The Nation May 05, 2013

Pro-Amaechi govs to back Kwankwaso as next NGF chair

Boko Haram: I’m fine, says abducted Monguno

–Page 5

2015: Kano gov denies presidential ambition

Family pleads for access to his drugs Northern govs demand his release –Page ?? minister’s safety Insurgents await ransom, assure on ex-minister’s –Page 4

Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

Vol.07, No. 2482

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

SUNDAY

MAY 5, 2013

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39 killed, 30 injured in Taraba religious clash Fayemi nominates Adelabu as Ekiti Deputy Governor

Unofficial sources say death toll may top 100 –Page 2 24-hour curfew imposed on Wukari Killings must stop, Acting Governor, Umar, vows

–Page 4

Kogi LG polls: Ex-Gov Audu’s brother, 3 others killed • Several houses razed –Page 6

POLICE KILL THREE IN FOILED IBADAN BUREAU DE CHANGE ROBBERY –Page 6

• Scenes of devastation from Friday’s violent clashes in Wukari, Taraba State

Photo: NAN

RIVERS PDP: AMAECHI, WIKE MOVE BATTLE TO STATE ASSEMBLY

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–Page 2

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NEWS THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

39 killed, 30 injured in Taraba religious clash

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UKARI, Taraba State, was a ghost town yesterday 24 hours after the eruption of a fierce sectarian violence in which the police confirmed 39 people dead.

Residents believe that as many as 130 lives may have been lost.

Thirty others were injured and about 70 houses and shops torched.

The Acting Governor, Alhaji Garba Umar, in a broadcast yesterday condemned the killings and destructions saying, “This is unacceptable. The killings must stop.”

A visibly saddened Umar, who imposed the 24-hour curfew in the area, described the killings as “very unfortunate.”

He noted that the government would do everything possible to protect lives and property, adding that perpetrators of the crisis must be punished.

The cost of the buildings, vehicles and other assets lost to the mayhem runs into billions of naira.

Security men have taken over the streets to restore order while the state government imposed a round-theclock curfew on the town, forcing all residents indoors.

Locked in the bloody battle were the Jukun and the Fulani.

Eye-witnesses said the mayhem began during the burial procession of a high ranking Jukun Chief.

The mourners alleged that the Fulani, who are mainly Muslims, barricaded the road to the burial ground. The Muslims said they only gathered for the Jumat prayers.

Coming so soon after a similar confrontation in Feb-

• Unofficial sources say death toll may top 100 • 24-hour curfew imposed on Wukari • Killings must stop, Acting Governor, Umar, vows From Fanen Ihyongo, Jalingo ruary in which 20 people died, an argument soon ensued between the two sides; temper rose until the situation got out of hand and pandemonium broke out.

Some fled the scene while others reached for daggers, axes, cudgels and even guns.

As news of the crisis spread, fighters mounted roadblocks along the WukariJalingo Road where they attacked ‘enemies’ plying the road..

Thousands of residents fled Wukari, some of them taking refuge in Zaki-Biam, Kyado and Jootar in neighbouring Benue State.

The police moved in to

quell the violence and clear the mess.

Government followed with a 24hour curfew.

At press time, the police said they had recovered 39 corpses which were deposited at the Yam Market on the Wukari-Jalingo Road.

Some of the bodies were headless. One of those beheaded was a pregnant

woman. Also gone were her legs.

The private parts of some other victims were also removed. It was a gory sight.

The police said they have arrested over 30 suspected rioters.

They are working to prevent a spill over to neighbouring towns .

“We are now patrolling Wukari town -to maintain law and order,” Police Spokesman, Joseph Kwaji, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), told The Nation.

Kwaji said the severely

Gbagbo’s wife in poor state of health, says lawyer

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ODRIGUE Dadje, lawyer to Simone Gbagbo, the wife of former

• Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (left), Gov. Rabiu Kwankwaso (middle) and Alh. Sule Y. Hamma, the Pro Chancellor of Northwest University during the matriculation.

Rivers PDP: Amaechi, Wike move battle to state assembly • Tension heightens as suspended legislators vow to attend session tomorrow

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OVERNOR Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, are putting their political strength to test tomorrow on the floor of the State House of Assembly.

The PDP-dominated Assembly is expected to resume from a recess forced by the crisis in the party.

The duo are currently locked in a fierce battle for the soul of the PDP in the state with 27 of the legislators, including the Speaker, Mr. Otelemaba Dan Amachree, on the side of the governor and five with Mr. Wike.

The pro-Amaechi group suspended the pro-Wike legislators only for the Obuahled State Executive Committee of the PDP to suspend the 27 lawmakers for alleged anti-party activities.

The pro-Wike legislators who are in the minority have vowed to defy their suspension by the House and attend tomorrow’s session.

Speaker Amachree claimed last week that the five legislators, with the backing of powerful forces in Abuja,

injured are receiving treatment at the General Hospital, Wukari.

An aid worker said:”We have recovered 20 bodies from the violence so far. We are still going round the town in search of more bodies,” he said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media about death tolls.

A woman, who also does not want to be named, said: “I slept in the bush to escape with these kids,” pointing to his three children-two boys and a girl.

The State’s Acting Governor, Alhaji Garba Umar is said to be shocked and saddened by the development.

Only 24 hours before the incident, he had inaugurated a seven-man Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate the previous crises in Wukari and Ibi local government areas.

From Bisi Olaniyi / Precious Dikewoha, Port Harcourt, are plotting to impeach the governor and destabilise the state.

He cited last Friday’s invasion of the secretariat of Obio/Akpor Local Government by policemen as the first stage in the alleged destabilisation plot.

The police had asked the Chairman of the council’s Care taker Committee, Mr. Dike Chikordi, and other members to leave. The order was ignored.

The leader of the Assembly, Mr. Chidi Lloyd, said in a radio programme yesterday in Port Harcourt that Amaechi and his group would not be intimidated by anyone.

According to him, the governor would not chicken out regardless of man-made problems.

He said: “The times are perilous. On April 30, Rivers Assembly raised the alarm on plot to destabilise Rivers State.

Friday’s sealing off of secretariat of Obio/Akpor LG is Act 2, Scene 3. Rivers Police Commissioner (Mr. Mbu Joseph

Mbu), ordered the invasion.

That is why we are calling for his removal, for taking sides.

“Huge contingent of ferocious-looking policemen invaded Obio/Akpor LG secretariat. Police do not work in isolation. There is institutional collaboration. The caretaker committee chairman is the Chief Security Officer of the LG, but he was not informed of plans by some persons to disrupt activities at the secretariat, which the police command said prompted the sealing off.

“Policemen invaded Obio/Akpor LG secretariat without legal instrument. Explanation by Rivers Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ben Ugwuegbulam (DSP), that they were doing proactive policing is laughable.

“PPRO said the police command got information that Obio/Akpor LG secretariat at Rumuodomaya, Port Harcourt was to be attacked and immediately deployed their men, to prevent the breakdown of law and order, without deeming it fit to bring such matters to the attention of the caretaker chairman,

who was asked to leave his office, but refused.”

On the suspension of Mr. Timothy Nsirim, the proWike Chairman of Obio/ Akpor LG by the Assembly, he said it followed a petition “by 17 prominent indigenes of Obio/Akpor LG” in which Nsirim was accused of misappropriation of funds and security breach. “The House’s committee submitted an interim report and recommended the suspension of Nsirim and others, with the council’s accounts frozen, pending the conclusion of investigation. The committee members were given two weeks to submit their report, which may be one of the reasons for reconvening on Monday.

“If found culpable, the suspended Obio/Akpor chairman and others will face further disciplinary action, but if the allegations are frivolous, they will be reinstated.

“The five lawmakers (antiAmaechi) who are complaining about the suspension of Nsirim and others should be ignored. When you are part of a legislative decision, you cannot query it. We have not acted outside our powers.

There is no faction in Rivers Assembly.”

Meanwhile, members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Port Harcourt Local Government Area (PHALGA) chapter, have pledged their support for Governor Amaechi and the Godspower Ake-led Exco of PDP in the state.

Representatives of the party in the 20 wards in PHALGA made this declaration yesterday during a meeting in Port Harcourt.

The PHALGA PDP chairman, NyeDike Okezi Boms, told members at the meeting not to be deterred by the current crisis in the party in the state, but to support Governor Amaechi : He dismissed as invalid the suspension of the two members of the state House of Assembly by the Obuah/Wike faction of the party.

Also speaking, the Mayor of PHALGA, Mr. Chim Biko Akarolo, said: “Those troubling the state want to underdevelop us, they want to take us to the dark days, we must be focused, resist them because we are going to win this battle.”

Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, said yesterday that his client’s health is deteriorating.

He told journalists in Abidjan that the former Ivorian first lady had become very weak and emaciated.

“We visited her on Wednesday, she is conscious but she is in a situation that gives us serious concern,’’ he said.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Simone is said to be currently receiving medical attention at an international clinic in Abidjan.

The former first lady, who has been in detention in the northern part of Cote d’Ivoire, was on Tuesday transferred to Abidjan on health grounds after many requests from her lawyers.

The arrest of the former president and Simone on June 11, 2011 ended the Ivorian post-electoral crisis which led to the loss of more than 3,000 lives.

She is accused of crime against humanity, including murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence committed between Dec. 16, 2010 and April 12, 2011.

But the UN Independent Expert on the Human Rights situation in Cote d’Ivoire, Mr Doudou Diene, said Simone was in good health condition.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Feb. 29, 2012 issued an arrest warrant on Simone Gbagbo for crimes against humanity.

The Ivorian government also said it had not responded to ICC’s call as it was still awaiting the recommendation of its justice ministry.

Column

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

Rambling through the rumpus A peep into King Jonathan’s Mines T HERE is no situation so utterly bleak and despondent that it doesn’t leave room for a ray of hope, and a window of opportunity. In other words, there is some hope in hopelessness. It could be the hope of the hopeless, or the optimism of the totally defeated.

This is usually the last defence of the defenceless. Allah de, they collectively sigh. Or as the Yoruba will put it, there is nothing that has a beginning that does not have an ending.

This too will pass, they chorus in unison. There is no condition so hard that it doesn’t in the end lend itself to certain ameliorative possibilities. Ko so oun tole ti ki ro, they caution. Radical philosophers believe that this corrupt optimism is a potent formula for a comprehensive paralysis of the revolutionary will.

It is a shabby complicity with an unjust and decadent status quo.

The meek have never, and will never, inherit the earth, they thunder. In his classic, Literature and Revolution, Leon Trotsky raves: “At any rate, we shall no longer accept tragedy in which God gives orders and man meekly submits.” How about that as a sizzling sampler from one of the greatest revolutionists ever?

The iconic Marxist intellectual warrior was as clear-eyed as he was clear in his mind about what needed to be done. But some nuggets of hope are there, all the same in the most appalling of circumstances.

Imagine how life would be in contemporary Nigeria without some measure of hope! This would amount to what Kafka—may the good Lord bless his tortured soul— called a life of unadulterated unhappiness.

It was such a life of undiluted and unmitigated joylessness that the great German-Jewish writer promised his future wife. The wise woman promptly broke off the engagement, and Franz Kafka lived and died a bachelor and a model celibate. Like Gregor Samsa, his hero and fictional alter ego, Kafka would make do with posters of buxom and voluptuous ladies in his bedroom.

And still talking about Franz Kafka, it will be recalled that he was a master of automatic writing in all its dream-like quality. It was a kind of writing that flows with the majestic assurance of a sleep walker. It is so certain about the uncertainty of life that it challenges you to think otherwise. It is called the naturalisation of the unnatural. Life itself is one grand dream. As Kafka himself famously puts it, actual reality is unrealistic.

Fellow Nigerians—to use the language of ancient coupists, (By the way when are we going to put those chaps on trial for treason?)— —, this column is reporting itself to you this morning. There is no intellectual weapon this column has not employed to untangle the Nigerian condition. We have tried logical writing. We have tried the formal and forbidding format of the scholarly treatise. We have employed the arcane lingo and terse rigour of the political scientist. We have philosophised. We have fictionalised. We have blended fantasy with fact, which is the hallmark of what is known as New Journalism in America. Even our houseboy has become an iconic Domestic Secretary.

There is no further point in confronting illogic with logic. Illogicality has its own strange and compelling logic. It is not amenable to sound reasoning. You cannot erase an ugly reality with beautiful writing. The negation of a negation can only proceed through negation.

This morning, this column employs

•Jonathan

the virtues of automatic writing. It is a chaotic survey of a chaotic mess.

It is a peep into King Jonathan’s mines from forty thousand feet above the sea level. It is quite a dizzying view.

Does anybody remember Sir Henry Rider Haggard? He was a writer of magical yarns predominantly set in ancient Africa. It was as colourful as it was enthralling in all its savage splendour. There was a hint of upper class snobbism and racism about these engaging fables.

But the portraits are haunting and unforgettable, and they are crafted with considerable sympathy for the noble savage. Snooper’s favourite is King Solomon’s Mines. Snooper’s favourite character was a fellow called Umslopogaas, a gigantic and heroic Zulu warrior who could fell

an elephant with a single blow.

It is strange and weird that at this particular point, Nigeria should come to resemble a King Solomon’s Mines where all kinds of chancers and prospectors collide in a bid for a piece of the action. There are unimaginable riches in the mines, but it is only for the strong and valiant. The weak and the poor have no chance. Diamonds are not for everybody. It is therefore entirely conceivable if the poor and the weak should go hungry in the midst of stupendous and unimaginable wealth.

This is precisely where King Jonathan’s mines become a land mine of sorts. The poor will not go hungry for long. They are already eyeing the rich with intent. Given the intensive rate of exploration

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nooping around With

Tatalo Alamu and dwindling global prospects, the mine itself cannot be lucrative for much longer. Having failed to make hay while the mines lasted, the Nigerian political elite must brace themselves to bear the brunt of the masses who will eventually fall upon them with relish and gusto.

Let’s face our condition squarely.

There is no point in quibbling or equivocating at this point. It is either a political elite is deserving or undeserving. Human history is littered with undeserving political elites of the past. They have been consigned to the trashcan of history where they rightly belong. When this fate eventually becomes the lot of the contemporary Nigerian elite, they must not bemoan their lot.

It is a bleak and deeply unoptimistic situation, but this is ironically where utter hopelessness begins to emit rays of hope. The Jonathan presidency is a historic watershed for Nigeria. It is inconceivable that the nation can fall deeper into the morass of incompetence and sheer cluelessness. The structural disfigurement of Nigeria and whoever is in control of human destiny have used Jonathan to complete the chastisement of the Nigerian ruling class.

It is either the pan-Nigerian critical mass arrives at this point in time or Nigeria will slip into ungovernable anarchy before terminal fracturing. But let us explain why there is some hope in hopelessness. At the last count, each component of Nigeria’s major ethnic nationalities have taken their turn at the colonial torture wrack that is Nigeria.

Twice, the Yoruba have been whipped into line, during the “we tie” uprising and the June 12, 1993 annulment imbroglio. The Igbo have had their own brutal comeuppance during the civil war and what they perceive to be subsequent political and economic marginalisation. The Niger Delta populace has been savaged by a cruel and uncaring military/feudal complex.

Hitherto, it used to be thought that the machinery of oppression

The winds from Wilmington

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ND while we are still on the subject of the post-colonial state in Nigeria and its serial delinquency, it is meet to report that Snooper spent last weekend in the sleepy and somnolent town of Wilmington in the suburban state of Delaware in America.

It was to listen in at a well-attended summit on the fate and future of Nigeria organised by the Oodua Foundation, a Yoruba Thinktank based in the US. The president of the foundation is Adeniran Adeboye, a distinguished professor of Mathematics at Howard University. Snooper’s kinsman is a famous blend of eccentricity and analytical brilliance, but that is a subject for another day.

To say that Nigeria is in ferment is an understatement. Nigeria is in a state of utter commotion and combustibility with each of its major ethnic components laying a siege on the state. In the north, there is a combination of economic, political and religious revolt against the state. From the east, the emergent Igbo mercantile class, the medium scale economic powerhouse of the

nation, are in revolt against the laggard indolence and feudal sloth of the post-colonial state. It does not matter to them if this anarchic mercantilist outrage leads to a full blown social cannibalism.

From the Niger Delta, it is obvious that the dominant political faction are bent on having it their own way even if Nigeria disintegrates in the process. From the Yoruba nation, it is obvious that its intellectual elite have laid a siege on the nation mercilessly and relentlessly exposing its murderous hollowness and utter inadequacies for the civilised world to behold.

Something will have to give eventually.

The stage for the Wilmington retreat was set by two powerful keynote speeches, one in absentia

by General Alani Akinrinade, the thoughtful and cerebral former Army chieftain, and the other by emeritus Professor Banji Akintoye, a notable historian and star university orator in his prime. His completely grey eminence dazzled the swooning audience with his usual repertoire of folklore and deep

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grasp of historical dynamics. It was a rare glimpse of the old magical circle that surrounded the fabled Obafemi Awolowo.

Thereafter, speaker after speaker rose in fury and venom to denounce the Nigerian post-colonial state and its historic iniquities.

It would seem that the Yoruba political and intellectual elite are particularly angry with the Nigerian state for hobbling the march of the Yoruba nation to full modernity. Its agents have murdered some of its best and brightest children. It has aborted the legitimate aspiration of the Yoruba race for self-actualisation. It may well be that Chief Awolowo overreached himself in trying bring modernity to a nation that was not ready.

The communiqué at the end of the two day confab reflects the growing concern and unease about the state of the nation and how to plot a way out of the cruel logjam and historic gridlock. Snooper has been speechless in Delaware and if the winds from Wilmington are to be believed, Nigeria is in very dire straits indeed.

and internal colonisation in modern Nigeria was solely and firmly in the hands of the Northern feudal oligarchy and their military enforcers. But that illusion of power is now firmly rested. It has taken two civilian administrations to dispel that arrogance of power.

First, Obasanjo humbled the Northern power masters by beating them at their own game of political manipulation and electoral chicanery. Now Jonathan has humiliated them by calling their military and religious bluff even while pretending to fumble. The lesson to be learnt from all this is that no ethnic elite has a monopoly of the game of sinister subjugation and domination of other groups. The modern Nigerian presidency is an imperial Roman tyranny and an equal opportunity terror machine which does not recognise original ownership.

So it is then that at this important political conjuncture, there are crucial lessons to be learnt. A wise political elite must learn how to cut its losses. At this point, there are two options before the Nigerian political class. They can continue with the old ethnic game. In which case, a fresh round of appearance before the torture machine is mandatory. In this particular case, it will start with the Ijaw political elite since they are the current ruling hegemony. Political ascendancy has its steep prices.

Jonathan and the Ijaw political elite are in a far more delicate political situation than they can imagine. It is either they allow Nigerians to determine their electoral destiny or they face a possible showdown from other ethnic groups. The Russian roulette and Round Robin of ethnic victimisation will commence all over again.

If Jonathan continues to alienate critical stakeholders in the Nigerian project, there is every possibility that his tenure will end in tragedy.

Either way, the Jonathan presidency is an important watershed for Nigeria. The fourth Republic began on a note of placating and mollifying the Yoruba. After that, Obasanjo decided to throw a poisoned sop at his feudal friends and tormentors. The Jonathan presidency is largely seen as an attempt to placate the angry Niger Delta populace. At this point in time, even a political fool ought to know that it is the angry Nigerian masses that will have to be placated at the next poll.

As this was being concluded, the weary eyes lighted on Michela Wrong’s appraisal of the recently concluded elections in Kenya in the current edition of The Spectator magazine. Her conclusions are as shattering as they are sobering and they bear quoting at length. {The deployment of modern electronic gadgets} “…cannot replace a society’s generalised buy into the democratic process. The reason political parties rig elections so enthusiastically in many African countries is because winner-takes-all systems of government and imperial presidencies make the rewards so enormous and punish failure so severely. Now fixing that is a lot harder.”

Never has a Ms Wrong been more right. Appropriately too, it was at this point that the plane began its final descent into King Jonathan’s mines.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

News

Boko Haram: I’m fine, says abducted Monguno

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LDER statesman and former Minister of Petroleum, Shettima Ali Monguno, remained in captivity yesterday, 24 hours after he was seized by four gunmen in Maiduguri, Borno State.

His abductors, believed to be members of the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, were said to be awaiting ransom from the family of the 92year-old elder statesman.

Although Shettima Monguno is reported to be ‘fine’ in captivity, his family pleaded last night that he should be allowed access to his drugs.

The kidnappers reportedly phoned the family yesterday with an assurance that “Baba is safe.”

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State flew into Abuja on Friday evening to brief President Goodluck Jonathan and Borno stakeholders in Abuja on the situation.

There were indications that the military Joint Task Force (JTF) and other intelligence agencies have located where Monguno is being held but most stakeholders, including the state government, prefer dialogue with the gunmen to military action.

A highly-placed source said: “They have not released the elder statesman; they said they are awaiting ransom. What has made the situation dicey borders on the fact that they have not named their price. Their silence has created anxiety for everybody. But they put a call to the family saying ‘Baba is safe.’

“Following an appeal from Governor Shettima, some eminent clerics and leaders with link to Boko Haram have been intervening to secure the release of Monguno.”

The abduction of Monguno has created worries for the state governor.

“The governor is concerned that given his age, Monguno eats less and takes some food supplement to make up for his body functioning.

“The governor appeals to his captors to consider the health conditions applicable to his age and release him to reunite with his family. Family members are said to have the same fears expressed by Governor Shettima.”

It is said that the old man takes different drugs seven times daily based on physician’s prescription.

A government source said that Monguno spoke with his family members by phone. He was said to be psychologically stable and appealed for calm and prayers. He was quoted as saying “Don’t get worried please. I am fine, just be reciting lahaula wa la quwata illa billah, (Allah is in control).

Nothing to worry about, I am fine.”

The remarks was said to have immediately brought some relief to his family, according to the source.

The Governor’s Special Adviser, Communications, Alhaji Isa Gusau said: “As concerted efforts are being made to ensure the safe release of Monguno from captivity, Governor Shettima yesterday expressed concern over the fact that the elder statesman may be without some drugs made

• Family pleads for access to his drugs • Northern govs demand his release • Insurgents await ransom, assure on ex-minister’s safety FROM: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation/ Jide Orintunsin,Minna of food supplements some of which have remained the elder statesman’s companion in the last twenty years or more.”

Asked if the government was sure of the safety of Monguno, another source added: “The abductors were said to have requested that they needed some ‘alms, to help their course but didn’t specify any amount.”

“While he was being forced into a car, his abductors were said to be apologising to him and insisting they merely needed money and they had to do what they did.”

The Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) yesterday demanded the immediate release of the elder statesman.

Describing the action as totally unacceptable, the Chairman of the forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu in a statement by his Chief Press

Secretary, Malam Danladi Ndayebo in Minna said that it was sad that an elder statesman who has served the nation selflessly became the target of kidnappers.

He said: “It is bad enough that several innocent citizens have been killed by unknown gunmen in the troubled Borno State in recent times. Adding the fear of kidnapping of elder statesmen who have served their father land selflessly to their burden is unbearable’’.

He called on security

agencies to act swiftly to trace and arrest those behind the abduction to serve as a deterrent to those who may want to now target elder statesmen, or any Nigerian for that matter.

It hailed the Borno State Government for the steps taken so far to rescue the 92year-old from his abductors, while assuring Nigerians that the forum was working closely with the federal government to tackle the challenges of insecurity decisively.

• (L-R) Ghana's hiplife artiste, Reggie Rockstone, veteran singer Onyeka Onwenu, rap musician M.I, all judges of X Factor, and show presenter, Toolz, at the unveiling of the judges in Lagos by Globacom which brought the show to Africa for the first time.

Fayemi nominates Adelabu as Ekiti Deputy Governor

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OVERNOR Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has nominated Prof Modupe Adelabu as his deputy. She is to replace Mrs Funmilayo Olayinka who died on April 6, 2013.

Prof Adelabu’s name was forwarded to the State House of Assembly for approval in a May 3, 2013 letter by the governor.

She is currently the Chairperson, Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

Adelabu, a Professor of Education at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile –Ife, was Head of the Department of Education Administration and Planning of the institution before her appointment as the State SUBEB chairperson in July 2011.

An Ado-Ekiti Princess, Prof Adelabu was born on May 23rd, 1950 in Ado Ekiti to Prince and Mrs. Samuel Adepoju Adejugbe.

She attended Christ’s School, Ado-Ekiti (1962 - 1967) and Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo (1968 -1970). She holds a B.A. (Ed) (1975); MPhil (1981); and PhD (1990), all from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile- Ife. Prof Adelabu started her teaching career as a Graduate Assistant in 1976 in the Department of Educational Administration and Planning , OAU,

where she rose to the post of Professor in 2008. She served as Head of the Department of Educational Administration several times and also served as External Examiner in some universities including the University of Ibadan; University of Lagos; University of Ilorin and Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti.

She has served as Council Member of National Teachers’ Institute (2001 - 2003), Council Member, Christ International Divinity College (an affiliate of Acadia University Canada) Erinmo (2005 - 2010); Member Planning and Implementation Committee Joseph Ayo Babalola University (2004 2005); Member of Council Joseph Ayo Babalola University (2005 - 2010). She was also a foundation member of Board, Ekiti State World Bank Assisted Poverty Reduction Agency (2000 - 2003); Member of Oxford Round Table, Oxford, England, among other bodies.

A seasoned scholar and administrator of international repute, Prof Adelabu’s major research area is on policy and personnel issues in education, including the roles of the state in education; teacher education as well poverty and gender-related issues in education, particularly in rural areas. She has published over 30 articles in both national and

international journals.

She has been involved in consultancy work for the World Bank, Universal Basic Education Commission in Nigeria, United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and other international agencies.

She has also served as resource person for UNDP, UNICEF and UNESCO on vari-

ous educational issues. She was also part of the 15-member Education Reform Panel that worked on Ekiti State government’s reforms in the education sector.

She is the recipient of the 2013 Kwame Nkrumah Leadership Award (African Administration Icon) organised by the All- African Student Union (ASSU).

NNPC, PPMC reject plan to set up pipeline protection agency

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HE Managements of NNPC and Pipeline and Products Marketing Company in Abuja have dissociated themselves from the purported plan to set up a pipeline protection agency.

The Acting Group General Manager, Public Affairs, NNPC, Ms Tumini Green, said in a statement that the corporation was not aware of any plan by the Federal Government to set up an agency or commission to protect the pipelines.

“This clarification has become necessary against the backdrop of reports carried by a section of the media claiming that the corporation has confirmed that there are plans to set up a pipeline protection agency.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state emphatically that no member of the corporation’s top management has attended any meeting where the idea to set up a Pipelines Protection Commission or any agency by whatsoever name to protect the nation’s pipelines was mooted.

“Any report claiming that the corporation is aware of such proposal or in support of it is a figment of the imagination of the reporter,” the statement said.

It said the corporation had been exploring the options of collaborating with the security agencies and communities to curtail the menace of pipeline sabotage.

It said that significant achievements had been recorded in this regard with the successful rehabilitation of Aba–Port Harcourt, Warri– Benin and the Atlas Cove– Mosimi Pipelines.

It further said that the collaboration of the security agencies, especially the Nigerian Army Engineers Corps and the Joint Task Force had been of great help in tackling pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta region.

“We sincerely believe that these efforts and the engagements we have with the communities will help check and eventually end pipeline vandalism.

“We neither believe in nor support the establishment of any agency for the specific purpose of protecting pipelines,” the statement said.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

30 exmilitants for engineering course in France From: Dele Anofi, Abuja

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HE Presidential A m n e s t y Programme (PAP) has entered into a partnership with Schlumberger Limited for the purpose of training some ex-militants in oil drilling engineering.

Thirty ex-militants have been shortlisted for the programme at the Schlumberger Technologies, Melun in France.

The training will last 42 weeks.

The first batch of the engineers-to-be was deployed on Friday.

At the pre-deployment orientation for the delegates in Abuja, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, charged the delegates to be good ambassadors of Nigeria in France.

Kuku, who was represented by the Deputy Director (Procurement), Mr Jaiyeola Tikolo, said the Amnesty Office considers the training very important because of the pedigree and global status of the company.

He said: “There is always a great reward for hard work. So you must be good ambassadors of your country.”

The Chief Security Officer to the programme, Lt. Col. Ade Adekoya, read out the code of conduct to the delegates and advised them to abide by the laws of the host country.

“All forms of violence or disorderly conduct before, during or after your training are strictly prohibited. Anyone who engages in activities that affect the training of other delegates will be expelled from the programmes,” he said.

According to a representative of Lagoon Global Services, an engaged vendor of the amnesty office, Bekewei Ajuwa, the delegates were selected

by Schlumberger staff, who came to Nigeria to conduct a very rigorous selection test.

Schlumberger is the world’s largest oilfield services company, with approximately 120,000 employees representing more than 140 nationalities and working in more than 85 countries.

It has principal offices in Houston in the USA, Paris in France, and the Hague in The Netherlands.

News

Pro-Amaechi governors to back Kwankwanso as NGF chair •Kano gov denies presidential race claim

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HE odds now seem to favour Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwanso of Kano State to emerge as the next chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) later this month.

The incumbent, Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who is facing massive opposition from his party (PDP), and the Presidency to return for a second term, is said to be disposed to stepping down for Kwankwaso.

This move, it was gathered, is to put up a formidable fight against Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State who is being backed by the Presidency.

In the last couple of weeks, the anti-Amaechi forces led by the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum (PDPGF), Chief Godswill Akpabio, and the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BOT), Chief Anthony Anenih, have been rallying the

By Remi Adelowo /Kolade Adeyemi,Kano

support of other governors to back Shema.

The pro-Amaechi governors, it was learnt, are also working underground to frustrate Shema’s emergence. According to our source, “The pro-Amaechi forces are aware that his opponents have perfected a plot to stage a walkout if it becomes clear that Amaechi would carry the day at the next election. To prevent the polarisation of the forum, Kwankwaso will be put forward by the group.”

A Government House Port Harcourt source told The Nation that Amaechi is not desperate for a second term as Chairman of the NGF. “The Governor (Amaechi), contrary to his opponents’ claim, is not desperate to remain as NGF chair. However, he believes strongly that the independence of the NGF must be pre-

served,” the source said.

The Rivers State Governor recently visited Kano ostensibly to commission some projects executed by his host.

The Nation, however, gathered that before Amaechi flew back to his base, he held a closeddoor session with his host in what our source said was meant to perfect the plan to install the Kano State helmsman as the new NGF chair.

A source privy to the plan said: “As things stand today, if the NGF election is held now, the pro-Amaechi forces would carry the day.”

Kwankwaso’s candidacy, findings revealed, is being backed because he is seen as an independent-minded governor who cannot be pushed around.

“He is also not a huge fan of the President,” said a source.

The Governor has already dismissed media reports linking him to the 2015 Presidential

race.

He denied having said in Maiduguri during his recent visit to the state that he will declare his 2015 presidential ambition at the appropriate time.

The Director of Press in the Governor’s Office, Alhaji Halilu Dantiye, said his principal was misquoted.

“The statement was a misrepresentation of facts as the Governor did not in any way express his intention to contest the 2015 Presidential race,” Dantiye said.

He added that the Governor “is currently occupied with how to ensure peace, stability and unity among Nigerians, as well as justifying the mandate given to him by the people of Kano State.

Governor Kwankwaso is currently serving his second and final mandate as Governor and has not declared his interest to vie for the Presidency or any other elective position for that matter.”

•R-L: Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and SURE-P GIS Project Director, Mr. Peter Papka, during an interactive Session and unveiling of the Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS) Logo held at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja.

Six-year single tenure: Fear grips Jonathan’s men

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RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan’s political family is uncomfortable with the recommendation by the Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution for a six-year single term for President and Governors.

The President’s camp sees the recommendation as a huge threat to his yet- to- be -announced plan to seek a second term in office.

His handlers believe it is part of the grand plot to stop him from continuing in office beyond 2015 since he and second term governors will not be eligible to benefit from the planned single tenure.

It was learnt that members of the committee, who held a three-day working retreat which ended in Lagos last Sunday, arrived at the decision after a rancorous deliberation.

With the proposed amendment, Jonathan, the Vice-President, 16 Governors and Deputy Governors will end their ten-

By Dare Odufowokan, Assistant Editor

ure by 2015.

Sources close to Jonathan’s camp said though the President has once proposed a seven-year single term for President and Governors, he was taken aback by the decision of the lawmakers to adopt an arrangement that precludes him from seeking reelection or enjoying an elongated tenure.

The source said:”The President’s men see this as an attempt to stop him from seeking re-election. They feel there is no way we will amend the law and stop certain people from benefitting from it.

“Some Senators from the Niger Delta, who see it as another ploy by the North to stop Jonathan in 2015 are ready to work against the proposal. Not only that the President’s men are also working round the clock to counter this latest move to checkmate him.”

The Nation learnt that the

thinking in Aso Rock Villa is that the alleged plot to stop Jonathan is being spearheaded by some hawks in the PDP who are opposed to the President’s second term bid.

A Senator from the Southsouth said:”The proposed amendment is part of a grandplan being championed by some young but influential elements within the PDP with the sole purpose of stopping the President from seeking re-election.

“These people include notable party leaders across the states, lawmakers, governors, former and current public office holders and even financiers of the party across the country.

“The plot has been on for a while. Don’t forget some people went to court to ask for a pronouncement barring the President from seeking re-election in 2015. There are also those working within the party to get the Presidency zoned specifically to a particular section of the country. This is their latest move.”

It was also gathered that a committee headed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Research and Documentation, Oronto Douglass, has been saddled with finding the best way of handling the matter.

Besides, the leadership of the party has been instructed to whip into line dissenting members.

It was also learnt that following the sack of loyalists of former President Olusegun Obasanjo from the PDP National Working Committee they have perfected a plan to hit back at the brains behind their ordeal.

The Obasanjo loyalists across the country are said to be waiting patiently to respond to their humiliation.

This, sources say, has become a source of serious concern to Jonathan and his aides ahead of the 2015 general election especially with the emergence of the All Peoples Congress (APC) as a veritable opposition to the ruling PDP.

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Blockade: NIMASA adamant, NLNG cries out over economic loss ...NLNG asks NIMASA to leave court to decide dispute FROM: Yusuf Alli Managing Editor, Northern Operation

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HE face-off over the blockade of Bonny Channel continued yesterday as the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) stopped a ship, NLNG Lagos, laden with gas from sailing from the loading bay.

Also another ship, NLNG Adamawa ,was unable to come into the buoy.

But the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) yesterday, in a statement, asked NIMASA to leave the court to decide the dispute on duties between the two agencies.

It was learnt that NLNG officials are also mounting pressure on government officials to intervene to prevent economic loss to the nation.

A top official of NIMASA, who spoke in confidence, said: “Our agency is resolute in recovering outstanding statutory levies from the NLNG. “We will not bend the rules for any agency. We also have another ship, NLNG Adamawa, which is unable to come into the buoy since the blockade started.

“We learnt that the NLNG has been mounting serious pressure on senior officials of government to force NIMASA to lift the blockade but this is about asking the company to meet its responsibilities.”

But, NLNG in a statement through its General Manager, External Relations, Kudo Eresia-Eke, asked NIMASA to leave the court to decide the dispute on levies between the two government bodies.

The statement said: “A vessel said to be from NIMASA blocked the Bonny Channel stopping NLNG vessels from either going in or out.

We understand that NIMASA has resorted to this as self-help to extract levies from the company. NLNG had continuously informed NIMASA that it is exempted by the NLNG ACT, an act of parliament, which has provided waivers from such prescribed levies. Any such payments contrary to the NLNG ACT would therefore be illegal.

“NIMASA had earlier gone to court to resolve this issue, but later withdrew the case. We believe that under the rule of law the courts are the appropriate interpreters of the law where there is an issue in contention. We believe that NIMASA as part of the Federal government of Nigeria is also a respecter of the rule of law.”

The statement added that besides the economic loss to the nation as a result of imminent production shutdown that this action might cause, there is the greater potential reputation damage to the country.

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Celebrated columnist, Pini Jason, passes on

By Yetunde Oladeinde

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

News

INI Jason, a seasoned journalist and columnist with the Vanguard Newspaper, is dead.

Sources said he died yesterday afternoon in a Lagos hospital after undergoing a surgical procedure a few days ago.

Even though the exact cause of his death has not been ascertained as at press time, Jason underwent a prostate cancer surgery about two years ago.

From the late 70s, Jason, who cut his teeth in journalism on a freelance basis for the tabloid weekly, Lagos Weekend, started to be noticed as a promising writer with a keen sense of observation and a witty turn of phrase, not to talk of a penchant for irony and satire.

He moved to work as a senior editor at the now defunct African Guardian newspapers.

His craft blossomed at this point and from then on, there was no stopping Jason who later became the Associate Editor and later Managing Editor of ThisWeek weekly magazine before becoming the Editor-inChief of the Insider Confidential newsletter.

Jason took a leave of absence in 2007 to work as a senior aide to former Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State.

He was designated a Special Assistant on Special Duties. He returned to writing his column at the Vanguard following Ohakim's failure to secure a second term as Governor in 2011.

The Special Adviser, Media to President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr Reuben Abati, in his tribute described Jason as a decent man with a positive attitude to life.

According to him: “He wrote columns that were set apart by their clarity, thoughtfulness, sound knowledge and commitment to public good.

“We have lost another true defender of the people’s interests.

“He will be sorely missed by the Nigerian media family and particularly his numerous readers.”

Paying tribute to the Media guru, Gbenga Adefaye, General Manager, Publications/Editor-inChief of Vanguard, said: "Chief Pini Jason Onyegbadue was that indelible part of the Vanguard character who worked for a better Nigeria with every talent in him before his death.

"He will be sorely missed even as Vanguard may find it difficult to replace him. Rest in peace Chief and may your dream for Nigeria come through."

He is survived by a wife and several children.

Police kill two, arrest three in foiled bureau de change robbery

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T was a black day for armed robbers in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, yesterday as the police foiled attempts to rob a bureau de change shop, killing three and arresting three other armed robbery suspects.

The suspects, who rode on motorcycles to the bureau de change in Sabo area of the city around 5:30 pm, swooped on the shop and ordered the customers and operators to surrender all currencies

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

in their possession.

A member of the gang, who manned the entrance of the shop, was said to have fired a shot into the air to scare off neighbours and passers-by, forcing them to scamper for safety.

But the gunshot confirmed to residents an armed robbery was taking place, forcing them to contact the police.

