November 27, 2014

Newspaper of the Year

Court bars DSS from APC’s centre NEWS

Page 3

•‘Produce detained workers’

News Sports News

Thugs attack Ahmed’s convoy P10 Injured Victor Moses out till 2015 P24 Akala, others reject congress result P8

•Nigeria’s widest circulating newspaper

VOL. 9, NO. 3045 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

•www.thenationonlineng.net

TR UTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM TRUTH

Naira exchanges N186 to $1 at ‘black market’

Deadlock at meeting as IG won’t recognise Tambuwal as Speaker

P

OLICE chief Suleiman Abbah finally showed up at the House of Representatives yesterday.

The Inspector-General had been invited by the House Committee on Police Affairs to shed light on the November 20 invasion of the National Assembly

From Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

when Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and other members of the House were tear gassed.

The meeting was, however, ill- fated. The session, which began at 2.20pm on a tense note, ended abruptly because Abbah refused to acknowledge Tambuwal as Speaker in

his speech, drawing the ire of the committee’s members.

The IGP blamed everyone except the police for the November 20 incident.

He described the lawmakers who climbed the gate to enter the complex as “suspected hoodlums” and blamed the security beef-up at the National Continued on page 6

N150.00

From Nduka Chiejina, Abuja

T

HE naira touched a record low against the dollar yesterday, the day after Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele announced its devalua-

tion.

The CBN devalued the naira by 8 per cent and raised interest rates sharply, trying to stem losses to its foreign reserves spent defending the currency as the price of oil - Nigeria’s dominant export - slides on gloSEE ALSO bal markets.

PAGES 4,5&11

•CBN boss Emefiele

Continued on page 6

•INSIDE: BUHARI’S PLANE DENIED LANDING P6 SENATE PROBES POLICE INVASION P3

Obasanjo warns Jonathan: economy is in big trouble ‘

In the end, more businesses will close down, business men and women, entrepreneurs and investors will incur more debts. Foreign investors may temporarily stop investing in a downturn economy...The scenario, which may sound alarmist, is hard to imagine but the signs are there and it would appear that those who should act are dancing slow foxtrot while their trousers are catching fire

?

WILL THE CHIBOK GIRLS KIDNAPPED ON APRIL 15 EVER RETURN?

’

•Chief Obasanjo

Boko Haram ‘is big industry in govt’ ‘Don’t crush opposition’

F

ORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo delivered yesterday another blistering criticism of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, saying the “economy is in the doldrums”.

The government has been celebrating the rebasing of the economy, saying it is Africa’s biggest.

But, to Obasanjo, the economy “is in the doldrums, if not in reverse”.

The elderstateman spoke yesterday in Abuja at the presentation of former Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Chairman Justice Mustapha

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

Akanbi’s two autobiographies—”The story of my two worlds: challenges, experience and achievement” and “A life of Service and grace (Perspective Shared)”.

He said a drastic devaluation of the Naira – a step which will hurt Nigerians —was likely. The naira was devalued on Tuesday, exchanging at N168 to the dollar. Interest rate went up to 3% from 12%.

Obasanjo challenged the government to release records of crude oil proceeds to the public.

He also faulted the $78 benchmark

for the 2015 budget and warned that the nation might be in a bind if oil price falls to $75 per barrel.

He wondered why Nigeria could not prepare for shocks, like Saudi Arabia, which is planning next year’s budget on $68 per barrel as benchmark.

Obasanjo delivered an eight-page address.

Clad in a light brown agbada, the former president, who looked serious all through, told the audience that Nigeria had not prepared for the rainy day.

He said: “One, on NNPC, we were the only government that declared

what we received, how it was distributed to the states and to the local governments and published.

“Two, there is something called Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI). I went into that against even the oil companies. And whether it continued or not is a different thing.”

“The fourth issue I will briefly like to comment on is the economy. What the public know or see of the economy is not what the economy truly is.

“For quite some time, the covered and the hushed up corruption has had Continued on page 6

•POLITICS P15 •SPORTS P24 •EDUCATION P25 •N/HEALTH P53 •E-BUSINESS P60 •FOREIGN P67

2

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

THE NATION THURSDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2014

3

NEWS

2015: PDP screens Jonathan

P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan yesterday appeared before a presidential screening committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Jonathan, who arrived at the party’s secretariat at 3.15 pm, in company with Vice President Namadi Sambo and ministers, went straight to the screening venue.

