put all sort of things on the road for sale. Why should we blame the government when people created the problem for themselves?"

Barrister Olorunfemi Okomu, representative of Adeniji Fashola family, whose property was destroyed in the incident, asked the monarch if he would support the plan to assist the people, whose property got burnt.

Oba Akiolu responded that he would support whatever initiative put together by the government, but on the condition that the people would listen to "candid advice" of not using their buildings for commercial activities.

The monarch submitted: "If my advice will be considered by Lagos State government, I will say that Jankara market should be totally relocated from the place to area that would accommodate the kinds of commercial activities being done in the market."

The monarch advised the victim to embrace the plan to rebuild the market with ultramodern structure.

The tribunal's chair, Justice Sunday Ishola, commended him for appearing before the tri-

MCSN battles Copyright Commission

F

OR refusing to license it as a collecting society for musical works, and disrupting its operations, Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN) has said it would battle the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to court.

Trouble began in 2010, when the NCC alleg-

By Victor Akande, Entertainment Editor

edly refused to license it as a Collective Management Organisation (CMO), despite being in business since 1984, but rather chose to recognise Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), a new society headed by Chief Tony

Okoroji, a former President of Performing Musicians Organisation of Nigeria (PMAN).

MCSN chair, Mr. Orits Wiliki, spoke with reporters in Lagos, said a notice had been given to NCC since April 18, last year, to review its basis of refusal, and that after waiting for nearly 10 months without redress by the

Adler Foundation dedicates novel to charity

T

HE Leke Alder Foundation has dedicated Leke Alder's latest book, NOVUS, to charity.

The novel, an eBook, which was released yesterday, is a business development story about a young entrepreneur, Don, who is desirous of starting a business but has no idea how to go about it, the foundation said in a statement.

The idea for the book, according to the statement signed by the foundation's founder, Mr Leke Alder, was borne out of his desire to democratise business knowledge by making it available to everyone.

As the story unfolds, Alder said, the protagonist takes a romantic interest in a beautiful young lady (Rasha) - "a conspiracy of nature". She has a bitter rival in "a figureeightive beauty (Femi)."

The novel takes readers through idea germination, business conceptualisation, business name generation, ideas for raising finance and more.

Conceptualised as a creative challenge, NOVUS, according Alder, was written a chapter per day on Twitter. In the novel, Alder celebrated his Twitter followers by inserting them into the narrative as characters. In the first month of publication on Twitter (February 2013), the novel reached over one million people around the world and the feedback was incredible.

Wrote a reader: "In 14 years of reading, learning, researching, studying and doing business I have never come across anything this loaded and thought provoking.

It is a mine of relevant and absolutely practical business information."

NOVUS, Alder said, had been packaged as a beautifully designed eBook, a visual and knowledge delight. It can be downloaded for free at www.lekealderfoundation.org.

Leke Alder Foundation, the charitable and social responsibility arm of Alder Consulting encourages you to download the e-book and make a donation in support of nine orphanages for whose benefit the book is released. The list of orphanages according to the statement, can be found at www.lekealderfoundation.org.

Alder Foundation is the corporate social responsibility vehicle of Alder Consulting, a strategy & branding corporation.

As at April 2013, the Foundation has impacted 126,309 lives, fed 118,629 people and helped 1,115 orphans.

CITYBEATS

• Oba Akiolu

bunal with his white-cap chiefs; the Chairman, Lagos Island West Local Government, Hon. Wasiu Eshinlokun; Director-General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mrs. Omolara Odebunmi, and an elder statesman, Pa Hassan Fasinro, among others.

NCC, his society, on March 22, decided to file a suit at the Federal High Court, Lagos.

The case, in suit no: FHC/L/CS/377/13 MCSN vs COSON & NCC,- seeks among other things, a revocation of COSON's license.

The plaintiff is claiming that COSON misrepresented the particulars of its membership to the NCC, while bidding for approval and that as such, it did not fulfil the standard requirements of the provisions of the Copyright Act, Cap. C28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 (as amended) and Copyright (Collective Management Organisations) Regulations, 2007, (Gazette No. 96 of 2007).

MCSN also laments that the approval of COSON as the sole CMO in Nigeria, deprives it, its members, assignors and affiliates of their fundamental and constitutional rights to freedom of association, freedom to own and enjoy property in copyright and access to justice.

Prior to the filing of the suit, the Federal High Court, on February 8, had struck out the case brought by Globe Broadcasting and Communications Limited (owners of Cool FM, WAZOBIA FM and Naija Info 93.1 FM), which sought to restrain MCSN from collecting royalty from its radio stations.

The feud between MCSN and NCC deepened when, on September 18, last year, some officials of the NCC, raided MCSN's offices and carted away files, computers, documents and materials; arrested and detained five officers of the company.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

58

NEWS Suntai responding to treatment in USA, says Acting Governor Umar •Denies plan to change Exco From Fanen Ihyongo, Jalingo

T

ARABA State Acting Governor Garba Umar yesterday said Governor Danbaba Danfulani Suntai, who was injured in a plane crash last year near the Yola Airport, Adamawa State, is responding well to treatment in an American hospital.

Umar addressed reporters at the Government House, Jalingo, the state capital.

He said: “My boss is responding very well to treatment at an American hospital. I intend to visit him in two weeks. And when I do so, you will hear more from me.”

Suntai received his initial treatment in Hanover, Germany.

Umar recently directed that the ailing governor be moved to the Johns Hopkins University Hospital in the US. It was gathered that Suntai’s transfer to the American hospital was to enable him get a better treatment.

There have been speculations that the recent impeachment of the House of Assembly Speaker Istifanus Haruna Gbana was part of the acting governor’s plan to reshuffle the State Executive Council (Exco) to pave the way for him to become the substantive governor.

But answering reporters’ questions on the allegation, Umar said: “Keep your eyes and ears open.

“I won’t discuss that with you (journalists) now. I will not say anything. I will not talk on that (Exco reshuffle) now.

Police kill kidnapper, destroy buildings in Delta From Shola O’Neil, Port Harcourt.