The command swiftly

mobilised members of a special task force code named Skynet from the nearby Mokola Police Division, who cordoned off the shop.

On sighting the police, the armed bandits were said to have made attempts to escape by engaging them in a gun duel.

Two of the fivemember gang were killed in the crossfire while three others were arrested.

The gun duel caused pandemonium in the Sabo/Mokola area as residents, passers-by and motorists scampered for safety.

While shop owners and customers ran for cover, motorists abandoned their vehicles.

The development also caused a terrible traffic snarl in the area The bandits' eventual defeat triggered jubilation among residents in the

area and restored normalcy.

Residents, traders and motorists hailed the police for a job well done.

The corpses and three suspects were taken to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) headquarters in Iyaganku.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Mrs. Olabisi Ilobanafor, confirmed the incident.

Ilobanafor, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) said: "I want to use this medium to express gratitude to residents of Mokola.

"They joined hands with the police to bring these robbers to their kneel. They gave the police necessary backing. We implore other residents to emulate them. Security is everybody's business."

She warned criminals to stay away from the state, saying the command was battle-ready for them.

FG owes Lake Chad Basin N600 million From: Frank Ikpefan, Abuja •L-R: Nigeria's Ambassador to Czech Republic, Mrs Kate Okon; Minister of State for Education, Barr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike; Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Dr MacJohn Nwaobiala and Acting Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Prof. Charles Onocha after the facility tour of Vitkovice Secondary School, Czech Republic leading vocational training institution in Ostrava, Czech Republic... at the weekend.

Mixed reactions trail UTME results

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ORE reactions have followed result of the Uni-

versal Tertiary Matriculation Examinations released by the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) last Friday.

Some parents and candidates in Bwari, Abuja, yesterday complained of some challenges in accessing the JAMB portal to check results.

A worker with Federal Government Girls’ College in Bwari, Mrs. Grace Okoronkwo, said her son had not been able to access the results since they were released on Friday.

While others have been able to check their results, many students complained that their results were being withheld for various reasons displayed on the portal.

A candidate, David Okoronkwo, said he had been making efforts at accessing the portal for a long time but expressed optimism that with time he would access his results.

Mr. Chris Abah, a teacher, however advised that JAMB could take more time to scrutinise the results before releasing them to ensure that results were not withheld in error. “ I don’t know why the board should rush in releasing the results; ordinarily, one would have expected that the board would take time to address

some challenges of some candidates before the results are released,’’ he said.

NAN recalls that more than 1.7 million candidates wrote the UTME on April

27, compared with more than 1. 4 million candidates who wrote the examination in 2012.

The examination board had announced that 10

candidates scored more than 300 marks in the examination as against three candidates who performed at the same level in 2012.

Kogi LG poll: Ex-Gov Audu’s brother, 3 others killed

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IOLENCE, killing and boycott by opposition parties marred yesterday’s council poll in Kogi State.

No fewer than three persons were reportedly killed in various councils in the state.

Houses were also burnt, as protesters took to the streets over the exercise.

Our correspondent, who went round some polling units, report accreditation of voters commenced at schedule except in some areas where there was delay due to late turnout.

It was, however, gathered elections in Dekina, Bassa and Olamaboro Councils were inconclusive, following outbreak of violence.

Two unidentified people were killed in Odu I ward in Dekina Council, the home town of Governor Idris Wada.

Several houses, including that of the PDP local government party Chairman, were razed by protesters.

At Ankpa Local Government Area, a councillorship candidate of the PDP from Ojoku district, Mr. Tony Ameh, was also reportedly brutally murdered.

In Bassa Local Government Area, election materi-

From: Muhammad Bashir, Lokoja

als were destroyed.

There was tension in several councils of the state over the poll.

However, PDP candidates in Lokoja and some other local government areas were said to be leading, following the boycott action of the opposition parties.

Former Governor of the state, Prince Abubakar Audu, described the poll as an embarrassment to democracy.

He said: “How can you say election was credible where there were absolute absence

of the electorate? How can you as a government deceive the people of what you are not?”

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) leader said the killing of his younger brother by an unknown mobile policeman has taken democracy into a dangerous dimension.

Audu, however, commended people for boycotting the election as it has never been in the interest of the state and the people.

Also speaking, former House of Representatives member, Hon. Dino Melaiye, said the election thrived on voodoo rigging.

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IGERIA owes the Lake Chad Basin Commission close to N600million, the Executive Secretary of the commission, Engineer Sanusi Imran Abdullahi, has disclosed.

Sanusi disclosed this while fielding questions from reporters in Abuja during the 58th ordinary session of the National Experts meeting, which will lead to the recommendations of the Council of Ministers meeting.

He said: “Nigeria contributes 40% of the financial strength of the commission but is yet to meet her obligations for this quarter of the year.

“Nigeria owes the commission about N600million or there about.

Our financial position is not very good but we will see if we can do some projects.”

Sanusi added: “If Nigeria decides to give us a contribution before the end of the council, we should be able to finance the LCBC. Nigeria has not been owing for the past years.

“So if Nigeria who is contributing 40 per cent now of finance to the commission gives us a contribution that should be a relief to the commission.”

Chinese bags 12-month jail term

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FEDERAL High Court sitting in Lagos has sentenced a Chinese woman, Liang Zuli to a 12- month jail term for attempting to smuggle ivory.

She was charged to court on a two- count charge of attempting to export ivory and being in possession of ivory.

The prosecuting lawyers for the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency

From: Olugbenga Adanikin and Jane Maha, Abuja

(NESREA), Alabo Wakoma Esq. alongside Nemi Alali Esq. and Barrister (Mrs.) Blessing Ezeife, stated that the accused had committed offence against NESRA regulation of 2011, which focus on the protection of endangered species in international trade.

Counsels to the accused, Barrister Okwusogu SAN with Okechukwu Muomalu,

Esq. informed the court that the accused wished to change her plea.

Upon the Judge granting her request, the accused changed her pleas from "not guilty" to "guilty".

Liang Zuli was arrested

by Officers of the Nigerian Custom Service (NCS) in March at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) while attempting to smuggle polished ivory out of the country.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

News

Oyo Assembly appraises council bosses

‘Opposition must redouble efforts to redeem Nigeria’ From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti

From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

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social critic, Wale Adebamwi, has challenged opposition figures in the country to be more unsparing to redeem the country from what he described as “a convoluted web of structural problems.”

Adebamwi, who teaches at the University of California, United States, said the problems of structure had lasted for too long in Nigeria as “the ruling and core conservative elites spread everywhere in the country.”

Speaking at a recent function in Ado-Ekiti, capital of the state, the scholar noted that the opposition, including political party formations, civil society groups, student bodies and others must forge a united front to dislodge “the ruling band which is clearly opposed to progress and development.”

According to him, the problem of Boko Haram and many others “arose from the country’s fundamentally defective structure.”

He explained: “All these matters including Boko Haram and the latest spree of corruption are just mere manifestations of a fundamental problem which are simply structural problems.

“The many problems we face in terms of security, energy, social security, infrastructure, employment, education, health and all others arose because Nigeria has failed to confront the fundamental challenge of defective structure.”

He advocated national dialogue to address the quagmire.

Oyo ALGON chair urges workers to support Ajimobi From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

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HE Chairman, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Oyo State, Mr. Yekeen Popoola, has called on workers in the 33 local government areas of the state to cooperate with the Governor Abiola Ajimobi administration in his transformation agenda.

Popoola, while felicitating with workers in a statement yesterday, said that Ajimobi has demonstrated that workers are the engine room of his administration’s transformation agenda by empowering them with more trainings and improved welfare package.

According to him, the government needs the cooperation, commitment and dedication from workers to succeed in changing the face of the grassroots and the entire state.

Popoola emphasised that development at the grassroots has been massive under the current administration as several feeder roads have been rehabilitated, while neighbourhood markets are being built and public toilets constructed across local communities.

He also pointed out that massive health and economic empowerment programmes are ongoing, adding that they are all geared towards making life more meaningful for the populace.

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•Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Oscar Onyema; President, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and acting secretary, Josephine Igbinosun, at the 52nd Annual General Meeting of Nigeria Stock Exchange in Lagos at the weekend.

NAN-PHOTO

More reactions trail Ondo tribunal judgement

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ORE reactions continue to trail last Friday’s judgement of the Ondo State Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Akure, the state capital.

The Justice Andova Kaka’nled three-member panel unanimously dismissed the petition filed against the winner of the last year governorship election, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and its candidate, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), for lack of merits.

The tribunal said the petitioner failed to prove all the allegations contained in the petition before it.

ACN and Akeredolu had prayed the tribunal to nullify the result of the last year’s

From Damisi Ojo, Akure governorship election and order a fresh poll.

It also dismissed the petition of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Olusola Oke, for his inability to prove all the allegations in the petition beyond all reasonable doubt.

A lawmaker representing Akure North/South Federal Constituency, Hon.Ifedayo Abegunde, urged ACN supporters to remain calm.

He said the judgment clearly showed that the judges erred in law for closing their eyes to the deluge of evidence before them.

Abegunde described the issue of voter register as germane in any election, adding, ‘’you cannot put something on nothing.”

He declared, ‘’The Lower tribunal is not the end of the road; there is an assurance that the Court of Appeal will set aside the decision of the Justice Kaka’n Panel.’’

ACN lawyer, Titiloye Charles, urged citizens of the state to be hopeful as steps will be taken to appeal the verdict.

He said, “We have an unshaken belief that justice will be done ultimately, no matter how long it takes. We have from the onset committed ourselves to the struggle to ensure electoral justice for the people of Ondo State.

“We will not be deterred by this judgment. We have appealed several interlocutory rulings of the tribunal during the pendency of the petition. ‘’This final decision of the tribunal will not be an exception.

Civil Defence man held for posting nude picture of mistress on facebook

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Senior Inspector in the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Oyo State Command, Mr. Bayo Onifade, has been arrested by the police for posting a nude picture of his mistress on social network site, facebook, following the collapse of their relationship.

It was gathered that Onifade and the married woman started their private love affair in December last year in Saki, a major town in the northern part of Oyo State.

While the relationship lasted, Onifade was said to have taken his lover to a lo-

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

cation in the town where he took her nude photograph with his mobile phone.

But crisis broke out when the woman decided to stop the relationship in March.

The decision did not go down well with the NSCDC man. He was said to have pleaded with her to continue the secret affair but the 27year old mother of two declined.

It was learnt that Onifade allegedly posted the nude photo of the woman on facebook as a means of taking his pound of flesh from her.

Facebook users close to the woman’s husband were said to have drawn his attention to it, a development that made him send his wife packing.

Onifade, 32, has since been arrested by police.

A senior police officer confirmed the arrest. The source said Onifade was arrested for defamation of character and indecent assault of a woman.

The NSCDC Public Relations Officer (PRO) in the state, Mr. Olusegun Oluwole, confirmed the incident and said that Onifade has been suspended pending the resolution of the case.

The struggle for justice continues,” he assured.

In his reaction, another ACN chieftain, Mr. Bola Ajimuda, said the judgment is a clear case of miscarriage of justice.

He pointed out, “It is instructive to note that as a political party, the ACN was never in court to install a governor.

The issues and the context remain very clear. We have overwhelming evidence to prove that the election was characterised with fraud and irregularities. ‘’An incontrovertible point was the ‘bloated” voter register.

Another valid evidence was the process of accreditation marred with fraud.

“There is an alarming variance between the numbers of registered voters in 2011 and 2013 to the tune of about 120,000 ghost voters who registered with “Igbeayo Card” as different from INEC voter card.”

Ajimuda said the judgment is an “expression of the recklessness, absurdity and irresponsibility that have for some time characterised the nation’s judicial system.”

The PDP spokesman, Mr. Wale Ozogoro, also disagreed with the tribunal’s verdict.

He said: ‘’The party is not surprised as it had earlier reported the compromising attitude of Justice Kaka’n-led panel when it erroneously struck out the name of PDP and its vital paragraphs in the petition during the prehearing stage.’’

According to him, the party challenged the ruling and its prayers were upheld at the Appeal Court.

PDP urged the citizenry to keep hope alive, stressing that all lawful avenues would be explored to reclaim the ‘’stolen mandate’’ from Dr Mimiko.

Oyo issues Okada, tricycle operators 21 -day ultimatum

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HE Oyo State government at the weekend gave a 21-day ultimatum to operators of commercial motorcycles and tricycles to register or face ban.

It said the move was to check the rising wave of robbery by Okada riders, especially in Ibadan, the state capital, lately.

A statement by the Special Adviser to Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Transport, Mr. Yemi Aderibigbe, explained that armed robbers using motorcycles have been on the rise in the state.

He said it is now compulsory for all commercial transport operators to register with the state’s Transporters Enumeration and Registration Scheme (OYSTER).

The ultimatum com-

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

mences tomorrow (Monday).

It read in parts: “All motorcycle and tricycle operators in the state will be issued reflective jackets and unique identification numbers to make it easier for the populace and law enforcement agents to identify

T

them and differentiate them from the crime perpetrators.

“The Oyo State government also wants to emphasise that no other organisation, agency or transport union in the state has the right to issue reflective jackets to operators except OYSTER, which is the agency of government em-

powered to perform this role.

“Commencing from Monday May, 27, it will become an illegal act for any motorcycle or tricycle operator to ride in any part of Oyo State without the government issued reflective vest and unique identification number.”

‘Why the north is underdeveloped’

HE Deputy Leader of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Lola Akande, has attributed underdevelopment in the northern parts of the country to lack of education.

Akande stated this at her investiture as the Matron of the Lagos State Girls Guild Association in Ikeja at the weekend.

By Oziegbe Okoeki

She noted significant gender bias especially among women in the north, a development she said hampers progress.

The lawmaker said: “By placing the girl child at the centre of all development efforts, families, communities and nations can move out of poverty and move towards

prosperity.”

Akande called for more attention towards women in the education sector in the north, arguing they can excel in their chosen endeavours through qualitative education.

She also called on the association to help orientate the girl-child to enable them realise their goals.

HE Oyo State House of Assembly has concluded a six- month appraisal of the 33 local government caretaker chairmen in the state.

The exercise, which held at the caucus room of the assembly, saw the council chairman facing the lawmakers to report their stewardship within the period.

Some of them were turned back and asked to re-organise their reports for better assessment.

Briefing reporters on the exercise, the Chairman House Committee on Information and Orientation, Mr. Josua Olagunju, expressed satisfaction with the performances of the council bosses.

He, however, observed some of the reports were not well detailed and lacked vital information.

According to him: “It does not mean they have not performed well enough but they just did not arrange their reports properly.”

He stated that virtually all the chairmen performed creditably well going by the reports.

The Chairman House Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Femi Adelakun, noted that the reports were excellent, confirming most of the projects cited have been visited by his committee during its oversight function to the council areas.

He debunked insinuations the reports will be used to witch hunt any of the council chairmen, stating they were just to ensure accountability.

Aguiyi Ironsi market reopens

By Taiwo Abiodun

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HE Executive Chairman of Mushin Local Government, Hon. Babatunde Adepitan, has assured traders at Aguiyi Ironsi International Market in Ladipo – Mushin, Lagos that the auto-spare parts market will be opened for commercial activities tomorrow.

The market has been under lock and key since February 25th when the entire Ladipo market was closed due to environmental violations.

The section, however, remained shut when the Ladipo Market was opened due to a leadership tussle.

Adepitan said: “The interest of the traders is very paramount to us as a government. We have lost a lot of revenue due to the activities of the former union leaders.

“The security arrangement put in place was not working for the entire trader rather it was working for a private individual to the detriment of the local and the state government.”

He continued: “The involvement of my government is to bring sanity to the market. No individual has the right to collect government’s money and dispense it at his own free will.

The agreement the local government entered into with Paramo Investment is still very valid, the traders must cooperate fully with the leadership of Paramo Investment to generate revenue for the government.”

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

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S friends, family, associates and Nigerians celebrate the birthday of Dr. Mike Adenuga, it is appropriate to reflect on the life journey of a major national icon.

The popular, public image of Mike Adenuga is that he is a man of moneylots of it, plenty of it and when he wants to splash it he knows how to do just that perhaps better than anybody else.

This trait he shares with the American real estate mogul - Donald Trump. Both men are charismatic and can be flamboyant when they want to.

But Mike Adenuga is more than just money. He is a boy-wonder. A man with the Midas touch. A hard-nosed businessman, with an iron determination, with incredible vision, will-power, courage, energy and who believes that there is nothing that he sets his mind to achieve that is impossible. I salute him.

In 60 years, he has achieved much more in his life than most people can achieve in five lifetimes. He is a walking personification of a major MBA programme. You watch him, you study his life and go "do thou likewise" you've got your MBA. Because of his image as what ordinary Nigerians call a "money man", it has been difficult to fully and adequately appreciate and take a full measure of the man.

Achiever extraordinaire Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Isola Adenuga is an achiever extraordinaire and qualifies as a major African icon in his own right. Apart from the Federal Government, he is possibly the largest direct employer of labour in Nigeria.

By so doing, he has personally affected for the better, the lives of more people than many pretenders in the public arena who deceive themselves that they are impacting the lives of Nigerians for the better.

A close and complete study of his life will fill anybody with awe. It would appear that very early in his life, he had made up his mind he was reaching for the top of the mountain that he had set for himself. If the fact that he had become a multimillionaire by the time he was 30 years old without having a major financial inheritance does not qualify as a extraordinary feat, the fact that before the age of 40 he was already a silent economic titan, with ownership of two banks, investments in real estate and commodities and the big one - oil, that will show that there is something special, something magical, something extraordinary about this man.

At the age of 38 on December 24, 1991 by which time many of his contemporaries were still carousing in seedy night clubs with women of easy virtue, Mike Adenuga struck oil. What bravery! What imagination! What derring-do! And in a country where the per capita income at that time was nothing to write home about and when few contemporaries would dare go into even small cottage industries not to talk of highly complex and highly technical industries as banking, and petroleum exploration. Most were content with "buying and selling" or "contract supplies."

To take the full measure of the man, we should realise that operating in the then most modern and most sophisticated economy, John D. Rockefeller, the first billionaire in history and the eternal grandmaster of the oil business, got into the oil business at the age of 25.

A 38-year-old man who owns two banks and has an oil bloc that is already producing oil is not just a rich man but a serious-minded, extremely seriousminded visionary and bold entrepreneur. He is a conquistador, an African Samurai.

In Japan, they call people like Mike Adenuga a Zaibatsu, i.e. a national living treasure. If he was a Japanese, he would be in the class of Akio Morita and Masaku Ibuka the founders of Sony Empire or Soichiro Honda, the founder of Honda or Mitsu Takaloshi, the founder of Mitsui.

In our clime, Mike Adenuga is in a class by himself - a Pathfinder, a Trailblazer, a mountain mover. In a country that critics say that "nothing works", Mike Adenuga has achieved world-class success in some of the most difficult businesses ever - in the telecommunications and the oil and gas business. If he could achieve this much success in an atmosphere that is hostile

News Review

Mike Adenuga A Samurai at 60

•Adenuga

By Gbolabo Ogunsanwo to business, it can only be imagined what he would have achieved if the atmosphere had been business-friendly.

A man with tremendous physical presence in his own right, one can say that again, Mike Adenuga is worth his weight in gold, sorry - in diamond.

He is a man after my heart. He is a man who has defied insuperable odds to be where he is today. He deserves to be saluted for his vision, for his bullish

doggedness and for his appetite for risktaking.

There are businessmen and there are businessmen and we have them aplenty in Nigeria - many who have achieved success in many business endeavours, but Mike Adenuga stands out.

Testimony of triumph His life is a testimony to the triumph of the human spirit over any obstacle or adversity. The story is told that the great Sir Winston Churchill was invited to deliver the convocation address to

the graduation class of one of the top universities in the UK. Seated were the High and Mighty of British Society and the nation's intelligentsia, all waiting for the great Churchill to speak. The man lifted his rotund frame up, took the microphone, asked the graduating class to stand up and pointing at them said - "Never give up. Never give up.

Never ever give up" and he sat down to the great applause of the graduating students.

Never ever giving up was the defining symbol of Sir Winston

11

Churchill's life. The British owe him an eternal gratitude as the man who prevented Adolf Hitler's Germany from ever conquering Britain. During World War II, the Germans had practically defeated the British.

They had bombed them into surrendering, but they, the Germans, did not know. Then Sir Winston got up and made the greatest and most inspiring speech of his life which was broadcast all over Britain and was listened to by Adolf Hitler himself. So memorable was that speech that today, almost 70 years after, the speech is still being played every hour at Madame Tussaud's in London.

In the speech - Winston Churchill said - "We shall fight in France. We shall fight on the seas and oceans. We shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields and in the streets.

We shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender."

Hitler heard the speech and erroneously believed that the British still had great capacities to fight on and so he slowed down his bombing activities on that island. That was what saved Britain.

In 1999, Mike Adenuga through a company called Communications Investments Limited (CIL) had obtained a GSM licence. This license was later revoked.

In 2002, the Olusegun Obasanjo government decided to auction four GSM licenses. The story is told that Mike Adenuga instructed his bidding team going to Abuja never to come back to Lagos without a GSM licence, no matter the cost.

Adenuga is alleged to be the person that drove the sale price of each licence to $265million. He had paid the mandatory deposit of $20million.

Unknown to him, there was allegedly a powerful person in the Nigerian Presidency who had sworn to do everything to ensure Adenuga did not get any licence.

A few hours to the closing time for the payment of full auction price, Mike Adenuga was able to successfully pay into the New York account of the N.C.C. During the crisis that followed this affair, Adenuga published for all Nigerians, photocopy of the exact time that the money hit the NCC account. But the "Oga at the top" at Abuja decided that Adenuga did not meet the deadline.

Maybe he was using Greenwich Meantime on his wristwatch. And so Adenuga lost the licence and the $20million deposit. In today's terms, that would be N3.2billion. That would have knocked out practically any man except anybody made of steel. Adenuga was down but not out.

He decided to try again when he bidded for the Second National Operator's Licence in August 2002 through another company called Globacom Limited. The SNO licence empowered him to operate a GSM network. It is estimated that what Adenuga lost in the initial attempt to have a GSM licence was well over N5billion. How many people - Nigerian or non-Nigerian would still be interested in a business after losing over N5billion and to make matters worse when competitors have gone ahead to try to capture the entire market. Even the big Vodafone did not believe there was anything left in the market. That is the main defining character of Mike Adenuga.

The cloak and dagger story How Adenuga eventually got the SNO's licence in itself is a saga worthy of a James Bond thriller.

In a game of intrigue and counter intrigues. I reliably understand that major movers and shakers of Nigeria Emirs, Obas and Obis intervened to beg the then "god" of Aso Villa without success. In frustration, I was told that Adenuga approached even Mandela and important European Presidents WITHOUT any result.

Someday the cloak and dagger story will be told possibly on Africa Magic.

A divine intervention enabled Adenuga to get a licence. "When your ways please the Lord, He makes your enemies to be at peace with you."

Adenuga got on the ball and forced his two competitors who had been

•Contd. on page 18

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

13

COMMENT and ANALYSIS SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

Talakawa Liberation Herald (11)

No infrastructures, no hardware? Don’t worry, software will sustain you! (2)

BY BIODUN JEYIFO

C

OMPATRIOTS, you can text all you want, own as many handsets as your job or your fancy impels you, and hold multiple phone conversations as either a habit you can’t help or actually find fulfilling, but if your nation, your region of the world does not have the infrastructures necessary for modern life, software will not sustain you! As a matter of fact, in such a state of profound disjunction between hardware and software in modern civilisation, you will in all likelihood be condemned to live out the time allotted to you on this earth in a more or less permanent state of anxiety, insecurity and, worst of all, the replacement of reality and the hard, unbearable facts of life with delusions. And this will be your lot, your “fate” whether you are rich or poor, a person of substance or a member of the multitudes of the disenfranchised and marginalised.

Is this an exaggeration, an overstatement? Well, let us examine the contention carefully through some very concrete and very well known experiences that virtually all Nigerians share in common in this software civilisation of the new millennium.

One of the most seemingly trite but nonetheless immensely frustrating of these experiences is the one captured by the well known legend of “network error” that bedevils attempts to make phone connections in our country, an occurrence that happens at all times without rhyme or reason. In my line of work, I travel a lot in our continent and around the world. I don’t know about the experience of any person reading this piece who also happens to be a constant traveler, but I can state unequivocally that I have never encountered “network error” in any other country in Africa or the world at large. Perhaps worse than “network error” is the more sepulchral “the telephone number you are trying to call does not exist!” After my initial shock of hearing this “non-existence” ascribed repeatedly over two weeks to a number that I call fairly regularly, I had no recourse left than to turn the experience into a psychologically compensatory joke. In the joke which happened when I called the number of a person sitting right beside me only to be informed that the number belonged to the virtual world of nonexistence.

It so happened that this “joke” was enacted between me and a sibling who had just been discharged from hospital after a bout with a very serious medical emergency. With this on my mind, I told my brother that he could at least take comfort in the fact that it was his phone number and not himself that was said not to exist!

I readily concede the fact that these are vexatious but for the most not dire, not life threatening misadventures with poor and unreliable GSM services in our country. But from these particular cases, let us we move to indubitably more ominous experiences. And so I ask: Can we ever be able to get an accurate assessment of how much is lost in revenue and peace of mind through the constant breakdown in internet access in private and public, personal and commercial activities due to either power outage or the overload and collapse of the local or national bandwidth? I have lost count of the number of times when I have gone to my bank only to be told that “the network is down” and I have to wait or even come back later. I have lost count - and my capacity to be outraged - of the number of times when the modems for internet access through my laptop have either worked at the speed of a chameleon or a tortoise or, worse still, completely failed to get me connection for days and weeks. [You might say that the cybercafés are there, but they also are not immune to these same problems, apart from the fact that I work on and with my laptop at all hours of the day and night] And need I add that in my experience, these extremely frustrating and wasteful expressions of IT backwardness and inefficiency in access and the provision of other services are worse

•The number you are calling does not exist!

in our country than most of the other places I have visited in Africa and other parts of the world?

We might well ask why these things are so bad in Nigeria. And indeed, this question is often posed in our newspapers and radio and television commentaries in our country. In my experience, two standard answers or explanations are often proffered. One is this: the number of subscribers to IT access and services in our country has far outstripped or overtaken the installed infrastructural capacity of the providers and the resulting overload can never be resolved until the gap between demand and capacity is rectified. The second reason is related to the first and it is this: like consumers of all other services in Nigeria, subscribers to GSM services and IT access do not enjoy adequate enforcement of legislation and guidelines protecting the rights of consumers and their advocates.

These explanations are of course factually correct and things might indeed get better if the problems they highlight are addressed and resolved. But there is a third answer or explanation that is not articulated enough or is expressed rather tepidly and it is this: The vexations and frustrations that we experience with GSM and IT services are related to other endemic problems like power outages that drive up production costs in Nigeria and cripple productive economic activities; roads and other physical infrastructures that are not only vastly inadequate but also constitute death traps for all, rich and poor; and hospitals and clinics that are unsanitary, unsafe and poorly maintained. I suggest that it is this particular explanation that leads us to the heart of the matter in this series concerning modern life and civilisation and the historic connections or disjuncture - between the infrastructure and software of production and consumption, both for what is essential for bare life and what is an excess, a “supplement” that makes life richer and more fulfilling. Let me explain with regard to what I think of as Nigeria’s rather unique and negatively exemplary experience of the disjuncture between infrastructure and software in modern civilisation.

In virtually every region and country in the world, the infrastructures and institutions that we now take for granted as part of modern living grew out of two separate but intimately connected processes. One is the diversion of hundreds of millions of people, on a continuing and seemingly perpetual basis, away from farming and rural communities to towns and cities where the diverted communities join an ever growing actual and potential work force. The other, separate but

related process or phenomenon is the growth of cities, megacities and metropolitan conurbations that are vaster than anything the world had ever known. Virtually all the infrastructures and institutions that we now consider vital to life as we live and experience it as part of a complex and sustainable modernity grew as both a response to and a motive force for these two processes: safe, motorable roads, highways and rail systems; factories of both heavy and light machinery and equipment; regular and sustained power generation and supply; access to clean, potable water and its sources; facilities for health care delivery and public and private sanitation that must forever be well maintained; and institutions for instruction, research and innovation that must not only keep the generality of the present generation educated and well informed but must also reproduce future generations of informed and enlightened human beings. Of all the countries in Africa and perhaps in the rest of developing world, Nigeria surpasses all others in the scale of these twin processes of diversion of populations from the rural to the urban and the growth of large towns, cities and conurbations. At the same time, Nigeria is unbeatable in the inadequacy of the infrastructures and institutions necessary to cope with the two processes.

The story of how what I have in this series been calling the “software” components of modern life came to connect with the fundamental infrastructures and institutions of modernity is a fascinating and complex tale. In all honesty and humility, I confess that it is a tale I am still trying to understand as fully as I think necessary. For this reason, I shall only be scratching the surfaces of this subject in this series. This entails only the briefest detailing of, in my own opinion, two of the more spectacular and by now indispensable dimensions of this new software civilisation. Here is the first one: “machines” and technologies that can, through preprogrammed apps, “think”, calculate and calibrate for us; that can probe the innermost recesses of the body and its internal organs for us; that can clone living tissues and organisms; and yet these “machines” are so infinitesimally small that they are measured in nanoseconds and nanometers which are one billionth of a second and a meter respectively.

Here is the second one: the collection, storage, retrieval, reconfiguration and transmission across the length and breadth of the whole world of infinitely vast amounts of data and information through text, pictures and abstract, non-literal images collected on microchips that are much smaller than the eye of a needle.

Needless to say, other than as consumers,

Nigeria and most of the other developing countries of the world, at least now and for the immediately foreseeable future, have little to contribute to the production of these wondrous “machines” of the software revolution.

But things are not as hopeless as they might seem from the current state of things. At any rate, the very last impression I wish the reader to take from the reflections in this series is hopelessness. If the achievements of the software revolution seem so far from our reach, this is not the case with the infrastructures of modernity. These can be put in place in less than a decade. And once that happens, we can enter into another phase of history in which we might become significant players in the software revolution. At any rate, I believe that the only thing stopping us from a fully realised infrastructural modernity is the scale and impunity with which our oil wealth is stolen and wasted. Behind that, of course, is the fact that looting and wastefulness on such a colossal scale is possible only because an extractive, offshore political economy on which a parasitic rentier state has been erected like a behemoth holds us hostage and we seem unable to think our way beyond it, to see our way past it. In this respect, I would like to say that above every other consideration, what I would like any reader of this series to take away is a profound contempt for what the present administration and those before it call either “FSS 2020” or “Vision 2020”. What does this mean? It means that by the year 2020 Nigerian would have become one of the 20 biggest economies in the world. How delusional can a ruling class and/ or party be? We are at least half a century behind in the installation of the infrastructures of modernity. And we are light years away from the software revolution. So compatriots, the next time your receive “network error” from your GSM provider and the next time you go to visit a friend or a relative in a hospital and you see the state of the things there, think of “Vision 2020” and separate yourself from the delusion, the fraudulent imposture of those who are looting us dry and mortgaging the future of our children and their children to bankruptcy in a land awash with petronaira and petrodollars. Go on texting, compatriots, but with the usual psychologically cleansing frivolities associated with texting, send out messages of hope and resilience that come from being not mere consumers but also potential producers in our global software civilisation.

Biodun Jeyifo bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

14

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

Comment & Analysis

Boko Haram: Forgiveness, amnesty T or appeasement?

HE whole issue of Boko Haram needs not be viewed purely from its religious angle. The current debate on amnesty or no amnesty mirrors the deception with which this deadly phenomenon has been treated by the political leadership. A mishandling of the issue of amnesty for Boko Haram has the potential of threatening the unity and peace of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is very worrisome to me as someone who loves and wishes to live in a peaceful, strong, united and prosperous Nigeria. Our lives and the future of Nigeria should not be mortgaged for political votes in the lure to service the ambition of politicians.

Violence in any guise must never be glorified either by government, ethnic militias, Muslims or Christians.

Jesus Christ the suffering servant and sovereign Lord modeled forgiveness to the undeserving. In that regard, extending forgiveness to Boko Haram in spite of all the atrocities they have committed against Nigerians whether Christians or Muslims should never be in doubt. This is what the bible teaches Christians to practice. Boko Haram’s reckless and senseless attacks on places of worship and killing thousands of innocent lives should never be sacrificed at the altar of political expediency.

Forgiveness and Appeasement are not the same.

Extending forgiveness to these killers is what my faith teaches me to do as a true believer and follower of Jesus Christ.

Therefore the real concern for me is the current camouflage of appeasement disguised as amnesty and currently being contemplated for members of Boko Haram. What we have are killers who appear unrepentant. Pursuing amnesty without addressing the plight of the victims of Boko Haram attacks remains

By Gideon Para-Mallam

a dangerous political journey. Did Boko Haram ask for amnesty? So far based on the information available in the public domain, they have not asked for amnesty.

In fact they have declared publickly that it is they who should grant the Nigerian Government amnesty and not the other way around. I have serious doubts with this step now being taken by the Federal Government. I fear the present move may be predicated on political exigency rather than seeking a genuine end to the ongoing killings. I see a government lacking genuine convictions based on their past actions in addressing this violence.

The government’s track record in addressing major crises and flash points of conflicts in Nigeria lacks focus and seriousness and frankly provides no convincing proof that the present move will produce the desired results. I sincerely hope that I will be proven wrong. There needs to be more determination on government’s part to end the Boko Haram crisis and other issues of insecurity like armed robbery and rampant kidnappings.

The current political talk show and grand standing on amnesty or no amnesty for Boko Haram appears more as a dress rehearsal towards 2015. The issue of amnesty will surely become a political talking point ahead of the coming national elections in 2015. It is unfortunate and the Church must not allow herself to be deceived. The Church and the nation must never allow themselves to be sacrificed under a visionless leadership. We all desire to see

an end to the Boko Haram crisis and Christians are committed in working towards this goal but we need a dependable government to realise this dream.

Those who have orchestrated the grand call to government to grant amnesty to Boko Haram led by the Sultan of Sokoto have continued to shock Nigerians. Yet they have offered no credible approach to addressing the plight of the many victims of Boko Haram’s targeted attacks. Compensating them must not be seen as an act of favour but a duty the government needs to carry which may even be belated at this point.

Ignoring the thousands who lost their lives and the properties destroyed which is running into billions of naira is deceit on display in the name of false benevolence.

So what are we talking about? Why should the proponents of amnesty urge the government on the path of seeking fake solutions to a serious problem? This inadvertently may indirectly be sowing dangerous seeds for breeding and birthing more violent groups in future. If this turns out to be the case, it will sadly be condemning Nigerians to an endless circle of violence. This is systemic and institutionalized corruption as well as endemic injustice to those who feel marginalised by greedy politicians and unprincipled religious leaders who have sold their conscience.

What is the guarantee that granting amnesty will bring an end to the current violence inspired by Boko Haram, who have in fact rejected any such offer in their initial reaction. What rigid conditions will Boko Haram set before “accepting” this

offer of amnesty? What if they insist on Sharia law implementation as they had originally stated on 1st January 2012 when they issued a three day ultimatum asking all Christians to leave Northern Nigeria, including those who are indigenous in the area or those living in their ancestral homelands? Will the President of Nigeria ascent to such a demand?

Will the Nigerian people go for this religious blackmail? Is it wise to embark on a journey to nowhere all in the name of politics? Certain normal procedures that should pre-cede amnesty have not been followed. Just as President (former) Olusegun Obasanjo could not wish away Sharia, instead of facing the problem headlong in 2000, he thought it could just ‘go away,’ similarly, President Jonathan Goodluck cannot just wish away the consequences posed by the Boko Haram violence without an intentional commitment to seek a just means of addressing it.

It is a known fact world over that a government sets the tone of what she wants to see in society. A government that is decisively against violence will show it and vice versa. Christians will never succumb to the intimidation to impose Sharia rule over Northern Nigeria and not to talk of this all over Nigeria. Sharia clamor in a secular Nigeria represents a crazy manipulation of religion for political adventurism.

May God protect His people and uphold His name as well as cause His love and glory to reign in Nigeria. Boko Haram does not have the final say neither the government of Nigeria but God Almighty.

By God, Nigeria will rise again to be the nation on earth God intended her to become our many needless internal contradictions notwithstanding.

Rev. Para-Mallam writes from Jos.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

Comment & Analysis

15

Jonathan Vs Amaechi Apart from bad faith on both sides, their feud is a study in heinous institutional subversion ETWEEN President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, it is not a case of saint versus sinner. Both presidential and gubernatorial gladiators have done enough tumbles in the mire to earn a critical questioning of their motives, by the latest political cross-slinging in town. It is no pretty sight.

On the president’s part, the grounding of the Rivers State’s airplane at the Akure Airport in Ondo State, started with tales of some query over the plane’s customs papers, then went on to allegations that the pilot did not file his manifest and flight plan, and climaxed in the final April 27 grounding, on the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA’s claim that the aircraft’s approved clearance certificate had expired since April 2.

Without prejudice to strands of truths in these official claims, it would appear a progressive shopping for excuses to arrive at a pre-determined outcome. For example, if indeed the plane’s approved clearance certificate had expired since April 2, why did NCAA wait till April 27 before doing its statutory duty?

And would it have done it at all, if not prompted by an all-mighty higher quarters that had clear motives to put an uppity governor in his place? So, for close to a month, the governor’s plane had been flying illegally, and NCAA was so star-struck by its gubernatorial splendour that it would take the ugly drama at Akure Airport for the body to scramble awake and enforce what it ought to have enforced since, at best, April 5?

NCAA top officials should be thoroughly ashamed for allowing their agency to be mixed up in petty political bickering. But the Presidency itself is more shame-worthy for abusing a government agency in a bitter partisan dispute. Doyin Okupe, the presidential public affairs spokesperson, must tell to the marines his tale that the presidency had no hand in the grounding of the governor’s plane. From widely reported Jonathan-Amaechi standoff, there is enough motive to justify such supposition, which unfortunately adds no dignity to the presidential office.

On the part of the Rivers State governor, there has not been an appropriate response to the charge that the aircraft’s papers are out of date. If that is true, and since April 2, why was the governor’s crew still flying the plane?

Like other Nigerian Big Men, could they be above the law, in the hateful spirit of general official impunity?

Shouldn’t the governor, a symbol of the law and ordered society in a democracy, have done the right thing by law and free NCAA the chore of enforcing the law and the humiliation that comes with that to the office of the

B

P

RIOR to the 2011 Presidential campaigns, President Goodluck Jonathan promised to ensure that the over 10million almajirai that are out of school across Nigeria, especially in the north, have access to quality basic education.

After the election, he has proved that he can make a promise and go all the way to fulfil it.

Last year, the President inaugurated the very first Almajiri school that was completed by the Federal Ministry of Education through one of its parastatals, the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND). This still did not convince some of the sceptics of the project that the government is determined to actualise the dream of ensuring that no almajiri is left on the street to beg, whilst other kids are acquiring basic education in addition to their other forms of religious education.

The scepticism of the observers has served as the needed impetus for the Federal Government to quietly, but with the right determination execute the Almajiri school projects all over the nation. The bulk of the projects are domiciled in the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), with the Minister of State for Education, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, serving as the super-

Governor? These are sickening tell-tales of lack of basic standards.

Besides, the governor has loads of answers to provide on the aircraft and its registration. Though these questions have nothing to do with the plane’s approved clearance certificate, they have everything to do with probity, accountability and transparency in governance. Can an aircraft bought with money appropriated by the Rivers State legislature, and purportedly owned by the Rivers State Government, be registered in the name of a foreign trust? Governor Amaechi and his team must provide satisfactory answers to these probing questions.

But be that as it may, let no one forget that the grounding of the Rivers State plane was only the climax of a running Jonathan-Amaechi battle, which started with Amaechi’s rumoured vice-presidential ambition (hardly a democratic crime), and the presidential desperation to, at all cost, stop the governor from seeking re-election as Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) chairman – all fired by President Jonathan’s all too obvious paranoia over anyone getting in his way for a second term in 2015.

In this raging battle, the victims are not only the two combatants and their respective offices. The bigger victims are subverted institutions. That poses a potent threat to the deepening of democracy and the rule of law.

It is clear how the feuding has undermined NCAA and created grave doubt in the mind of any right thinking person as to its capacity and capability to discharge its statutory duties without external pressure. That is no good news, given that aviation safely is not the greatest forte of the local aviation industry. To avert needless future disasters, aviation agencies must be rid of external influences.

The feuding has also revealed a twin-assault on the office of the President and Governor. By being perceived to project naked power, and attempting to turn the revered

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office of the President of the Federal Republic into a cheap, all-muscle-no-brain bully in partisan matters, the Jonathan Presidency has denuded that high position of its reverence, splendour and honour. The president and his handlers ought to know that what endear the Presidency are authority, legitimacy and influence, in that progressive order; and never naked power. A presidency that bristles with naked power only diminishes itself and earns itself citizens’ contempt.

But even more alarming, in a federal, democratic setting, is a bullying president that does not particularly care that his powers, no matter how awesome, are limited by law. The spectre of a president grounding the aircraft of a state government, in a federation where the president is to the central government what the governor is to the state government, is absolutely unnerving and condemnable. Both the president and governor are a creation of law; and one cannot assume the complex of a seething headmaster lording it over gubernatorial school boys – except of course, if the Rivers State’s aircraft’s papers are really outdated and proven so. Even then, that would have been the NCAA’s business.

Other victims of institutional subversion in the matter are the Judiciary (which both sides in the state Peoples Democratic Party executive committee dispute seem to have manipulated to suit their purposes) and the Legislature (there is already lunatic talks of six legislators set to impeach a governor in a 36-member Rivers Assembly), not to talk of the possible destruction of the NGF. The NGF might not be a creation of statutes. But it is a pressure group grounded in the best tradition of democracy to look after the interest of its members. When a president attempts to smash such a group, simply because he finds its real-politik foxtrot too nimble, then that attack is not on that body but on the tenet of free association in a democracy. In a supposed federation that really is a glorified unitary state like Nigeria, such a presidential misadventure becomes all the more sinister. That is why the NGF must stand its ground and withstand any presidential assault. Such assaults are illegitimate, so long as the body conducts its business lawfully and with utmost decency.

Nigeria’s is a tentative democracy that needs all tact to survive its teething years. That is why the Presidency must show more leadership and tact before jumping into a battle just because it thinks it has the power to crush the enemy – real or imagined. That could prove a costly illusion.

LETTERS

The Almajiri and girl-child school project vising minister.

The Almajiri school projects are 100 in number, with majority of them located in North East, North West and North Central geo-political zones. A few are sited in South-West and South-South due to the influx of small percentages of Almajiri to those states from parts of the north.

Out of the 100 schools, 70 have been completed and furnished, ready for handover to the respective states where they are located. The remaining 30percent of the schools have reached more than 90percent completion rate and are being furnished in readiness for hand-over to the state governments.

The Vice President Namadi Sambo will commis-

sion one of the completed schools in Jigawa State on behalf of the President. This is a symbolic programme that will kick-start the general handing over of the schools in different parts of the country.

The model one and model two Almajiri schools that have been completed by the Federal Government are architectural masterpieces that are meant to attract the pupils and their Islamic teachers and keep them in the schools. They are equipped with habitable hostels, quality classrooms and stocked with up-to-date basic education instructional materials.

Experienced teachers will be posted to these schools.

These teachers working with

the Mallams are expected to impact both Islamic and Western education to these children. The curriculum has been specially designed to ensure that they receive the required training to be functional citizens who will contribute their quota to national development.

Like the Almajiri schools, the Special Girl-Child Model Schools located in 16 states of the federation are being built to create access to basic education for disadvantaged less privileged. These schools are also ready for hand-over, asides the one located in Bayelsa State that is yet to be constructed. These special girl-child model schools will be operated with consideration for the religion and cul-

ture of the host states. This is to encourage parents to release their daughters to acquire basic education, with the knowledge that their respective religions and culture will be respected.

The Almajiri and the girlchild constitute the highest percentage of out-of-school children in the country. Ensuring that they have access to basic education is a worthy achievement that should be applauded by all Nigerians.

After the hand-over of these schools, the Federal Government will continue to support the states in running the schools via the provision of the needed instructional materials that will be

S

Jonathan, PDP and 2015

kind of leadership required.

The citizens are very sceptical about government programmes and policies.

We hope that as Nigerians look up to meeting the reality of good governance in 2015, they will not be denied this rare opportunity.

INCE the coming of President Goodluck Jonathan to power, most of his programmes and policies have engendered the anger of most Nigerians.

This would not augur well for his party come next election in 2015.

Starting with controversial fuel price increase in early part of 2011 and subsequent polices, his policies

have been received with mixed feelings amongst the populace, most notably the recent state pardon granted his former boss, the former Governor of Bayelsa State, D.S.P.Alamieyesegha.

Also, the ‘civil war’ going on within the party has polarised it along different

interest groups which could send it to the oblivion. Nigerians who have to tolerate the party for this long have not seen any good from the party which considers itself the largest party in Africa.

The President has not been given Nigerians the

Bala Nayashi Lokoja, Kogi State.

used by the teachers and pupils.

It is true that the current number of schools cannot accommodate the millions of out-of-school children in the respective locations. They are, however, meant to kickstart the process of ensuring that every one of them is accommodated in a classroom.

This will be made possible if states, local councils and non-governmental organizations key into the project.

For most of the states, they have already started constructing their own schools.

The successful completion of these schools is a function of the dedicated supervision of project consultants, contractors and officials by the Minister of State for Education, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike.

The most important aspect of the completion of these schools is the fact that the Jonathan administration has succeeded where previous administrations failed.

Indeed, there is a correlation between mass literacy and peace in the society. As more Almajirai access quality basic education across the country, the more secured the nation will be as political mischief makers will have less hands to manipulate.

By Simeon Nwakaudu, Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Education (Media), Abuja.

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16

Ropo Sekoni ropo.sekoni @thenationonlineng.net

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NITY discourse in our country is becoming absurd. Recently, the media carried a news story about the federal government's instruction to Lagos State to shelve its desire to install 10,000 solar-powered CCTV devices in Lagos State, to deter criminal acts that grow by the day in a state that has in the last six years been more crime-resistant than other states in the federation. The reason for the federal government to prevent the government of Lagos State from making efforts to secure life and property in the state is that the federal government has the intention or plan to install CCTV cameras in major cities of the country. The result almost four years after announcement of Lagos State's plan to install CCTV cameras in the state is that neither the federal government nor the government of Lagos has done so.

The promise by the National Assembly may not be enough to assure Nigerians that the union does not need the sovereign national conference that citizens have been calling for since the annulment of the 1993 presidential election. The attitude of the federal government to the security of the parts as the basis for the security of the whole remains hostile to what Daniel Defoe once characterised as Union of Affection, in contradistinction to the principle of Union of Policy. The attitude of those in charge of the federal government in the post-military era is as worrisome as it was during the era of military dictatorships.

Femi Orebe femi.orebe @thenationonlineng.net 08056504626 (sms only)

“F

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

Comment & Analysis

OR they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, (or the Yoruba Nation) but their own belly; and by fair words and good speeches deceive the hearts of the simple"- Romans 16: 18 Unlike those years of the locust when the Southwest found itself, wily nilly, under the yoke of the Peoples' Democratic Party, a new vision for progress and development is emerging in Yorubaland. Our homeland strategy is being properly-structured and coordinated. Our development process is being institutionalised and an economic governance model is already in the works to accompany a well-defined political system. We have now clearly defined our goals, our priorities and our timelines. We are in the process of building the critical stakeholder inclusion and inclusiveness that is required for all these hard work to succeed. And to ensure that all these efforts are not aborted by the mandarins of a clueless PDP, we must ensure that a fit and proper leadership character prevails, as now, to direct the affairs of our land. I have quoted above, mutatis mutandis, the invigorating speech by Dipo Famakinwa on Regional Integration at the Oodua Foundation conference which held, April 26-27, 2013, in Delaware, U.S.A. With the negativity of the PDP years of decrepit infrastructure, run down school system and general insecurity in the Southwest already etched in our medullar oblongata, the Yoruba must give their all to fight back these revisionists so we can say again in one voice: never again!.

And my teacher came handy again at the Delaware Conference. My teacher, Professor Banji Akintoye, the

Must the country's unity kill its citizens?

It will be bad politics if the federal government prevents the state government from doing everything possible to secure life and property in the state Under the guise of integration of the country, successions of military dictators created policies which robbed the states of powers to carry out basic responsibilities required of states in a federal union. Such erosion of federalism got to a head in the 1999 Constitution which General Olusegun Obasanjo recently described as representing the apogee of efforts by the military to integrate the country. It is the 1999 Constitution, like all other military-authored constitutions since 1979 and decrees since the suspension of the 1963 Republican Constitution, which killed the tradition of multi-level policing in the country.

It appears that it is the preference of military dictators and their civilian apologists in the post-military era that must have given the federal government the audacity to stop Lagos State from deploying modern technologies to protect citizens and their property. Even at that, it is clear that the federal government is not as much after good governance of the country as it is in search of total control of the states. Knowing that federal political appointees and civil servants are well travelled and very conversant with latest security architecture and techniques in other countries, there is no other way to interpret the federal government's attempt to stop Lagos State from spending its own resources to enhance security of the 18 million residents of the state.

This is not the first time that the federal government would prevent states from enhancing the survival of their citizens. When Yoruba states indicated their wish to fix the LagosIbadan highway, the federal government rejected the offer, on the ground

that it is only the federal government that has the responsibility to repair and rebuild federal roads. Thousands of citizens from all parts of the country must have died from accidents on the bad road since the federal government's rejection of offers from Yoruba states through which the Lagos-Ibadan highway passes.

When military dictators in the past prevented Lagos State from establishing intra-city rail system as a means of mass transportation within Lagos, citizens blamed this on poor judgment from dictators that had no mandate from citizens. When Obasanjo rejected offers from Oodua Investment to build a fast rail system between Ibadan and Lagos, citizens shrugged it off as evidence of Obasanjo's loyalty to his military culture of preventing any part of the country from providing services that are not available in other parts of the country, all in the name of even development and national unity.

It is an irony that the federal government under the leadership of a civilian elected by citizens is behaving in a way that is reminiscent of military heads of states. How does the provision of 10,000 CCTV cameras in Lagos State derogate from the country's unity or the powers of the federal government? Why would the federal government prefer to provide a service that a state has the power to provide? Is the federal government's purse overflowing with funds to the extent that it must look for projects to underwrite? And if so, must such funds be spent on providing the same service that a state is ready to use its own funds to provide?

Furthermore, it is an irony that, at a time the federal government is

apparently over stretchedin its effort to fight different sources of insecurity, the same federal government would stop a state from assisting it to fight the various sources of insecurity in the country: Boko Haram terrorists, professional and ritual kidnappers, and Niger Delta militants, in addition to daily rise in incidence of other crimes in all parts of the country. It is also ironical that a government that lives on the promise of transformation appears hobbled by the country's tradition of subordinating states under the federal government.

If it is true, as some media pundits have posited, that the federal government's order to Lagos State with respect to deployment of CCTV cameras in the state is political, this is in bad taste and an illustration of primitive political attitude to multiparty politics in a federation. In the days of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the government of Western Nigeria provided several services that were not available in other regions of the country. Yet doing this neither broke the country's unity nor derogated from the power of the federal government: free primary education, television service, building of Olympic-size stadium in Ibadan, etc. If anything, such services encouraged other regions to imitate Western Nigeria. The result was that progress in parts of the country translated into progress for the whole of the country.

Without doubt, the 1999 Constitution, nicknamed by Obasanjo as the instrument of the country's integration, has given too much power to the federal government.

Any president who fails to wield the

big stick given to him or her by the current constitution to subordinate states or make them appear as junior partners in a federation stands the risk of being called weak. But any attempt by the federal government or its representative to frustrate states that are spending their hardearned resources to show interest in the welfare and wellbeing of citizens is likely to be seen by most citizens as wicked and insensitive.

The federal government should not have to be told that many citizens are being kidnapped in Lagos every day. It also cannot be oblivious of the rising crime statistics in Lagos in recent times, despite strenuous efforts by the Lagos State government to invest a lot of its resources on beefing up security in the state.

There is no other state in the federation that is more attractive to policemen and women than Lagos. This is because of the incentives in terms of equipment and other support given by the state government to law enforcement officers in the state.

Over half of the security efforts in most countries today is achieved with the help of modern technology, particularly collection of intelligence that can prevent crime and detect criminals. The decision of the government in Lagos to deploy 10,000 surveillance cameras is applying best global practices in the use of technology to secure life and property to the security situation in the state. It will be bad politics if the federal government prevents the state government from doing everything possible to secure life and property in the state, on the excuse that whatever the federal government has a hand in cannot benefit from input from state governments.

Apostles of strong federal government and weak or weakened state governments must realise that their vision is more likely to make the call for sovereign national conference to re-structure the union unquenchable.

Southwest: Resurrectionists, co-consiprators need to learn from our history Now they are having in Afenifere individuals Chief Awolowo would not have touched with the longest pole evergreen griot, at whose feet I studied in two different institutions of learning, was there to remind the race, and tell the world, from where the Yoruba is coming from and one can only hope that on reading his masterly address, the resurrectionists and revisionists amongst us will rethink their slavish assignments and permit a continuation of the present regime of peace and development in Yoruba land.

In reminding us of our enviable pedigree, the author of the must- read 452 page 'A History Of The Yoruba People', must have had in mind the conspirators: these modern day 'troublers of Israel' who think nothing of once again railroading the Yoruba nation into another era of servitude like they did in 2003 with dire consequences to our well-being.

We quote at some length from the address: 'The responsibilities of today's leaders of the Yoruba Nation are truly heavy. The Yoruba Nation that we were born into, and that we are called to guide, is one of the most important nationalities on the African continent.

At 40 million in population, we are one of the three largest nationalities in Nigeria and in Black Africa. In population, we are about 24% of the population of Nigeria, a country of about 300 nationalities, with a total population of 165 million. But our importance in Nigeria does not end with our population weight. We stand in the forefront of Nigeria, and even of Africa, in educational development and literacy.

According to some unofficial estimates, the Yoruba, though only 24% of Nigeria's population, account for about 52% of all Nigerians who hold university degrees. By the 1860s, many Yoruba parents were already sending their children for higher education in Europe. By the 1870s, a considerable literate professional class had emerged

- of doctors, lawyers, engineers, surveyors, journalists, etc. No other people in what later became Britishruled Nigeria produced a university graduate until the middle of the 1930s.

By the 1950s, we became the first people in Africa to establish a Free Primary Education Programme.

In comparison with the countries of the world, the Yoruba Nation is, in population, bigger than many of the richest and most influential countries of the Western world - a little bigger than Canada, about as big as Spain and about four times as big as Sweden. In Africa, besides Nigeria, only three countries - Egypt, Ethiopia, and Congo (Kinshasa) have bigger population.

At about 105,000 square miles (168 square kilometers), it is bigger than the United Kingdom and over nine times the size of Belgium just as there are sizeble populations of the Yoruba in Benin Republic, Togo ,Brazil, Cuba, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Jamaica, Grenada, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Vincent, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Bahamas, Suriname and the United States.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the Yoruba Nation has consistently belonged in the front line of modernisation on the African continent - in education, scholarship, literature, art, commerce, industries, entertainments, etc. Some gems of indigenous Yoruba thought and philosophy have been classified by UNESCO as significant parts of the "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" and it has made impressive contributions to scholarship in the sciences, the humanities and the arts, and produced the first African recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature'.

Now, that is the huge Yoruba nation some otherwise respected elders

and their over ambitious young acolytes are now working assiduously to turn over to a party in which even a Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, statesman, Yoruba's foremost politician alive, former President and one time Alpha and Omega of the same party, is being routinely turned inside out with his group being daily decapitated by Chairman Tukur and 'the Ogas at the top' even as 'Mr Fix it' is being unerringly promoted and celebrated.

And to imagine that these 'elders' would have to subsume both their resurrected party and the one anachronistically being called a mega party would have to subsume their identities under fringe parties like Labour or Accord simply because they are too ashamed to actually join PDP. Now under the lead of a good friend of mine, a party organisation freak, Jonathan is being assisted to encircle Yoruba land in a pincer-like arrangement, recruiting old men we once relied upon to hoist the chequered race in its historic place. Now they are having in Afenifere individuals Chief Awolowo would not have touched with the longest pole just like a caricature of the Avatar's party is supposedly being resurrected by those without Awo' rigour or honesty.

The other, a man of integrity no doubt, but who had abandoned his loyal troops some twelve or so years ago now claims to be at the head of a so-called mega party none of which amalgamating party has a single Councillor anywhere in the country.

How more anachronistic can a party name get! Interestingly, the big man took about his most loyal supporter to a serving governor for a contract over a year ago. My friend is still waiting.

Such relevance!

Happily, the Yoruba know their leaders just as they know those who are angling over nothing but security contracts and, probably oil blocks. They

know only too well those who are no longer capable of winning their own wards. With all due respect, they have since become what my dear aburo perspicaciously calls yesterday men. But their recruiters and patrons are well aware of these facts since all they need are muscle men to destabilize the Southwest. Their primary assignment is to 'uproot the tree and its branches', recreate a Boko-Haram -like situation in the West, and make the 2015 election impossible. That, they believe, will be enough to take the wind out of the sail of the APC, among whose leaders is the man they love to hate -Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

It still would have been tolerable if that were all. But the conspiratorial, clueless party, through sundry surrogates, old and young, is now aggressively recruiting some of our respected young men from the progressive camp, who apparently cannot see the irrationality of their being gubernatorial candidates on a platform as odious in the Southwest as the PDP. It will be nice to remind them again of the current trials of the Obasanjo group and what a state governor, Rotimi Amaechi is being made to go through in that party. The Yoruba, in their collective wisdom say when the front man runs into a ditch, those coming behind should learn appropriate lessons. They wont say we did not warn them when the chickens come home to roost, as they sure would.

It can be restated again, in conclusion, that what is heartening is the fact that the Yoruba, unlike many others, can very easily differentiate between the ongoing massive, multi-sectoral developmental strides in the region and the developmental aridity of the PDP years when even the road leading to Ota could not be completed in eight years.

Our people have said, and will surely vote: Never again to governmental cretinism.

Comment & Analysis

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

Tunji

Adegboyega tunjade@yahoo.co.uk

17

Champagne champions Nigerians drink like fish; rated second-largest consumers of champagne!

The rich drink champagne to show they are up there; but the poor are probably drinking in order to put their sorrow behind them. In other words, they drink and relax when all else has failed. Of course, as the 'happiest people on earth' that we are, we can afford to drink away our sorrows. That is why our breweries keep posting billions in profit annually. This is indication that their products are still selling in spite of the objections by some of our religions, particularly Christianity and Islam which believe it is 'haram' (sinful) to take alcoholic drinks.

Indeed, that reminds me of something I almost forgot; it will be interesting to see the champagne consumption pattern across the regions. This is necessary in view of the widespread belief that few people consume alcoholic drinks in the northern part of the country. It will also be interesting to see if the Boko Haram kingpins drink champagne as well or whether, like Western education, champagne is also sinful.

I recall that many years ago when I was on national service in Yola, then Gongola State, many big men who came for some of my youth corps female colleagues drank (alcoholic drinks) like fish. But they had a way of disguising what they were drinking because the drinks were poured from kettles similar to the ones they used to pray. The research into this matter must be thorough because I do not want anyone to call dog monkey for me. What I am saying is that I do not want to be told that what the big people in the north drink is non-alcoholic champagne because those who drink champagne do so not just as status symbol but also for the effect of its alcoholic

content. What else could have been the attraction in procuring dizziness if not to make one dizzy?

But I am still wondering why the adverts have not started pouring in congratulating our president for this feat that is happening in his time.

Could it be that those to place the adverts are waiting for us to clinch the first position? But that is only a matter of time; France will soon lose that position to its rightful owner, Nigeria. Then it'll be ours for keeps.

Nigerian Big Men (and Women) hate being beaten in such contest.

I hope someday, someone would do a survey again (the Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi compiled something like that before his death, but we need an update all the same) on Nigerian leaders' trips abroad, whether in the quest for foreign investors (in a country where there is no power and security cannot be guaranteed), or for medical tourism or, worse still, for money laundering, I have no doubt again that Nigeria will retain its first position.

On a last note, please join me in dancing to this song by one of our musicians of old: Ma mu 'ti laye nbi (2ce) Bo ya won ki mu lorun, Ma mu ti laye nbi Bo ya won ki mu lorun, Ma muti laye nbi.

Nigerian Athletics: tucked somewhere Postscript, Unlimited! between Achilles' heel and Athlete's foot

excessively large houses on them.

School children's games have no sponsors, so many of them run their competitive races barefoot in the hot, hot African sun. Can there be a surer way of getting athlete's foot? I ask you!

I ask you!

This country needs a more vigorous sports programme. It should begin by the thorough education of the populace on the beneficial role of sports, exercise and recreation in the life of the individual.

Most of the people adjudicating on sports matters in Nigeria today, sad to say, do not even know the meaning of the word and what it entails. I have also told this story before, but I will repeat it for the sake of the stone deaf.

Once, my friend and I were on our usual early morning's four-kilometre walk when one of her colleagues at work spotted us on the road and waved at us. Later on, the colleague accosted my friend and, in a spirit of camaraderie, jocularly patted her on the back for trying to cut down on fuel costs by hiking to work, our sports wears notwithstanding. That, my friend, is all the sports education most of us have around here. Now, imagine what happens if that knowing one were to become a sports minister!

On this world athletics day, I urge you to put on your hiking boots and your thinking cap. You need your boots to help you discover or rediscover what it feels like to liberate your body from the tight grip of laziness, inactivity, a sedentary lifestyle and insouciance to health matters and allow your body to come alive under the helpful hands of exercise. Go out and run. Your thinking cap will then fit you; and, like electric jolts passing into a death row convict, wisdom will pass into you like lightning bolts and you will join me to beg the government to take the matter of sports a little more seriously. Our very lives depend on it.

08054503906 (sms only)

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IGERIA, as this paper noted in an editorial last week, is indeed a huge theatre of the absurd. Or, how else do you explain our being the second largest champagne market, globally? Is it not strange that in a country where poverty is the hallmark of millions of faces, we still could find space for champagne to the point that we are number two among nations that consume it?

Of course to get to this position, the country coughs up N41billion to finance the importation of this luxury; thanks to Euromonitor International which made the revelation. According to it, between 2006 and 2011, we achieved a compound annual growth of 22 percent in champagne consumption.

Indeed, total champagne consumption reached 752,879 bottles (75cl) in 2011, higher than consumption in Russia and Mexico; therefore, placing Nigeria among the top 20 champagne markets in the world. Meanwhile, our Minister of National Planning, Dr Shamsudeen Usman has just told us that our dream (pipe dream?) of attaining one of the best 20 economies in the world by 2020 is no longer attainable.

According to the Euromonitor International data, in 2010, Nigeria consumed about 593,000 bottles, the highest in Africa. The closest to this figure was South Africa's 384,000 bottles. Like Nigeria, South Africa is another emerging market for luxury goods.

"Nigerian champagne consum-

By

Oyinkan Medubi 07057012862 (SMS only) puchuckles7@gmail.com

I

HAVE always loved the mythical story of Achilles. You know what myths are, don't you? They are generally those tales told by a people to convince themselves that they did not suddenly descend from the planet of apes and moronic monkeys, but have something closely resembling human beings in their ancestry by telling tall tales of heroes past. Imagine being imbued with the kind of supernatural powers Achilles is said to have been endowed with: invulnerability, heroism and extreme good looks.

Now, what would I not do with some good looks? Make the men swoon and fall flat before my very feet and the women green with envy, get abducted and fought for by very handsome men like Helen of Troy was, and very easily dispense good will to all men and women like confetti at a wedding. I would be able to afford it; after all, I would have all these good looks. Now, there is something to wish for.

You probably thought I would pick heroism? Pshaw! Don't you know, haven't you heard that heroism is not very profitable in Nigeria, what with the succession of uncaring governments at all levels that we have had? If we had not been having caring governments, someone, somewhere would have

ption is quite big,'' says Charles Armand de Belenet, global marketing and communications director, at Pernod's GH Mumm and Perrier Jouet Champagne brands, saying "we are building our network here and it is one of the most attractive places for us at the moment." Mind you, manufacturing ventures are leaving Nigeria in droves; Michelin has gone, Dunlop has left, almost all the textile industries have become history. But champagne producers can find space to build network here?

It is only the European markets that might have been taking by surprise that Nigeria could rank that high in global champagne consumption. As a matter of fact, Nigeria was not on their minds for the period 2011-2016. Countries like France (which tops the list), followed

by United Kingdom, Brazil and China as well as the United States and the upbeat Australian market were the ones listed. "However, what did come as a surprise was Nigeria's second place in these global rankings," says Spiros Malandrakis, senior alcoholic drinks analyst at Euromonitor International, in a keynote presentation at the 2012 Champagne Assembly held in London.

Obviously, they did not reckon with the proclivity of the Nigerian

rich for ostentatious lifestyle; but Nigerians would not have been surprised by the findings because they know their rich like they do the lines on their palms. Rose champagne is sold for N77, 000, while Demi-set brand is N55, 000 per bottle.

Krug and Crystal brands fall among the most expensive, with a bottle going for N165, 000 and N275, 000, respectively. But this is chicken change to many Nigerian rich, (never mind that minimum wage is about N18, 000 per month) most with inexplicable sources of the wealth they flaunt.

The good news is that knowing our rich for what they are, the demand for such luxury can only rise; backward never. Whatever negative things our rich do, they try to excel.

So, the champagne thing is just a confirmation of this.

But make no mistake about it; it is not only the rich that drink like fish here. As you know, for every drink that the white man brought, we have our local equivalents. So, while our rich go for expensive brands like champagne, the not-sorich also go for red wines, beer and stout, the same way the (so-called) poor also comfort themselves with ogogoro, burukutu, kanin kanin, our local brews that have been given all manner of names like te nle ana (get disgraced in your in-law's place), etc.

“Which other song could be more befitting for a country having its eyes on the trophy as the largest consumer of champagne than this which translates: I will drink in this world, whether they don't drink in heaven, I will drink on planet earth! Congrats in advance, Nigeria, champagne champions”

Now, I hear our brainy sports officials are thinking of going to Jamaica, not to import Jamaican rum, but to import Jamaican athletes! intermittently apologised to and greeted Nigerians for heroically bearing up all these decades with decaying infrastructure; without regular electricity, potable water, and adequate security; and with decaying sanity. So, no thanks, I cannot pick Achilles' heroism; it makes you suffer for nothing. Just ask the nation's athletes like Mary Onyali, Falilat Ogunkoya, and so on.

I have many times come to the conclusion that the nation's human resources are concentrated on the streets, in the mass of individuals who fleet with debonair carelessness between and among equally fleeting vehicular traffic, doing nothing but trading. And I have thought, ha!, there go perishing on our streets our farmers, students, intelligentsia, Platos, Aristotles, athletes, Jacks the Ripper, Houdinis, and all other materials that make a nation great while the country looks on. So, I was not too surprised to read an interview recently granted by Onyali, one of this nation's former athletes, where she expressed the notion that indeed, we are losing our best athletic materials to street trading.

Meanwhile, the athletic population of the country is drying out.

What exactly then is the problem?

Mammoth, and it begins with the government. Over the ages, our governments have had the primitive and stone age-inspired urge to always appoint people who have no inkling whatsoever into positions that require not just knowledge but a specialised kind of knowledge.

What kind of aberration on earth

should inspire the government to keep appointing non-sport related politicians to head the sports ministry is still a mystery. What do we expect him or her to do there but play politics of money and chess?

I have recounted the story before but I will tell it again mostly because I love laughing at my own stories, even if no one else does. A Nigerian sports contingent once went to attend a sports related conference taking place in a neighbouring country. By the time the contingent arrived it was led by the minister himself, had held up the opening ceremony by four or so hours, and it was fifty men or so too large! I agree, I may have exaggerated the number a little, but you must pardon me, I was not there, and my fellow Nigerians' unreasonable penchant for leaving their desks and following ministers around does get my goat. Anyway, I was told that all that the contingent did after the opening ceremony was take photographs before departing for home, to the consternation of the other countries' contingents. Very expensive pictures, you'll agree. That attitude just describes our Achilles' heel to the point.

Achilles' heel, which is said to have been the most tender and vulnerable part of his body, is the part that is said not to have entered the River Styx into which Achilles had been dipped as a child to give him his supernatural power and make him invulnerable to the enemy's arrows. So, that is the point of weakness in the supernatural body of our hero. Naturally, I have my own

theory. I think that his heel, like any other soldier's at the time, was the one part not covered by the whole armour which all soldiers were compelled to put on, much like every Nigerian household is now compelled to obtain a power generator set because of, you guessed it, the unserious attitude of our fellow Nigerians to work. Hmm, that Achilles' heel again!

This serious problem of attitude has incapacitated and cancelled the nation's long-standing tradition of fishing out talents from street games, schools' games and any other games to fill slots for competitions and bring glory to our motherland. Now, I hear our brainy sports officials are thinking of going to Jamaica, not to import Jamaican rum, but to import Jamaican athletes! That's even better.

In many instances, I heard that officials would even rather field their clueless relatives in those serious competitions so that the allowances could come 'to the house'. Oh yes, how else do you think Rome was built if not on that kind of patronage?

So, the nation's athletics programmes continue to suffer want for lack of athletes and brains and right minds.

As a result of this sobering fact, the nation has succeeded in courting a severe case of athlete's foot, the fungal infection that affects the foot, especially that of an athlete. No, the encyclopaedia did not say that last bit; I added it. Now, I am told, sports grounds all over the country have been taken over by politicians who prefer to build their tasteless and

Which other song could be more befitting for a country having its eyes on the trophy as the largest consumer of champagne than this which translates: ‘I will drink in this world, whether they don't drink in heaven, I will drink on planet earth!’ Congrats in advance, Nigeria, champagne champions

18

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

Comment & Analysis

BBC said I wasn't sexy enough

T was the era before Nigella, but even so Delia Smith has revealed that BBC bosses thought she was not “sexy enough” for television in the 1980s.

Smith, 71, said she was considered “too educational” by BBC Two bosses.

After her first series Family Fare failed to attract enough viewers on BBC One, she was later given a show on BBC Two but it did not impress the channel’s controller.

“The next controller said, ‘I don’t think this is sexy enough. I don’t think it belongs on my channel. I think it should go in education’. Apparently I was not sexy enough. I suppose it was a blow, but you can’t be everything can you?” she told The Mirror.

But Smith said the knock-back was the “best thing that ever happened” and inspired her to go back to basics, making her shows more popular.

Speaking last night at a Bafta event where she was hailed as a “national treasure” and given a special award for her contribution to broadcasting, Smith said the best thing about her career was the response from her viewers.

“I think the most rewarding and satisfying thing is meeting the people who use the recipes, read-

ing their letters- well, now their emails- but that’s always rewarding when you realise you are actually reaching people through this wonderful medium called television.”

She also spoke about her recently launched online cookery skills course, which she hopes will educate a new generation of cooks.

“At the moment we’ve got Delia Online cookery school and that’s my passion at the moment, to try and teach younger people who have not had any lessons and try and teach them the basics.”

But the much-loved TV cook admitted her online school will be her last venture into cooking programmes.

“There is no better way to teach. When I have done this I will stop, as it will be done for ever” she said.

Smith began her TV career in 1973 as presenter of Family Fare, following a brief spell as a swimwear model before becoming a cookery writer for The Mirror.

Her first cookery book How to Cheat at Cooking was published in 1971 and was later made into a three-part television series called Delia Smith's Cookery Course.

By Paul Krugman

E

•Delia-Smith

Her most recent series have included One is Fun, Delia's How to Cook, and Delia's Classic Christmas.

•Culled from The Independent

Mike Adenuga - A Samurai at 60 •Contd. from page 11

raking in unconscionable multiple millions on the basis that there was no way a "Per Second" billing for GSM telephone usage was possible in Nigeria, to sit up and know that a war was on. A Samurai nay, a Sumo wrestler had arrived on the scene. The Barracuda was determined to eat them live - salt or no salt, maggi or no maggi.

The rugged pursuit of his goal which culminated in his acquisition of the GSM licence is perhaps the ultimate public display of his ruggedness as a businessman and his fierce determination to succeed in life.

Adenuga had neither a golden spoon or nor a silver spoon -possibly a plastic spoon which was the business tutelage his enterprising mother gave him early in life. He had lost his father early in his life - the first Michael Agbolade Adenuga.

I often wonder whether the first Michael Agbolade Adenuga knew that he would not live long, that was why he decided to duplicate his name in our hero of today.

M. A. Jr. as he often signs his documents, is now a major brand in Africa. Perhaps the next task is to make the name a worldwide universal brand like Bill Gates, Donald Trump or Ray Kroc of McDonald's.

Adenuga had led an indifferent life as a secondary school boy at the famous Ibadan Grammar School. But just before he left for the United States a chance meeting in Lagos at a social gathering with the then unknown Lt. or Capt.

Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida turned out to a meeting with destiny.

The two of them got on like fish and water and became great pals. He openly acknowledges the good hand that IBB later dealt him and his business in life. But the question is - Where are the other Nigerians that IBB tried to provoke to success by being given an oil licence?

His training in America, the land of Horato Alger, of Nelson Rockefeller, of Andrew Carnegie, of J. P. Morgan, of W. Clement, Stone of Robert Schuller and his MBA at Pace University, New York must have inspired him that there is no mountain high or big enough to stop him from achieving any dream he determined to achieve.

Returning to Nigeria, he dabbled in commodities and real estate becoming a millionaire before age 30. Most young men of 30 then, even now would have lost their head with that asset value but not Mike Adenuga.

Rather, plotting his way to the top with the calculation of a master tactician he decided to go for the big game. He obtained two banking licences and soon after an oil bloc.

Ultimate risk taker There is the uncharitable gossip that he was fronting or is it backing for a known military officer. But there was a number of Nigerians that the IBB government decided to empower by such means. Every one of them except M. A. Jr. either sold off their licences to some pink coloured men or leased them out to collect yearly rent.

Against all odds, against the blandishments of foreign oil companies who told him he must want his head examined to think as a Nigerian he wanted to actually utilise, risk tens of millions

of dollars, dig the ground for oil without absolute, cast-iron guarantee of success. But M. A. Jr., the ultimate risk-taker did just that. The rest, as they say, is history.

This must have emboldened him to take the big, very big gamble of hundreds of millions of dollars to set up competition and get into the ring in the GSM market even against multinational brands like MTN, with then more financial, technical, management experience than the young Glo/David.

Adenuga was hitting them everywhere. The first blow was his introduction of the "per second billing". While his competitors were still struggling, trying to figure out what had bit them, he slashed the Sim card cost to N1.00. By that time, I myself thought he wanted his head examined. But he knew what he wanted - to lure customers onto the Glo network - and then they would have to buy recharge cards to stay alive there. He must have been a good study of John D. Rockefeller.

It is not only in his triumph against all odds in the Globacom issue that the Mike Adenuga genius is evident. He had prior to this acquired the loss-making Premium Motor Spirit dispenser, National Oil and Marketing Company Ltd, done a no-sentiment management overhaul that had the old management screaming and cursing and shouting - Blue Murder. Within a span of five years, he turned the company around to profitability. In this operation, which put him very much in the public eye, he showed that he did not mix business with sentiments. In hiring senior managers of any of his companies, after the recruitment consultants have done their jobs and done all the short listings, Adenuga is wont to want to sit on the panel where the final decisions are taken. Why? Not because he wants to impress the new entrants as to who the ultimate boss is but because in all entrepreneurs and management gurus from Henry Ford to Rockefeller to Lee Iacocca, Jack Welch, Stephen Covey, Tom Peters, Warren Buffet; there is the quality or gene in them to enable them to "smell" would-be staffers that have not just brilliant I.Os, impressive C.Vs but that unquantifiable factor that makes an employee an achiever, an ultimate star. I think the Jews calls that "chutzpah".

In any country, in any economy, you cannot run a conglomerate with trillions in yearly turnover without interfacing with the political leaders of your era. In Africa especially, this is a very tricky issue because today you have a liberal government, the next day a very conservative one and at various times you have ones that come to power after a dawn broadcast to "Fellow Countrymen". I think in this, having regard to the fact that Mike Adenuga was still in his 30s when he had to "walk" the political tight-rope with the Caesars of Nigeria. He has "walked this walk" so skilfully for over 30 years that he deserves a seat as a Visiting Professor of Political Science at any of our top universities.