T

HE war against kidnappers in Delta State assumed a new dimension yesterday in Warri, the state capital, when the police demolished buildings allegedly used by criminals to hide their victims.

It was gathered that a cache of arms was recovered from the building, located at 34 Odibo Street, off Lower Ereduwa, was sealed when the Delta South Area Command rescued a victim from the house.

The victim, Mrs Joy Elumah, was reportedly kept for days in the building, which has a high brow private school in the area.

Nemesis caught up with the gang when a sentry watching the victim was arrested on Monday.

The suspect, identified as Oberiri Henry, was later shot dead under yet unclear circumstances. The police said he was killed when he attempted to flee.

PDP denies divisions in Adamawa From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

T

HE leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has denied reports that the party’s structure in Adamawa State has been divided along interest lines, following the recommendations of the Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido-led Ad Hoc Committee on the crisis in the chapter.

In a statement yesterday in Abuja by its National Publicity

PUBLIC NOTICES

OGU I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ogu Lois Uchechi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Onyebuchi Lois Uchechi. All former documents remain valid. Imo Stste University, Owerri, NYSC and general public take note.

SHOSANMI We, formerly known and addressed as Mr Shosanmi Sunday Shodunke and Mrs Oluwafunmilayo Iyabo Shodunke now wish to be known and addressed as Mr Olusanmi Sunday Oludunke and Mrs Olufunmilayo Iyabo Oludunke.

All former documents remain valid.

LSTMTL, SON and the general public take note.

CHANGE OF FAMILY NAME I, formerly known and called Ayodele Ishola Ogunbiyi and my wife, Taiwo Adeola Ogunbiyi and sons: Oluwaseun Akinkunmi Ogunbiyi; Oluwaseyi Gboluwaga Ogunbiyi; Oluwafeyisayo Oreoluwa Ogunbiyi and Oluwasiwaju Abraham Ogunbiyi now wish to be called and addressed as follow: Ayodele Ishola Olubiyi, Mrs. Taiwo Adeola Olubiyi (RCCG LP 17, please note); Oluwaseun Akinkunmi Olubiyi (University of Lagos please note); Oluwaseyi Gboluwaga Olubiyi (Redeemers University & Coventry University, please note); Oluwafeyisayo Oreoluwa Olubiyi (Babcock University, Ilisan please note) and Oluwasiwaju Abraham Olubiyi (Tofeek Schools, please note). All former documents remain valid.

Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the party said the Adamawa State chapter of the party is united.

It explained that PDP members in the state now work together in line with the recommendations of the Lamido committee.

It was learnt that the committee blamed the festering crisis in the Adamawa State chapter on the struggle between its National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, and Governor Murtala Nyako.

The two party chieftains had been scheming to position their children for the party’s governorship ahead of the 2015 elections, it was also learnt.

The statement added: “The leadership of the PDP in Adamawa is united. There is no division, as speculated in some quarters. The party executive has not been shared between the National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, and Governor Murtala Nyako, as reported in some sections of the media”.

•Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima, lifting a cheque of N20million presented to him by Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (left) for relief to victims of Baga crisis during Kwankwaso’s sympathy visit to Maiduguri... yesterday.

Lawyer faults NJC over Justice Talba’s A suspension FORMER Secretary of the Makurdi (Benue State) branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Jubrin Okutekpa (SAN), yesterday faulted the one-year suspension the National Judicial Council (NJC) slammed on Justice Abubakar Talba of the Abuja High Court for his verdict on John Yakubu Yusuf, the Police Pension scam convict.

The NJC placed a year’s ban on the judge following the public outcry which greeted his judgment of a two-year jail term and an option of N750,000 fine on Yusuf. The convict had pleaded guilty to a three-count charge of fraud.

Okutekpa addressed reporters in Kaduna after presenting a paper, entitled: Bail: Scope, Purpose and Limits, at this year’s Kaduna NBA Law Week.

From Tony Akowe, Kaduna

The senior lawyer said the NJC played to the public gallery by suspending the judge, adding that such action may encourage corruption in the Judiciary.

He said: “The suspension of Justice Talba is uncalled for.

It’s unjust and there was no basis for it. There is no evidence, as far as I am concerned, that the judge took a bribe; neither is there any evidence that he was influenced outside the Law. “The NJC cannot punish a judge for exercising the discretion vested on him by Law. Section 309 of the Penal Code

provides for a maximum of two years and the judge gave the maximum. It provides for an option of fine without specifying any amount, which he also gave. The convict forfeited N327 million and 32 landed property in Abuja. Those were things the judge took into account in awarding the fine.

“Under our criminal jurisprudence, the law says that once a person pleads guilty to a crime, you give him the least punishment. Yet, he gave the maximum, which is two years, and a fine of N250,000, for each count charge. For the three counts, that amounts to N750,000.

“My contention is that if

there are eight accused persons and you recover N327million and 32 landed property from one, there are still other accused persons. In any case, the man was not accused of stealing the money but of aiding and abetting the disappearance of the money.

“My fear is that if care is not taken, we will soon produce what I call ‘judicial zombies’.

That will be bad for us and all Nigerians. If a judge cannot exercise his discretion, then we are finished.

“Secondly, it is my view that what they have done will encourage corruption because all a judge needs to do to exercise his discretion is to say give me money to exercise my discretion so that if I am punished, I will still have something to fall back on.

NAFDAC denies report of attack in Benue

T

HE Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr Paul Ohrii, has denied the report that he and some other officials of the agency were attacked by irate youths in Benue.

In a statement in Abuja by its Public Relations Officer, Abubakar Jimoh, NAFDAC described the report as a tissue of lies.

The statement reads: “The attention of NAFDAC has been drawn to a false, misleading and politically-motivated report on the alleged attack on the Director-General of the agency, Dr Ohrii, and his officers by some irate youths in Benue State. NAFDAC categorically refutes the story, describing it as a tissue of lies.

“NAFDAC is deeply shocked that its harmless effort to rid the country of counterfeit drugs, through routine

Agency relocates Benue destruction site From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

THE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) yesterday evacuated a heap of expired and fake drugs from the disputed Akir settlement destruction site on the outskirts of Makurdi, the Benue State capital, to another location.

The agency moved it to another area for destruction.

Residents of Akir settlement, located on the University of Agriculture Makurdi (UAM)/Gbajimba Road, protested the burning of expired and fake drugs in their locality for health reasons.

They said the fumes from the toxic have caused them some ailments. They chased away NAFDAC officials with stones and sticks from the destruction site.

NAFDAC, however, bowed to the protesters yesterday and evacuated the drugs worth N5million to another location in Makurdi.

A NAFDAC official, who spoke in confidence, told The Nation that the agency has bought a piece of land on the Makurdi-Adoka Road for N20,000 for the burning of expired drugs.

From Vincent Ikuomola, Abuja

seizures and destruction of porous medicines, has been hi-

jacked by unscrupulous elements to settle cheap political points.

“The agency will not treat

the report with kid gloves, as the appropriate law enforcement agencies are being approached to investigate the motive behind the reporter’s mischief and scare-mongering.

“NAFDAC officers in the six Northcentral states have converged for two major events in Benue State, namely the sensitisation campaign in Gboko and the destruction of N143 million fake drugs.

“The agency got the approval of the Ministry of Environment to destroy the fake drugs at a refuse dump site on the outskirts of Makurdi town. But the NAFDAC Director-General and his team were driving towards the site when they were alerted to the protesting irate youths. The team turned back for safety.

“So, the newspaper’s report of an attack and smashing of NAFDAC operational vehicles never happened but fabricated by the reporter.”

Edo council election: Knocks for PDP, Metuh

A

GROUP, Coalition for Good Governance and Economic Justice in Nigeria and the Senior Special Assistant to Edo State Governor on Media, Prince John Mayaki yesterday berated the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh and state chapter of the PDP over allegations that the government rigged last week local government elections in the state.

According to Mayaki, Metuh

was merely exercising his jaws and does not know what constitutes a threat to democracy.

“Is the PDP publicity Secretary happy with the way Nigeria is being administered? Is he in tune with the reality in the country? Is he in touch with the people at the grassroots? Does he feel what the ordinary Nigerian feels? Does he know the pictorial representation of his party in the mind of the majority of the people? Does his party have the interest of

this country at heart? These and many more questions worry me about this party called PDP. “How the PDP-led Federal Government conducted the affairs of governance since 1999, and how they Balkanised the country should worry Nigerians. The late President Musa Yar’Adua confirmed that the election that brought him to power was fraught with irregularities just as Election Petitions Tribunal and

Appeal Courts established that the PDP and its co-travellers rigged the 2007 polls.

“These issues are still fresh in our memories. I have always canvassed for an agency that would prosecute electoral offenders so that those mentioned by the Tribunal would immediately be provided to face the wrath of the law. I pray our democracy would grow to that level and with a President who can muzzle the political will.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

59

NEWS Rights group alleges ‘cover up’ in DHQ’s report on Baga killings Continued from page 1

military “tried to cover up” abuses in the preliminary reports and, therefore, asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate.

The clashes between soldiers and Boko Haram insurgents sparked massive fires that left nearly half of the town destroyed.

The Red Cross said that 187 people were killed in the fighting. The Senator representing Borno North in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, Maina Lawan, put the death toll at 228.

The military has pushed back aggressively against these reports and fiercely denied claims that soldiers fired on civilians or deliberately torched houses.

After Tuesday’s parley with the military leadership tasked with probing the carnage, President Goodluck Jonathan said “there is a lot of misinformation being peddled about the situation.”

He said the reported death toll “cannot be substantiated”, concluding that it was impossible that more than 1,000 homes were destroyed.

The HRW disagreed with the military claims in a statement it issued yesterday.

“Satellite images of the town analysed by Human Rights Watch...identify 2,275 destroyed buildings, the vast majority likely residences, with another 125 severely damaged,” the rights’ group said in the statement.

On its website, it posted images depicting aerial shots of the town on April 6 against those of the same neighbourhoods on April 26, 10 days after the clashes.

The before-and-after images appear to show scores of newly burnt buildings.

“The glaring discrepancies between the facts on the ground and statements by senior military officials raise concerns that they tried to cover up military abuses,” the group added.

HRW called on the ICC to probe the events in Baga as part of the preliminary investigation the court launched in 2010.

The group had previously said that Nigeria’s military may have committed crimes against humanity in campaigns against Boko Haram since the group launched its attacks in 2009.

It said: “The incident in Baga should be added to the prosecutor’s preliminary investigation.”

It also offered a new death toll for the Boko Haram conflict, saying 3,600 people have died since 2009, including killings by the security forces.

Bekele said a community leader, who claimed to have participated in the burial of victims, admitted that he counted 183 bodies.

The group also expressed concern that access to Baga remained difficult.

The HRW said: “Baga residents told Human Rights Watch that soldiers ransacked the town after the Boko Haram militant Islamist group attacked a military patrol, killing a soldier.

“Community leaders said that immediately after the attack they counted 2,000 burned homes and 183 bodies.

“Satellite images analysed

by Human Rights Watch indicate that damaged structures were likely caused by intense and widespread fires.

“Additional satellite data detected the presence of active fires in the Southern part of the town on the night of April 16 and during the day on April 17, consistent with witness accounts and the location of identified damaged buildings.

•Baga before the attack

The HRW said: “Because of the number of buildings destroyed by fire as well as their distribution across large sections of the town, Human Rights Watch believes that such fires were intentionally set and not inadvertently sparked by the detonation of rocket-propelled grenades or improvised explosive devices.

“Such weapons could not ignite fires on such a wide scale, nor could they set fire to non-attached structures.

Small arms and light weapons do not contain the amount of explosive or incendiary material to produce such a scale of damage.”

It also admitted that Baga is a stronghold of Boko Haram

•Baga after the attack

Senior lawyers condemn impeachment plot against Amaechi •Falana, Opara, Fagbohungbe react

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ENIOR lawyers warned yesterday against any move to impeach Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi by five lawmakers of the 32-member Assembly.