Nowhere is his acute understanding of the political terrain and affairs of Nigeria more in evidence than during the "Rumble in the Jungle" of the 2001-2007 political era.

Not Enough Inflation

The arrogance of our major political players would not allow them to sit at Mike Adenuga's feet to learn about "How to swim with the sharks without being eaten alive?"

Some discussions I had with him during that era showed how perspicacious his understanding was. He knew where everybody would end up. Those that would get the yellow card, those that would get the red card and how a player masquerading as a referee would eventually dribble himself out of the field.

He was just brilliant. He knew who had the JOKER. It was from him that I got a quote I have treasured since then in my treasury.

Reflecting on two major gladiators of that era, Adenuga said that the mistake that one major player made was - "You don't bring out gun in a quarrel if you don't intend to use it." I will never forget that.

Mike Adenuga is the only person that I know - military opponent, politician or otherwise who totally and thoroughly outflanked, outsmarted outwitted "Aremu Aladiye".

Not even the legendary IBB, the "evil genius" who was manoeuvred out of the field, not even the murderous Abacha who was the Federal Reserve Bank's representative in Nigeria during his era, was able to achieve this.

What kind of a person is this guy?

Finally, a word about Mike Adenuga Jr's generosity. Over the last 30 years he has reached out to hundreds if not thousands of people in cash, in kind, buying or building houses and giving them away, giving out naira in tens of millions, giving out FX in various currencies in hundreds of thousands that I will not be surprised if his welfare budget is not in the billions every year.

There is this contemporary testimony of a friend of mine-a-man-about-town in Lagos social circles who had a major health challenge and managed to prevail over the understandable stumbling blocks that Adenuga has erected to prevent Nigerian pan-handlers from eating him up alive. He asked his aides to enquire where the fellow wanted to be treated - the U.K, the US or India. Inexplicably the fellow chose Nigeria and Adenuga shelled out breathtaking millions in Naira to his hospital.

On discharge, the fellow wanted to come say "Thank you" to his benefactor - but Adenuga made himself unavailable. Up till today, the man has been unable to see the guy who paid millions for his healthcare.

At 60, Mike Adenuga would not obviously be interested in the free bus ticket on London Transport to which he would be entitled. Rather, I think he would be looking for the next mountain to conquer.

Can I show him one? He should try to grow seven clones of Mike Adenuga Jr. - seven being the number of perfection.

Can I send my son across? But I don't want him working 30 hours a day like Adenuga.

Please, don't kill my son for me.

Mike - Welcome to the Senior Citizens' Club.

Happy Birthday to the SAMURAI our own ZAIBATSU!

VER since the financial crisis struck, and the Federal Reserve began “printing money” in an attempt to contain the damage, there have been dire warnings about inflation — and not just from the Ron Paul/Glenn Beck types.

Thus, in 2009, the influential conservative monetary economist Allan Meltzer warned that we would soon become “inflation nation.” In 2010, the Parisbased Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development urged the Fed to raise interest rates to head off inflation risks (even though its own models showed no such risk). In 2011, Representative Paul Ryan, then the newly installed chairman of the House Budget Committee, raked Ben Bernanke, the Fed chairman, over the coals, warning of looming inflation and intoning solemnly that it was a terrible thing to “debase” the dollar.

And now, sure enough, the Fed really is worried about inflation. You see, it’s getting too low.

Before I get to the trouble with low inflation, however, let’s talk about what we should have learned so far.

It’s not hard to see where inflation fears were coming from. In its efforts to prop up the economy, the Fed has bought more than $2 trillion of stuff — private debts, housing agency debts, government bonds. It has paid for these purchases by crediting funds to the reserves of private banks, which isn’t exactly printing money, but is close enough for government work. Here comes hyperinflation!

Or, actually, not. From the beginning, it was or at least should have been obvious that the financial crisis had plunged us into a “liquidity trap,” a situation in which many people figure that they might just as well sit on cash. America spent most of the 1930s in a liquidity trap; Japan has been in one since the mid1990s. And we’re in one now.

Economists who had studied such traps — a group that included Ben Bernanke and, well, me — knew that some of the usual rules of economics are in abeyance as long as the trap lasts. Budget deficits, for example, don’t drive up interest rates; printing money isn’t inflationary; slashing government spending has really destructive effects on incomes and employment.

The usual suspects dismissed all this analysis; it was “liquidity claptrap,” declared Alan Reynolds of the Cato Institute. But that was four years ago, and the liquidity trappers seem to have been right, after all.

And it’s worth mentioning another issue on which the inflation non-worriers have been vindicated: how to measure inflation trends. The Fed relies on a measure that excludes food and energy prices, which fluctuate widely from month to month. Many commentators ridiculed this focus on “core” inflation, especially in early 2011, when rising food and energy prices briefly sent “headline” inflation above 4 percent even as the core stayed low. But, sure enough, inflation came back down.

So all those inflation fears were wrong, and those who fanned those fears proved, in case you were wondering, that their economic doctrine is completely wrong — not that any of them will ever admit such a thing.

And, at this point, inflation — at barely above 1 percent by the Fed’s favored measure — is dangerously low.

Why is low inflation a problem? One answer is that it discourages borrowing and spending and encourages sitting on cash. Since our biggest economic problem is an overall lack of demand, falling inflation makes that problem worse.

Low inflation also makes it harder to pay down debt, worsening the private-sector debt troubles that are a main reason overall demand is too low.

So why is inflation falling? The answer is the economy’s persistent weakness, which keeps workers from bargaining for higher wages and forces many businesses to cut prices. And if you think about it for a minute, you realize that this is a vicious circle, in which a weak economy leads to too-low inflation, which perpetuates the economy’s weakness.

And this brings us to a broader point: the utter folly of not acting to boost the economy, now.

Whenever anyone talks about the need for more stimulus, monetary and fiscal, to reduce unemployment, the response from people who imagine themselves wise is always that we should focus on the long run, not on short-run fixes. The truth, however, is that by failing to deal with our short-run mess, we’re turning it into a long-run, chronic economic malaise.

I wrote recently about how, by allowing long-term unemployment to persist, we’re creating a permanent class of unemployed Americans. The problem of toolow inflation is very different in detail, but similar in its implications: here, too, by letting short-run economic problems fester we’re setting ourselves up for a longrun, perhaps permanent, pattern of economic failure.

The point is that we are failing miserably in responding to our economic challenge — and we will be paying for that failure for many years to come.

Culled from New York Times

POLITICS

19

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

Dr. Goodluck Jonathan once described himself as the world’s most criticised president . In this report, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, takes a look at why heattractssomuchcriticismand the issues raised by the critics.

that Boko Haram members are in his government. Who are those members that have infiltrated his government?”

He was reacting to Jonathan’s comments at a town hall meeting during his visit to Damaturu, Yobe State. The president had reportedly said “You cannot declare amnesty for ghosts. Boko Haram still operates like ghosts.

So, you can’t talk about amnesty for Boko Haram now until you see the people you are discussing with. When you call the Niger Delta militants, they will come; but nobody has agreed that he is Boko Haram; no one has come forward. If amnesty can solve the situation, then no problem, but nobody has come forward to make himself visible.”

S

INCE his dramatic emergence in 2011 as the elected President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has been a subject of seemingly unending scathing remarks and virulent public criticism.

At the beginning, when he first served as Acting President, later President and then elected President, it was mainly his known political opponents that raised alarm over his style of governance, describing him as “slow” and “weak.” Their criticism was understandably dismissed, by his associates and supporters, as a fruit of political intolerance, but when former national leaders, including the president’s political mentor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and other known associates within and outside his political party, (the People’s Democratic Party) joined others to publicly condemn most of his actions and policies, it has been a source of public concern.

Even Jonathan, in a bid to correct public perception of his person and that of his style of governance, has occasionally come out to explain the reasons behind his criticised actions and pace.

But so far, this has not succeeded in stopping such harsh criticisms as the number of Jonathan’s critics seem to increase by the day.

The critics have also become more blunt and daring.

For example, during the grand finale of the 2013 Police Week celebrations at the Eagle Square, Abuja, Jonathan had tried to exploit the opportunity to explain the peculiar circumstances that have hindered the efforts of his government in its fight against insecurity in the country. He had said rather poetically, “This is quite a trying moment for this country in terms of security. A number of our police officers have lost their lives while serving their fatherland. We have challenges from the South to the North and from the East to the West.”

Reacting to that explanation however, former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, cautioned the president to stop lamenting over the deteriorating security situation in the country and take appropriate steps to tackle the menace.

This, in a way, represents the current relationship between the president and his many critics. As he and his aides try desperately to explain what the critics consider his failures, they, in the opinion of his political opponents and some other Nigerians, fertilize more grounds for condemnation.

As a result, the question in the mouths of many Nigerians today is whether the President is completely unaware of how to get anything right or his critics are mainly being unduly harsh and intolerant?

To answer this question, it seems necessary to take a cursory look at the personality of the major critics and some of the issues they have raised.

Olusegun Obasanjo Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is today considered as one of the major critics of President Jonathan, was once his major political mentor. At the twilight of his eight-year tenure in 2007, Obasanjo had single handedly picked the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Jonathan to succeed him. At the demise of Yar’Adua, it was reported that Obasanjo remained a major pillar behind Jonathan as he volunteered his wide political connections to ensure the emergence of Jonathan as President.

Things have since changed as Obasanjo has been at the forefront of critics who have expressed disappointment over Jonathan’s score card in the anti-corruption crusade. Some of his latest verbal attacks on the Presidency include his views on the government’s plan to set up an agency to guard pipelines and fight against corruption.

Just last month, at a book presentation in Lagos, Obasanjo said of federal government’s

• Jonathan

• Ezekwesili

• Obasanjo

• El-Rufai

Jonathan and his many critics fight against corruption, “The poor enforcement of anticorruption laws in turn makes the citizenry less enthusiastic to act positively on any call by the government to (make) sacrifice(s).”

He contended that corruption remains the most serious factor undermining economic growth, regretting that African leaders know what to do, but that they have self-made constraints perpetuated by an elitist few in the political and bureaucratic class. “This class,” he said, “which forms less than 10 per cent of the population, consumes a whopping 90 per cent of the available resources. Their decadent orientation of personal opulence and conspicuous consumption is poisonous to growth.”

A few weeks later, at the 50th birthday ceremony of former World Bank Vice President, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, Obasanjo, also faulted the move by the Federal Government to set up an agency for pipeline protection, saying it was another way of stealing from the government coffers.

“When I was coming from Abeokuta, I was listening to the radio and they said they are going to set up an agency for pipeline protection. Now, what are the police there for? All the security agencies that we have, what are they for? This is another chop-chop,” he said pointedly.

Mallam Nasir El Rufai, Asides his recent advise on the need for the president to stop lamenting and concentrate on finding solutions to the security challenges of the nation, former minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has

for some time remained a major critic of the Jonathan administration.

For example, shortly after the Baga tragedy, El Rufai accused the Federal Government of being insensitive to the plight of the people of Baga, in Borno State.

He described as “saddening” the fact that the government disputed the number of people killed in a clash between members of Boko Haram and a military task force. According to him, the government should have instead found ways of alleviating the sufferings of the people.”

It would be recalled that in that incident, government said only 25 people died but some reports put the number of the dead at 185 or thereabout.

El Rufai had said, “It is unfortunate that we place so little values on human lives that we will be arguing whether six Nigerians have died or 185 or 200. When three people were killed in Boston, Obama left the White House to go and commiserate with the people of Boston. Perhaps more than 200 have been killed here and our own President is still sitting in Abuja. It then shows the kind of government that we have. It is pathetic, it is disappointing and God will make them to account.”

Also, when he featured as a guest on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, recently, El Rufai challenged Jonathan over the identity of Boko Haram leaders, alleging that the Federal Government knows much more about the sect than what it is letting out to the public.

“I think President Jonathan knows the leaders of Boko Haram because at one point he said

Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili Former Vice President of the World Bank, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, an influential former minister, who presided over the Due Process Office during the civilian government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, is another top flight leaders who has openly criticised the current federal government.

Her latest arsenal was when she alleged that Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan’s government wasted $67 billion (about N10.72 Trillion) left in the Federation Account by the Obasanjo’s administration.

Assessing the democratic government in Nigeria, she lamented: “Neither our thirty four years of cumulative military governance nor the nineteen cumulative years thus far of our democratic governance provided us “inclusive and accountable governance.”

“Instructively, a person, or as in our own case; a nation, is counselled to “stop digging when in a hole”. Lamentably, in our case, we have consistently rebuffed the wisdom behind that counsel. We have instead dug deeper and the more we have dug, the deeper into the hole we have sunk and all because of political misadventures.”

On corruption in Nigeria, Madam Due Process had this to say recently, “My general overview is that we are going through the throes of challenges that require a very strong sense of sacrificial leadership. The whole problem of a corrupted environment, the corruption in the society right now is so endemic, it has been democratised. And that is going to sink us. We need to tackle corruption and tackle it as you will tackle cancer. It can kill. “ There is no need pretending that this country is burdened by the weight of a cancerous phenomenon. Every Nigerian knows that we have a problem. This is a broken society and it has permeated every aspect of our national life.

So, we must have to do something about it.”

Urged to comment on recent controversial statements attributed to her, Ezekwesili said during her golden birthday, “Am I controversial? I don’t think. I am not one bit controversial. I am hard on the government. Is it probably because of the excess crude? No. you should say that the government did not handle its citizen who have served this nation with all her heart and my speech to the young people at the graduation ceremony was not picking on the government. It was picking on the act of the governance system in the petroleum sector on that fact that the oil sector has not delivered any benefit to the poor and that it was needed to be tackled. That was what it was about. I am not controversial.”

Apart from these critics, other outspoken leaders that have openly expressed disappointment over the policies and performance of Jonathan- led Federal Government or are openly opposed to it include the leaders of the major opposition political parties like the Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu- led Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and General Muhammadu Buhari-led Congress for Progressive Change [CPC] who have repeatedly declared that the government has failed.

Other major opponents include some Peoples Democratic Party state governors like Governor Aliyu Babangida of Niger State and Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, among others, whose opposition are traced to either 2015 succession bid or the leadership of Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

As the opposition increases, observers are urging the Jonathan-led government to seek ways of building more understanding and confidence as a way of easing political tension ahead of 2015. Dr Boniface Awah, who gave the advise in a chat with The Nation, said, “no meaningful development could be made under the current situation.”

20

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

Politics

Delta North and 2015 guber race O

NE issue that has dominated public discourse since 2011 when Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan began his second and final term in office as the governor of Delta State is the issue of which senatorial district should produce his successor in 2015.

And as the date for the next gubernatorial election gradually draws nearer, the discussions on the matter also get more intense. Rumours that some politicians who are not from Delta North Senatorial District are gearing up to throw their hats into the ring of the contest for the governorship seat are also heating up the polity.

Besides, the silence of the leadership of the party on the much-argued existence of a zoning arrangement that ceded the 2015 governorship to Delta North has continued to fan the embers of political agitation within the state.

For instance, the Anioma Agenda, a political pressure group that seeks the emergence of the governor of Delta State in 2015 from the northern Senatorial zone of the state, recently cautioned the Urhobo Progressive Union (UPU), against denying Delta North the chance to produce Uduaghan’s successor.

The group, in a press statement, jointly signed by its Chairman, Alex Nnamdi Onwudiamu and Secretary Godwin Ossai, said it was aware of what it called desperate moves by an Urhobo group to deny Anioma people their turn to be governor.

“This call became necessary due to current political manoeuvres with reference to a recent parley between Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and Urhobo Progressive Union (UPU), which we see as having the capability of creating disaffection among the different federating units in Nigeria with predictable consequences on the polity, peace and unity currently pervading the landscape in Delta State,” the statement read in part.

While urging UPU to exercise

Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, takes a look at the current moves ahead of next Delta State governorship race.

• Uduaghan restraint in the interest of the Delta State, Anioma Agenda explained that the Anioma people’s strategy to clinch the governorship position of Delta State in 2015, is that of “appeal and persuasion to the conscience of all, hinging primarily on the altar of equity and fairness and backed strongly by the political history of Delta State since its creation in 1991.”

The group added that the “Anioma people will obviously not accept to remain in a state where we do not have equal access to political power, neither are we going to say that in pursuance of our quest for power, that we are willing to engage all and sundry in a needless desperation for power at all costs.

“We are seeking, soliciting and

pleading for the support of the Urhobos, Ijaws, Isokos and the Itsekiris, knowing full well that an alliance within Delta State shall achieve for us the desired good and we advise other ethnic nationalities to follow this worthy example which is hinged on equity, justice and fairness. Indeed, we believe equity breeds unity,” Anioma Agenda said.

Similarly, Ndokwa Unite, a political pressure group based in Delta North, also rose from an enlarged meeting and said in a communique signed by Dr. Boniface Opia, Greg Ikoko and Mr. Mathew Emeni, that since the Delta Central and South districts had ruled the state for eight years respectively, any attempt to prevent the emergence of a gover-

nor from Delta North will heat up the polity.

The group further stated that it was important that other senatorial districts support the quest of Delta North for the 2015 gubernatorial race, disclosing specifically that the gubernatorial seat should go to Ndokwa ethnic nationality.

But if feelers emanating from various political camps in the state are to be considered strong enough, then the people of Delta North will have to brace up for serious politicking if their dream of producing the next governor is to come to fruition.

This is because numerous politicians from the two other senatorial districts appear to be opposed to the zoning arrangement being canvassed

Obi: Place of traditional rulers in our democracy T HE way some governors sometimes infringe on the fundamental rights of the people they took oath to govern has become a source of concern.

It goes without saying that a governor, nay any political office holder, is not a task-master with the citizenry as slaves, or servants.

In point of fact, it is the governor who is the servant, the person chosen by the people through the instrument and machinery of the ballot box to work for them and to be at the helm of affairs to take charge of and control the affairs of government and governance.

Some governors are yet to come to terms with this reality of the servant-leader role cast upon them, as some of them are filled with sheer arrogance and even contempt and disdain for the people who elected them into office in the first place.

This is a reprehensible conduct, to say the least. Perhaps, on account of the prolonged period of military incursion into governance in the country, a lot of people are yet to come to terms with the reality of our democracy with the constitution as the grand norm and supreme law.

Take, for instance, a recent development in Anambra State, where Governor Peter Obi threatened to sanction some traditional rulers from the state for honouring a wedding invitation from a son of the state in Lagos. A top flight businessman, Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, who hails from Anambra State, had reportedly ex-

By Ikechukwu Okpala

tended an invitation to some traditional rulers, Presidents-General of town unions and other opinion leaders and stakeholders from the state to witness his younger sister’s wedding in Lagos.

The business icon, as is customary in Igboland, hosted his guest in Lagos and conducted them round his office, business places and facilities in Lagos. Thereafter, he gave them customary Kola in form of money for honouring his invitation. For this, Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State became infuriated. He quickly put together a seminar during which he threatened to sanction the traditional rulers who made the trip to Lagos at the behest of Ubah. He also asked them to return the sum of three thousand dollars each, allegedly given to them by Ubah.

He also upbraided the traditional rulers for daring to travel out of the state without approval from him or his Special Adviser on Chieftaincy Affairs.

I am not aware of any law which makes it mandatory or compulsory for a governor to be notified before hand before a traditional ruler could travel outside the state.

So, I consider the governor’s alleged threat or suggestion most indefensible and untenable. It shows he has a wrong notion of the place of traditional rulers in our demo racy. His reported action creates a negative and disgusting impression that traditional rulers have suddenly become servants or er-

rand boys of governors. Governor Obi’s hypothesis is, to say the least, absolutely demeaning to the institution of traditional rulership in Igbo land. This is the first time in Igboland that a governor would demand that a traditional ruler will not leave the state unless he, as the governor, is put in the know about the trip.

It is interesting that Obi attempted to justify his position by stating that he could not travel out of Nigeria without the knowledge of the President. Now, the two scenarios are wholly and totally different. Obi does not seek the consent of the President before traveling out of Anambra State to another State. In the same manner, a Traditional Ruler from Anambra State need not put Obi in the know that he is going to Lagos. For the avoidance of doubt, Obi did not select or appoint them as traditional rulers.

The traditional rulers are not under Obi. They are not his appointees or aides. In fact, Obi rightly observed that they are ‘Primes Inter Pares’ among their subjects and the veritable custodians of the custom of their people.

He also opined that their people look up to them for inspiration, guidance and direction. If Obi truly made these observations from his heart of hearts, why would he not have seen the futility of his directive, which is akin to an instruction from a master to his servant.

The frivolity and mischief implicit in Obi’s reaction to the traditional ruler’s trip to Lagos came to

a head when he reportedly asked the royal fathers to return the money which they received from their son, Ubah. He also promised to provide SUV vehicles to the traditional rulers very soon.

There is no need denying the fact that this is an absolute descent from the sublime to the ridiculous.

It shows the abysmal level and depth to which governance has fallen in Anambra State. It is strange that a governor should lose sleep over a social visit by the Igwes to Lagos. Obi’s reaction to the trip smacks of psychological defeatism.

It paints His Excellency as a man who is unserious.

It is a sad commentary on the way things are done in Anambra State that Obi should abandon his constitutional responsibilities to fret over frivolities.

The SUVs reportedly promised

by Mr. Obi at this time looks like a Greek gift. Of course, it should be rejected outright. It is curious that the governor wants to give the cars to the traditional rulers free of any cost at the twilight of his tenure.

Why did he not give them the cars before now? Is Obi afraid of anything? Why did it take the traditional rulers’ visit to Lagos for Obi to remember the SUVs? I do not see how anybody would deny the allegation that the proposed car gift to the natural rulers has a political undertone. So, I join other right thinking Anambra indegines to urge Obi to leave the royal fathers alone.

- Ikechukwu, wrote in from Onitsha, Anambra State

by Delta North. The critics of the arrangement say the contest should be thrown open in order for the best candidate to emerge as governor in the interest of the state.

The National Chairman of Urhobo Political Movement (UPM), who is also Commissioner representing Ughelli North and Ethiope East Local Government Areas on the board of DESOPADEC, Emaye Obiewevre, recently declared that there will be no zoning in Delta State come 2015.

While emphasising that only a credible candidate should be allowed to occupy Government House in 2015, Obiewevre urged Deltans to be wary of politicians with hidden agenda who come to them under the guise of zoning.

“We don’t want somebody who will come to Government House to implement an ethnic agenda. Those aspiring to the governorship under the banner of one ethnic group or the other should be resisted by the people.

“So we must all resolve that in 2015 we will not select our candidate based on tribal line, rather our yardstick for selection of candidate for Government House will be credibility, purposeful leadership and the interest of Deltans,” he said.

Toeing a similar path, the Chairman of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) in the state, Tony Ezeagwu, said zoning does not exist in his political party currently ently and that he was not a party to any arrangement about rotation of political offices within the PDP fold.

“As far I am concerned, if an Anioma man comes to my party to take the governorship form, I will not deny him. And if an Urhobo man comes to take form, I will not deny him either. This is because in my party, there is no zoning arrangement for now. Our party is open for all Deltans."

But Delta State House of Assembly Speaker, Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei, during a consultation visit to him at his residence by leaders of the Anioma Agenda, while reiterating his earlier commitment to peaceful co-existence in the state, applauded the overall developmental programme put in place by Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, adding that the existing tripod that led to the emergence of a Delta Central and South indigenes occupying the number one seat of the state should be symbol for promising equity, fairness and justice.

The speaker said there are enough bases for the Aniomas to have a shot at the governorship in 2015. He, however, advised the group to maintain absolute decorum while persuading other senatorial districts who are yet to key into this laudable programme to do so without over heating the polity for the general good of the entire state.

In the opinion of Chief John Ehikwe, former secretary of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the old Bendel State and the national coordinator, Anioma Awareness Initiative, a group of leading politicians championing the quest for a governor from Delta north, the district is ready to govern the state.

“I want to tell you that Delta North Senatorial District is the most united district in the state. For instance, since we started this question on who is to occupy the Government House come 2015, there has not been anybody who has come to say we do not want to produce the governor.

All the groups that came out have been saying that it is our turn," he said.

But the question remains how far the people of Delta North can go in their quest to be allowed to produce the next governor of a state as multiethnic and diverse as Delta? Only time can provide an answer to this question.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

Politics

21

‘We have lost confidence in Ondo election petition tribunal’ Y

OU were the candidate of the CPC in the last governorship election in Ondo state. What motivated you to run for the Ondo State governorship?

Until I ran for governorship, I was working as a senior consultant at the European Commission. From 2007 to 2009 when the appeal court pronounced him winner of the 2007 governorship election, we backed the incumbent, so we could engender significant change in terms of infrastructural development, ensure transparency and accountability in the management of state resources, bring Ondo State to the forefront in relation to industrial growth, stimulate, in an impressive manner, the generation of employment opportunities for our teeming unemployed youths and generally make Ondo State a strong reference point like Lagos in terms of good governance. Unfortunately, a year or two after the inception of this government, it dawned on many, including myself, that our confidence in the ability of the incumbent to bring about the desired change was utterly misplaced.

It was a case of a government that was simply drifting although obsessed with media spin meant to give an impression it was performing. This state of affairs was not what we had hoped for and many people felt that given my deep and broad experience in public sector change, I should put myself forward to salvage our state After the October election, your and your party presented a petition to the Ondo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal challenging the results of that election. What happened thereafter?

After presenting the petition, it was dismissed at the pre-trial stage by the tribunal in a way that conveyed an hasty disposition to prevent us from providing evidence. Of

Soji Ehinlanwo contested as the governorship candidate of Congress for Progressive Change [CPC] in the last gubernatorial election in Ondo State. In this interview with Damise Ojo, he explains why his party petitioned the Appeal Court President to disband Ondo State Election Petitions Tribunal and other related issues. Excerpts. course, we challenged the dismissal of our petition at the Appeal Court. The appeal court agreed with us that it was wrong to dismiss our petition without allowing us to present evidences and to show in full trial our grounds for disputing the outcome of that election. The petition was then referred back to the tribunal for trial on its own merit But, there were reports that after the tribunal resumed sitting a few weeks ago to hear your matter, you refused to appear before it. What were your reasons and what happened after wards?

When the tribunal gave its judgement, I was in Europe. We referred the judgement to our lawyer at the time and it was agreed that the judges erred in many respects in relation to their decision to strike out our matter.

A decision was then taken to appeal against the judgement at the Appeal Court. I returned to Nigeria after our victory at the appeal court and then took some time to fully study both the Tribunal and the Appeal Court judgements.

I was extremely shocked by some of the pronouncements of the tribunal judges in the judgement which they delivered and it became crystal clear to me, my state party chairman and other party members that their pronouncements reflected unacceptable and manifest bias against myself and the CPC,

obviously with a view to favouring the respondents.

We felt fully convinced that it would not serve the course of justice for us to subject ourselves and our petition to a panel which appeared to have already made up its mind about our petition even before we adduced evidences given the wild conclusions they made and the negative and condescending opinions they expressed about myself and our petition which seemingly had no bearing to points of Law. Consequently, we presented a petition to the Appeal Court prior to the day we were due to appear in the tribunal, requesting the panel should excuse themselves from adjudicating on our petition or in the absence of this, they should be disallowed from presiding over our petition while a new panel should be constituted to hear our matter.

That petition is now with the President of the Court of Appeal.

What specific pronouncements made by the tribunal judges did you find reflected manifest bias as you claimed First and foremost, in the judgement, they claimed that I admitted that I scored a certain number of votes as against some number of votes scored by the ACN, PDP and two other parties in a manner suggestive of an affirmation of the results as declared by INEC

• Ehinlanwo

even before full trial.

I am lost as to how they came about the conclusion that I made the admission they claimed I made.

Secondly, they also appeared to me to be deliberately working toward a pre-determined outcome when they questioned the validity of my nomination.

Thirdly, the panelist veered into the political fray making wild assertions, disparaging remarks and ludicrous statements about myself without basis which appeared to be deliberately targeted at undermining and demeaning the petition and myself in the eyes of my supporters and the general public.

How this related to points of law still beats my imagination.

‘Aged politicians have failed Nigerians’ Nneka Nwaneri recently had an encounter with Hon. Uche Nwosu, the Imo State Commissioner for Lands, Survey, Housing and Urban Development and reports his views on Land Use Act, community government in Imo State, his land reforms in Imo State and youths in politics, among other issues.

A

S one of the youngest cabinet members in Governor Rochas Okorocha government, Imo State Commissioner for Lands, Survey, Housing and Urban Development, Uche Nwosu believes the time has come for the youth to make their mark in public administration.

As an undergraduate studying Urban and Regional Planning at Imo State University (IMSU), Owerri, Nwosu had a vision, which he nurtured as a student union activist who believed in change.

His brilliance and erudition caught the attention of the President of Rochas Foundation, who appointed him as his Personal Assistant. He was later to become the Deputy Chief of Staff to the foundation’s Founder, now Imo Governor.

Prior to that, he was Director of Finance and later National Secretary of the Action Alliance, a political party. Nwosu, who has traveled extensively, has undergone further training in Town Planning, Estate Management, Human Resource Development, Corporate Governance, Intelligence and Security.

In June 2011, Governor Okorocha appointed him his Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations). In April last year, he was also appointed Commissioner for Lands, Survey and Housing.

To him, his experience has “been a big challenge as land is something almost everybody in the society – middle class, the rich and lower income earners has something to do with.”

Explaining how he has been coping, he said: “One lapse I met in the ministry, which we are fast handling, is the issue of having Certificate of Occupancy (C-of-O) and land documents being kept in the files.

“Like the Information Development Agency in Abuja, we have been able to adopt such in Imo state Imo State with the Geographical Development Agency, where you have our landed documents in a system or

• Nwosu data.

“It makes searches easier, rather than rummaging through thousands and millions of files which are not easily accessible. Finding a single file used to be cumbersome, but now, just keying in a man’s name and house number and every detail of that person will come out.”

On how how his ministry has been tack-

ling the usual rift between communities and government over land, he said, “In previous years, there are some lands that were acquired in the last 20-30 years. No compensation was paid the land owners and government could not work on the land. Now the compensations have been paid. Now, people can easily enter their land and build and government can freely enter and do its projects.”

Contributing to the controversies surrounding Land Use Act, Nwosu said: “We have issues with the Land Use Act which gave the governor power to acquire and manage the state lands. Frankly, I feel if the Act is amended, it might have a negative effect or positive effect.

“So, if the Act is changed, it will be difficult for government to acquire lands for public use.

The commissioner is full of praises for the community government. Reaching illiterate rural dwellers with the needed information may be difficult in other places, but not in Imo, says Nwosu.

“We reach out to the elderly and those in the rural areas through the Community Government. Before now, it used to end at the Local Government level, where every information goes to the Local Government headquarters.

“But now, in every community, we have a youth leader, a women leader, executive secretary, community liaison officer (CLO), traditional rulers and the secretaries. The traditional ruler is the head of the Community Government. The youth leader is in charge of sports and security.

Nwosu did not shy away from commenting on the recent impeachment of the former Deputy Governor of the state. Responding, he said, “It is unfortunate it happened as he is someone we have seen to have worked closely with the governor. This particular issue is a shock that has come to be.

“In life, things come up and other things remain the way they are. The governor tried his best to make sure such a thing doesn’t come up, but the House of Assemble has its own statutory rules. It is a constitutional matter that even if the governor had tried hard to interfere, he might be made to face the House. So, he could not stop the investigation of the House Insecurity, especially kidnapping, has remained a problem in the South-East. Does the commissioner think the governors are doing enough to solve the problem? “Yes,” he said, adding, “Governors of the SouthEast have done well. But it is not a problem only governors should tackle. We as individuals have a stake in it. In Imo State, kidnapping has reduced drastically. Now, it is hardly heard of because government decided to put men on ground, apart from the Nigerian Police and military personnel. It formed the Imo Security Department which ensures that people who reside in a community knows the bad ones.

How has Nwosu brought the benefits of youth to the office he occupies? He said: “I totally buy the idea of the young ones taking up public offices. Like in Imo State, the level of development here is superb.

“The brain is just like a car. If it is used for 30 years, it becomes worn out. If one was a commissioner in 1979 and he is brought in to be a commissioner in 2013, those things he was used to in 1979 are gone. We are in a jet age and we must move in accordance with the speed.

“Other countries have keyed into it. Even United States President Barrack Obama began as a young man. So, the young ones should be given a chance to lead this country.

Does Nwosu think a Southeasterner can be President in 2015? “It is possible for an Igbo to become president,” he said with conviction. “Ideally, the president is not to suppose to be from a particular section or tribe,” he added.

“But let the best candidate win because it is not a do or die affair. So, Nigerians should vote for the best candidate. Sentiments should be done away with. If Igbo are to be president, they will need the cooperation of other tribes.”

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

Politics

Amaechi, Wike and battle for Rivers’ political soul N

O one saw it coming. For the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and his supporters, the unexpected judgment of the Abuja High Court, presided over by Justice Ishak Bello, that sacked the Godspower Ake-led Rivers State PDP executive council, caught everyone unprepared.

In the words of an aide to the governor, “The judgment caught us unawares. We were banking on the fact that since a Port Harcourt High Court had affirmed the election of Ake, another court of concurrent jurisdiction will not decide otherwise.

Now, we know better.”

Like a well scripted plot, the flurry of activities that ensued 24hours after the judgment was as dramatic as it was spell binding. First, the PDP national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, inaugurated a new executive council, led by Mr. Felix Abuah, which won the suit against the Ake-led council. The inauguration was witnessed by the Minister of State for Education, Nyesome Wike, former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Austin Opara, among others.

Swearing-in over, Abuah with his supporters stormed Port Harcourt to formally take-over the reins of the party.

Their arrival at the Port Harcourt airport was a carnival of sorts, with hundreds of PDP members in the state on hand to welcome them.

From that moment till date, the Rivers’ political space has been on edge with a camp loyal to Amaechi fighting for its political relevance and survival against forces loyal to Wike and by extension, President Goodluck Jonathan, whose relationship with the governor has been frosty in recent times.

Dissolution of LG executives and Amaechi’s counter-move To stamp his authority on the running of the party, Abuah dissolved 10 local government executive councils of the party, which are believed to be loyal to Amaechi, replacing them with caretaker committees. This move, according to sources, was to obliterate the governor’s structures in the party at the grassroots.

Not done yet, Abuah issued a stern warning to Amaechi and his supporters to stop denigrating Jonathan and the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, or face expulsion from the party. Abuah was obviously referring to a statement by the Chairman, Rivers State caucus in the House of Representatives, Dakuku Peterside, who was alleged to have said that the Abuja High Court ruling that sacked Ake was influenced by ‘the oga and madam at the top.’

Within days, the governor’s camp responded in kind. The Rivers State House of Assembly, whose 27, out of its 32 members, are believed to be loyal to the governor, sacked the Obior/Akpor Local Government Council whose administration is said to be loyal to Wile.

2015 governorship race now dicey If the present power dynamics in the oil-rich state remains sustained till next year when preparations for the next general elections kicks off in earnest, can the governor determine who succeeds him in 2015?

At the last count, five people are reported to be interested in taking over from Amaechi. They are Wike; Senator representing Rivers East, Magnus Abe; another serving senator, George Sekibo, a former governorship aspirant, Tonye Princewill and Dakuku Peterside, the 42 years-old Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum (Upstream).

Wike, the arrowhead of the battle against Amaechi, has expressed his interest in the race. A die-hard supporter

The ongoing crisis in the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the attendant battle for political supremacy among its major stakeholders is redefining the power dynamics of the oil-rich state, reportsAssistant Editor, Remi Adelowo

• Amaechi

of the president, however, the fact that he hails from Ikwerre like Amaechi, sources say, may count against him.

Some months ago when members of the president’s kitchen cabinet realised that Amaechi’s belligerent posture to Jonathan was getting out of hand, a plot was hatched to cut the governor to size. Wike, it was gathered, was allegedly handed a clear brief to decimate Amaechi’s hold on the state’s politics.

Backed with heavy logistics to make actualisation of the agenda smooth sailing, some of the measures agreed on include first, take control of the state PDP; infiltrate the House of Assembly to turn against Amaechi and also enlist the support of other stakeholders who have one score or the other to settle with the governor.

The Nation gathered that the Presidency has been quite satisfied with the minister’s efforts so far. This factor may work in Wike’s favour when the battle for the 2015 governorship race gets under way.

For Magnus Abe, his candidacy may not fly though many party members in the state believe he has the experience and comportment to be governor. A close associate of the governor, Abe has refrained from making any controversial statement since the crisis in the Rivers PDP started.

Sekibo, The Nation gathered, has been making quiet moves in the last few months in order to become the PDP governorship candidate for Rivers State in 2015. Sources revealed that the fact that he has not openly identified with Amaechi and activities of the state government in the last two years

• Wike

has not gone unnoticed in the Presidency, which may settle for him as a consensus candidate when the dust finally settles.

Is Peterside the choice of Amaechi?

Unconfirmed reports have it that Peterside is the preferred choice of Amaechi to succeed him in 2015. That probably explains why the young lawmaker has been very strident in his criticisms of the Presidency’s perceived onslaught against Amaechi.

Amaechi’s few options If the governor is eventually forced out or sidetracked in the affairs of Rivers PDP, which the persistent battle against him could lead to, an aide of the governor disclosed that several options are already being looked at to guarantee the latter’s political future.

The first option, according to the source, is to keep exploring the legal angle and hope that the judiciary comes to the governor’s rescue by restoring the Ake-led executive council.

Another option being canvassed by a minority in the governor’s camp is to defect to the emerging All Progressives Congress (APC), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) or the Labour Party (LP). But in the opinion of the majority, this move may not come that easy. The argument of this school of thought is that with the total control of the structures of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the state which is arguably the biggest partner in APC in the state by Dr. Abiye Sekibo, an alleged political foe of the governor, then moving to APC should be foreclosed for

now.

Moving to APGA is also fraught with obstacles. The party in the state is controlled by men loyal to ex-governor of the state, Dr. Peter Odili, and led by its 2011 governorship candidate, Sir Celestine Omehia, whose six months tenure as governor in 2007 was cut short by a ruling of the Supreme Court, which sacked him and installed Amaechi. In spite of the public rapprochement of the trio, sources disclosed that their relationship remains frosty.

The LP is also not an option for Amaechi and his supporters, revealed a source within the camp. The reason may not be unconnected to the decision of the Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, who is the major financier of the party not to do anything that would put him at daggers-drawn with the president.

Amaechi’s no-love-lost with exmilitants Another factor that may come into play in the 2015 battle is the perceived influence of some ex-militants in the politics of the state.

These ex-militants, it was gathered, enjoy a no-love-lost relationship with Amaechi, who waged a relentless war against them on his assumption of office in 2007. One of them, Ateke Tom, not only had his camp in the outskirts of Port Harcourt destroyed by security agents on the orders of Amaechi, he was also literally declared a persona-non-grata by the state government.

The big question is: will Amaechi overcome his political travails or get consumed by them? Time will tell.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

Politics

I am not a spare tyre

23

Political Politics turf

—Katsina State deputy governor Alhaji Abdulahi Faskari,the Deputy Governor of Y Katsina State, in this interview with Adetutu Jonathan’s singleAudu, says deputy governors are not spare tyres. with Bolade Omonijo boladeomonijo@yahoo.com

ou headed the education ministry for two years, how different was it from the justice ministry which you also headed before becoming deputy governor?

Part of the challenges we had when I was appointed there was on the issue of recruitment of teachers and of course the governor gave approval for more than 3000 teachers for the secondary schools. It was during my time that the governor, in collaboration with the local government areas, built additional secondary schools, about 100 of such, in order to reduce congestion in our secondary schools. The foreign scholarship programme, which is now popular in and out of the country, had just started at that time. A number of people thought it was not going to be sustained, perhaps because of the enormity of the resources involved. We started with only one programme when we started.

About 111 students of Katsina State origin were recruited and gotten admission into universities in Sudan. Sudan has some kind of peculiarities with Katsina State, particularly with reference to the girl- child education. A number of parents here will not allow their daughters to go for the western education.

How was your tenure at the justice ministry?

In justice ministry, it is basically service delivery, you don’t normally see tangibly what is being done; most of what is being done is rooted in service.

How would you describe your relationship with the governor?

I think if there is a word better than cordial, I will use it because that is what it is. I don’t have any problem with my principal probably because of a number of reasons. The governor himself is a straight forward person. And once you understand his own approach to issues or things, it will be easier to go along with him. The governor is a professional colleague. He is a lawyer of international repute. Don’t forget that I was Attorney - General in the second administration of the late Musa Yar’Ádua. The governor was privileged to be the first Attorney- General to the late president; he served from 1999 to 2003 and I took over from him. And I was reappointed by the governor in 2007 still as Attorney- General. And he later redeployed me to education because of my

• Faskari

background in education. So, all these steps have given one enough time to understudy him on what he likes and doesn’t and how one can key into his vision for the state.

How true is the assertion that deputy governors are mere spare tyres?

I don’t think that phrase is applicable to me because I know of my own peculiar circumstance and system. If others have problems with their principals, it should not extend to me because this can be attested by everybody in the state that the number of work I have here is enormous.

Beyond the fact that one is the deputy governor, I also supervise the local government affairs.

As an agrarian state, to what extent is the government assisting farmers in agriculture?

There are a number of programmes

Political

ripples Niger 2015: Waiting for Muhammed Babangida

A

term proposal

He also spoke on other issues. Excerpts

waiting game is ongoing in Niger State as we speak. The wait, reliable sources claim, is not about anything or anybody other than Alhaji Muhammed Babangida, son of former military President, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida. The rumour mill has been agog for a while now that the young Babangida is interested in vying for the governorship seat of the state. The seat it was gathered has been zoned by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to the northern senatorial district where the Babangidas hail from.

Perhaps to send out early signals of his seriousness, souvenirs and posters of Muhammed recently flooded various parts of the state. With this, it became more obvious that the Babangidas are not joking after all.

That started the waiting game. There are indications that two groups of waiters are involved. While there are those waiting for Muhammed to publicly declare his intention for them to jump in the wagon of support and solidarity for him, there are also those waiting to tell him to his face that he is not fit to govern the north central state.

The two groups sure have their reasons but these reasons may not be known to all until Babangida opens up.

directly affecting agriculture and production in the state. The governor distributed 340 tractors to farmers at subsidised rate, not only at subsidised rate but the payment method is five years. So, in a way, you can say the tractors are free.

The issues of fertilizer which of course is very crucial to agricultural production, the governor took it upon himself to provide fertilizer equally at subsidised rate, both for dry and raining season farming.

There is also loan to the farmers, free of interest. There is also a scheme going in the state now in partnership with the Shanghai, also initiated by the governor.

What brought about the idea of building a new government house, what happens to the present one?

If you look at Katsina, I don’t know how conversant you are with the state.

The Katsina of 10, 5 years ago is different from the Katsina of today. Things have dramatically changed in terms of infrastructure. You find people who, for sometime had not been to the state, asking people before they can locate their way.

Things have really changed. If you see the ring road, you see that things are changing because it is connecting major townships in the state. The essence of the new government house is not because the present one is not good but not in consonance with the new trend of what is happening in the state.

Having been in government for more than 10 years, are you fulfilled?

Why not? You know I have been in government for more than 10 years now.

And you know that there are a lot of people who are equally and even more qualified than I am but they didn’t have the opportunity to serve. I can even say I have taken more than my share in the state in relation to the number of citizens of the state. If you are to distribute this among those eligible, you will understand that I have taken more than my share and that is why I am grateful to God.

Like Okorocha like Ewherido

T

HE scenario

playing out in the A l l Progressives G r a n d Alliance (APGA) over the resolve of a faction led

by Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State to be part of the emerging All Progressives Congress (APC) is presently being replicated in the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP). A few days ago, some members of DPP with Senator Pius Ewherido as the arrowhead, held a convention in Abuja where they ratified its merger with other opposition political parties to form APC. But other members, particularly from the senator’s home state, Delta are kicking against the merger plan. Sources revealed that the reason may not be unconnected with the politics of 2015, with reports claiming that a chieftain of the party, Great Ogboru, who is planning to re-contest the governorship election, is bent on stopping Ewherido, who is also said to be interested in taking over from Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in 2015.

A

T this point, I think it appropriate to ask: What exactly does President Good luck Jonathan want?

His cheerleaders and godfathers have been campaigning for s return ticket for more than one year now.

They did not wait to see their man perform and sell himself to Nigerians before seeking to seize the public domain to canvass a second term. For them, it does not matter that only one good term should deserve another. Or, could it be that they took a cue from Igbinedion’s Edo where the father said his son deserved a second term precisely because he had failed to perform at the first opportunity?

It could also be that proponents of the Return Jonathan Project felt he had demonstrated sufficient capacity during the preview of his first tenure offered by the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2010. Jonathan had nearly two years to show that he understood the problem with Nigeria and had the capacity to fix it. His men could have taken the verdict returned at the poll in 2011 as a validation of the theory that Nigerians were satisfied with his performance. He, too, in turn, could have been served the vodka of power, believing, like Louis the XIV, that he has all it takes to force his decision on the people, not minding the difference in epochs, systems and personalities.

Thus far, it would appear that President Jonathan has been misled into believing the superiority and invincibility of his opinion. He has now come up with the campaign for a single term of six years. It is not an altogether new proposition. In the Abacha Constitutional Conference, it came up alongside such strange suggestions as collegiate presidency and multiple vice presidency. It is not the first time President Jonathan would be backing such a proposal. He had earlier surreptitiously passed the corrosive view to the federal lawmakers and sought, in a nation-wide televised debate, to justify the plan. He said it would save cost of electioneering, win more time for a government to work, perform and win the hearts of the people. He also feigned concern for the health of the polity, arguing that, with elections in the third world taking the form of battles, it would be unfair to subject the country to such consistent tension that grips it at election periods.

What our dear president failed to tell us is what he, as a loving leader, has done to douse tension and concentrate on governance. By the end of this tenure, he would have been in office for about six years, why is he finding it difficult to shut up his paid agents hopping about spreading the gospel that he has a right to another term and would exercise the right? Isn’t it obvious to our president that it is not every right that you exercise? If Jonathan so loves this country, he would make a categorical pronouncement immediately that he has no interest in 2015 and much of the needless fog on the scene would clear.

No one would be taken in by the suggestion that he might not offer himself for another tenure that would push his rule (or reign) to an unprecedented ten unbroken years.

I am of the view, as most Nigerians, I suppose, that the Jonathan years have been an unmitigated disaster. The administration is a study in cluelessness and ineptitude that only the Shagari years could rival. How would anyone justify the expenditure of public fund in celebrating 100 years of a colonial contraption? And, that, over a period of one year! How would anyone explain the actions taken in recent times by a government that claims to be fighting corruption but is, at the same time, rewarding sleaze? In the Jonathan government are people who were being investigated for corrupt practices at the point of appointment.

Under his administration, corruption has been given a boost. The pardon of former Bayelsa State governor, Dr. DSP Alamieyeseigha is the latest in the series of activities marking the leadership as one that worships in the temple of corruption. There is the job scam, the pension fund scam, the fuel subsidy fraud and the rot in the judiciary, among others. The most charitable analyst can only describe the federal government as confused.

If corruption were limited to the financial, it probably would not be as dangerous as the situation has assumed now. All institutions and processes have been compromised and most public officials believe that they can literally get away with murder. The worst is process leading to recruitment of political leaders (or dealers). Party officials are turned at such points to auctioneers at bazaars.

Consequently, nothing is working.

The president is not alone in this promotion of corruption; the tin gods and mini-despots at the state level -governors- are as guilty. Officials have turned Nigeria into a private estate in which elected officials and their cohorts are the only beneficiaries. God save our country and the people.

24

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

THE SUNDAY INTERVIEW

‘Nigerian scientists have failed woefully’

PHOTOS: MUYIWA HASSAN

Professor Oyewale Tomori, a renowned virologist, has earned many plaudits both nationally and internationally for his contribution to the field of virology. Tomori, who is a former Vice-Chancellor, Redeemer’s University and current president, Nigerian Academy of Science, a foremost science institute in the country, has been leading the campaign against polio eradication for decades. In this interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf, he shares his concerns on the polity. Excerpts:

Y

OU have been in the forefront in the campaign against polio eradication these past decades. How far are we close to winning this war?

Nigeria’s eradication campaign faces substantial challenges. However, we can say that we have made remarkable progress. This year, we expect nearly 50percent drop in cases in 2013 compared to last year.

But thankfully, the Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan was shared at the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi, where world leaders showed their support through a series of historic commitments, including the UK’s Department for International Develop-

ment commitment of £300 million. The Gates Foundation pledged US$1.8 billion, and a new group of philanthropists committed an additional total US$335 million.

His Highness, General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, pledged US$120 million Qatar Charity and the Gates Foundation signed a co-operation agreement in support of the eradication effort.

The Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi which held from April 24-25 2013, was hosted by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Bill Gates and the UN GeneralSecretary. The Summit endorsed the critical role that vaccines and immunisation play in saving lives and protecting children from preventable diseases such as polio. The Summit is expected to continue the momentum of the Decade of Vaccines – a vision and commitment to reach all people with the vaccines they need.

The new commitments make clear the confidence of global leaders and the vaccine community in the new plan’s ability to both achieve a lasting polio-free world by 2018 and help build systems that will deliver critical health services, including vaccines and maternal healthcare, to those most in need. The commitments bring the world almost three-quarters of the way to the US$5.5 billion needed to fully fund the plan.

As at the last count, a total of $3billion has so far being raised leaving a shortfall of $2.5billion.

The endorsement of the Global Vaccine Action Plan by the World Health Assembly which again set 2018 as the new target for the global eradication of polio •Continued on Page 25

“

Let me also make this point that our scientists have not done creditably well over the years.

If you look at scientific journals all over the world, what make the news are the scientific discoveries, but what have Nigerian scientists done so far?

In my acceptance speech at the Academy, I made the point that as professionals we must make our impact felt in the society. Let’s see how we can make a change. My hope is that in the next four years, Nigerian scientists will become more relevant in the scheme of things because presently we have failed the country.

“

•Tomori

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

THE SUNDAY INTERVIEW

•Continued from Page 24

sure that no single case of polio is reported anywhere in the country by 2014.

The hope is that by the year 2014, the world will have the last country with the last case of polio and by 2018, the world will be declared free of polio.

Is 2014 realistic as far as Nigeria is concerned?

Presently, northern region specifically constitutes major concern for global polio fighters, who now worry over the quality of local personnel and efforts. At least, 12 per cent of the Northern children population is said to be left out of polio vaccination due to numerous issues, including itinerancy, security challenge and other socio-political concerns.

But to answer your question, I think we are taking a gamble because the year 2014 is only subject to the fact that Nigeria, Afghanistan or Pakistan (the only three remaining endemic countries) will not have any case of polio in 2014. If we do have any of these countries having one case by 2014 it means we have to shift the year of eradication by an extra year. It is thus very important that we, as a country, must play our role, otherwise, we will be holding the world back.

But the question to ask again is, why should we be the last? Why can’t the Federal Government and other tiers of government for instance, accord polio eradication the kind of priority given the spate of flood disasters in some parts of the country where President Goodluck Jonathan personally garnered support from individuals and corporate bodies?

Has our President ever said anything on polio without stimulation from outside? The only time we’ve heard him make pronouncements are when he was invited by the Commonwealth, the United Nations or when Bill Gate came. We are not putting enough into polio eradication.

We need education. We need to get our people to know the advantage of immunisation; we need good leadership and community involvement. Nobody should be left out of the fight.

Imagine Bill Gates the other day was bearing a list of state governments in Nigeria doing little or nothing to curtail the malaria epidemic. It is a shame. After all, we don’t need outsiders to tell us how many children to give birth to so why do we have to wait on them to take care of these same children for us? It doesn’t speak well of us at all.

Do you think the recent killing of vaccinators in northern part of the country can adversely affect the campaign against polio eradication?

The killings drew comparisons with a series of incidents in Pakistan last December where five female polio vaccinators were gunned down, apparently by Islamist militants. It also signalled a fresh wave of hostility towards immunisation drives in the country, where some clerics have claimed the vaccines are part of a western plot to sterilise young girls and eliminate the Muslim population.

So to answer your question directly, the sad episode is certainly a setback for polio eradication in Nigeria, but not a stop.

The best we can do is to work harder and see the end of polio ... so their loss will not end as a useless sacrifice.

But like I have always advised, the war against polio should not be fought in isolation. We all must be involved.

There are lots of misconceptions and stereotypes about what the north wants and do not want.

There is need for understanding. For instance, how do you expect a family which has just lost a loved one to the cold hands of death say through measles, happily come out to partake in vaccination? These are some of the issues. Unless we understand these peculiarities, we will continue to go round and round the circles.

If you go back in time, you will recall that the polio vaccine boycott which started in Kano in 2003 was as a result of the now famous Pfizer’s Trovan clinical trial scandal in 1996. But what we are yet to find out is who gave approval for the clinical trials? Certainly, approval didn’t come from outer-space, someone, somewhere gave the approval. But there has been a lot of blame game here and there.

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cine. There’s a plan to gradually go round the country and there’s hope that by the time we go round the country, the producer would have produced more. There’s not enough but the little that will be available, people should go for it.

Why can’t Nigeria produce enough vaccine to serve the teeming populace?

I agree it’s a big shame that Nigeria relies on other countries in the world for its vaccine needs. As I’m talking to you now, I know for a fact that we can’t manufacture reagents. But this wasn’t the case in the 80’s.

There’s no reason why Nigeria should be depending on other countries for its vaccine. We had a vaccine manufacturing firm in Yaba, Lagos in 1994 which has gone under. We need to resuscitate it. Is it not lamentable that a country like Senegal is also one of the countries producing vaccine for us?

But again, a number of factors might be responsible for this.

Brain-drain is a major factor. Most of our doctors and scientists, especially my generation, took flight out of the country when government policy practically reduced us into paupers. There was a situation in this country where professors could no longer live decent lives. What do you make of a situation where as a professor you could not have a roof over your head talkless of being able to eat three square meals a day. It was that bad.

So, like they say the first law of nature is the law of self-preservation. We had to leave in order to maintain our sanity. But then, those we left behind never had the benefit of good mentorship and that is why there is too much dependence on foreign vaccines because you are not so sure of the quality produced locally.

Is this not an indictment on our local expertise?

Yes, we all share in the blame one way or the other. In those days, we didn’t have improved techniques but we were able to detect any variant of yellow fever and thus were able to administer the right vaccines.

But these days we rely too much on advanced techniques which come with a lot of baggage.

See what China has done, despite the advancement in science, China for instance, has not done away with its roots.

Take their traditional medicine, the acupuncture, it has become widely acclaimed. Right now, there is an acupuncture centre in New York. It is good to go back to the roots... China as a country keeps what makes them Chinese.

Let me also make this point that our scientists have not done creditably well over the years.

If you look at scientific journals all over the world, what make the news are the scientific discoveries, but what have Nigerian scientists done so far?

In my acceptance speech at the Academy, I made the point that as professionals we must make our impact felt in the society. Let’s see how we can make a change. My hope is that in the next four years, Nigerian scientists will become more relevant in the scheme of things because presently we have failed the country.

It doesn’t require a thousand people to change the world, it takes just a few people.

Little drops of water make an ocean but I always say that you must gather the drops in one place to be able to make the ocean because if the little is scattered, you can’t achieve the utmost aim. Let’s see where each of us has a common purpose and plug our force into that.

“

it’s a big shame that Nigeria relies on other countries in the world for its vaccine needs.

As I’m talking to you now, I know for a fact that we can’t manufacture reagents. But this wasn’t the case in the 80’s. There’s no reason why Nigeria should be depending on other countries for its vaccine. We had a vaccine manufacturing firm in Yaba, Lagos in 1994 which has gone under. We need to resuscitate it. Is it not lamentable that a country like Senegal is also one of the countries producing vaccine for us?

“

Imagine Bill Gates the other day was bearing a list of state governments in Nigeria doing little or nothing to curtail the malaria epidemic. It is a shame. After all, we don’t need outsiders to tell us how many children to give birth to so why do we have to wait on them to take care of these same children for us? It doesn’t speak well of us at all.

“

“

Is Nigeria still one of the countries in the yellow fever belt?

Of course, Nigeria is one of the 17 endemic countries in the belt. Unfortunately, while every other country in the yellow fever belt had immunised their citizens against the disease, Nigeria remains the only country yet to embark on mass vaccination against the disease.

But thankfully, the government currently had 66 million doses of the yellow fever vaccine and hopefully, should commence immunisation soon in some endemic parts of the country adding that the quantity could not cover the entire country.

But we still don’t have enough yellow fever vac-

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

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Glamour

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Glamour

Social

ADETUTU AUDU (E-mail: crownkool@yahoo.com, Tel: 08023849036)

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

Glamour

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Kojo Annan adopts new lifestyle

•Hart

•Annan

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Glamour

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

&

OLUSEGUN RAPHEAL (08033572821) raphseg2003@yahoo.com

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

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NEXIM BANK and other matters M

ODERN-DAY political leadership is 70% about BUSINESS. ModernState Nations are run on operating models exactly same as profit-driven/ market-focused Corporate Bodies. Even at that, the BUSINESS of governance, poses more challenges because its leadership is, in addition to the objective of wealth creation, charged with the additional responsibility of governing the business environment for regular brands - including the multi-national and global players. Nation-state rulers are, in today’s world, expected to be intellectually and mentally equipped and focused on designing policies/regulations and laws that will enable profitable engagement for businesses led by the private sector initiative with potentials to drive micro and macro-economic growth – the good of the given NATION. Modern-day political power or leadership is no longer focused on the traditional and conventional: rule of force, by force. It is no longer about material gains for self (and group). It is old fashioned for anybody or group of persons to assume personal leadership for self-aggrandizement (I really hate using that word, because it was so badly abused during the Shagari/NPN years), because the gains are more for the modern-day political leader. He/she does not need to steal because the wealth his/her leadership bring forth enriches all, and super-broaden the personal financial and material gains of the leadership.

What I call corporate corruption (unreasonable quest for personal wealth owing to greed from among a given leadership) propels total confusion, anarchy, criminality and societal breakdown. It also bring about selfdeceit, professional compromises, unproductivity, stealing and enables a population of liars. That explains why even those that should advise the leadership by reason of their professional calling, and office, go about deceiving the leader because they also want to be so rich, they become ‘celebrities’.

Nations are now considered brands by reason of the new trend in governance.

Brands are defined offers with clear identity, driven by creativity and strength of character for competitive advantages versus competing brands at the market place, for profit.

Brands are led by purposeful investors and professionals, accountable to every stakeholder, including the consumer at the market place, open to scrutiny for performance auditing. Brands exist for the common good of all and every stakeholder. Brands post profit, and will only remain in business when they keep posting profit.

Brands live on good character, upright attributes and operate within certain regulations. They are expected to live by certain enduring values by which expectations are anticipated. As a rule, brands are honest to themselves. I am very sure the brand described above is not the type the former Information Minister had n mind when she was routing for a RE-BRANDED NIGERIA. If she were a professional brand Manager like we are here, she would not have taken that route in the first place. Rather, she would have been gathering men are women with the intellectual capacity of building a BRAND out of Nigeria.

The conceptualization of economic growth and development policies as captured in Vision 2020 (and the preceding visions), through to the anticipation and establishment of structures such as our Development Fund Institutions (DFIs) - Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry and our Nigeria Export Import Bank (NEXIM Bank)

•President (Dr.) Goodluck Jonathan

brought a glimmer of hope for those of us who have always wished for prosperous Nigeria. When the present administration thought-up youth empowerment initiatives such as the YouWIN and the strategic interventionist SURE-P, we further strengthened our hope; hope for a nation with a largely employed youth, a Nigeria of enormous economic opportunities, a nation inching towards industrialization, a nation where human capacity is profitably engaged, a nation protected from external economic aggression, a nation positioned to take full advantage of its abundant natural resources, a nation that will begin to move from the status of a consumer (where everything we consume is imported) to that of a producer/manufacturer.

Unfortunately, all of these initiatives and investments are just not yielding results worthy of a good report. At best, they post ‘results’ not commensurate with the investment put into them. – not one of them. We at MC&A DIGEST will soon invest in looking at the SURE-P initiative for strategic reasons.

But we had concerned ourselves with NEXIM BANK (Nigerian Export-Import Bank). The pre-observatory hypothetical position was one of an institution with the following attributes: 1. A strategic master-stroke with enormous potentials 2. An institution focused on national economic growth and development 3. An institution capable of driving the nation’s pride among comity of nations in the area of national economic growth/ development, political economy as a diplomatic tool and higher rating among world development institutions.

4. A growth-driver positioned to empower Nigerians for creativity, industrialization, entrepreneurship drive and profitable resource engagement for export trade.

5. A launch pad for Nigeria’s industrializa-

tion 6. A stimulant for employment generation and profitable engagement of our growing youth population 7. An institution fully funded for its roles and set economic growth stimulation objective.

Our findings with NEXIM Bank brought to fore the need for system appraisal. Nigeria is a country truly endowed with immense natural and human resources, with enviable growth potentials but stiffened by system not given to thoroughness and beneficial prioritization. Intellectuals committed to helping this nation grow must begin to help the system think through the confusion we are entangled in now.

Our position is that NEXIM Bank is an institution well intentioned, peopled by dedicated professionals, focused on efficient operation, but compromised by inadequate FUNDING. Our attention was drawn to the bank by complaints from investors with export trade potentials. Prospective exporters have been frustrated from their dream and industry because their hopes were dashed.

But the true position with NEXIM Bank is one of virtual inability to meet demands due to non-availability of funds. Several applications are passed after due process of painstaking verifications and careful back-ground checks. More are still being processed, yet only a handful of fundable applications are seen through, in the face meager funds.

EXIM (Export-Import) Banks are modernday international institutions for global international relations, with special focus on export-import trade for national socio-economic development. The focused and growth-driven nations expend huge resources for growth and development drive through their EXIM banks, as a policy. Presently, China is aggressively engaging her nationals for advantages in countries like

ours that are yet to connect with the emerging trend. So, through their EXIM banks, they fund manufacturing concerns in our economy that will directly benefit their local market (to our disadvantages) but one cannot blame them because since we have refused to fund our potentials, these more discerning nations now fund them for our own advantages. So, while our NEXIM pile up applications, countries like China provide some of these potentials the funds through agreements that will keep us perpetually importing nation (while we have our own NEXIM).

We at MC&A DIGEST will continue our study of the working of NEXIM BANK as our contribution towards the properly focusing the nation’s economic development initiative, by investing our intellectual property, as we invite other capable and interested Nigerians to do. We shall, in our subsequent write-up on this bank, we shall do a careful articulation of the many obstacles working against the institution’s effective discharge of its functions, juxtaposing our findings with the structure and funding policy operative in similar institutions in other nations – for all to see.

Until then, however, we leave our political leadership, the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance with this poser: can Nigerian Export-Import Bank achieve much (considering its mandate) with its present share capital of N50bn? As at today,the United States Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank) has the mission of supporting U.S. jobs through exports. It currently is operating with a lending cap of $120 billion. Under provisions of its Congressional charter the cap will gradually increase to $140 billion over the next three years as the Bank complies with certain requirements; the increase will enable the Bank to strengthen U.S. businesses and support an additional 1.3 million jobs.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

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With Joe Agbro Jr. 08056745268

WORD WHEEL Hello children, Many of you must have resumed for the third term. As you know, this is when you write exams to get promoted to the next class. Therefore, make sure you continue to study hard to succeed academically

How many words of three or more letters, each including the letter at centre of the wheel, can you make from this diagram? We've found 67, including one nine-letter words.

PUZZLE Four children have different pets. Find out who had which one.

Bird •Pupils of Pampers Private School Alaka Lagos, performing during the school’s 30th anniversary penultimate Friday

Dog

Cat

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AMY

Fish

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BOB

RIDDLES

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CAL .

DEB 1. Which weighs more, a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks?

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1. Bob's pet can't fly.

2. Cal's pet has hair, so does Deb's.

3. Deb's pet doesn't bark.

SUDOKU •Feathers

3. Mary’s father has 5 daughters – Nana, Nene, Nini, Nono.

What is the fifth daughter’s name?

Answers 1. Neither , they both weigh one pound!

2. The letter “E” 3. It’s Mary!

2. We see it once in a year, twice in a week, and never in a day.

What is it?

•Bricks

To play Sudoku: Fill the box with the numbers 1 to 9 in a way that •Each column must contain all of the numbers 1 through 9 •Each row must contain all of the numbers 1 through 9 •Each block must contain all of the numbers 1 through 9 •No two numbers in the same column, row, or block can be the same.

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1

4

6

3 4

5

9

5

1

9

7

2

9

6 4

2 4

7 5

7

2

1

1

Send in your stories, poems, articles, games, puzzles, riddles and jokes to sundaynation@yahoo.com

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9

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

Young Nation

EXCURSION

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WEIRD FACTS verify the age of a tree is to count the rings in the tree’s trunk.

•Strawberries are the only fruit which grows seeds on the outside •The world’s oldest living tree is thought to be in Sweden. Its root system has been growing for 9,550 years.

• (Above) On Tuesday, 23 April 2013, students of Christ Heritage Peace Nursery and Primary School, Ijede via Ikorodu Lagos State, attended a session of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Alausa. The experience afforded the students the opportunity to observe parliamentary proceedings.

•The strongest bone in your body is the femur (thighbone), and it's hollow!

•A cluster of bananas is called a hand and consists of 10 to 20 bananas, which are known as fingers. The

.

•Brazil, a country in South America, is the largest producer of coffee in the world

•The world's fastest growing plant is Burma's giant bamboo,it can grow 17 centimeter in a day

•A method used to

• (Below) Afterwards, the students visited the Lagos State Fire Service where they received lectures from firemen about fires and participated in a fire drill on what to do in the event of a fire outbreak

SHARK

•And do you know ,it is impossible to hum while your nose is plugged close !

•Your brain is move active and thinks more at night than during the day.

word 'banan' is Arabic for finger.

KANGAROO Kangaroos live in Eastern Australia in small groups called troops or herds (“mobs” by Australians), typically made up of 50 or more animals.

A newborn joey can’t suckle or swallow, so the kangaroo mom uses her muscles to pump milk down its throat.

Kangaroos have powerful hind legs, a long, strong tail, and small front legs.

At around 4 months, the joey emerges from the pouch for short trips and to graze on grass and small shrubs. At 10 months, the joey is mature enough to leave the pouch for good.

Standing at over 6 feet, Kangaroos are tthe biggest in the animal family Macropus, literally 'Big Foot.' They can leap up to 30 feet in a single bound, and travel more than 48 kmh.

Kangaroos use their strong tails for balance while jumping.

Female kangaroos have a pouch on their belly, made by a fold in the skin, to cradle baby kangaroos called joeys.

WORD SEARCH

Musical instruments A musical instrument is a device used to make musical sounds. Many early musical instruments were made from animal skins, bone, wood, and other materials. Find the musical instruments below in the wordsearch on the right.

If threatened, kangaroos pound the ground with their strong feet in warning. Fighting kangaroos kick opponents, and sometimes bite.

WORD GAME Fill in the spaces to get the correct word using the clue below

1. - A - A - A • The largest desert in the world

2. D - N -

I

-

-

•A doctor that cares for teeth

3. - U R - R • A waterfall in Niger State

4. - A - A - L -

-

•He formed the first political party in Nigeria

5. -

- S

- R - L -

-

•A country that is also a continent

6. ACCORDION, BAGPIPE, BANJO, BUGLE, CLARINET, DRUM, FIDDLE, FLUTE, GUITAR, HARMONICA, HARP, ORGAN, PIANO, SAXOPHONE, TAMBOURINE, TROMBONE, TRUMPET, TUBA, VIOLIN, XYLOPHONE

I X - N

•A female fox

7. T - M - U - A • Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives

Write for The Nation!

Do you fancy yourself as a writer someday? Stop dreaming and start writing. A topic will be presented here every week and you’re encouraged to send in entries in not more than 150 words. The best original story will be published from time to time, so get cracking!

Entries should be sent to sundaynation@yahoo.com and should be accompanied by the writer’s name, age, school and class.

This week’s topic is : “What will you like to be when you grow up?”

8. - A - E - A •The first Prime Minister of Nigeria

9. - E K - N •He scored the first World Cup goal for Nigeria

10. -

I

- T - N

•What a baby cat is called

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Etcetera

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

SUNNY SIDE

Cartoons

By Olubanwo Fagbemi

POLITICKLE

deewalebf@yahoo.com 08060343214 (SMS only)

Sunny Side interactive Here served are messages from faithful readers and the writer’s response with the intention to, as usual, sustain the subtle, creative and sometimes satirical feature of this space.

Messi or Ronaldo: rivals or equals?

THE GReggs

YOU prefer CR7 (Cristiano Ronaldo) to (Lionel) Messi. That’s not bad.

This is what’s bad: making a subjective argument to appear objective. Did you watch Barca without Messi against PSG (Paris Saint-Germain)? The better player? Ask Segun Odegbami.

Gbenga +2348056115*** At the risk of fuelling a raging debate, the writer recaps the thrust of his assessment: while one player is truly gifted, the other works exceptionally hard; while one espouses grace and relentless triumph, the other epitomises conditioning and a winning mentality; while Messi thrives on support, Ronaldo appears relatively self-reliant in attack; so rewards and awards do not form sufficient bases for judgment. Further, to conclude that either of the rare occurrences is better is to substitute objectivity with subjectivity – which I resisted, despite allowance.

A modern dictionary

OH, LIFE!

HELLO, Olubanwo, I have never been fascinated and amused by ‘words and meaning’ like these ones of yours. They are amazingly fantastic!

Most especially ‘Foreign aid’. Indeed, in this land of great worries and stress, you have put smiles in my face. Regards, Fola Aiyegbusi +2348029578*** I’m beaming too, from the boomerang effect. Keep reading, keep smiling and I guarantee there’ll be similar days ahead.

I LOVE this your modern dictionary. I laughed till people around me thought I was insane. Could you please inbox it to me at (address supplied). +2348035510*** For taking your ‘Sunday, Sunday medicine’ as recommended by Dr Sunny Side, long may you live without needless hassles made in Nigeria.

SIR, my name is Fortune. I wish to ask if you have a compilation of all your publications on Sunny Side. I sure would like to have one. Well done. +2347061895*** Thanks. The writer is compiling one. The reader’s wish, ‘Alekazam’!

Harmless yarn YARN fine. You’ll make Mensa Club, still. By the way, are you related to Okon Tatalo? +2347056128*** A thousand thanks for the heartwarming response. And I’d love to make the club with the similarly inclined. As for the link, all I can say is that it runs in The Nation!

Computer gender

CHEEK BY JOWL

If, as in French, nouns in English are grammatically designated as masculine or feminine, what gender would computers take? The results of a survey undertaken by a group of men and another group of women to resolve the poser are presented thus: Computers are masculine, said the women, because; •In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on.

•They have a lot of data but are still clueless.

•They are supposed to help you solve your problems, but half the time they are the problem.

•As soon as you commit to one, you realise that, if you had waited a little longer, you could have had a better model.

The men thought that computers are definitely feminine because; •No one but their creator understands their internal logic.

•The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else.

•Even your smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for later retrieval.

•As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your pay on accessories.

Jokes Humour Reverse View AN OLD man was driving down the highway when his car phone rang.

He answered and heard his wife's voice urgently warning him. “John, I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way on Route 280. Please be careful!”

“It's not just one car,” said John, “It's hundreds of them!”

The Option WIFE: “Do you want dinner?”

Husband: “Sure, what are my choices?”

Wife: “Yes and no.”

The Right Kind A NEWLY married man asked his wife, “Would you have married me if my father hadn't left me a fortune?”

“Honey,” said the smart woman, “I'd have married you no matter who left you a fortune.”

Boy-girl Trouble GIRL: “When we get married, I want to share all your worries and troubles, and lighten your burden.”

Boy: “It's very kind of you, darling, but I don't have any worries or troubles.”

Girl: “Well that’s because we aren't married yet.”

Random Humour •They say malt gives you energy. Drink 10 bottles of malt and try to move a wall. You can’t. Drink 10 shots of liquor and it moves by itself.

•Woman to road safety official: “Yes officer, I did see the ‘Speed limit’ sign … I just didn’t see you!”

•Did you hear about the guy who lost his left leg in the war? He’s all right now.

•They say that when a man holds a woman’s hand before marriage, it is love; after marriage it is self-defence.

•What’s the definition of Lawyer?

Answer: The developing form of a politician.

QUOTE Better bread with water than cake with trouble.

—Russian Proverb •Adapted from the Internet

T

OWARDS Writer ’s Fountain A MORE POWERFUL CLOSE: Do you want to win of deliberate vagueness or ambiguity. The more readers with a powerful close? How about reader shakes the mix and sees a different story.

A famous novel closed with a maddening ‘Did I tell you about the time I killed my wife?’

How often do we read stories that open question: ‘Has the protagonist killed a child? Or did the ghosts do it? Or has the whole tale been a with impact, but close with a whimper?

‘Of course, I didn’t kill her. But I was fraud, the hallucination of a deranged woman?’

Whichever interpretation we choose, the tempted …’ Yawn.

An analysis of short stories for competitions tale works. In another short story, a racist woman revealed that most were marked down because tortures a young African child. The last line of the story has the woman saying: “I wonder how they closed badly or not at all.

There are three simple ways to end a story that child felt.”

At first, it reads like a malicious chuckle. so the reader feels rewarded rather than Then we shake the mix. Has the bigot finally cheated.

Close on an ambiguous note – deliberately. discovered compassion? And become horrorTold cleverly, a story can end upon a note struck by her cruelty? Either way, the story works.

Human odds: To succeed with a story like that, it’s best to •Every human spent about half an hour as a write the last line first. Then you know where single cell. your story is heading, even if the reader doesn’t!

•By age sixty, most people have lost half of Introduce a twist that the reader didn’t their taste buds. expect.

•Beards are the fastest growing hairs on the Another way to mix it up is to close with a human body. If the average man never twist that the reader could not see coming. For trimmed his beard, it would grow to nearly example, a man jilts his bride on their wedding 30 feet long in his life. day. Why? He has fallen for the bride’s mother.

•Cannibalism or eating of human flesh is That’s a twist, but it’s also a cliché. The reader also called anthropophagy. can see it coming.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

Routine checks can stop deaths and some ailments

53

—PAGE 59

Bower’s Tower and Ibadan’s historic hills Ibadan, reputed to be West Africa’s largest city, is widely known as a city “scattered among seven hills.”

Taiwo Abiodun, who was on one of the hills, reports.

I

BADAN, the city “scattered among seven hills”, is synonymous with Bower’s Tower. Standing atop the tower one could see at a glance the four corners of Ibadan metropolis. It gives a panoramic view of all the important places in the ancient city. One can see a bird’s eye view of Gate, the University College Hospital (UCH), University of Ibadan, Adebayo, Cocoa House, Dugbe Market , Agodi Gardens, Iwo Road, Ife Road, Olorunsogo and the defunct Lagos /Ibadan Toll Gate. Other far-flung places like Adamasingba, Felele, and many more become visible. Some of these places are far flung but standing atop the tower gives one a precise picturesque of them.

Standing atop, one could also see the ugly rustic iron roofing sheets of the ancient buildings of the city and it reminds one vividly of Prof J. P. Clark’s most memorable poem of the city. The ugly beauty of the rustic corrugated iron roofing sheets of the city.

Welcome to Bower’s Tower on Oke – Are, the home of Ibadan’s illustrious Generalissimos, the settlement of the great Ibadan warlords in the 17th century.

According to Madam Florence Adedeji (80), who has been living in Oke Are since her youth, Bower’s Tower was erected in the 1930s by the Ibadan Native Authority but was unveiled by Captain Robert Lister Bower who was then the Resident and Travelling Commissioner for Ibadan and the Interior of Yorubaland in the South Western Nigeria. The hill was named after him.

She added, “It was here (atop of the tower) he was overseeing what was going on in the city and he administered his government from here and other Yoruba towns.” Omotayo Taiwo another resident and an old staff of the tower observed that the tower was named after Bower in appreciation of his contribution to the development and growth of Yorubaland , “He was not the one that built it but he unveiled it in 1936.”

The road to Bower’s Tower The over 60 feet tall tower is on the hill top of Oke Are in Igbo Agala ( Agala forest) area of Ibadan. It is the highest hilltop in the city. The Tower has about 47 spiral staircases, designed by one Taffy Jones in the early 30s. It was unveiled on December 15, 1936 by Sir Robert Tower.

Written on the side of the tower are these words: “BOWER’s TOWER ERECTED DEC. 1936 IN HONOUR OF CAPTAIN ROSS L. BOWER 1ST RESIDENT AND TRAVELLING COMMISSIONER OF INTERIOR YORUBALAND (1893-1897).