Activist-lawyer Femi Falana and Chief Felix Fagbohungbe, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), cautioned against the move which they argued, has no justification.

Former House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Austin Opara said it was unthinkable for the decision of the minority to prevail on that of the majority.

Falana said the proposed impeachment move cannot be justified or legitimately carried out under the current atmosphere of political uncertainty.

The Lagos lawyer remarked that even if the fear of impeachment can be justified, five assemblymen cannot legitimately impeach the governor.

Lacing his arguement with relevant authority, he said that the Supreme Court “in the case of governos Ladoja and Dariye ruled that a minority of members of a legislative house cannot impeach a governor.

“With 27 members on his side, there is no way Governor Rotimi Amaechi can be legally or constitutionally impeached by a minority of five members.

“I learnt that the 27 legislators loyal to Governor Ameachi were purportedly dismissed from the PDP because they rejected the directive to remove the governor. But the High Court in Rivers State has invalidated their expulsion. Legally

No plan to impeach governor, says PDP’s factional chair Continued from page 4

state secretariat yesterday.

They were led by the Chairman, Chief Ibe Eresia-Eke, who described Obuah’s emergence as PDP’s helmsman as timely, at a time the party was in dire need of a credible leadership.

The Eresia-Eke-led forum asked the new party chair to ensure the realisation of the ideals of the ruling party for the greater good, peace and development of the state.

The Speaker of Rivers Assembly, Otelemaba Dan Amachree, on Tuesday evening in Port Harcourt, alleged that there was a plot to impeach Amaechi, provoke anarchy and pave the way for a state of emergency.

Obuah, at yesterday’s conference, said: “Serious allegation was levelled against me and members of my executive of a plan to impeach Amaechi. I want to debunk the allegation. At no time have I nurtured such plan or met with memBy Adebisi Onanuga and Augustine Avwode

speaking, they remain legitimate members of the PDP.” Falana advised the Presidency to concentrate attention on looking for genuine solutions to problems that are threatening to tear the country apart, including poverty, unemployment, insecurity, terrorism, kidnapping and other violent crimes, instead of wasting so much time and energies on removing a governor The lawyer noted that the confusion created by the two factions of the ruling in Rivers State that are parading conflicting court orders.

He regretted that the judiciary has allowed itself to be dragged into the fray and described the development as very embarrassing.

Falana said: “In CPC v Lado and Silva v PDP the apex court has held that our

bers of my executive to plot to impeach the governor.

“The supporters of Amaechi are trying to create problems and cause anarchy. They are lying against me and members of my executive.

“My aim is to bring everybody together and to have a united front. I cannot work in isolation of Governor Amaechi.

“I am the authentic Rivers State chairman of the PDP. I am not a factional chairman. I do not have the power to impeach Amaechi.

“I will work with Amaechi to move Rivers State forward. I am the leader of the PDP in Rivers State while Amaechi is the leader of Rivers state and a member of the PDP. “PDP is one family. I and members of my executive have come to unite the party, not to divide it. In the last few days of my being in office, everybody is being carried along.

“PDP members are happy because their mandate has been restored. The

courts lack the jurisdictional competence to choose candidates for parties.

In other words, the election of the executives of a party is guided by the doctrine of forum domesticum i.e an internal affair of a political party. “It is either the Presidency is fighting Gov Amaechi in the Governors’ Forum or the NCAA is asked to ground his plane or the legislators loyal to him have been removed from the party or five legislators out of 32 are asked to impeach him whereas the Constitution requires two thirds majority of the entire house members.”

He advised the two factions to approach the Court of Appeal to resolve the crisis caused by the desperation of the Presidency for peace to return to the state.

Chief Fagbohungbe, who took a cursory look at the

masses are happy. The few persons making noise are those who are benefiting from Amaechi. I am a transparent person. I will lead without fear or favour.

“The leader of the Rivers House of Assembly, Chidi Lloyd, who asked Rivers people to be protesting, should be ignored. Matter of the suspension of the 27 lawmakers has been referred to the disciplinary committee. They are involved in anti-party activities.

“The 27 suspended lawmakers rushed to a Port Harcourt court for injunction to restrain the party from suspending them, after my executive had already suspended them. The right things should be done.

“The 27 members of the Rivers Assembly are PDP members and they owe allegiance to the party. PDP is not a pressure group, but a political party. We have the power to suspend the lawmakers.”

political development in Rivers State, cautioned the PDP leadership against heating up the polity.

He said: “They want to heat up the polity from that place and it would spread everywhere.”

Describing the development as sudden. Fagbohungbe noted that it was geared towards the political ambition of President Goodluck Jonathan to re-contest in 2015.

He remarked that that what the PDP leadership in the state have failed to do is to admit the real reason why they want the state governor, Rotimi Amaechi impeached.

“They should not initiate impeachment move because Jonathan wants to contest in 2015. The PDP and President Jonathan should be very careful. They should give peace a chance in the

state,” he added.

Opara, who debunked claim that there were plots to impeach the governor said the minority cannot impeach the majority.

Opara said that as a democrat, he found it difficult to believe as the nation is not in a military regime.

He said: “I am a democrat and I believe in the rule of law, how can a minority impeach majority so to speak.

The only thing I can say is that people are being chased by their shadows. Those who said that or insinuate it are being chased by their shadows. They know that what they are doing is wrong. Nobody is talking about impeachment. Nobody wants Amaechi impeached, nobody is interested in that. All the people are saying is that the right thing should be done.”

Opara wondered how on

earth five people in a House of 32 can successfully impeach the governor. He, however, condemned the dissolution of Obior/Akpor Local Government Area by the House of Assembly on what he called trumped up charges.

Opara said: “I don’t see a situation where five people in a House of 32 can impeach a governor and it will satnd. This is not a military regime. I cant support a thing like that. Nobody is interested in the impeachment of Ameachi, all that people want is let things be done properly.