However, all the words written on the tower have faded with the names of ministers who had over time renovated the place.

Do you really know Ibadan?

For the love they have for the Tower and for allowing one to see the many wonders of the city from its top the Ibadan natives have attached so much importance to the Tower.

They have thus created myths and legends out of it. From the ordinary natives to the learned, scholars and researchers they have coined out stories and mythological phrases around “Layipo”, that is The Tower! These have become household words and common lingo of the ancient city. These have become part of the daily words and activities of the city. Therefore, it is common to hear such things as “Whoever comes to Ibadan and has not visited this Tower” (called Layipo) to view the city does not know Ibadan (Ibadan lo mo, o mo Layipo).

Mr. Omotayo Taiwo who owns and has run a bookshop in Beere for years said, “This is where we call ‘Layipo’ because one could see the nook and cranny of Ibadan from this Tower. You will turn round on the tower to view the whole Ibadan. It is interesting to know the meaning and the message.” Another resident, Madam Emily Ogunwole added that ‘Layipo’ means that when an Ibadan man asks for a favour and the other answers yes, don’t be sure because he has not added that he has agreed, that is Layiipo for you in Ibadan. And it means don’t trust an Ibadan man or don’t take them for their words until they have really told you that they have agreed and accepted your proposal, that is the second meaning of ‘Layipo’.”

According to Taiwo, the word ‘Layiipo’ was derived from the nature of the spiral steps which leads to the top of the Tower, which you have to turn round and round to get to the apex of the mountain. “It is these turnings that made it to be called Layipo”, he swore.

The Tower itself has become old and small. The building, though still strong, does not befit the standard of modern day structure due to its lack of space and , according to an insider, no one envisaged it would become so popular and notable when it was constructed, “We need to praise the authority that constructed it because there is no building constructed today that can rival this one except that it is not wide enough to accommodate two people to go up (the narrow stairs) at the same time.”

The Igbo Agala (Agala Forest) The road leading to Bower’s Tower could make any one without a steel heart melt. The tarred road of Oke Are leading to Igbo Agala is motor-able. However, any vehicle that is not strong could roll back because of the high terrain. A first time visitor would have to be patient, smart and be at alert and strong , because viewing the valleys on both sides of the road could arouse fear and make one fall •Continue on Page 54

•Bower’s Tower

PHOTOS: TAIWO ABIODUN

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

Life •Continued from Page 53

head long down.

According to Madam Adedeji, “We were told that it was from here, Igbo Agala, that the Resident Bower administered his government and controlled the Ibadan people. No wonder it was feared and dreaded.

Igbo Agala was a thick forest, and all manners of evils were perpetrated there. I remember in the 60s when a man called Sade was gruesomely murdered by unknown persons , and his bodiless head was found here. The photograph of the head was shown all over Ibadan.

Then it was a terrible place as criminals turned the place to a no -go area. Area Boys turned the place into their abode with all manners of behaviour. Criminals turned the place to their meeting point, Indian hemp smokers paraded the area with rituals and sacrifices offered there. This is the place where masquerades do their own rehearsals (Igbo Igbale) and wear their costumes before they set out. No one goes there and comes back alive, in fact, those living in the vicinity tremble with fear. Anything could happen. But I thank God , it is now a different story.”

A new world The one- time dreaded Agala forest has become a tourist attraction and has been cleared of refuse dump, deforested and turned into prayer city. Churches of different denominations and ilk have turned the place into a place to hold their activities, with over 150 tents constructed for hosting prayer sessions, while many others use either leaves, palm fronds or iron roofing sheets, as well as stones to form circles for praying in the place.

Again some others use nylon to cover their tents.

There are names such as Ori Oke Agbo Jeesu, Agbara Oloun ko seun ti, Ori Oke segan mi dayo, Ori Oke Angeli Ajaja Agbara , Ori Oke Oluwa so mi dayo, Ori Oke Oloun ti se ohun gbogbo tan, The Grace of God Jesus Day Mountain, Ori Oke Oju o ti mi, Inspirational Power of God Evangelical Ministry (IPOGEM), Gethsemane Garden of Eden among others.

Pastor Gabriel Oyedotun of IPOGEM said he has been worshipping on the mountain since 2001.

According to him, the place had been blessed with a lot of prayers which made them occupy the environment. “This place was known as a forest before where many evils were perpetrated daily. They have killed here. They have thrown this place into a place of worshipping idols, this place was once a den of armed robbers, Indian hemp smokers and where other criminal activities take place. But with our prayers, now things have changed.” On whether they pay money for the allocated plots or spaces, he agreed that the space belongs to the state government, so no one collects money from them.

He, however, added “well if they want to collect money I believe that the man in charge will just collect just a token for the maintenance of the area.”

On why the churches have refused to erect structures there, he said, “There is an instruction or law that one should not erect any structure or buildings there. But we do take care of this place, and if it weren’t for us would have been coming to the Tower,” he boasted, Necessity leads to invention Prophetess Deborah Fantola who runs a church known as Mountain of Prayer on the hill said, “Apart from its serenity, the place is put in place by God for us to keep holy. This is the road to Bower’s Tower, and everywhere has become a tourist attraction. I know all the stories here, so we should thank God that we have good road leading to the mountain and to the

Ibadan’s Eiffel Tower

•The spiral steps of the tower

•An area view of Ibadan from the top of the tower

•Members of Inspirational Power of God Evangelical Ministry (IPOGEM) Tower.”

On how the place was deforested, she said June 12, 1993 election crisis exposed the place. She said anyone going to Bower’s Tower was subjected to attacks or sometimes killed or maimed, hoodlums robbed and raped there due to the thickness of the forest. Ac-

cording to her, “We used to kill animals like antelopes, snakes among other dangerous animals because the place was a forest but when there was no fuel during the 1993 presidential election crisis, the Ibadan people went into the forest to hew the woods and used them to cook. In fact, one could see water

coming out from the firewood which were burning in fire. We cut all kinds of woods from the forest of Agala here to cook when we could not get kerosene, and fuel was scarce .That was how the Igbo Agala was deforested and the place became clean without the assistance of the government.”

Tony Innocent and Mama

Ogundeji said they have been coming to the forest for special prayers and their prayers have been answered.

Poor condition of the Tower Madam Adedeji who has spent all her life seeing the city grow observed, “I remember that I used to join others to look at the whole of Ibadan city from Bower’s Tower then and it was free of charge, we didn’t pay any money to climb the staircase in order to look at the whole city. Then it was the first and highest place to see all of Ibadan city.

Now, I learnt they are paying money to climb the staircase.” She, however, lamented the deplorable condition of the Tower. “For some time now the place has been neglected.

The condition is bad and this has led to low patronage unlike before when visitors come from the nook and cranny of the country to use the place for events like wedding ceremonies, entertainments and many other things. Nobody or very few people go to the place for sightseeing now.”

The sad aspect of the Bower’s Tower’s story is that the last times maintenance were carried out were under various military regimes in the country. This is displayed on the wall shown under successive ministers it was renovated by the Federal Ministry of Commerce and Tourism. For instance, it was renovated in 1996 by Rear Admiral Isaac Sunday Adeola, while Rear Admiral Jubril Kayode Ayinla had his turn in 1997 so also did Dr. Emmanuel Udogu in 1998. The last time was in 1999 by General Patrick Aziza. Since then nothing has been done.

To pay a token The gate fee and sightseeing charges are written on the building.

For entrance, a student is charged N30 while an adult pays N50. For those who want to take pictures and video the scene, the charge is N100 and N500 respectively.

The building has become decrepit, while the paintings are faded, and some of the structures, like tents where one could relax, have collapsed and are no longer in use.

One of those who work in the place lamented that, “We make small money even people hardly pay, we have to plead, talk, and talk before they could pay the required fee.”

Another worker who pleaded for anonymity said, “For a long time it has been neglected and therefore was not patronised for social functions because of its poor condition.

It was later leased out to a company yet it made little or no progress. I am aware that the state government is planning to do something before the end of this year because it is too shameful to see the place like this.”

Some visitors who wanted to climb the staircase said they were afraid of the spiral staircase . However, the younger ones such as Miss Temilade Omolayo, a student of Citadel International School, Ikare in Ondo State, said, she came all the way to see Ibadan at a glance. She happily said, “This is my first time of coming to Ibadan and I was told to come and see this place that I can view the city well. This is a good tourist attraction apart from the Zoological Garden. I visited at the University of Ibadan.”

However, her younger brothers Dimeji and Yinka Omolayo who were not bold enough to climb the staircase said the building should have been bigger, saying, “The staircases are small and could only contain one person at a time. We need a guide to take us up to view the city.”

After traversing this historic Tower, this reporter left with the impression that this historic monument needs total renovation and enlightenment for it to become a veritable tourist attraction centre.

THE ARTS

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

•National Theatre

‘Give us permanent artistes’ village’ L

AST week, the Coalition of Concerned Nigerian Artists held a press conference to state their own side of the story pertaining to the quit notice given to them to vacate the premises of the National Theatre, Lagos. The notice, which came from the presidency and was signed by the Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Edem Duke, stated in part, that some portions of the complex have been earmarked for new building projects that will form part of the Theatre environment.

However, artists have demonstrated that the purported arrangement is at variance with the idea of a total culture and art environment. They argued that it was improper for government to wake up one day and decided to mortgage the soul and conscience of the Theatre without due and proper consultation with artists and other core stakeholders in the sector.

They wondered thus: “In 2011, at Eko Hotel, Lagos, the president himself met with us soliciting for our votes. There he also made so many promises to us on how to grow and develop the culture sector. Now, he wants to uproot us without our consent. Today, he sees us as nobody – people whose trade and profession do not matter. Is

W

ITH the notion that it is never too soon for children to learn about the value of money and ways to save, Ajapa Club, a drama group focused on the cultural development of children, on Thursday, April 11, launched the Ajapa Financial Club, a body that seeks to instil the tenets of financial discipline on school children.

Explaining the rationale behind the programme, Akin Braithwaite, Chairman of Ajapa World, said that the best way to carry such a message across to kids was through a platform they can relate with. “It is all about trying to get children to be included in the financial literacy world. We believe that children need to learn early about money, how they use money, what money does, how to be responsible with money. The best way, we thought, was to leverage on this platform, using the character of Ajapa, have the children come, watch the depiction of

As the Coalition of Concerned Nigerian Artists met at the Artistes’ Village, Iganmu, Lagos last week to deliberate on the way forward concerning the quit notice given to them by the Federal Government, Edozie Udeze takes a closer look at the issues involved and the stand of the artists that proper?” the association asked in a statement.

Beyond the strong argument that a lot of people will be rendered jobless and hopeless in the new set-up, Biodun Olakun, a seasoned artist and a trustee of the Professional Guild of Nigerian Artists (GFA) said: “yes, even if government wants to make a move as serious as what we have here now, it should first of all dialogue with us the practitioners. More so, some of us have been inhabiting this environment for more than thirty years.”

In as much as Olakun is not opposed to laudable ideas to make the sector grow, he is indeed irked that most public office holders behave as if the country in their personal property. “You see, there is a Yoruba proverb that says, you can’t cut my hair without my consent. How can you understand my pressing needs without talking to me? Government has always said that people should be self-employed, self-empowered and that is what we have been doing. So, those of us who have found space to

empower ourselves and even in the process alleviating the situation of other artists, thereby helping them to grow, should we just be dislocated like that?”

Olakun’s grouse, just like most other artists, is hinged on the fact that government policies most times are anti – people. “What will happen to thousands of students being sent here by their institutions to do their Industrial Training. All of us have extended responsibilities and obligations. Nigeria is for all of us.

It is not anybody’s father’s estate. In the first place, what legacies are public office holders leaving behind? Now we complain that the nation is not making progress and the little we have achieved so far, they want to scuttle it,” Olakun wondered.

Uche, a photographer whose office is located at the Artiste’s Village within the same premises, posited thus: “Each time government comes here, they tell us that the Theatre is not working. Up till now the 1988 National Policy on

Culture has not been implemented or made public. When you go to find out who ran the Theatre down, it is still government people. Now, we are afraid it is the same people who ran it down that will now buy up the spaces. After that, what will be the fate of the artiste? Government is not even making temporary or permanent arrangement to resettle us.

And this is a sub-sector that contributes over N1 billion to national economy every year. Every year, artists from all over the world visit this place and they go to all the corners of the Theatre to commune with us. Since we all own this country together, we should all be part of the decision to make it work,” Uche said.

But in his own reaction, Steve Ogundele, the Secretary-General of National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) said: “First of all I am not making an official statement on this issue.

Anyway, when you consider the level of development in this area now, especially with the presence of the rail terminal, government might

Ajapa Club in theatre frenzy

By Ovwe Medeme

what financial handling and what money is about,” Braithwaite explains.

Butressed with the drama Why the Tortoise Has a Shell, the event also featured music and dance. Ajapa the tortoise, bothered by the constant lack of food in the community, places before the snail a scenario where they have to scrounge the earth to eat or pay for the comfort of existence. He suggests going into business together, an idea which snail buys into but with misgivings.

In its usual interactive manner, the drama teaches commerce and familiarising them with terms like capital, profit, percentage, banking and the likes. They go into business and become very rich. With the new affluence, they decide to hire servants. They engage the services of rats who move in with them. In the

•Ajapa Club on stage

course of time, they notice that while their fortunes are dwindling, the rats are getting fatter.

They set traps for the rats and catch

them red-handed.

Ajapa the wise one comes up with a suggestion as to storing their money in shells and taking them

be right in catching in on it to make the Theatre a better place. Be that as it may, as a practitioner, I am not against the place being turned into a haven of some sort. What I am particularly worried about is the sincerity of government. Is what they are going to do be for the benefit of our economy, our practice as artistes, and for the over all development of the people of Nigeria? I don’t really want to pre-empt government, but let them follow due process in this regard.”

What the coalition of artists is saying is that government has to be fair to all. If there has to be this sort of arrangement, the government should provide a permanent artistes’ village somewhere else. “There has to be a place for us while the development is going on. Or does government want to turn all of us into refuges and destitutes, people who have no home but live under the bridge. If that is what they plan to do, then we are set to reason it out with them that it will not work, it can’t be encouraged, not in the least.”

Government should reconsider its decision in such a way that these army of artistes with offices in and around the Theatre do not have reasons to feel out of place in their own land. Olakun’s last words surmises the general feeling of the people affected thus: “Government has to look inwards and when this development is over, where are they going to put us and while it is going on, where will they resettle us so that we can continue to practice our art?” wherever they go. To save their money and secure their possessions, both the tortoise and the snail get fitted with shells explaining the mystery of why the tortoise has a shell.

Financial literacy in Nigeria is very poor and according to Ladi Smith, Executive Director of Credit Awareness, it is important to take it to children before they grow old. “We at Credit Awareness are on a financial literacy drive for Nigeria where we are teaching the adult population on literacy issues because literacy is an empowerment and if you teach people how to use money we have our slogan safe saving and responsible borrowing. If Nigerians can save wisely and borrow responsibly, we will have an empowered nation, but unfortunately that has not been the case,” he stressed.

At the end of the programme, schools present were given an Ajapa kit which contained a Tortoise bank, reward journal and other Ajapa paraphernalia.

56

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

Arts/Reviews

HAT do you consider to be the role of art and the artist in the society today?

Artists are visionaries; they are the light that helps to mirror the society. Because of their rare gift, special skills and training, they see far beyond the ordinary. The artist is not only able to document, but he is also able to highlight issues of social, economic, political, cultural and the spiritual lives of his society, thereby enhancing and adding great values to the lives of the people.

How fundamentally different has the role changed with time, if it has?

I believe the role remains basically the same.

The female subject appears prominently and often predominates in your works whether it was in painting or drawing. What does that represent?

The use of female subject is a universal one and it has been so through the ages. The female is endowed with a form that is as complex as it is beautiful. The woman also adds to her beauty by wearing various forms of head gear and adding accessories such as ear rings, necklaces and bangles of various sizes and materials. The female body represents the beauty and challenges of motherhood. These I try to capture in my paintings.

Is the female form a motif or a message in itself?

The female form for me is a message. Nude female form will hardly be found in my paintings and drawings except those done as studio class assignment or during my years of teaching.

What is your opinion about family? What role does the woman play or should play?

I hold the family in high esteem. It is an interesting theme that I have explored and will continue to explore.

Though I celebrate the family, I often times focus more attention on the plight of families in the distress as a result of economic down turn, civil strife, inter-communal clashes, political disturbances, all kinds of wars and natural disasters. All these resulting most times in refugee situation.

The woman is the key figure and particularly important in the family set up.

She is the mother of the family. And in addition to all her huge matrimonial duties

Why I am a romantic artist - Oshinowo Kolade Oshionowo is one of the most classical visual artists in Nigeria. Recently artists of all genres gathered at the Grillo Pavilion, Ikorodu, Lagos, for the 5th Annual Visual Art Fiesta. The fiesta was in his honour. In this online interview with Professor Jerry Buhari of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, he gives insight into his many exploits, style, form and vision as an artist and responsibilities, she supports her husband in providing for the family.

Your compositions appear constantly centralised, clustered and in subdued palette. What are you trying to tell your viewers?

I wish you precede this particular question with ‘some’ rather than the generalised nature it conveys.

Surely, I try to engage the viewer, making the eyes rest as much as possible on the painting.

I believe strongly as a painter in the strength of colours as a means of expression and I can oscillate from one end of the colour spectrum to the other. My use of colour depends on my mood and what I like to achieve in a particular painting. What I may not do is allow colour to overwhelm the structure of my painting. There must be a balance.

Let’s return to your choice of the palette again.

Your colours appeared subdued rendering some of your images almost silhouettes.

You appear to prefer cool or warm quiet colours rather than vibrant contrasting colours. Is there any specific meaning or reason?

That is my preference and style. I prefer dramatic use of colours rather than intensity. The most important thing for me in any work, either abstraction or realism, is quality.

What is the source of your models, especially the female models?

My models are usually

A

people around me; family members, maids, willing relatives and family friends. Most of the figures are actual or a modification of the faces. Some are simply imaginary especially where the focus is on the costume or a subject matter other than portraiture.

I have not noticed the ‘gaze’. All I can say is that sometimes I try to attempt to let the eye of my models follow the viewer.

Whether lateral view or otherwise is a question of choice and preference at the point of composition.

What is and should be the role of photographs as reference for painters?

Does it enhance or act as a barrier to creative expression?

The photograph as reference can serve as a spring-board in a creative process as means to an end.

Of course I am not talking about commissioned works where only photographs of the subject are available.

My strong belief is that habitual wholesale copying from photographs hampers the growth of the art student or even the professional artist. I try to discourage my students as much as possible from the practice. The artist should be able to generate ideas.

Where is the creativity if all you are doing is copying from photographs? In some of our institutions of higher learning outdoor painting and drawing assignments have been converted to in-

BOOK titled “The Whispering Voice” was presented to the public at Season of Life Hall Ojodu Lagos last week. It was written by Dr Maduka Sunny Oby. It has 217 pages divided into 11 chapters.

The book touches different aspects of life; psychology, philosophy, religion, adventure, literature, love, peace, violence and many others.

It opens with a traveller bored in the airplane and cherishing God’s beautiful work in creation as part of effort to ease the boredom. Suddenly, the plane crashed, killing almost all on board except for three survivors- Dr Joe, Miss Penns and baby Miracle.

But even in this situation, Dr Joe rises up to thank God for enabling them to see another day and tried to care for the little baby who also survived the plane crash while Miss Penns, the third survivor was unconcerned.

Along the line Dr Joe and Miss Penns

•Lady with red beads

•Oshinowo

doors by the use of digital phone cameras, thereby short changing the learning process. Even life drawing classes are not spared!. The picture of the model is simply taken for further ‘downloading’ later. Even absentee students can benefit from the ‘downloading’.

Such students don’t grow.

They later on in their career resort to relying on existing images or copying other people’s works.

I believe the role of the teacher is very critical in this matter. The teacher should be more interested in the process of creativity rather than the submission of the finished work.

Voicing it out

By Innocent Duru

started getting on together and searching for a way out of the crash site.

Dr Joe recalls his experience at Cambodia War; the relevance of prayers especially in times of crisis or difficulty and the need for anchored faith in God’s word. He spoke about a revelation he had to go on divine assignment to Africa and his self- discharge from the army in order to have time for the assignment.

The survivors soon became endangered by strange occurrences in the habitat but suddenly, help came from nowhere. Fortunately, they came to safety, although in the hands of unknown soldiers with some degree of uncertainty still looming. They found “ they were at the administrative headquarters of Duafa Liberation Army in Sudan and will

Tell us how you approach a typical favourite subject in your painting, from sketch to when you sign the work Once I have settled the matter of format and structure, my painting normally starts with my staining the canvas with selected colours. I do not like painting directly on the white surface.

Once it’s dry I commence the sketch with a piece of charcoal leaving details as much as possible. Once I am convinced about the composition, I start application of colours. If it is mixed media painting with texture/college, glue is used as adhesive for fine sand, wood dust, tissue paper, fabrics, ropes, strands of native sponge etc.

I often start the painting with acrylic to establish forms, composition and colours.

When I am satisfied, I do further drawing into the painting and finish the painting with acrylic or with oil paint.

For as long as I can remember I have had a habit of letting some areas of the charcoal drawing show through the painting. The painting is then subjected to days of interrogation, reviews and critique. Amendment and adjustments are made where necessary for a period of time before the painting is finally signed.

In the era of information and communication technology, what do you think are the challenges of the artist and the incredible possibilities ICT offers?

I am indeed glad to be alive in this era of ICT. At the click of the mouse you can view exhibitions going on around the world. Or view works hanging permanently in major museums and galleries around the globe at no cost. The artist is in constant touch with major art development and events in the international art circuit. Some times when I see what other artists are doing elsewhere I am simply humbled and challenged but inspired to do even better in my work. I believe the ICT should be an integral part of every artist’s studio. It is a useful tool. I also believe every artist should understand the basic application of Adobe Photoshop, Photo Paint, Photo Suite, Corel draw, 3D Imaging etc.

I had to learn and I am still learning aspects of these applications. Initially it was a pain in the neck, but now I am to a large extent IT-complaint!

have to adjust as well as adapt to both military and jungle life at the same time.

At this point Dr. Joe’s revelation was becoming reality as the commander promised to take him to the sick bay. On getting there, the team was greeted with the cries and agonies of wounded children and women.

Immediately, he fully assumed his assignment of providing medical and spiritual care for innocent victims of war, violence, greed and power abuse. There, a teenager raises the question about who God is and why He sometimes permits negative events.

In a simple language and style the author pointed out that the human race needs sacrificial giving and lifestyle in order to save perishing soul ravaged by war and violence.

In physical outlook Dr Maduka’s Whispering Voice is well printed, handy, easy to read and understand.

57

WORSHIP THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

My pains as I retire,

by Adebiyi The Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos West Anglican Communion, Revd Peter Adebiyi, who retired last Sunday after 46 years in the Lord's Vineyard, spoke with Nneka Nwaneri on his stewardship and national issues. Excerpts:

•Adebiyi

Summary of stewardship OR 14 years, I served as the Bishop of the Diocese of Lagos West. I was the first Bishop of the Diocese. My first three years were spent in Owo Diocese where I was bishop. In those 46 years, it has been blissful. In those years, I have had great encounters with powers- that-

F

be and have been accosted by men of the State Security Service (SSS) even whist I was still a venerable.

All I want is for the good of the country and I am looking forward to a greater and more comfortable country for the young ones. And just as I have been speaking to government, I will continue to do

so till I am not able to do so again.

Journey to ministry What more can be greater than working in the vineyard of God? Immediately I graduated from the University of Ife, I got employment from six organisations. I didn't take any of the jobs because I was already a priest. So, I went back to the church.

Today, I weep when I see young, vibrant men without job, food or security. They are so vulnerable.

I remember when we were young, no one's life was in danger. Then, kings in the villages were arrested whenever a child goes missing for two to three days.

Until Nigeria can go back to a country where there is peace and everyone can have our daily bread as we wish, we will continue to suffer. My pain as I retire is that there is no change in all these years.

But God is not asleep.

Something is going to hap-

pen because things cannot remain this way. One day, Daniel will come to judgement. It will not be long any longer.

High and low moments Many of the things that have brought me joy are the areas of development and expansion of the church.

There have also been times of misgivings and sorrows.

My joyful moments were days when I was freshly ordained a priest. Though I wasn't married then, I looked back and saw I have lived a fulfilled life, having a wife and children and grand children in different fields of endeavour.

I will never forget the day of the Gideon Orkar's coup. Baba Abiodun Adetiloye gave me a letter to deliver to the then Military Vice President, Augustine Aikhomu. I drove in my car to Dodan Barracks where they were holding a meeting on the protesters.

By 5pm that same day, I heard an announcement

NEWS

Tackle insecurity, Ademowo charges FG

T

HE precarious security situation is unacceptable and must be addressed as a matter of urgency, the Diocesan Bishop of Lagos, The Most Rev Dr Adebola Ademowo, has stated.

He spoke last week ahead of the synod of the church, which kicks off today.

The theme of the synod expected to attract Governor Raji Fashola and other dignitaries is Counting Your Blessing.

Ademowo said the nation is on a downward slope occasioned by the serious security challenges, especially in the north.

According to him: "A situation where policemen are killed like chicken is disturbing and calls for urgent solutions."

The Dean Emeritus of the Anglican Communion challenged government to prove it is capable of arresting the situation before it further degenerates.

He said the synod, which will feature Bible Study, presentations and meetings, is to deliberate on the way forward for the

By Sunday Oguntola church.

Recounting the many strides of the church in the last one year, he said the

Diocese has presented a 14seater Hyundai bus for the female section of Ikoyi prison.

Inmates writing exams,

he added, are also supported with payment of fees while some are on sponsorship for degree programmes at the National Open University of

Revolution is coming, Olabayo warns

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OPULAR Lagos seer Primate Theophilus Olabayo has warned that the nation will witness a serious revolution.

The General Overseer of The Evangelical Church of Yahweh, said: "To start with, the present religious crisis will persist all over the country. Those who are preparing to campaign, should be ready to witness problems.

"PDP will try once again to rig the election and there will be great troubles that will threaten the unity of Nigeria. The period will witness much kidnapping and lots of political assassinations."

Olabayo declared President Goodluck Jonathan's government is on its way out.

According to him: "Please tell Jonathan that his days in Aso Rock are numbered! He should have gone since; it is the prayers of those who

By Paul Ukpabio God pities that are keeping him there till now.”

He blamed the nation's predicaments on the President, saying, "Jonathan's stubbornness is the result of what we have today, which I long predicted. Now we have terrorism, killings, and the

worst is even yet to come.

"What is happening now is a child's play; Jonathan has to be very careful so that this country will not be divided into seven countries.”

The prophet, however, stated the country will not go into war but that there will be a revolution that will turn the country around for the better.

Odutola retires as BSN CEO

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HE General Secretary/ CEO of The Bible Society of Nigeria (BSN), Reverend Dr. Fred Odutola, is set to retire from the organisation with effect from 31st July.

Odutola, who will attain the mandatory retirement age of 55 years in the organisation, rose through the ranks to become CEO in 2000.

The longest serving staff of BSN joined on June 1, 1982 as the Lagos area secretary.

During his tenure, BSN became the leader of other 40 Bible Societies in Africa in growth and in Bible distribution.

The Bible Society of Nigeria is the largest distributor of English Bible in the world.

In recognition of his expertise, skill and knowledge of the job he was elected the Chairman, United Bible Societies Africa Area Board in 2009.

that those young men were executed, even while the meeting was still holding.

That day, I wept ceaselessly for hours. Another day was on the Ejigbo plane crash. I saw needless pains. Looking back in the last 40 years, I see that this country has done much evil; a lot of Nigerians who have been wasted; men and women who have been our sources of inspiration.

On amnesty and Boko Haram In the case of the NigerDelta militants, they didn't kill but were fighting on the creeks for their rights. They didn't go the extent Boko Haram is going. I don't believe the northern leaders are not behind these killings otherwise, how can faceless people keep killing people?

Now, they want to be granted amnesty. Then what happens to the woman who lost her husband and five children at the Madala bombing?

What amnesty is being given the many families who have been thrown into disarray and perpetual sorrow?

Why should anyone be treated as a slave in his own country? Why should I be called a Nigerian when I cannot go to Maiduguri and live peacefully? All I see is we are sitting on deceit in this country and we will not thrive until the different tribes have a dialogue and deliberate. Nigeria is not a country but consists of many nations that have come together.

On Nigerian politics Nigerian politics is money- based. But the good news is that there are many other people who can rule well. Though they have no money, they have ideas.

One day, money will fail and good governance will come forth. Nigerians should allow those who make us happy rule us else, we will keep going back to square one.

Nigeria (NOUN).

He called for immediate decongestion of prisons

across the nation to ameliorate the plights of inmates.

xxx

READ T S U M 50 N NIGERIAAN I CHRIST R S AUTHO Are you a Christian author? Are you bothered about poor exposure at bookshops and limited patronage?

The Nation is offering you an unbeatable opportunity to showcase your books and talk about your passion.

The 2-in-1 project involves an advert supplement backed with a profile story on each participant.

Kindly contact Sunday Oguntola on 08034309265 or shinystarontop@gmail.com for advert details and participation.

You will be glad you did!

58

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

Worship COLUMNS

Let the earth hear the good news

A

ND he said unto them, "Go ye into the entire world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15).

Fresh from the victory of His resurrection, Jesus Christ came to His disciples and commanded them to go "into all the world", and preach the gospel to "every creature" (Mark 16:15).

In other words, they should go and tell everyone in all the world that He had died and conquered the grave and has bought eternal life for all mankind.

This is the greatest news the world is waiting for today; every human being in all nations of the earth, whether yellow, black or white. Without this good news, the whole world would perish and every human will go to hell. When this good news is believed wholeheartedly, a great change takes place inside the one that believed it.

Bishop Wale-Oke

DIVINE MESSAGE This good news of Jesus is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe; and whenever it is faithfully proclaimed it works effectively without fail.

Jesus has commanded each one of us who believe Him to take this good news to the uttermost part of our world. He promised to clothe us with the power of the Holy Spirit who will energise us to proclaim the

good news effectively. He promised to be with us, to work with us, confirming the word we speak with signs and wonders following.

All you need to do is to be obedient to this command of Christ and you will see God at work in you and through you to save, to heal, and to deliver other people from the kingdom of darkness into God's Kingdom of light.

When are you going to effectively share this good news with other people?

The time to start is right now. And the Lord shall bless and reward you.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16).

For further information, counseling and prayer, please contact me on telephone number: +234 816 308 7780, +234 816 363 6364 or send an email to bishopwaleoke@sotsm.com.

You may also write to P.M.B 60, Agodi Post Office, Ibadan.

NEWS

•Remo Diocesan Bishop, Rt Rev. Babatunde Taiwo, presenting the newly installed Presbyter, Sagamu-Oko circuit of the Methodist Church, Rev. Samuel Borode, at the synod of the Diocese ... recently

Cleric canvasses support for Northern Christians

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HE Executive Director of Voice of Christian Martyr, Nigeria, Rev Isaac Newton-Wusu, has appealed to the church to speak in one voice against the ongoing attacks against Christians in the north.

Northern Christians, he pointed out, have been under intense suppression and marginalisation in the north for so many years, a development he said has turned them to second class citizens in the region.

According to NewtonWusu: "Christians are targeted at homes, in their business places, on their farms, while on the travelling on the highways and in the places of worship and there seems to be no way of escape for them.”

These attacks have led to loss of human dignity and subjugation to threat and fear with daily psychological trauma because of their faith, he added.

So far, he stated no fewer than 5,000 Christians have been rendered homeless, a situation he said places a burden on the Christian community to help.

By Adeola Ogunlade He said: “The present challenges facing the church calls for dynamic spiritual Christian leadership to mobilise and coordinate the church as one body to prayerfully provide

solution to the problems or religious crises in the country.”

He appealed to the persecuted Christians to hold the forte and not be deterred over the trial of their faith, which he said produces great results.

‘With or without amnesty, terrorism will continue’

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HE General Evangelist of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Worldwide, Evangelist Samuel Abiara, has stated the Federal Government’s amnesty programme for members of Boko Haram sect will not eradicate violence.

Speaking during an interactive session with journalists on the forthcoming programme of the church billed to hold at Joseph Ayo Babalola International Miracle Camp, Ikeji Arakeji, Osun State, on May 10, Abiara said: “The Federal Government should think deeply because whether you like it or not violence will not cease until Jesus comes.”

He urged the Federal Government to compensate the victims of Boko Haram and their

families.

The all-day programme is being organised for politicians, farmers, businessmen, students, civil servants and others.

While encouraging Nigerians from all walks of life to be part of the programme for peace to reign in Nigeria, he insisted: “If not for prayers, the country would have collapsed.

We must thank both the Christians and Muslims for praying for the country.”

Living Faith

By Dr. David Oyedepo

Fulfilling your glorious destiny

E

VERYONE that is redeemed is to be glorified as Christ; so we become heir of God and joint heirs with Jesus. Our lives should not be a question mark, but an exclamation! That is God's intention for you and me.

No one can come unto Jesus, except the Father draws him. So, everyone that is born again today, was drawn by the Father to be justified and justified to be glorified (Romans 8:2930). So, redemption that does not culminate in glorification is questionable.

The ultimate of our redemption is our glorification.

The Word of God says: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). So, when our sins are forgiven, then the glory is restored.

First, recognise that redemption makes you a child of destiny. Your redemption is a product of God's pre-destination.

God's Word says: For whom, He did foreknow, them, He also did predestinate... (Romans 8:29-30).

Second, you are a particular child on a particular mission. Jeremiah 1:5 says: Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

So, before each of us came, God knew us and He has separated us with particular tasks. Paul said, "God who separated me, from my mother's womb" (Galatians 1:15). So, everyone in the Kingdom today, is a child of glorious destiny.

Second Peter 1:3 says: According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. So, your call is to glory, not to shame. Redemption is the gateway to your glorification. It is not just being a child of destiny; you have a glorious destiny.

Remember, the Bible says: "Where there is no vi-

sion, the people perish..."

(Proverbs 29:18). What is vision? The word 'vision' has been so grossly misunderstood today in the church that virtually every dream of the night is mistaken for a vision. That is why multitudes today, are chasing after shadows!

The question then is: What is vision?

Vision is the unfolding of God's plan, as it relates to you in person. That plan is in place, but it is our duty to discover our God-assigned task, our God-ordained place, the God-ordained approach to our task and the timing of His plans as it relates to us.

We have both natural and spiritual destiny with God; there is our assignment on earth, and there is our spiritual place on earth. The two together, guarantee our inheritance in glory.

For every child of God, there is a pastor set over your life and it is for you to discover (Jeremiah 3:15-16).

So, there is a spiritual platform for your destiny to flourish and it is your duty to discover it. It is correct positioning in your spiritual destiny that empowers your overall destiny to deliver.

Who is the custodian of God's plan on earth? The Holy Ghost is the custodian of God's plan on earth (Acts 14:1-4). So, the outpouring of the Spirit of God, is the platform for visions and revelations (Joel 2:28).

How does the Holy Ghost unveil God's plan?

He unveils God's plan in two ways - He speaks and He shows. John 16:13 says: Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth…but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

So, He speaks and He shows. Divine plan is unveiled through the voice of the Spirit and through the visions of heaven. Remember the Holy Ghost went to Peter and showed him a casket from heaven that had all manner of beasts on

it. He told Peter, "Kill and eat." Peter said, "No! We don't eat this in Israel, it is unclean." While that vision was over, the Holy Ghost told him that four men were waiting for him. The Holy Ghost showed him and spoke to him!

Also, on May 1-2, 1981, the Holy Ghost showed me in an 18-hour vision, an array of afflicted humanity. I was crying, "God what's happening?" He said, "But from the beginning it was not so." He showed me and then He spoke to me. He is still doing that today. He shows us and He interprets what He shows us to deliver God's ultimate plan.

Why Do We Need Vision?

The Word of God says: There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death (Proverbs 14:12). One of the greatest mishaps that can happen to a man is to lack an idea of where he is going, and how to get there. Many have rushed into certain open doors, only to discover that they were traps in disguise. Others have been deceived by the glitter of certain business plans, and have come to realize that not all that glitter is gold. That is why we need vision.

We need God's direction because often, the decisions we make in life are based on our assessment, which may not be absolutely correct.

Everything may seem right and appear satisfactory to the human eye, but at the end of it is frustration, stagnation and untimely death (Proverbs 16:25).

One can have a satanic encounter and mistake it for a divine encounter (2 Cor.11:14). God will only back up His plan, not our plan. We have a future in His plan; there is no future in our plan (Jeremiah 29:11). This is why we need vision.

Friend, the power to be led by God is the privilege of children of God. You become a child of God as you confess your sins and accept Jesus as your Saviour and Lord. You can be His child now, if you have not been, by saying this prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood.

Today, Lord Jesus, I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Thank You for saving me! Now I know I am born again! I will continue this teaching next week.

I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with us through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaan Land, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 7747546-8; or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org

Latter Rain Assembly primes youths

T

HE Nigerian Institute of Journalism Ogba Lagos will play host to the outreach programme of The Latter Rain Assembly (LRA) tagged: “Priming you

for all possibilities”.

Four teams will lock horns at the outreach, which commences at 10.00 am on May 10.

There will also be a ca-

reer counselling and training session for youths who wish to become professional footballers as well as presentation of prizes to winners of the match.

Beyond the thrill of the soccer game and priming the youths for a future career, there will also be spiritual ministrations through exhortation, music and prayers.

Your HEALTH THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

By Yetunde Oladeinde

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60

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

INSIGHT

•Jonathan

•Okonjo-Iweala

N

O programme or scheme of the federal government has generated so much scorn and scepticism as much as the implementation of the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), established in February 2012.

The scheme was borne out of the need to cushion the effect of the partial removal of fuel subsidy on January 1, 2012. However, the implementation of the scheme has continued to roll from one hail of controversy to another.

While the federal government, which budgeted N180bn in the 2012 budget, is already thumping its chest that SURE-P has made impact in critical sectors of the economy with massive investment in infrastructure such as roads, healthcare and rail transport, available statistics point to the contrary.

Reports across selected states in the country reveal that the programme has been mired in several controversies ranging from corruption, outright diversion of funds to poor and shoddy implementation of projects.

In the last few months, several petitions have been sent to the National Assembly calling for a thorough probe into the management of funds particularly in the area of road rehabilitation and construction.

Some days ago, the House of Representatives commenced a probe of several of the road projects awarded to Danatata and Sawoe, Setraco, Gitto and other construction firms by the Federal Ministry of Works.

The House Committee on Anti-Corruption, National Ethics and Values is asking questions on how these firms have allegedly short-changed the nation on some of the road projects.

Dantata and Sawoe is being queried on how the company got the contract for the construction of the Abuja-Abaji dual carriageway for a sum of N28b, whereas the same contract had earlier in 2006 been awarded for N11b. The Chairman of the committee, Abiodun Faleke, said the difference of N17b was too high a variation.

He said: "We have observed that it was when SUREP came into operation that several federal road projects across the country witnessed an upward review in their contract sums."

Lopsided implementation Investigations further revealed that while the programme has partially taken off in a few states, its presence is virtually non-existent in many others. More worrisome are reports that leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have allegedly hijacked the committees charged with the responsibility of implementing SURE-P in some states.

The score card of the scheme in selected states in different geo-political zones of the country is not cheering.

Knocks in Anambra Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Technical Matters, Nze Akachukwu Nwankpo, who doubles as the Secretary to the Chief Christopher Koladeled Sure-P, hails from Anambra State.

During a visit to Governor Peter Obi last year, he had said the scheme was expected to absorb over 370,000 Nigerians with each state getting 10,000 employees to be paid an allowance of N10,000 monthly.

Getting unsure about SURE-P implementation Its establishment over a year ago elicited deep-seated scepticisms among the populace, now controversies have continued to trail the implementation of the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) in several states in the country. Remi Adelowo, Jide Orintunsin, Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, Tony Akowe, Yusufu Aminu Idegu, Shola O'Neil, Okungbowa Aiwerie and Osagie Otabor report He added that those employed will be engaged in the areas of community service, women and youth employment scheme.

Few weeks after Nwankpo's disclosure, he was accused of allegedly diverting Sure-P funds for his campaign to be the Governor of the state come 2014.

The operation of the programme in the state has also been far from impressive. The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Osaeloka Henry Obaze, disclosed that SURE-P is not yet operational in the state.

He added that the state won't be part of the scheme until the state government is carried along in its implementation.

According to him, "SURE-P is yet to be implemented in Anambra. We don't want to be part of it, because the state should have ownership of the programme and not a situation people were picked from outside to run a programme for us."

While lauding the concept, he said: "It is a wellintended programme by the Federal Government, but it is being hijacked by individuals. But our Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, will tackle it at the Presidency."

Yet weeks after he made the allegation, the SSG spoke to The Nation and reiterated his earlier stance that Sure-P is not working in the state.

A former Speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Anayo Nebe, who is the state Chairman of the scheme, however, said the implementation of the programme is devoid of any political partisanship as it is being alleged in some quarters.

He added that the programme was ongoing as against the claims by the SSG. Claiming that the documentation process was still on, Nebe said the exercise in Anambra had been a huge success.

According to him, "At the moment, the recruits have not commenced work, which is why people do not feel the impact of the scheme. But in a matter of days when the documentation process comes to an end, the impact will be very glaring "The participants are being selected from different parts of the state. It is non-partisan, as nobody was selected on the basis of political party, religion or other primordial sentiments. For the first phase, each local government area has four communities.

"By this, we will ensure there is an even spread. We want every local government area to have a feel of the scheme."

Kaduna alleges partisanship During his tenure, the late Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa raised a high powered committee headed by his then deputy, Rammallan Yero, to work out

modalities for the implementation of the scheme in the state.

The committee was charged with identifying areas of intervention with the state's share of the funds. The committee identified specific areas of intervention, and according to a highly placed source, each sector identified was to be directly handled by the relevant ministry concerned.

The programme, according to available records from the government, is supposed to empower about 6000 women and youth as well as embark on road construction, provision of security, healthcare delivery and affordable transportation to the people of the state.

As part of the programme, the Yakowa government awarded contract for the purchase of 40 operational vehicles equipped with full accessories for security agents in the state and 40 brand new Nissan Sunny vehicles for distribution to transport operators in the state. About 700 tricycles were also to be purchased by the government under the scheme.

However, Governor Yero, who incidentally chaired the committee as Deputy Governor, gave out these items, especially the vehicles and tricycles, as part of his 100 days celebration. 700 tricycles, 35 mini buses, 40 taxis and 15 luxury buses were given to beneficiaries, which included selected members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and the All Commercial Motorcycle Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN), as well as the Kaduna State Transport Authority (KSTA).

Yero said that the vehicles and tricycles have been subsidised by 50 percent by the government and that beneficiaries are expected to make a down payment of 25 percent.

However, the state Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mohammed Musa Soba, accused the government of not living to its promise of carrying everybody in the state along in its operation.

He claimed that the SURE-P programme in the state is strictly a PDP affair without any consideration for the opposition parties.

According to him: "The Governor promised on his assumption of office to carry everybody along. But the reverse has been the case. The late Yakowa was fair to the opposition and carried them along because he recognised the importance of the opposition to the development of the state. But that is not the same with this government."

However, the Director General to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Ahmed Maiyaki, debunked this claim. He disclosed that those who benefitted from the distribution were not members of the PDP, but people identified from across the state.

He said, "If you look very well, the vehicles that were distributed were given to union members to enable the government monitor the items. The time when these things are given out and government cannot monitor them is gone. Through the various unions, we can monitor these people and since they are not free, we can monitor the payment since it is a loan. So, it is wrong to politicise the Sure-P, as it is meant for everybody in the state."

Continued on page 61

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013 Continued from page 60

On course in Niger In Niger State, the implementation of the scheme is on course. Investigations revealed that the programme is being coordinated in three stages - federal, state and local government levels.

The biggest impact of the scheme has been felt with the massive investment in the railway transport sector. Currently, commuters travel from Minna to Kaduna on a daily basis, while people of the state are also benefitting from the Lagos - Kano and Offa - Kano train services, all courtesy of the scheme.

At take-off, 300 women and youth were captured for the scheme with a commercial bank serving as financial advisor for the beneficiaries.

The scheme was scaled up with the capturing of an additional 1150 beneficiaries in seven of the 25 local government areas of the state.

Having perfected the initial challenges at the pilot level of the scheme in eight local government areas, it was scaled up with another set of 3,000 women and youth across the state.

Investigation, however, showed that the Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS) of the programme is yet to be fully embraced by many youth in the state. Efforts to get the figure of beneficiaries under the scheme failed.

But it was gathered that lack of mobilisation may have been responsible for the poor patronage of the scheme.

Deputy Chairman, Implementation Committee in the state, Abdullahi Baba-Mini Mohammed, said that SURE-P has recorded tremendous success in the state.

According to him, about 4,500 women and youth in the state have been empowered in the last 10 months of the flag-off of the scheme.

On GIS programme, the deputy chairman confirmed the poor reception of the scheme. He, however, said that the committee has mapped out strategies to create awareness and educate unemployed youth in the state on the need to avail themselves of the opportunities of the GIS. At the state level, a few weeks ago, Governor Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu appointed Mr. Hassan Nuhu as Director General to oversee and ensure the effective and timely implementation of projects.

The governor had earlier announced that part of the monies in the SURE-P account will be used to facilitate jobs for unemployed youths.

He also directed all the 25 local government areas in the state to carry out a census of all unemployed youths in the state within the next one month, with a view to gainfully engaging them, while adding that 17,000 university, polytechnic and college of education graduates are already being screened for engagement.

The Nation gathered that the implementation of the programme at the local government level in the state is being fine tuned. A pointer to this was made by the governor when he disclosed that the 25 local government areas of the state have about N2 billion in their SURE-P account and that part of it will be used to facilitate the employment of the youth at the grassroots.

Scheme not in existence in Plateau However, the presence of the scheme is yet to be felt in any part of Plateau State, contrary to widespread

INSIGHT

61

Getting unsure about SURE-P implementation belief that the programme was structured to be established at federal and state levels.

The Nation gathered that the scheme has not established any office in the state since its establishment 14 months ago.

The state government, it was gathered, had sent the name of the state coordinator to the presidency which immediately approved it. However, the coordinator, Mr. Da Bulus Daren, has been working without an office. Findings revealed that efforts by Daren to ensure that the programme takes off has not yielded any positive results, even as the state government is said not to be happy with the situation.

Same story in Delta The programme has been dogged by controversy from its inception in Delta State. As of now, it is nonexistent as the ministry in charge of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) under which the programme is coordinated is in the dark as to its activities.

A staff of the ministry, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the programme is yet to begin operations.

Our source said he and other staff of the ministry who were supposed to drive the programme do not have any information on how to go about their duties.

The SURE-P on maternal and child healthcare is also yet to begin in the state. A staff in the Ministry of Health disclosed that the only programme providing succour for pregnant and nursing mothers in the state was initiated by the state government. Our source in the ministry lamented that there has been no collaboration between the agency coordinating SUREP and the state's health officials.

In the same vein, the mass transit programme initiated under the scheme has not taken off, save for the Delta State Mass transit scheme which commenced soon after the subsidy removal protest.

For the mass transit scheme, Delta State Commissioner of Transport, Mr. Bernard Igbakpa, confirmed that there has been no collaboration whatsoever between the state government and SUREP on mass transit.

He said: "For us in Delta, we have not done anything with the SURE-P, and the state mass transit scheme is exclusively funded by the state. In the 2013 budget, the state will use its share of the SURE-P fund to train and employ 2000 traffic marshals."

The only landmark of the programme in the state is the presence of Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) workers on some federal roads, notably the Warri-Ughelli-Ibuzor-Asaba Expressway and the Warri-Abraka-Asaba road where youths are engaged for road maintenance and cutting of wild grasses on the road. Their reflective vests conspicuously marked with the SURE-P signs marked them out.

Asides from these road projects, the Onitsha/Benin Expressway also has tens of youths working daily on road maintenance under the auspices of FERMA. Like most programmes of the federal and state governments, people of the riverside communities who

spoke with our reporter on the issue said they haven't felt the impact of the programme. For instance, although the state government acquired buses for land transportation shortly after the subsidy protest in 2012, not even one boat has been provided for water transportation.

On vocational training for youths, which is a new component of the scheme, it was learnt it was yet to commence.

Hijacked by politicians in Bayelsa Although the empowerment aspect of the programme was to be handled by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), it was hijacked by the state government. The chairman of the committee, Mike Kalango, was alleged to have used his closeness to political leaders in the state to marginalise the NDE Coordinator in the state, Mr. Sunday Akpakasa.

The situation reached a climax some days ago when the process of employment, which was said to be at 95% completion stage, was scrapped through a terse public statement in the media. Prior to that action, sources said allocation of the job slots and payment of monthly stipends are being handled by the Special Adviser to Governor Seriake Dickson in the eight local government areas.

Findings also revealed that an old generation bank where the forms are domiciled, handed over the forms to Dickson's aides following "instructions from above".

As a result, instead of the youths going there to fill and submit the forms, they are directed to the homes of the government official, who distributes them according to party affiliation.

"If you are not in the good books of these people and their supporters or you are not a member of the PDP, you cannot get anything because they do what they like with it. It is seen as a way of rewarding those who worked for and are working for the party," an unemployed youth from Agge, Ekeremor LGA said.

It was further gathered that the Director of the NDE in the state has little or no say in the implementation of the scheme, much to the chagrin of staff of the directorate. He refused to speak to our reporter on the issue when he was contacted.

A source close to him, however, said: "We have done almost 95 percent implementation; but surprisingly, the chairman, a politician started a new process and in one fell swoop, he undid the work we had put in place over the last months."

It's a PDP affair in Edo One year down the line, it could not be ascertained how much the state has received from the subsidy fund even as some state government officials contacted to speak on the issue did not reply text messages sent to their mobile phones by The Nation.

Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, directed our reporter to check with the Commissioner of Finance, John Inegbedion, but calls made to the commissioner's mobile lines went unanswered.

It was, however, gathered that 3000 persons have been employed in the state under the Community

Service and Youth Empowerment Project of SURE-P. An additional 2000 persons are to be employed in June this year.

For some time now, there have been arguments over how the employment exercise was carried out.

State Secretary of the ACN, Osaro Idah, said the party did not receive any notification about the employment of 3000 persons under the SURE-P scheme.

Some people who spoke with our reporter said the appointments were allegedly given to members of the state PDP and that the forms were distributed without the knowledge of the people. This led to further debate about the veracity of the 3,000 employment claim.

Besides, there are widespread allegations of extortion by supervisors of the programme. Some of the beneficiaries, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said they are made to pay some money before their names are forwarded for the payment of their stipends.

But State Chairman, Implementation Committee of the Community Service of SURE-P, Lucky Imasuen, however, denied allegations that the forms were given to members of the PDP. He said the first 3000 persons have been paid their stipends for the months of February and March, adding that it was normal for some people to complain since everybody cannot benefit at once.

Imasuen, a former deputy governor in the state, said the purpose of the programme was to reach the youths, women and the disabled.

He said the beneficiaries are to be paid N10,000 monthly for working in public places like cleaning markets, hospitals, traffic control and other places that are not private buildings and places.

According to him, "The forms were given to us for distribution and the process for distribution was party blind. People who are not affiliated to political parties were given forms. This fund is part of the 41% share of the federal government. States are getting their share.

They are expected to complement what the federal government is doing. I am pretty sure the state governments are doing well with their money. The federal government is using its share for all Nigerians.

"Other programmes are not directly under my control, but they are already being implemented across the federation in collaboration with existing ministries like the federal ministries of works, health and others.

We are in charge of Community Service and Youth Empowerment projects.

"I don't have access to the money as the chairman.

We deal with individuals and they deal with the banks.

I only supervise the entire process."

About to take off in Taraba It was not until a few days ago that the federal government made available N1.7b to the state government to implement some SURE-P projects.

Investigations revealed that about 400 tricycles (Keke NAPEP), commercial motorcycles and lots of empowerment equipments have been purchased by the government, which will in the next few weeks be distributed to beneficiaries across the state.

One year of SURE-P: So far, so...

O

VER 12 months after the Federal Government decided to set up a national safety net tagged: 'The Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme', otherwise known as SURE-P, doubts still persist as to how much has been achieved.

Among other things, the mandate given to the Chairman of the SURE-P Board, Dr. Christopher Kolade, along with members of his team was to either initiate or carry out the execution and completion of existing projects, with emphasis on works, roads, rail, mass transit, maternal and child healthcare delivery.

While presenting a scorecard of its achievements in the last one year to President Goodluck Jonathan recently, the chairman of the board reeled out what in his own reckoning could pass for modest achievements.

An elated Dr. Kolade had said that over N70billion was spent by the SURE-P within six months in 2012 just as he said the board executed projects specified by the programme's mandate in sectors such as works, roads, rail, mass transit, maternal and child healthcare.

Kolade, a former Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, said the committee was able to record modest achievements within six months and taking a retrospective look, his final verdict was that the scheme had carried out its functions satisfactorily.

Milestones recorded under SURE-P In a document obtained by The Nation at the Ministry of Works, officials gave graphic details of the extent of work that has been executed in the last six months.

The Loko-Oweto Bridge, located across River Benue linking Nasarawa State to Benue, when completed, is expected to increase commercial activities in that part of the country as it will provide a short link, and therefore reduce travel times between the northern and southern parts of the country. The about 1,970m long bridge is being constructed by Reynolds Construction Company

One year down the line, the much-hyped Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), a national safety net put in place by the federal government ostensibly to douse the tension caused by the fuel subsidy is still on. Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf in this report attempts a performance scorecard of the programme Nigeria Limited. The project duration is four years but the Federal Ministry of Works plans to fast track the project so that it can be completed in three years with enhanced funding from the SURE-P programme.

Besides, another sector that has benefited from the SURE-P largesse is the railways. Confirming this development, the Managing Director, Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr. Adeseyi Sijuade, said the fortunes of the corporation has changed for the better, thanks to the financial lifeline it got from the SURE-P. "We now have a safe and functional railway."

Although it could not be ascertained as at press time the level of support SURE-P has given to healthcare delivery, Mrs. Bisi Tugbobo, State Team Leader, Partnership for Transforming Health Systems II (PATHS2), a DFID-funded project being implemented in selected states of the federation, said she was aware that officials of the SURE-P programme were looking at collaborating with her organisation on how best to deliver healthcare in Lagos State.

Discordant tunes Although the federal government remains quite upbeat about the immense potential of the scheme to deliver the goods, for dyed-in-the wool critics, the SURE-P scheme, may not have achieved anything concrete in the last one year despite the razzmatazz which heralded its establishment by the federal government.

To these critics, the whole idea of the scheme is not just a sham but another contraption set up by the federal government to settle its hangers-on one way or the other, especially as a form of reward for their political patronage.

According to a commentator, "Rather than offer an apologia for what seems in the eyes of discerning

•Kolade Nigerians for failure to deliver on promises and targets, these government spin-doctors are adding salt to our injury by lying shamefacedly."

In many states, the implementation of the programme has posed some challenges. Even states, where the opposition parties formed the executive and controlled the legislature, the members of the ruling party have been at loggerheads over the allocation of projects that are funded by funds accruing from the scheme.

Confirming this development, Lagos State Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, told The Nation recently: "Nothing was given to Lagos State. We didn't receive a single vehicle.

And we didn't know who to make requisition to.

And to the best of my knowledge, I'm not aware of any state getting anything. But frankly, we didn't get anything from the subsidy relief programme."

His counterpart in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Jide Idris, also said he was not aware of any support to his sector. "As far as I know, I'm not aware of any support from that end to the Lagos State Ministry of Health, not at all."

Echoing similar sentiments, Chief Olabode Afolayan, National President, Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), while acknowledging that the SURE-P had a component for housing in 2012, however, regretted that no structure was put in place to actualise same.

According to him, "Unfortunately, we have not been able to access any funds from the SURE-P. It was not available for us to access because some of these things from government you need to come up with a template so that we all understand before you start allocating funds. You don't just say this is N1billion for houses; you have to first ensure the availability of land on which you want to build."

Challenges before SURE-P One of the major problems besetting the scheme is that of credibility. The management of the scheme have also at one time or the other ran into trouble with members of the National Assembly over the activities of the programme.

For instance, members of the House of Representatives not long ago took on the chairman of the programme, Dr Kolade, and three ministers following their presentations on the achievements of SURE-P. There were claims and counter-claims that the agency was duplicating the projects of ministries, departments and other agencies of the federal government. Another allegation was that the agency squandered scare resources on other areas other than those in critical needs.

One thing that is clear is that the scheme is not as sure as its name implies.

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THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

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64

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

BUSINESS

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

‘High interest rate not favourable to business’ H

OW will you assess the regulatory framework for businesses in the country and what are your expectations from government?

Government needs to get back to the business of agriculture by assisting in providing infrastructure that will help the private sector build a successful agricultural sector. One of the frustrations of government and it is a very difficult challenge is resolving the interest rate challenge. For example, nonagricultural sector can go on with 20 to 25 per cent interest rate, but it is impossible to grow agricultural sector with that rate. Government has to provide loan of low interest rate for farmers, so that they can invest in lands, crops and equipment.

In your view, what effect does government policies have on businesses operating in the country?

From business man to business man, industrialist to industrialist, government needs to do something about the cost of money in this economy. You cannot build an economy through private sector with 25 per cent interest rate. I understand the challenges of government and Central Bank of Nigeria in this matter, but such policy as implemented, is creating unemployment. We have four million graduates a year who go into the market place but can’t find a job. That’s 40 million graduates in 10 years.

What can government do to achieve its Vision 20:2020 on agriculture?

Government has to improve power supply. It has to put in place the needed infrastructure, protect the investor, consumer, employee and employer. All these things need to be put in place; there is a lot of work to be done.

The fundamental responsibility of the government is to put the structures of life in place, such as, financial, legal, institutions, physical infrastructure. These are the things the government needs to focus on and they will create employment through agricultural and attain food sufficiency, which are the major goals of the Vision being pursued by government.

What is your view about Nigeria’s tractor market?

There are several unsuitable tractors being sold in Nigeria market. It is painful to us that the said tractors are bearing the trade mark of Massey Ferguson, Massey Ferguson is a trade mark designed by AGCO, the world largest manufacturers of tractors. We are the sole appointed importers, distributors and providers of services for the Massey Ferguson’s tractors in Nigeria.

It is our responsibility to bring the right tractors into the country and give spare parts services, autos services and other support. Tractors are like the cars, you think of a tractor the way you think about a car. If you don’t service it properly, if you don’t

Managing Director, Dizengoff West Africa (Nigeria) Limited, Richard Hargrave, who first visited the country in 1978 is unhappy that not much has changed, economic-wise. In this interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf he decries the high interest rate regime as well as poor operating environment for most businesses among other issues. Excerpts:

•Hargrave

INTERVIEW protect it in the field the way you are supposed to with the right parts and properly service it, the tractor will break down. So, we are holding the structure designed to make sure that the right tractors are brought to Nigeria. The right tractor depends on the country you want to use it for, the soil, area and topography among other factors.

Are there special tractors designed for each market?

Yes, there is a special range of tractors specifically designed for each market in the world that meets the need of that market. These tractors that were imported were produced in Pakistan under a license granted by Massey Ferguson, but it is a Massey Ferguson produced tractor. It was produced by an independent company in Pakistan, they were specifically manufactured and to be used in Pakistan. From the clock ranges, the sole types, to the complete scenario, no parts within that tractor are Massey Ferguson parts.

Massey Ferguson has no control or involvement in the production of that tractor. Those tractors are not suitable in the market outside of Pakistan. The tractors are solely for Pakistan and

such tractors sold in Pakistan must be produced by indigenous manufacturers. There is a limit for such tractors, because they are produced and used in Pakistan, they are not to be exported out of Pakistan. These are the kind of tractors that we have seen in a couple of states here in Nigeria. Those tractors cannot work properly and they cannot find their spare parts, those tractors will fail and we do not want to see farmers in Nigeria with failed tractors. Nigeria is one of the least mechanised agriculture sector markets in the world.

What are the implications of this practice in Nigeria’s farming system?

Farmers need to have the right tractors, right ranges of implements, chemicals, techniques and technologies, skills and the right solutions, if Nigeria is to achieve its aim of managing its security food. It is absolutely imperative to Nigeria that they reduce the importation of basic foods. There is no country that does not supply its own basic foods.

If you import tractors that are not suitable for the lands here, first the farmers will produce at a very high mechanisation cost, because he is going to have breakdowns, buy spare parts and have down time. The farmer is going to incur a lot of ex-

penses beyond his budget, and therefore he will fail.

Also, most of those tractors cannot really be used by farmers because the hiring agency that will give the tractor to them might not have them because of breakdown.

Nigeria needs tractors with light tyres, light gears for it to be effective otherwise, it will break down. If this happens there will be no technical tool available for the farmer. I can take you round this country and I can point out 2,000 of these tractors imported into this country that were not useful even for one week. They come from China, India, Pakistan and they do not work. They are not made for the conditions here.

How much have you invested in Nigeria?

When we started we had an investment plan in excess of $2 million. I can’t quote AGCO specifically because I know that countries come with their individual businesses, but I know that AGCO put aside $80 million investment in sub-Saharan Africa, which I know that Nigeria is number one priority. We hope that in first lap of investment is expanding the number and quality of agricultural service centres, and this is in line with federal government policy of having more farm mechanisation centres. The second stage we hope and strive that one day we are bringing the presence of AGCO to you here, because we hope that one day we will be assembling tractors in Nigeria.

I know that it will be a long journey but that can happen. Nigeria is one of the least mechanised farming countries in the world, measured in about thousand arable lands less than Chad.

Nigeria is one of the least in the world, with less than three tractors per thousand hectares which is why Nigeria imports much food. You can’t think of agriculture without combining various technological knowhow, equipment and tools.

If you talk about agriculture, it is not just about the equipment you work on, you think of the right knowhow and technology. Today, we produce five to seven tons of tomatoes per hectare because it is one of the most important items in Nigeria. We have as much as minimum of 200 tons per hectare; these are the kind of crop equipment Nigeria must achieve.

Not just to produce the level of crop that we eat but to make it sustainable and bring farmers of middles class into this level.

65

Beyond Talent

By Adetayo Okusanya Email: adetayookusanya@hotmail.com

Professional development options: How to grow into success

Y

OU have heard me say over and over again that sustainable career success is achieved through careful design and purpose-driven choice. Oftentimes, the way that news is reported gives us the false impression that many of the successful people in our organization, industry and society tripped and fell intoinstant success. There is no overnight success. What I have learned from listening to success stories across the globe is that most times we, the audience, are brought into the story when the plot is at an advanced stage. We do not have the privilegeof following the story from the beginning and watching successful people “GROW” into their success.

Career success,to a lot of professionals, has come to mean how quickly one gets promoted and moves up the corporate ladder. This has become the most preferred and prevalent measure of career growth, and understandably so, since it comes with higher status in the organization, greater perquisites and more pay. Today, the challenge with promotion is that vertical or upward career movements are no longer readily available and easily accessible to employees. With the global recession, many organizations are struggling to grow and maintain profitability and some have had to retrench large numbers of staff or dec l a r e insolvency.Organizations now reserve their limited promotion budgetsfor employees who are, in their view, high performers, have long term potential and are capable of delivering results in critical business areas.

Besides promotion, there are other ways to develop yourself within your organization to enhance your employability and marketability, and sometimes these alternatives can be more impactful and fulfilling.

JOB ENRICHMENT Job enrichment is a great development opportunity for you if you who want to achieve mastery in your current role, by acquiring a higher level of knowledge, knowhow and capabilities. Or, if you simply like your current position and location and you do not desire higher levels of responsibilities at the present time. The goal of job enrichment is to make your job more interesting, challenging and intellectually stimulating. Although your pay, status and level remain the same, this development option can provide you with a tremendous opportunity to achieve personal growth, fulfillment and expert status. One of the job enrichments strategies that helped me in my career was the expansion of my role to include people management responsibilities.

LATERAL MOVE There are two types of lat-

eral moves that you can explore. Both options involve a change in job description and the development of new marketable skills, but do not necessarily involve a change in pay, status or level of responsibility. The first option can be likened to a job rotation within the same function or department. This option is a good fit for you, if you are interested in broadening your functional expertise by developing a robust understanding of the end to end processes or activities within a department.

The second is a cross functional move that involves a change in departments. This option is great, if you are interested in broadening your business expertise by developing a robust understanding of the various functions within your enterprise or if you simply want to change careers.

A lateral move can be an especially useful development option if you are interested in expanding your experiences, acquiring new skills, working internationally, changing teams or if your organization is growing slowly or downsizing.

EXPLORATORY RESEARCH This is an ideal development option for you if you are seeking a change in your role, but you are either not sure of what is appropriate for you or you are unwilling to make a permanent move before “testdriving”. This development option gives you the opportunity to research and work on short term projects that expose you to new areas. It is a great way to discover new interests, experiences, abilities and networks byinvestigating other functions, business units and career paths. It could involve a temporary change in your job description but not your pay, status or level of responsibility. Examples of exploratory research strategies include job shadowing, task force assignments, short term “secondments” and “loaned staff” programs.

At this half way point of the year, I urge you to consider which of the three development options outlined above is right for you. Please note that there are more development options available to you, however, I have chosen to focus on vertical, lateral, job enrichment and exploratory research in this article.

Discuss your options with key stakeholders such as your spouse, mentor, executive sponsor, coach and manager.

Solicit their advice/perspective and enroll them in your development efforts. Remember to focus more on acquiring the right career experiences, knowledge and capabilities that will drive future success in your career.

• Okusanya is CEO of ReadinessEdge

66

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I, formerly known and addressed as AGNES ABIODUN AMAVI, now wish to be known and addressed as AGNES ABIODUN EMMANUEL. All former documents remain valid.

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I formerly known and addressed Miss. NWALA CHIDINMA, now wish to be known as Mrs. INYECHI CHIDINMA. All former documents remain valid, general public please take note.

ADEGUN

I formerly known and addressed as Miss FAITH ANWULIKA ONYEMEFU, now wish to be known as Mrs. FAITH ANWULIKA JEREMIAH AKONRIUWA. All former documents remain valid, general public please take note

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS ISLAMIYAT ADEOLU ADEGUN, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS ISLAMIYAT ADEGUN LAWAL. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

ANULE

I, formerly known and address as MISS SEWUESE ANULE now wish to be known and address as MRS. SEWUESE RUTH KUR. All former documents remain valid. EFCC and the general public shold pls take note.

KAZEEM I, formerly known and addressed as Miss. Kazeem Kehinde Wasilat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Adetona Waseelat Kehinde. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

AKITI OJUKWU

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. ATINUKE ABIMBOLA OMOTOSO now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. ATINUKE ABIMBOLA OKEREMI . All former documents remain valid.

University of Ado- Ekiti and general public please take note.

I,formerly known and addressed MISS. OJORUMI AKITI now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OJORUMI EZINNA. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OBIORA

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. BERNARDINE CHINELO OBIORA now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. BERNARDINE CHINELO MADUABUCHI. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

ADERBIGBE

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. ADERIBIGBE ADEJUMOKE VANESSA now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OLOZULU ADEJUMOKE VANESSA. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

ONYEMEFU

EDWARD

I formerly known and addressed as Miss. IBIPIDOKIMA EDWARD, now wish to be known as Mrs. MARIAN IBIPIDOKIMA OKOLO, all former document remain valid, general public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME AFINI MIETAMUNO-JAJA and AFINI MAC-PEPPLE refers to one and the same person, now wish to be known as AFINI MIETAMUNOJAJA all former documents remain valid general public please take note.

OLOPADE

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Olopade Oluyemi Idowu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Musa Josephine Oluyemi. All former documents remain valid. Our Lady St. Francis Catholic College and general public should please take note.

UDU

OPIAH

ANYANWU

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. ANULIKA JOY ANYANWU now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. ANULIKA EMEKA ICHENDU. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

I

OTARU

SALUK

I formerly known and addressed as Saluk Effiong Udoh, now wish to be known as Edok Effiong Udoh. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

AZUKA

I, formerly known and addressed MISS.OPIAH, NGOZI LOVETH now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. STEPHEN, NGOZI LOVETH. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Israel bombs Hezbollahbound missiles in Syria

South Sudanese police detain newspaper editor without charge

ADEOLA I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Opeyemi Bolanle Adeola, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Opeyemi Bolanle Doherty. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Margaret Ameh Otaru, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Margaret Ameh Orilade. All former documents remain valid.

University of Abuja and general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. MERCY ELEM UDU now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. NNENNA MERCY KENNETH. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

F

IVE U.S. service members were killed yesterday by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, the latest deadly attack against international troops since the Taliban announced the start of their spring offensive this week.

The coalition did not disclose the location of the blast, however, Javeed Faisal, a spokesman for the governor of Kandahar province, said the coalition patrol hit the roadside bomb in Maiwand district of the province, the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban.

Capt. Luca Carniel, a public affairs official for the U.S.-led coalition in Kabul, confirmed that all five were Americans.

With the deaths, 47 members of the coalition have been killed so far this year — including 32 Americans.

OSUNDARE

ASHIGIDI

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. ASHIGIDI DRUSILLA OSARUMWENSE now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OKOME JOEL DRUSILLA . All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

AYOGU

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. AGBATA FLORENCE C. AZUKA now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OGBUGHALU FLORENCE CHIDINMA . All former documents remain valid.

Ayamelum Local Government Authority, Anambra state and general public please take note.

Five Americans killed in southern Afghanistan

SRAEL has carried out an air strike targeting a shipment of missiles in Syria bound for Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon, an Israeli official said yesterday.

The Jewish state had long made clear it is prepared to resort to force to prevent advanced Syrian weapons, including President Bashar alAssad’s reputed chemical arsenal, being handed over to Lebanon’s powerful Shi’ite Muslim guerrillas. Assad and Hezbollah are allied to Iran, Israel’s arch-enemy.

With Assad battling a more than two-year-old Syrian insurgency, the Israelis also worry that the Sunni Islamist rebels could loot his arsenals and eventually hit the Jewish state, ending four decades of relative cross-border calm.

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Osundare Grace Sade, now wish to be known as Mrs. Olatunbosun Grace Folasade. All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed MISS. AYOGU CHARITY NNEDINSO now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. IDOKO CHARITY NNEDINSO . All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public please take note.

67

ADVERT: Simply produce your marriage certificate or sworn affidavit for a change of name publication, with just N4,500. The payment can be made through - FIRST BANK of Nigeria Plc. Account number 2017220392 Account Name VINTAGE PRESS LIMITED Scan the details of your advert teller to and gbengaodejide@yahoo.com or thenation.advert@hotmail.com.

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S

OUTH Sudan’s police have detained a newspaper editor without charge and refused him access to a lawyer for three days.

Michael Koma, managing editor at the Juba Monitor, said he was arrested on Thursday and was being held in lieu of the chief editor, Alfred Taban, who was in Kenya.

“They’re holding me here illegally on the behalf of Alfred,” Koma told Reuters from behind bars in his police cell in the capital Juba, which he shared with four other men.

Koma said he was arrested after his newspaper printed a statement by the ethnic Nuer community accusing the deputy interior minister of involvement in the murder of a traffic policeman in late March.

Koma said the article ran under his byline, and he did not seek comment from deputy interior minister Salva Mathok Gengdit.

The interior ministry and police were not immediately available for comment, but Gengdit has strongly denied the charges in the local press.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY MAY 5, 2013

68

Celebrating Adewole, UI VC, at 59

EBERE WABARA

WORDSWORTH W 08055001948

ewabara@yahoo.com

Confidence in, not on, Adeyemi Ikuforiji I

N one of the different versions of my congratulatory essays on the golden birthday of Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., GCON, last Monday, I discovered my own slip: “…this Grand Commander was most loved and favoured of all her (his) mother’s five children.” (National Mirror Views Page, April 30) A testament to man’s fallibility!

Yet another careless slip-up here last week: “…on the ascendancy” Get it right: in the ascendancy.

Is there still printer’s devil in this computer age? Accept my apologies.

“So it is high time Nigeria begins (began) to….”

“Suarez: biting more than he can chew” This way, ThisDay: biting off more than he can chew “Golden gallands to a worthy friend @ 50: Minabelem Michael West, Esq., mni” (Full-page advertisement, THISDAY, April 27) Happy birthday: garlands NATIONAL MIRROR of April 30 murdered the English language: “Syrian Prime Minister escapes assassination attempt” The fact that the man escaped the attack presupposes an attempt on his life. So, Syrian PM escapes assassination “Aregbesola’s phone thief bags 45 years jail” All the Facts, All the Sides: 45 years’ jail term “Lawmakers pass vote of confidence on (in) Ikuforiji” Confidence in (not on) somebody—the ‘passing’ should not confuse anyone. For those who may not know, Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji is the speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

NATIONAL MIRROR Editorial of April 30 contained two school-boy howlers: “The issue of who occupies what political position in the country and under (on) which platform appears….”

“In advanced (an advanced) democracy like the US….”

“Dearth of funding slow job creation efforts” Business & Finance: …slows down job-creation efforts “The Alade Market incidence (incident)….”

“Unknown gunmen raid bank, kill three policemen, two others” (THE GUARDIAN Headline, April 30) Yank off ‘unknown’!

“The same pattern of foreign excesses and Nige-

rian laxity obtains when the operations of some foreign firms in Nigeria is (are) considered.” (The Guardian Editorial, April 30) “Minister commissions (inaugurates) Kwali microfinance bank” (Source: as above) Still on THE GUARDIAN Headlines: “Zonal election into sports federations hold (holds) today” THISDAY Front Page Headline of April 27 fumbled: “Jonathan, Shettima in closed-door meeting over Bagga killings” Robust journalism: meeting behind closed doors (not closed-door meeting)! SATURDAY PUNCH of April 27 circulated this same blunder: “Falana in closed-door meeting with Jonathan” “The impending NGF election has polarized the 36 states (state) governors into two camps….” “…I had lot of contracts with many corporate organizations.” Global soccer: a lot of contracts or lots of contracts (depending on context).

“Police arrest Oloko over (for) ex-Oyo SSG guard’s murder” (SATURDAY PUNCH Headline, April 27) “But industrial relations experts are apprehensive that currently the rate of strikes are (is) undeniably alarming.”

“Strike actions: Lawful but inexpedient” We certainly do not need ‘action’ here. Simply strike. All strikes are action-based.

“I am looking forward to the next Igbo summit to comprise of all the Igbospeaking fragments irrespective of where they are located.” In order not to abort the language dream, delete the first ‘of’ and move to the next two errors from the same medium (name withheld like Nigerian newspaper reportage!).

“And in Nigeria, subsequent military regimes which held sway finally culminated into (in) the most dreaded era of military rule in the country–the Sani Abacha years.”

“No wonder therefore that every inaction of these elected leaders only seek (seeks) to further entrench and protect the many years of brigandage on this nation.”

“Its diverse composition reflected in (on) how its different peoples were organized prior to 1914.”

“We have no genuine

reconciliation in Nigeria even though the Oputa panel did its very best.”

‘Best’ is an absolute and, as such, does not admit qualification of any sort (very).

“As the governor of Akwa Ibom, he has not reneged on both promises to his party and his electioneering campaign promises to the people of the state.”

Either electioneering or campaign. Both cannot coexist. “…before the advent of the Europeans in Nigeria, most societies or kingdoms have thriving and stable political system….” This way: kingdoms had (not have) a (a vital component) thriving and stable political system.

“Somebody who can formulate policies and see to its execution to the minute (minutest) detail.”

An eye for detail: policies and their (not its) execution.

“As such (a comma) the little time that have been given to the politicians.…”

Time that has….

FEEDBACK “PLEASE, tell your readers that ‘drainage’ is a network of drains, a system.

It is non-count. So, we clear drains, not drainages.”

(KOLA DANISA/ 07059188542) “THANK you so very much for your informative column. Nothing grates my nerves more than the careless mistakes and awful grammar in our dailies.

Sadly, on display for the world to see! I only hope your messages get across.

Regards” (YETUNDE G I W A - A M U / 08085433233) “HELP me use this mustread column in reminding lawyers and the Ministry of Justice that ‘DPP’ is the abbreviation for Director of Public Prosecutions, not ‘Director of Public Prosecution’ as it is often called and written. In the name, the noun ‘prosecution’ is used in the plural form.” (STANLEY NDUAGU/08062925996) ADVICE: Contributors to views expressed here or other related issues should cite authorities and references to support their positions. This is a researchbased column for well-informed exchange of dispassionate ideas. There must be a cerebral basis for arguments and counter-views— not pedestrian, unscholarly, declarations which I am inundated with daily! I beg una, dear readers.