“If people air their views, they are penalised. Why shoukld the Obior/Akpor Local Government Council be dissolved? It is so baffling. Is it a didctatorship where people can’t express their views or express dissenting views? If you emmasculate opposition, you are breeding dictatorship and we can’t accept that in Rivers State, we wont let it happen. People must be allowed to air their views. The dissolution of Obior/Akpor is not only funny, it is despicable.”

•Falana

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THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

FOREIGN NEWS Bomb kills three British soldiers in Afghanistan THREE British soldiers have died after their armoured vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Helmand, Afghanistan.

The soldiers were from the Royal Highland Fusiliers, the 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Six other soldiers were injured in the bomb blast on Tuesday. Next of kin have been informed.

The attack was on a Mastiff vehicle, deemed one of the safest. David Cameron said he would consider “carefully” how the deaths had occurred.

It is the first time British soldiers in a Mastiff vehicle, which was introduced in 2007, have been killed by a roadside bomb, the Ministry of Defence said.

The blast occurred when the soldiers were travelling on a routine patrol in the district of Nahr-e Saraj.

Afghan officials in Helmand told the BBC the bomb was made with “potent explosives and had metals and other items aimed at inflicting massive destruction”.

Victims of Bangladesh collapse building buried

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OZENS of Bangladeshi garment workers, their bodies too battered or decomposed to be identified, were buried in a mass funeral yesterday, a week after the eight-story building they worked in toppled down, killing at least 410 people and injuring thousands.

Hundreds attended the traditional Muslim funeral and many more looked on from the roofs of nearby buildings as the bodies, rotting in the spring heat, were brought to the graveyard on the back of flatbed trucks.

Onlookers covered their noses. One woman rushed through the crowd to the back of a truck wailing that one of the bodies was her sister’s. She begged to take

•Pope decries them as ‘slave labour’ victims it as family members held on to her to keep her from collapsing.

Local men and boys recited a traditional Muslim prayer for the dead. Then, 34 bodies were unloaded and placed in the graves.

Workers at the cemetery have dug several long rows of graves as authorities expect to bury scores more unidentified bodies in the coming days.

“I would not have to take part in this if the government acted more responsibly,” said Rasel Islam, a 32-yearold man who attended the burial.

Five garment factories were housed in the illegally constructed Rana Plaza

building that collapsed April 24, five months after a fire killed 112 people at another clothing factory. The tragedies exposed the unsafe conditions plaguing Bangladesh’s $20 billion-ayear garment industry, which supplies many European and American retailers.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis said he was shocked by a headline about the building collapse that said some of the workers were living on 38 euros a month.

“This was the payment of these people who have died ... and this is called `slave labour,’” he said. Vatican Radio said the pope made the remarks during a pri-

vate Mass at the Vatican.

EU officials said they are considering action including changes to Bangladesh’s duty-free and quota-free access to the giant EU market to “incentivize” responsible management of the nation’s garment industry.

Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign affairs chief, and its trade commissioner, Karel De Gucht, called in a statement for Bangladesh authorities to act immediately to ensure factories comply with international labor standards.

Pressure built inside Bangladesh as well, as a raucous May Day procession of workers on foot, pickup trucks and motorcycles

French Islamist captured ‘after fighting’ in Mali

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Bolivian President expels USAID BOLIVIAN President Evo Morales has said he will expel the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Mr Morales accused the agency of seeking to undermine his government.

USAID had been working in Bolivia for almost five decades, and had a budget of $52.1m (£33.4m) for Bolivia in 2010, according to the agency’s website.

In 2008, Mr Morales expelled the US ambassador and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for allegedly conspiring against his administration.

On previous May Days, Mr Morales had announced the nationalisation of key industries, such as hydroelectric power and the electricity grid.

But on Wednesday he said he “would only nationalise the dignity of the Bolivian people”.

South African school marks 50 years THE first multi-racial school in South Africa, Waterford Kamhlaba School in Swaziland, is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

The school was founded in direct opposition to the apartheid regime, allowing black and white students to be educated together despite opposition from the government.

Since then more than 5,000 children have passed through its doors, including those of Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Desmond Tutu.

wound its way through central Dhaka demanding safe working conditions and capital punishment for the building’s owner. They waved the national flag and banners, beat drums and chanted “Direct action!” and “Death penalty!”

From a loudspeaker on the back of a truck, a participant spoke for the group: “My brother has died. My sister has died. Their blood will not be valueless.”

The death toll from the collapse passed 400 Wednesday, with a total of 410 people confirmed dead so far, police said.

Rescue workers expect the death toll to rise, because they believe many bodies are still buried on the ground level of the building.

•Venezuelan lawamakers in a brawl on the floor of congress...yesterday

PHOTO: BBCimg

Boston police arrest three new suspects in bomb case

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HREE additional suspects have been taken into custody in the investigation of last month’s bombings at the Boston Marathon, the Boston Police Department said in its official Twitter feed yesterday.

A police spokeswoman, Katherine Shea, said by telephone that she had no further details to provide.

“It’s happening right now,” Shea said.

Investigators had previously identified two suspects, ethnic Chechen brothers they said placed pressure-cooker bombs at the race’s finish line on April 15.

One, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, is being held in a prison

medical center after being formally charged with crimes that carry the death penalty. His older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died in a gunfight with police three days after the bombing that killed three people and injured 264 others.

Tamerlan’s body has still not been claimed, a spokesman for the state’s chief medical examiner said.

“We still have not been contacted by the family,” said the spokesman, Terrel Harris.

The parents of the Tsarnaev brothers have said in interviews in the North Caucasus region of Russia that they do not believe their sons were responsible for the bombs.

15 wounded in Damascus bomb explosion as Assad visits capital

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YRIAN President Bashar Assad made a rare public appearance yesterday, visiting a Damascus power station, while two bombs exploded near the city centre and wounded 15 people, Syria’s state news agency reported.

SANA said the blasts were caused by two improvised explosive devices which went off on Khalid Bin Walid street and the nearby Bab Mesalla Square. It said the bombs were planted by “terrorists,” a term the government uses to describe rebels fighting to topple the Syrian leader.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights however said the Bab Mesalla explosions were due to rockets that fell in the area.

It said initial information indicated that there were casualties, but the number could

•Italian journalist missing not be obtained immediately.

There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy in the reports.

The Observatory said police sealed off Bab Mesalla, which has restaurants, shops and a main public transportation station linking Damascus with the southern provinces of Daraa and Sweida.

In the other incident, the Observatory said a bomb exploded near police headquarters on Khalid Bin Walid Street. It said several people, including children, were wounded in the blast.

Assad’s visit to the power station came just a day after a powerful bomb hit the capital.

A broadcast on Syria’s state television showed Assad speaking to staff on the occa-

sion of International Workers Day, or May Day, at the Umayyad Electrical Station in the Tishrin Park district. Similar still images also appeared on a page used by the Syrian presidency on the popular social network Facebook.

At least 14 people were killed in Tuesday’s blast, the second in the heart of the capital in two days. Rebels seeking to topple Assad have been trying to create a supply line from Jordan, so that arms bought by Saudi Arabia and Qatar can be shipped in for assaults on the city they hope to capture.

The television showed Assad, confident and wearing a dark business suit, talking with workers and shaking their hands. Later he is shown surrounded by the staff in a

garden.

Meanwhile, Italian daily La Stampa says its correspondent in Syria has been missing for about 20 days.

The Turin newspaper’s website on Tuesday said 62year-old Domenico Quirico, an experienced war reporter, entered Syria on April 6 from Lebanon. La Stampa said it has been working with the Italian Foreign Ministry in an effort to find him, but so far with no results.

Quirico planned to report on the Homs area. His last contact was a text message sent on April 9 to an Italian colleague from state TV, saying he was on the road to Homs.

Earlier this month, four Italian journalists were released after being detained in rebel-controlled northern Syria for about 10 days.

FRENCH Islamic con vert who threatened his home country has been captured in northern Mali, allegedly after fighting on the militants’ side.

French troops captured Gilles Le Guen, who now goes by the name Abdel Jelil, on Sunday night north of Timbuktu, the army said.

Mr Le Guen, 58, is believed to have been living in Timbuktu.

France’s Defence Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said he appeared to have fought alongside Islamist militants.

Some reports suggest he joined the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) group, which the French army is fighting in the area, but the same group held him prisoner for a few days in November.

A month earlier, he had appeared in an Islamist video, his face uncovered and a gun by his side, to warn France, the US and the UN against intervening in Mali.

Shortly before France deployed troops to fight Islamists in the west African state in January, he told French news magazine L’Express by phone: “I am following the road traced

by Osama bin Laden.”

Since the intervention began, six French soldiers have been killed.

Mr Le Drian told Europe 1 radio Mr Le Guen had “evidently already fought in jihadist groups”. He was captured by French troops on patrol, he said.

The detainee would, he said, be handed over to the Malian authorities and “probably expelled to France”.

No charges had been drawn up but an investigation was under way, Mr Le Drian added.

Describing the detainee as a “loser who became a terrorist”, the defence minister said the number of French citizens joining the ranks of the Islamists in the Sahel region could be counted “on the fingers of one hand”.

Mr Le Guen, a former merchant seaman, is originally from the city of Nantes in western France.

He converted to Islam in 1985 and lived in Mauritania and Morocco before settling in Mali with his Moroccan wife and his family in 2011.

Correspondents say the case of Mr Le Guen is unusual in that he made no attempt to disguise his identity in Mali.

THE NATION THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

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SPORT EXTRA

Bayern humiliates Barca to reach UCL final B AYERN Munich cruised into a first allGerman Champions League final when they routed Barcelona 3-0 at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night to secure a crushing 7-0 aggregate success.

The newly-crowned Bundesliga champions had effectively killed off the tie with last week's 4-0 victory in Germany and there was no

way back for the Spaniards when Arjen Robben blasted the ball past Victor Valdes in the 49th minute.

Barca's humiliation was completed late in the game when Gerard Pique skewed the ball into his own net and Thomas Mueller, who scored twice in last week's first leg, nodded Bayern's third.

Barca, like Bayern chasing a fifth European crown, were

deprived of the talents of Lionel Messi, who is coming back from a hamstring injury and was left on the bench, and without the talismanic World Player of the Year they barely threatened.

The Bavarians will play Borussia Dortmund in the final at London's Wembley stadium on May 25 after Dortmund squeaked past Real Madrid 43 on aggregate on Tuesday.

•Bayern players celebrate their progress to the Wembley final

SPORTS FEDERATION

Ogba, Igali, others clinch Southsouth tickets

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HE Southsouth zonal elections into the board of the National Sports Federation was held on Tuesday at the National Sports Commission (NSC) board room, Benin City, with Chief Solomon Ogba, and others emerging as representatives of the zone. At the end of the election, the incumbent President of Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Chief Solomon Ogba from Delta State was reelected as the Southsouth zonal representative for the forthcoming National Sports Federation Board election, billed for this month in Abuja.

Similarly, the 2nd vice president, Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF), Hon Tonye

From, Osemwengie Ben Ogbemudia, Benin Harry, former speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly was elected unopposed for the Abuja battle, while Lawrence Iquabom from Akwa Ibom is being given another chance to serve in the weightlifting federation board, having being re-elected to represent the zone on the board.

In the same vein, Hon Baraladei Daniel Igali from Bayelsa was elected unopposed for wrestling federation board, while Dr Festus Okubor (Delta) for badminton; Engr Musa Ahamadu Kida (Rivers) for basketball; Daniel Ukpong Udoh (Akwa-Ibom) for boxing, Ohikhena Roland IIdonuam (Edo) for gymnastics:

Chukwuma Amazor (Delta) for Deaf sports and Henry Erikowa (Delta) for darts.