HEN David Brinkley postulates that a successful man lays a firm foundation with the bricks other people have thrown at him, the philosopher has in mind, the like of Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole, the Vicechancellor, University of Ibadan (UI), who today turned 59 years old. By every standard, Prof.

Adewole can be described as a successful man, having been a leading light right from primary school, post primary school and through tertiary level.

Today, the VC of the Nigeria’s premier university is successfully leading other 300 professors in Ibadan, thus, validating John Maxwell’s position that a leader is the one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way. But in his own case, Prof. Adewole is not just showing the way, he is in fact, constantly seeking an unbeaten path to tread and unusual course to chart, to the extent that he has thus elevated the university campus to a place of scientific information, reformation, innovation and transformation.

He made a lead into a new dimension of possibility when he initiated payment of workers’ salary between 22 and 25 of every month with or without federal allocation. Save one or two occasions, he has kept this idea running since 2010 and workers have been praying for him. Still passionate about workers’ welfare, Prof. Adewole has established housing scheme for them. Here is a scheme which is private sector- driven. Foundation has been laid, work is ongoing and soon interested workers will be moving into their houses as they pay affordable rate monthly till they complete the cost. Upon fulfilling the condition, they simply become house owners courtesy of Adewole’s vision.

Interestingly, as a way of motivating the work force, the VC has instituted awards for the outstanding workers in various categories. In the maiden edition, 10 staff members went home with a monetary reward, certificate and trophy of honour.

He says inspiration without motivation will lead to demoralisation. Good idea, you may say!

Here is a man who pays unscheduled visits to various Centres, Departments and Directorates so as to deracinate the workers of lame ducking. As much as he wants maximum comfort for the University workers, he is never at home with people who are bereft of sure footedness in their duties. Following deep-rooted lethargy in the system, the VC has developed all kinds of therapy to prevent inherent atrophy in the university. In his determined effort to get the best from every worker and lift the system higher than he met it,, he has established Centre for Social Orientation (CENSO) with a mandate to preach proper conduct so that everyone will be at their best behaviour. He has also set up Quality Assurance Unit just as he recently inaugurated Anti-Corruption and Transparency Monitoring Unit (ACTMU) with a mandate to investigate anybody (including the VC) and report findings to national anticorruption bodies.

The recently commissioned sawmill, where trees will be processed for the end users, among other projects are, testimonies of his vision.

Again, from various inter-

•Adewole

By Sunday Saanu

actions one has had with him, it is obvious that Prof. Adewole is a man of irresistible influence with a rich possession of people management skill. This attribute must have accounted for his ability to hold his administrative team players in synergy. There is no crack in the wall of their unity and mutual respect for one another. With his robust sense of humour, there is no dull moment around Prof. Adewole’s mien. While the Deputy ViceChancellor (Academic), easygoing Prof. Idowu Olayinka is always tactically prodding the VC to crack a joke, the DVC administration, Prof. Arinola Sanya, who is the only female among them, is always the target of the VC’s hilarious joke as oga will always have something hysterical to say about either her beautiful hair-do, or attractive dressing to the enjoyment of others. The Registrar, Mr. Jimi Olukoya, the university Bursar, Mr. Ibrahim Aponmode, the Librarian, Dr. Benedit Oladele, among others, deserve kudos for the support they give Adewole’s regime.

Prof. Adewole does not under estimate the power of a smile, a kind word, an honest compliment and the smallest act of caring – all of which have been making his administration a spectacle. In many more ways than one, he has certainly accomplished the deeds that history will gleefully remember.

Just as a good sailor is known in a turbulent weather, Prof.

Adewole’s ability to manage crisis was put to test when he insisted that bad attitude of cooking inside the room in the hostel should not be turned to norm by the students. Many misinterpreted his intentions as some uncouth students were taking counterfeit innuendoes to the market place of ideas. Regrettably, some recalcitrant students who often shamelessly boast that they do engage their fathers in fisticuffs at home went to the social media with their pictures and names, challenging their VC to a road side brawl. They used various unprintable words to describe their father on campus!

Prof. Adewole took all the impudence in his stride with an uncommon stoical calmness. Well, those students in this category must be told that respect for elders is one of the cardinal imperatives of our traditional customs. It is hope that their adolescence will soon fade into adulthood. They will know better with time as they are still driven by utopia.

However, as Prof. Adewole marks 59 years of impactful and meaningful existence today, there is no doubting the fact that friends and well-wishers will eat beyond satiety. There are more than enough reasons to celebrate this man of regal gait and admirable moral force. His reputation, public and private records

are stellar. He has reconstructed many old templates of public service delivery without grandstanding oratory. His achievements so far have absolutely eclipsed a malicious and relentless campaign of calumny and public obloquy that his detractors subjected him to when he was coming to reign.It is now obvious to even the most obtuse that Adewole will go down in history as a hero of recovery from the road of retrogression.

If happiness is indeed a state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievements of one’s goal and values, then our boss has reasons to be happy. Today, therefore, he has many reasons to thank God. But beyond the ululations and champagne popping, there are still challenges ahead! Success is succeeding in succession.

It is getting plus every day. One is not successful if one’s yesterday is better than today. Therefore, Prof. Adewole must continue to succeed. He must continue to pursue his desires with sufficient intensity so as to ensure more actualisation of his conceptualisation. Indeed, there is always a skill to improve, innovation to be applied and development to be achieved. He is still obligated to provide much more quality leadership than he has ever done.

Prof. Adewole was born on 5th May, 1954. He attended Ilesa Grammar School from 19661972 . And even at that tender age he was a role model to his schoolmates on account of his good conduct, exemplary character and exceptional brilliance.

He obtained Grade 1 with Distinction in his West African School Certificate in 1970 and scored AAC grades at the Higher School Certificate Examination in 1972.

He enrolled as a National Award Scholar at the University of Ibadan in 1973. He obtained his MB BS degree in 1978, winning the Glaxo Allenbury Prize for the best overall performance in Pediatrics. He underwent further medical training in Nigeria, becoming a Senior Registrar in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, in 1984. He then proceeded to the United Kingdom for a Research Fellowship in the Department of Medical Oncology at Charing Cross Hospital in London. He obtained the Fellowship of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (FMCOG) in May 1986 and the Fellowship of the West African College of Surgeons (FWACS) in January 1994. He became the UI VC December 1, 2010 As he marks his 59th birthday, one prays for more divine wisdom with which to keep piloting the affairs in UI in order to ensure the sustenance of the system for the benefit of humanity.

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

T

HOUSANDS of Sunni Muslims fled a Syrian coastal town yesterday, a day after reports circulated that dozens of people, including children, had been killed by pro-government gunmen in the area, activists said.

The violence occurred as embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad made his second public appearance in

World News

Sunnis flee Syrian city after reports of killings a week in the capital, Damascus. Also, Israeli officials confirmed that the country’s air force carried out an airstrike against Syria, saying it targeted a shipment of advanced missiles bound for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah,

an ally of the Assad regime.

It was the second Israeli strike this year against Syria and the latest salvo in its long-running effort to disrupt Hezbollah’s quest to build an arsenal capable of defending against Israel’s air force and spreading de-

struction inside the Jewish state.

The violence in the coastal region of Syria underscored the sectarian nature of the two-year conflict that has killed tens of thousands and sent more than 1 million Syrians refugees to

neighboring countries.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said around 4,000 people were fleeing from the predominantly Sunni southern parts of the Mediterranean city of Banias amid fears that pro-govern-

Bangladesh urges no harsh EU measures over factory deaths

B

ANGLADESH urged the European Union yesterday not to take tough measures against its economically crucial textile industry in response to the collapse of a garment factory that killed 550 people.

Bodies were still being pulled from the ruins on Saturday as tearful families stood by waiting for news of victims of the country’s worst ever indus-

69

trial accident.

The European Union, which gives preferential access to Bangladeshi garments, had threatened punitive measures in order to press Dhaka to improve worker safety standards after the collapse of the illegally built factory on April 24.

The disaster, believed to have been triggered when the building’s electricity generators were started up during a black-

out, put the spotlight on Western retailers who use the impoverished South Asian nation as a source of cheap goods.

About 4 million people work in Bangladesh’s garment industry, making it the world’s second-largest apparel exporter after China. Some earn as little as $38 a month, conditions Pope Francis has compared to “slave labor”.

Prime Minister Sheikh

Hasina has blamed the factory owners for the disaster, saying they ignored warnings about cracks in the walls of the building.

Duty-free access offered by Western countries and low wages have helped turn Bangladesh’s garment exports into a $19 billion-a-year industry, with 60 percent of clothes going to Europe.

“If the EU or any other buy-

ers impose any harsh trade conditions on Bangladesh it will hurt the country’s economy ... millions of workers will lose their jobs,” Mahbub Ahmed, the top civil servant in Bangladesh’s Commerce Ministry, told Reuters.

The government has not received any formal notification of punitive action from the EU or any other country over the deaths, he said.

ment gunmen “might commit a massacre.”

There were conflicting reports of the death toll in Banias on Friday. The Observatory said at least 62 people, including 14 children, were killed in Ras alNabeh, a neighborhood in Banias, but that the number could rise as many people are still missing. The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, said 102 people were killed.

The Observatory said security forces were checking people’s identity cards and asking them to return to Banias so that the situation could appear normal. It said those fleeing were mostly heading to the city of Tartus to the south and the town of Jableh just north of Banias.

Cross River sets own education standard A

T the inception of Senator the Liyel Imoke administration in Cross River State in 2007, the educational sector was tottering at the precipice of near total collapse. A lot had obviously gone wrong with this invaluable sector following prolonged periods of utter neglect and abandonment. But consistent innovation and remodeling injected into the sector these past six years have not just breathed new life into it but significantly ensured an enduring turn around.

Conscious of the critical role education plays as a catalyst for economic transformation and socio –political advancement focus was placed on repositioning the sector.

From the basic formative level which is the primary, through to the secondary stages up to the tertiary levels, comprehensive, rather than isolated transformation process was adopted through the institution of a three prong approach to rejuvenate this all important sector.

The first stage was to assess the level of decay and adopt strategies towards combating the identified problems. An assessment process named Needs Assessment , was instituted and seventy five percent of the schools across the state, primary, secondary and tertiary were visited and monitored for six months to collate data and information on the state of affairs and the required measures to bring each school back to life. When the report came out it was so depressing that When Governor Imoke went through it, he was said to have been livid because of the bad state of things. Without apportioning blame to any single individual or administration, he went straight to work.

After a careful analysis of the report, a three prong approach was adopted in tackling the myriad of problems in the sector : Infrastructural Development, Capacity Building and Discipline. This led to the conceptualisation of a standard peculiar to the state where every primary school must have modern edifices, well designed classrooms, each with the capacity to seat at least 35 pupils or students, fully equipped with modern desks , resource room, library,

By Ita Bassey

assembly hall for extracurricular activities, teachers room, and a laboratory for basic sciences. In the same vein, at the secondary school level, each school, apart from the modern edifices and standard classrooms, must have a fully stocked library, equipped laboratory for ICT and functional laboratory for each of the three major science subjects: chemistry, biology and physics.

Conscientiously, the infrastructure in schools such as the buildings, desks, instructional and learning facilities such as laboratories, libraries which were near absent in most schools were rehabilitated or installed While on capacity building, training and retraining was adopted with every teacher in the state school system made to benefit from one form of training or the other through workshops and seminars while those without the prerequisite teaching qualifications were mandated to acquire same as the National Certificate in Education ( NCE) became the minimum standard for teaching in primary schools while first degree became the minimum for teaching in the secondary schools.

On discipline, several disciplinary measures were adopted beginning from the local government level through zone up to the ministry.

The provision of a full complement of these model facilities in both primary and secondary schools was consciously spread across the state, both in rural and urban areas. This is a conscious policy to ensure that pupils and students whether in rural and urban centres have access to the same learning facilities and atmosphere for optimal knowledge acquisition alongside having the fields and play grounds to create the right ambiance for extracurricular activities. This is to ensure that they can at any time hold their own or compete favourably anywhere they find themselves since the world has become a global village. The concept is for the child, whether in Yala in the northern fringes of the state or in Calabar metropolis to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with their coun-

terparts in countries like Malaysia or Brasil by being exposed to the same learning environment and appropriate knowledge.

In recognition of the fact that Brasil, which some few decades past was seen as a developing nation has through

the use of e-learning developed its technology and infrastructure, the state sought to pattern its educational system along that line by adopting elearning.

To make the e-learning a conscious imperative in every child that passes through the school system in the state to

acquire the necessary skills to be able to adopt to technology driven concepts and environment, each school was subsequently provided with an e-learning laboratory fully equipped with computers, internet facilities and every teacher in the state provided with a laptop. To keep these equipment functional, efforts were made to imbue the teaches with the appropriate skills so they could teach the students, the state went into partnership with a private company, Educom India to train the teachers on computer skills acquisition and maintenance. With e-learning taking place in schools across the state, Cross River State has become one of the first that is approaching e-learning in a holistic manner.

“The whole idea and essence is to ensure that a child that passes through secondary school in Cross River State should have acquired basic computer skills and in the next three years this target will be attained.

“Ten thousand teachers in the state now own computers and we arranged a payment system with ECOBANK that will not impinge on their pockets and these teachers are receiving training and in the next three months, every one of them shall have acquired Basic computer literacy certificate so they could teach and function with the computer”.

Prof Offiong Offiong, the Commissioner for Education said.

Alongside this, efforts have been on towards building the capacity of the teachers to impart knowledge effectively and do their over sight function of supervising the pupils and students, regular workshops are being organised for the teaches at zone level. “The improvement in faculties and infrastructure has significantly shot up the enrollment of pupils and students in our schools and we have to make sure as the quantity is increasing, the quality is improving and this is done through regular training and retraining of ur teaching staff across the state”.

To ensure maximum performance, adequate measure for supervision and discipline of erring pupils, students, teaching and non teaching staff was put in place by the Minis-

try of Education which for the purpose of policy consistency has since the inception of the Imoke administration been under the headship of Professor Offiong. “I make periodic unscheduled visits to all schools: primary, secondary and tertiary to have a firsthand assessment of the situation and as well see those who may not be working along the same direction with us to transform education in the state”.

Along with this unscheduled supervisory visits to schools by the Commissioner, each local government has an inspectorate unit equipped with functional vehicles to enable personnel regularly go round the schools in the local government areas all year round. Along with this, the state has been split into educational zones and each has a supervisory office that backs up the local government supervisory unit and at intervals and from the headquarters in Calabar, the inspectorate unit regularly makes inspection rounds across the state.

“Everybody in the state school system must conduct himself in a manner that will not jeopardise the huge resources and effort invested in rejuvenating the school system to which His Excellency, Senator Liyel Imoke is passionate about. Some erring teachers and students were caught and arraigned before the disciplinary board and those found guilty were disciplined”. Offiong said.

With the current trend in education in the state, one could not but agree with Elder Mrs Eke Bassey Edim, the principal of Government Secondary School Anantigha, that the last five years “have witnessed tremendous changes in the school system in Cross River State since I became principal fifteen years ago”.

From a poor pass rate of just about 5 per cent, Cross River is now one of best performing states in national examinations.

Work has also progressed in the establisment of a polytechnic modelled after the Highbury College of London. which have been the main game these past education sector which at the inception of the Imoke admistration was tottering at the precipice of tota in Cross River State since 2007

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THE NATION SPORT SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

SPORT EXTRA

Michael shines, Odibe missing in derby clash

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UPER Eagles new boy, Babatunde Michael, shines in 1-1 draw with Michael Odibe's Arsenal Kiev in a derby clash in Ukrainian top league on Saturday.

The 20-year-old winger who has been named in Nigeria's 30-man list for June crunchy tie was second half substitute as his team almost ran away with the maximum points against Odibe's team.

Kryvbas took the lead in 11th minutes through Samodin but the home team fought hard to level up through Gerasimyuk who scored for the Kiev side to climb them up to the 9th position while Kryvbas maintain 8th position respectively.

“We played well, but I think we also lost some chances,” said Michael.

“We could have won the game but they are very good defensively, even though we allow them to play their game but it is a fair result for us considering our position on the table. I knew it must be a very tough match but it's good we got a point at least.”

Babatunde showed more of his trade mark for the Kryvbas fans as they kept chanting his name throughout the encounter, but Odibe, who played all 90 minutes last weekend, was missing in action.

He was not even on the bench.

Wusu FC lift Ogunnusi Cup

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USU Football Club of Ojokoro shocked the home team to lift the maiden Otunba Michael Abayomi Ogunnusi Unity Cup Football Championship at the expense of Optimal Football Club of Ifako Ijaiye.

Wusu FC defied all odds and ran away with late minutes goal by Abraham Sodimu to win a giant trophy and the prize money of N200,000 courtesy of the sponsor, Abayomi Ogunnusi, a member of the Federal House of Representatives, representing Ifako Ijaiye Constituency. The runners up was given the sum of N150,000 The final ceremony, which was carnivallike, was attended by the Chairman of Ifako Ijaiye Local Government, Toba Oke, Obas, and chiefs of the community, political associates as well as supporters of the sponsor who trooped out in their numbers to the Agege Stadium venue of the final.

Sponsor, Otunba Ogunnusi, was very happy with the success of the tournament, which featured 16 teams. “I'm very happy to see youths of my constituency showcasing their God-given talents this way. It has always been my belief that if the youths can be engaged positively, the community would be at peace. This is just a tip of the iceberg of numerous programmes I have for my people and indeed the youths of this constituency “I want to assure that the tournament will be a continuous one and it would grow to become a bigger tournament with exciting packages,” he said.

30 states for Alaafin Unity Cup

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TATES especially from the northern part of Nigeria have signified their readiness to participate in the maiden Oba Adeyemi National Under-13 Unity Cup slated to commence in Ibadan later next month.

The President of the Sports body, Links Youth Sports International of Nigeria (LYSIN), Niyi Dada, who is organising the tourney in the name of the sports-loving, respected Yoruba monarch told newsmen in Ibadan that the championship received wide acceptance as more than 30 states have shown interest to participate in the underage competition.

Part of aims behind organising the tourney according to Dada is to demonstrate Oba Adeyemi's sincere love and interest in developing grassroots sports in Nigeria, adding that the soccer tourney is just one out of series of grassroots sports competitions lined up in name of the monarch.

Lagos Junior Football League plans award night

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HE management of the Lagos Junior Football League (LJL) is planning an award night to reward excellence in the just concluded league.

The LJL is a regulation football League for the Under 20s in the state, with 20 teams registered in the premier division to jostle for honours.

Revealing this yesterday was the Chairman of the Nigeria Academicals Sports Committee (NASCOM), Yemi Idowu, who incidentally is a Director of the league, said the award has become necessary to appreciate all that have contributed immensely to the success of the league in the outgoing season.

Idowu said there will be award for the best team in the league, and other special performances.

"The Lagos Junior League is a project that was set up to address the problem of age cheat in football in the country which has been managed with the advent of this programme.

It is a league for the U-20s that are expected to have gone through the school system in the state.

SUPER SUNDAY

Chelsea chase UCL slot to Old Trafford M ANCHESTER United may not have anything to play for since securing the league title, but Sir Alex Ferguson has vowed his side will not let up against Chelsea and rival Rafael Benitez.

Chelsea are under pressure to cement their position in the precious Champions League places. The Blues may look comfortable sitting on top of Arsenal and Tottenham, with a game in hand over the former, but they have arguably the most

difficult run-in to the end of the season.

After the trip to Manchester, Chelsea must welcome Tottenham and Everton to the Bridge, with a visit to Aston Villa in between.

And, having not won at Old Trafford since 2010, the odds do not stack in their favour to pick up the points on Sunday.

But after their FA Cup quarterfinal fightback in March, Chelsea will have confidence they can score goals to give themselves a good chance of securing a victory.

Adams Oshiomole, Edo State governor, in the heat of action during the Okpekpe International 10km Road Race on Saturday.

PHOTO: Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

Senate canvases more funding for NFF

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HE leadership of the National Assembly is pressing the Federal Government for an improvement on its budgetary allocation to sports, especially football so that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) would meet its obligations.

According to Senator Gumba Adamu Ibrahim, Chairman, Senate Committee on Sports and Social Development, there must be an improvement in the funding for sports because of its significance in the development of the nation. In the 2013 budget a total sum of N9.2bn was allocated to sports with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) getting N1.9 out of which more than half had reportedly been spent on the Super Eagles' successful campaign at the last Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.

“The budget for sport and not only football is not adequate and let me restate it that I'm not happy about this,” noted Senator Ibrahim.

“Take football as an example, half of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) budget had already been consumed by the AFCON and how do you want them to prosecute campaigns?”

Though he commended President Goodluck Jonathan for organising a retreat in order to address some of the inherent problems, especially funding in the administration of sport in Nigeria, Senator Ibrahim has enjoined the federal government to increase its budgetary allocation until such a time the organised private sector would come in fully into patronage of sport.

“Though, Mr. President wants

By Morakinyo Abodunrin more private sponsorship and funding in sport, I don't think it is something that can be done with a stroke of the pen,” he further explained. “I expect that government improved budget for sport until we are able to cross the Rubicon of better private funding.”

Kenyans dominate maiden Okpekpe Road Race

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OSES Masai of Kenya yesterday emerged the overall winner of the median edition of Okpekpe International 10 kilometres road race with a time of 29: 39 He carted away the first prize money of 25, 000 dollars as the winner of the first Okpekpe10 km international road race.

Another national of Kenya and Uganda, Yusuf Bitwott and Timothy Troitich came second and third respectively with a time of 29.44sec and 29.50 respectively.

In the women category, Kenya's Rono Georgina won the women prize money with a time of 33.01.

The second and third prize money of 20, 000 and 10, 000 dollars went to Ethiopians Deko Ahmed and Sofia Shemsu with a time of 34.31m and 36.11m respectively.

Adams Oshiomole, Edo State governor, completed the 10km race with a time of 59.03 and overall 131st position in the race.

Due to the inequality in the prize money for the women, the governor increased it by 10, 000 dollars, the second position was also increased by 5, 000 dollars and third position 1, 000 dollars.

...Oshiomhole completes 10km race in 59 minutes From Ben Ogbemudia, Benin

Nigeria's Ismaila Sadjo from Cross Rivers State returned seventh overall and first Nigerian with 31.06, Adamu Shehu Muazu was the second Nigerian and eight overall with 32.02 while Gideon Goyet returned third with a time of 32.29 for the men category.

Deborah Pam from Plateau State was the first Nigerian in the female category and fifth overall with the time of 37.34, Janet Dung was the second and returned sixth overall with 38.24, Aminat Olowora came

Bale stunner rescues Tottenham

...Agbonlahor brace vaults Villa out of danger

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OTTENHAM relied heavily on the outrageous talent of Gareth Bale once again as a brilliant strike from the Welsh star masked a horrid team effort in a 1-0 win over Southampton at White Hart Lane.

Spurs had produced an awful, insipid performance until 86 minutes, when the newly-crowned Footballer of the Year and PFA Player of the Year cut in from the right and thundered a lovely effort inside the far post.

It was Bale's 20th of the season in the Premier League - only Teddy Sheringham and Juergen Klinsmann have scored more for

By Taiwo Alimi Spurs in one campaign - and put unprecedented.

Tottenham back in fourth, a point Also in attendance were ahead of Arsenal prior to their Somachi Kachikwu, daughter rivals' game at QPR in the late kick-

NHF honours Ibrahim as Union Bank wins hockey tourney

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HE 7th edition of the Bukar Abba Ibrahim National Hockey Championships was concluded last weekend in Abuja with Union Bank male team and Delta Force female side emerging winners.

Playing before a sizeable crowd, in the final matches of the Championships, which took place at the Astroturf pitch of the National Stadium Abuja, the Coach Tunde Odedokun-tutored Union Bank defeated hard fighting Plateau Tigers 2-0 to lift the men's title. The two goals were scored in the second half of the match by Sikiru Salau and Okwudili Menyei. Delta Force outscored Yobe Queens 2-1 to lift the women's title.

According to the Nigeria Hockey Federation's (NHF) President, Patrick Ukah, who was also in attendance during the closing ceremony of the tournament alongside sponsor and former chairman of the NHF, Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim, the contribution of the former Yobe State Governor to the development of the game of hockey in the country is

and representative of Peoples Democratic Party woman leader, Chief Kema Chikwe, Sen. Emma Anosike, and wife of the sponsor, Mrs Abbar Bukar Ibrahim.

Ukah added that the name of the former hockey enthusiast will forever remain in gold in the history of the sport because of his immense support for its grassroots growth.

In a colourful ceremony, Sen. Ibrahim was also honoured as the patron of the NHF witnessed by board members of the federation and stakeholders. During the investiture, Ukah said: “Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim is one man whose name will continue to be written in gold in Nigeria sports circle having paid his dues.”

A happy Sen. Ibrahim, while accepting the appreciation from the board of the NHF, promised to always contribute his own quota towards the development of sports, especially hockey in Nigeria.

third and eight overall positions with 39.05 The Edo State governor has promised to make the Okpekpe 10 km international road race an annual event.

He said the purpose of Okpekpe road race was to use sport to bring urban life to the rural people.

According to him, Okpekpe road race has not only united Africans, but has succeeded in connecting the urban people with the rural ones.

High drama as Hull return to EPL

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ULL City secured promotion to the Premier League in almost the most dramatic circumstances imaginable on an afternoon that saw Peterborough United and Wolverhampton Wanderers relegated to League One. Hull conceded an injury-time penalty having just missed one of their own to draw 2-2 at home to Cardiff City, meaning some premature pitch invasions could have looked rather silly if Watford managed to win at home to Leeds to snatch the second automatic promotion spot.

The game at Vicarage Road witnessed an eventful first half when Watford's number one keeper Manuel Almunia pulled up injured in the warm-up and his replacement Jonathan Bond suffered a serious neck injury that resulted in 16 minutes of added time in the first half.

off.

Southampton must have felt they should have won the game, with Nathaniel Clyne missing a presentable chance and Rickie Lambert striking the post, but the defeat leaves them just four points clear of relegation following Wigan's win over West Brom.

Meanwhile, a second-half brace from Gabriel Agbonlahor fired Aston Villa to the much-coveted 40 point mark as Paul Lambert left his former side reeling in his wake.

Gabby Agbonlahor's 55th minute strike opened the scoring to stun the home support; his long-range effort finding the bottom left corner after curling away from the outstretched Mark Bunn.

Norwich were thrown a lifeline in the 72nd minute after Joe Bennett dragged down Robert Snodgrass in the box for a penalty.

Skipper Grant Holt sent the home faithful into raptures as he duly nestled his effort coolly into the bottom corner.

But the Canaries were left crestfallen after Agbonlahor found the back of the net in the 89th minute to deal the critical blow to the hosts.

EPL Results Fulham 2 - 4 Reading Norwich 1 - 2 Aston Villa Swansea 0 - 0 Man C WestBrom 2 - 3 Wigan West Ham 0 - 0 Newcastle Tottenham 1 - 0 S’pton QPR 0 - 1 Arsenal Sunday fixtures Liverpool v Everton Man Utd v Chelsea Monday Fixture Sunderland v Stoke

THE NATION ON SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013

71

QUOTABLE

SUNDAY, MAY 5, 2013 TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM VOL. 7, NO. 2482

"Nobody should destroy the judiciary. If you destroy the judiciary, the nation is finished.

Anything that will destroy the judiciary is inimical to the progress and development of this country. Whether politicians or non-politicians, we should not use the judiciary as an instrument to destroy the unity and existence of this nation. Judiciary workers are supposed to be above board… any judiciary officer that allows himself to be manipulated is unworthy of his office."

- Former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Mustapha Akanbi, warning of the consequences of compromising the judiciary.

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FTER more than two years of nasty controversy over the revocation and reallocation of a prime land in Abuja, and an embarrassing court battle between two First Ladies over the same land, an Abuja High Court has resolved the matter, at least for the moment. Though the spokesman of the First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan, said the land battle was between Turai Yar’Adua, widow of the former president, Umaru Yar’Adua, and the Federal Capital City (FCT), everyone knows that the bitter fight was between the two First Ladies. While it is true Dame Patience was not joined in the case when Hajiya Turai headed for the courts, it was widely known that by being the beneficiary of the land reallocation, she was by far the most interested party in the tripartite land dispute. Not only did she defend the reallocation in her scabrous but expansively entertaining style, she left no doubt whatsoever that what she planned to do with the land would summarise her legacy.

During the presentation of the PDP Women-In-Power 2013 Calendar in February, she had this to say: “The wife of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Maryam, built the National Women Centre while the wife of Gen. Sani Abacha, Maryam, also built the National Hospital.

None of them (former First Ladies) left with the buildings. I am not the owner of the AFLPM, and when I leave, I will not take it away. It is not a pet project of anyone.” The land in question is situated in the Central Business District in Abuja. In February 2010, it was allocated to the Women and Youth Empowerment Foundation (WAYEF), a NonGovernmental Organisation (NGO) run by the immediate past First Lady, Hajiya Turai.

However, in November 2011 the FCT minister, Bala Mohammed, revoked the allocation and transferred ownership of the land to African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM) now led

by Dame Patience. The First Lady had planned to build the headquarters of the AFLPM on the land, and for which the ingratiating FCT controversially budgeted about four billion naira.

Though Ayo Osinlu, the First Lady’s spokesman, has attempted to present what amounts to a fresh case in the newspapers to sway the public, Justice Peter Affen was emphatic that he gave judgment based on the facts before him. It is, however, possible that some of the facts available to Mr. Osinlu and his bosses were not available to the judge. But that can be explained, as Mr Osinlu himself acknowledged, by the fact that the case was not between Hajiya Turai and Dame Patience; it was between the former First Lady and the FCT. The FCT has indicated interest in appealing the decision. It is entitled to push the matter even up to the Supreme Court, though it is hard to see Affen’s decision being overturned. What the continuation of the case will do, however, is to further prolong Dame Patience’s misery, open the government to more ridicule, and damage the little reputation the President Goodluck Jonathan government pretends to have for taking dispassionate views of issues – as if the Rotimi Amaechi case is not enough refutation.

Turai/Patience: Embarrassing land battle ends somewhat

•Patience Jonathan

•Turai Yar’Adua

When the AFLPM met in July last year in Abuja, the land battle was still unresolved and the budget allocation for the AFLPM was yet to be sorted out. But through the intervention of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, Dame Patience, surrounded by a bevy of other First Ladies, managed to lay the foundation stone for the AFLPM’s permanent secretariat. It takes unusual gusto and indifference to the law and propriety to circumvent legal and administrative objections with such flourish.

Dame Patience doubtless has a fighting spirit.

If only it could be harnessed for irreproachable causes.

But the First Lady is not all defiance. She was probably emboldened to fight for the land based on the testimony of former FCT minister, Aliyu Moddibo Umar, who told the Voice of America radio service that the idea for the AFLPM’s permanent secretariat was actually his own, not even Dame Patience’s or Hajiya Turai’s. He had secured the land, prepared a Cof-O for it, and had a structural drawing for the project done, all in 2008. He added that he thought it would be a legacy project for Hajiya Turai. But after he vacated that office, his successor, Senator Adamu Aliero, was said to have reallocated the land to Hajiya Turai’s NGO, an action, Dame Patience insisted, the current FCT minister was trying to correct.

Thrice the trial judge gave the disputants opportunity to settle the matter out of court, and thrice they spurned the chance to act

reasonably. According to Hajiya Turai’s lawyers, the land offered the former First Lady was either too small or it was situated in undeveloped area. In the end, the judge decided that the land should not have been revoked or reallocated. The main problem with the land battle, however, is not whether Hajiya Turai was right, as the law has now affirmed, or whether FCT/Dame Patience was wrong, going by the court decision. The problem is that the two First Ladies opened up the country to ridicule. It is inconceivable that the African First Ladies that attended the foundation laying ceremony of the secretariat last year did not hear or read about the unseemly struggle over the choice land in Abuja. They probably shrugged their shoulders, satisfied that they were not the ones making a mockery of their position or their countries. If Nigerians felt shameless about such matters, it was the least of the problems of the other First ladies.

The blame for the intractable land dispute should be put squarely at the feet of Jonathan.

It was wrong of him to allow the case to fester openly for so long to the point that Nigeria became a spectacle. It is okay for him to affirm his respect for the rule of law, and to accord the law the widest latitude in resolving conflicts, but in this instance, as in nearly all instances, it was better the case had not gone to court at all.

Even if Hajiya Turai was wrong, greedy and duplicitous, for the sake of the country’s image and the high esteem many hold the presidency of Nigeria, Jonathan should have insisted the

Baga: Satellite evidence turns army logic on its head

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HEORETICALLY speaking, no one is certain that the death toll from the clash between the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) and Boko Haram insurgents in Baga, Borno State is as high as locals say or as low as the military authorities swear. But whether the 36 dead declared by the Army or the 185 dead asserted by the locals, the circumstances of the clash and the furore that followed it indicate that something deeply troubling happened in that community. Following the outcry that greeted the high death toll and the thousands of houses allegedly burnt during the nearly two-day operation, the military quickly empaneled a team of officers to investigate the clash. Its report was not substantially different from the initial account given by the commanders of the Baga operation. They insisted there were fewer than 1000 houses in Baga, thereby questioning the account of locals who said more than 2000 houses were deliberately torched by the rampaging soldiers.

Nigerians met the military investigation reports with deep cynicism. Senator Maina

Ma’aji Lawan, whose constituency includes Baga, has denounced the military statistics as an infernal lie. He swore that a massacre occurred in the town. He also suggested that in fact much of the town was sacked, not in fighting, but in reprisal. There are a few other teams of investigators empowered to look into the clash. They are expected to give less colourful and more believable accounts. But meanwhile, a US-based rights group, the Human Rights Watch (HRW), has unexpectedly supplied satellite images of the destroyed town before and after the clash, thus proving that a huge swath of the town was indeed sacked and burnt. It further analysed that the conflagration could not have been triggered by small arms and light weapons, as speculated by the military.

The military authorities are yet to reply to this new evidence. But it is fast dawning on everyone that in the face of modern science, there is no hiding place for anyone or atrocity.

If the HRW satellite images stand, and there is no reason they should not, the officers who endorsed the military report may have imperiled their integrity and commission. They

and President Goodluck Jonathan who was quick to embrace the report will be surprised to know that even in Africa things are changing, and the atrocities connived at in the past have become anathema.

The National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria (NHRC) will also be investigating the clash. But it has implausibly and precipitately cautioned that the Baga incident should not be politicised.

Absolute nonsense. Of course, no one is politicising the massacre. The fact is that everyone is too shocked by the scale of killings that it smacks of gross insensitivity and even snobbery for the government and the NHRC to suggest someone might be politicising the issue. Let us hope that the NHRC’s hasty caution does not prejudice the outcome of its report. As for the president and the military, they seem quite desperate to downplay the incident. But even if 36 were killed, it still amounts to crime against humanity if the victims were defenceless civilians instead of armed militants. Surely, the government and the military can tell the difference.

AFLPM looked for another piece of land, whether prime or not. After all, the FCT is still developing and expanding.

There are times when tenacity is a virtue; but there are also times when it is unhelpful.

The disputed land exemplifies tenacity as a vice. Jonathan should have put his foot down to avert the court dispute. He is not only president in fact, he is president in law, and he is supposed to embody the country’s selfesteem and approximate its self-belief. When he acts nobly, it rubs off on everyone; when he acts disreputably, it also tars everyone with the same brush. It is unnerving that that distinction escaped him in the dispute between Dame Patience and Hajiya Turai. How many more such distinctions will escape him before his term is finished?

Now, the damage is done, and it is incalculable. If Jonathan had made the AFLPM to forgo the land, he could have appropriated to himself and his government a nobility far in excess of what he has exhibited so far or is in fact capable of. But even if he were to win the case on appeal, it could not mitigate the public relations damage the original loss occasioned, for many would see his importunate government as rapacious and vengeful. But if the FCT/government/Patience should lose again, it would be the ultimate humiliation they could not hope to live down. In other words, damned if they win; and damned if they lose.

The president may again pretend to his usual detachment on this embarrassing legal battle, but the unavoidable fact is that the buck stops at his desk. He can either pick the buck and throw it away in denial, or remove his desk and declare with quixotic relish he had vanquished the phantom, or act with the wisdom expected of his office. What he cannot afford to do is stand still, pretend the nuisance battle is strictly legal, and hope the problem would resolve itself in the near future.

Dame Patience states her case

“W

E wish to say for the umpteenth time that the land matter had been taken out of context in the public domain, to create an impression that Dame Patience tried to take over a land previously allocated to Hajia Turai. The fact of the matter is that this was not the case, as we have consistently explained. The land, as clarified by former FCT Minister, Aliyu Moddibo Umar, in the Daily Trust edition of Thursday, August 2, 2012, was originally allocated to the African First Ladies Peace Mission during the tenure of Hajia Turai Yar’Adua, as President of the Peace Mission in 2008.

“By some curious circumstances, which have been explained by the FCT Administration, the piece of land was reallocated to Hajia Turai Yar’Adua’s NGO (WAYEF), under another plot number. It is this anomaly, considered an administrative error, which the FCT had tried to rectify.

“Let it be known that the FCT took what it considered a legitimate course of action to rectify the error, which Hajia Turai challenged in court, having turned down several efforts to get her NGO another piece of land.

“Our office had repeatedly stated that the land, which had been subject of litigation, was between the FCT Administration and Hajia Turai Yar’adua’s NGO, and neither the African First Ladies Peace Mission, even though it is the original allotee of the land, nor Dame Patience Jonathan, who is the sitting President of the continental body, was joined in the suit.

“For purposes of emphasis, we wish to reiterate that the land in question was first allocated to the African First Ladies Peace Mission, according to records available to us, during the tenure of Hajia Turai Yar’Adua as President of the Mission. If in leaving office she had decided to depart with the land, the FCT HAS TAKEN APPROPRIATE LOGICAL ACTION to retrieve the said plot for the ORIGINAL allotee and purpose.”

“To this extent, we wish to state categorically that the judgment referred to in the media was not against the person of Dame Patience Jonathan, and we will like the public and well-meaning Nigerians to put the matter in its proper perspective for the purpose of accurate record and common good.”

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