Others are Hon Gabriel Okpueno (Delta) for chess; Sokaribo Dakoru (Rivers) for cricket; Miebi Biakpara (Delta) for karate; Hon Akpe Peter Pereotubo (Bayelsa) for taekwondo; Oghuma Eghiema (Edo) for volleyball; Prince Timothy Nsirim (Rivers) for judo; Edem Selong (Akwa Ibom) for squash; Rt Hon Orok Otu Duke (Cross River) for table tennis; Barr Kwashi Thompson (Rivers) for handball; Mandah Chijoke Oke (Rivers) for traditional sports; Mrs. Mannaseh Iwo Brown (Rivers) for para-soccer and Jimoh Ewulo (Edo) for fives.

Be professional in selection of players, Balogun tells Keshi

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AYO Balogun, a renowned sports analyst, on Tuesday urged Super Eagles’ coach, Stephen Keshi to be very professional in his selection of players in the buildup for the Confederation Cup, slated for Brazil in June.

Balogun told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on telephone that the country should be represented by the very best of players in the prestige tournament.

The FIFA Confederation Cup is an association football for national teams, currently staged every four years by FIFA, in which eight teams are featured in the prestige tournament. It is contested by the holders of each of the six FIFA confederation

championships (UEFA, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, CAF, AFC, OFC,), along with the FIFA World Cup holder. Spain is currently the World and European champions.

The football fiesta which usually precedes a World Cup year, is also being used by FIFA to test run facilities that would be used for the World Cup in Brazil in 2014. ``We should have the best set of players to represent us at the tournament, and leave out sentiments in the selection process. Keshi should go with the best both home and abroad and shouldn’t leave any stone unturned.

Balogun also urged the team to take all of its matches

seriously, and should not underrate any of the teams at the tournament. ``The only way we can make qualification for the 2014 World Cup a reality is for the players to play well and not underrate their opponents,’’ he said.

Balogun added that the team has all it takes to qualify for the World Cup, but would have to work hard to win their matches and also play as a team. ``The players should not go to the competition with the mind set of achieving individual credits; they should aim at making the country proud. The players have all it takes to win all their qualifying matches, but they should ensure that they play as a team,’’ he added.

TODAY IN THE NATION

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2013

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

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OLITICS is in the air.

Despite its resolve to address some topical issues – the Baga bloodshed, kidnapping of prominent citizens (for cash) and ordinary people (for rituals), armed robbery, unemployment and corruption as well as other ills that ail the nation – Editorial Notebook succumbs today to the pressure of politics. Why? There is a flood of inquiries on how to run and win the 2015 race. In particular, a fellow, who claims to be a close pal of a man who is an uncle to an aide of the Oga at the very top (pardon the colloquialism), has asked me to design a strategy that will guarantee the big man his party’s ticket and victory at the subsequent election. This, says the fellow, who pleaded that his identity should be shielded because of what he called the security implication of the matter, will end the incumbent’s hem and haw, giving him the confidence to proclaim his political future. Here is the handbook for electoral victory, which was compiled after a 12-month rigorous research. It is guaranteed to work.

The first point is for you to admit that an election is a war. Tell your party chairman to mount a road show, highlighting this and rallying supporters. People will accuse you of beating the drums of war. Never mind. Isn’t that the reality? What else do you call a contest of daggers, axes, cutlasses, bullets and bombs?

Remember, it is not enough to defeat the opponent; he must be crushed. Your statesmanship and magnanimity end when you have allowed others to run. That is democracy.

Running, for you, is winning. Others can simply run.

Many will grumble and accuse you of using state machinery to rig the election. They will threaten to go to court. Do not panic. It is normal here. It is their right, especially in these rule of law days. Ever seen an incumbent of your stature being asked to quit? Never.

Keep shouting that you are yet to take a stand on your political future amid speculations that you are getting set to run. There will be posters of yours, smiling excitedly and waving like royalty, in some major cities; tell the world that you know nothing about them. They may not believe you, but that doesn’t matter. How many of our leaders do we believe? Warn that those behind the posters should stop their shenanigans and that you will brood no distraction because the execution of the present mandate is your priority.

A few busybodies will even go to court to demand a pronouncement on your eligibility.

Relax. These are party people goaded on by your genuine admirers who are trying to ensure that no legal obstacle is allowed on your path. Besides, should you care about such distractions?

There will be so much noise in town about corruption. Many will shout that the menace has an official stamp and that the anti-graft agencies have fallen off. That is their opinion.

Yours is clear: corruption is being fought as never before. In fact, you will say, when there are such protests, it is corruption that is fighting back.

They, the uninformed critics that is, will cite

RIPPLES NIGERIAN ECONOMY NOT GROWINGExpert

It can’t grow...TOO MANY HUMAN RATS

‘What the police have done shows that they are not serious about unmasking the killers. They are just paying lip-service to the matter so that the world will see them as working.’

VOL. 8, NO. 2,473

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

GBENGA OMOTOSO

EDITORIAL NOTEBOOK

gbenga.omotoso@thenationonlineng.net

•Winner, DAME Award for Informed Commentary

A battle plan for 2015

• A mace some unproven cases, such as the one that fetched a civil servant a bench warrant the police chief had perfected a grand strategy to execute before a court of competent jurisdiction stepped in to stop the show. That official, who got away with a slap on the wrist after admitting to stealing billions of naira in pension cash, will also be cited. Fair enough.

But the pertinent question is: Are you the judiciary? When will people learn to place their complaints in the right box? Why didn’t those crying now stop the thieves? Do not be distracted. Keep your eyes and mind on the goal.

Look around for people who can drive your ambition. Unleash a flood of contracts. Roads.

Canal dredging. Pipeline protection for exmilitants and loquacious ethnic militia chiefs.

Some elderly critics, without any research whatsoever, will deride your action as mere chop chop. The euphemism is clear but it is not your business to reply to such distractions. Your goal is as clear as day. Develop a pertinacious resistance to such irritants.

It is true that the electricity problem has assumed an emergency height, with artisans snoring away their days because they have nothing to power their machines. Factories spend a fortune on diesel to run their generators. Manufacturing is losing its attraction, unable to contribute to your genuine intention to create jobs for our teeming youths.

Your opponents will latch on to these to lash you. Reporters will badger you about such problems. Do not fret. After all, all these were there before you came into office. No president or governor or council chief or traditional ruler or family head can solve all the problems in one term or in one fell swoop.

Keep reminding the public – the listening public that is – that before the end of the year, there will be a surge in power generation to no less than 10,000 megawatts. The insincere ones will say: “All we’re saying is, give us light; we are tired of hearing about megawatts.” Ignorance. Anyway, you need to forge ahead. Such distractions are the hallmarks of a vibrant democracy, such as ours; the salt that enriches the system.

There may be some uprising in some states.

Boko Haram . Criminals posing as ex-militants.

Kidnappers. Oil thieves. And so on. Plead with them to stop. Urge them to pull off their masks and show up for dialogue because yours is an administration that listens. There will be so much criticism of your style. Employ a carrotand-stick approach, some will say. Others will counsel you to be decisive, send in the military and smash the insurgents.

Be careful. You have a lot at stake. Should you decide to send in soldiers, know that they will raze the place. Children and women will die. Homes will be on fire. Bloodshed. The world will cry genocide. Do not panic. Tell the military to go in there and investigate. You will discover that the casualty figure has been ballooned. Stay firm. Remember, all that matters is your goal.

HARDBALL

LAWAL OGIENAGBON

In some states, there may be some suspicion between you and the governors. Never mind.

Tell your strategists to set governors against one another. Encourage a new association of governors. Get a prominent politician – Abuja politician the opponents will derisively call him - to challenge such a stubborn governor. In no time – and thanks to our ever dutiful judiciary – a new party executive will rise. It is the new executive that will begin to dictate the pace of events, organise some lawmakers (no matter how few), import a mace and organise a sitting of the minority lawmakers to impeach the governor. Victory. At last.

You can also use the OBJ formula; seize the state’s allocation. If it is an oil-producing state, especially one that may have been involved in a dispute with another, losing some oil blocks may not be a bad idea.

As governors and politicians fly up and down, attending graduations and funerals and book presentations and weddings and chieftaincy ceremonies, they use such occasions to talk not just politics, but 2015. Direct the authorities to audit all private aircraft. Anyone without an updated paper should be grounded.

No grace period. If you, despite the pressure, have refused to talk 2015, why must anybody do so?

People will call you a dictator and label you an intolerant ruler. Those are the people who do not know you. Those who really know you are sure that you are no Nebuchadnezzar.

Neither are you a Pharaoh. In any case, such distractions are to be expected as 2015 nears.

What is important is that you keep your eyes on the ball.

As success beckons, the opposition will gang up –again, this is to be expected – and form a party to fight you at the polls. Send confusion into their midst, erect an obstacle for them at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and ensure that a group of people with no visible political colouration comes up to claim the same name as the opposition’s new party. The thinking, you should realise, is snatch the name and kill the party. To a party, an unpopular name is like Barcelona without Messi; it won’t help.

Amid the din, continue to shout that all you care about is service delivery. Keep your joker close to your chest as your opponents exhaust themselves. Remember, 2015 is a marathon.

All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including recording, photocopying or by any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner, Editorial Notebook. You have been warned.

•For comments, send SMS to 08111813080

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above

Rivers State PDP crisis and history’s lessons

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HILE this columnist was painting a picture of the political war ravaging the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State on Tuesday, 27 members of the state House of Assembly were on the same day obtaining a court injunction to restrain the Felix Obuah-led PDP state executive from acting on the suspension it slammed on the legislators loyal to the governor of the state.

Mr Obuah had with the help of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja supplanted Chief Godspower Ake as the state PDP chairman and got himself installed. Judging from some of his statements and immediate actions since his installation about two weeks ago, Obuah seems eager to do the bidding of President Goodluck Jonathan who has been at daggers drawn with Governor Rotimi Amaechi since 2010.

Nigerian leaders, it is clear, rarely learn from history. No state governor could cross the path of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo when he was president without the full weight of the law and state power being brought down upon the intrepid upstart. Some of the out-offavour governors dethroned in those giddy years were Joshua Dariye of Plateau State, Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo State, and Diepreye

Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa State. In the end, such ruthless use of state power did not profit Obasanjo, nor did it raise his status as a continental leader. If anything, it only underscored his pettiness and diminished him in the estimation of the world. Is Jonathan careful not to tread the same path? Is he allowing his anger to get the better of him?

The sacking of Ake as chairman of the Rivers PDP was done by an Abuja court.

Shortly after, however, the Amaechi faction got a Rivers State High Court of concurrent jurisdiction to reverse the decision. The stage for a crisis seems set.

But this will not be the first time the judiciary would be drawn into controversial judicial interventions. To the dismay of many Nigerians, under Obasanjo, such controversial interventions were many, most of them recklessly and directly instigated by the government of the day, or at least bearing his imprimatur.

Recall that in 2003, Justice Wilson EgboEgbo of the Federal High Court in Abuja also removed Dr Chris Ngige from office as Governor of Anambra through the instrumentality of an ex parte order. An

Anambra High Court shortly after reversed that decision and precipitated a crisis leading to the abduction of the governor and a constitutional crisis that engulfed the police and the judiciary. Are we going down that chute again?

Not only did such interventions lower the judiciary in the view of Nigerians, they also unsettled the polity and established a weak foundation for democracy. We still bear the scars of those reckless years.

Now, much worse, it is also evident that Rivers State is being destabilised in the same way Ogun under Gbenga Daniel, Plateau under Dariye, Oyo under Ladoja, and Ekiti under Ayo Fayose were weakened and subverted. It does appear that Nigerian leaders are not too restrained in the use of power, nor intelligent in appreciating its limitations and ramifications. Indeed, for lacking the restraint and intelligence in the use of power, the Western Region was destabilised in the 1960s, leading to the collapse of the First Republic. Surely, of all the weaknesses Nigerian leaders exhibit, learning the lessons of history should not be among their fatal flaws, for at no cost history offers copious lessons to the discerning.

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