The exercise lasted for about an hour, with the Ahmadu Ali-led committee discharging the President after the closed screening session.

After the exercise, the President left the secretariat as quietly as he came in.

Balewa steps down for President SON of Nigeria’s late Prime Minister and presiden- From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja tial aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), The Chairman of the Screening Committee, Abduljalil Tafawa Balewa, has stepped down for Dr. Ahmadu Ali, who announced Balewa’s deciPresident Goodluck Jonathan. sion to withdraw from the race, hailed the aspirIn a dramatic move, Balewa, who participated in ant’s decision. the presidential screening exercise at the party’s secHe said: “After going through 90 minutes that retariat yesterday, decided to withdraw from the the screening exercise lasted, he came to the conrace after he had gone through the screening exer- clusion that he wanted to withdraw from the race. cise.

“He has promised to do everything to ensure “I have decided to withdraw my aspiration for the success of the party at the poll. We praise him the strength and well being of the party. I am a for the decision, although he chose to go through strong PDP member and I will continue to work for the entire process of screening before deciding to the progress of the party”, Balewa said. withdraw.”

From Gbade Ogunwale, Assistant Editor, Abuja

The National Publicity Sec-

retary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh, who spoke to reporters after the screening, said it was nec-

essary for the President to comply with the processes leading to the primaries and ratifica-

tion.

According to him, the President was not in anyway disadvantaged before now and that his humility at submitting to party processes spoke volume of his compliance with party supremacy.

Metuh said the result of the screening would be released by the party’s leadership within 24 hours.

The leadership of the PDP has voided the disqualification of its aspirants by the screening appeal committees across the states.

A statement yesterday by the party urged the affected aspirants to disregard the disqualification orders.

ACF slams northerners in Jonathan’s govt From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

A

REWA Consultative Forum (ACF) has accused the northerners serving in President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration of collaborating in mis-governance and plundering the nation’s financial resources.

It spoke yesterday in a communiqué at the end of an emergency meeting under the rapid response committee of the forum. The group said it felt disgusted and embarrassed by the behaviours of such people, stressing that posterity would judge them.

The communiqué signed by the Secretary-General of the forum, Col. John Ubah (rtd), also frowned at insecurity, saying it called to question government’s capacity and sincerity in ending insurgency.

•Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun (second left), his wife, Olufunso (second right), wife of the Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly, Mrs Seun Adekunbi (right) and Chairman of the Ogun State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, Bishop Oludotun Ogunseye (left) during the Welfare Service held for the 2014 intending Christian Pilgrims at the June 12 Cultural Hall, Kuto, Abeokuta...yesterday

Senate probes police invasion of National Assembly

P

OLICE invasion of the premises of the National Assembly last week came under the scrutiny of the Senate yesterday.

Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (Cross River Central), in a motion entitled: “ Breach of security at the National Assembly Complex”, moved “that the Senate do consider the breach of security, privilege and sanctity of the premises and precincts of the National Assembly on November 20, occasioned by the presence of heavy security operatives.”

After about one hour debate, the lawmakers resolved to constitute a seven-member ad hoc committee to investigate the incident.

Senate President David Mark named Senator Ahmed Makarfi (Kaduna North) as Chairman of the seven-man committee.

Other members of the committee included Senators Atiku Abubakar Bagudu (Kebbi Central), Victor Lar, (Plateau South), Sefiu Adegbenga Kaka (Ogun East), Paulinus Igwe Nwagu (Ebonyi Central), Mohammed Jibrilla Bindowo (Adamawa Central) and Ehigie Uzamere (Edo South).

Mark, who said the incident defied his comprehension, added that in whatever way they decided to condemn what happened, “it is a manifestation of where we found ourselves because what happened is simply beyond my own comprehension.”

He said: “I agree with you that we set up a committee. What happened to us was a sacrifice we have to pay for democracy and the sacrifice we have to make for democracy.

“That was what happened to me. The Speaker is in touch with me and I’m in touch with the Speak-

From: Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

er and we have put all that behind us.

“What we want is the strengthening of democracy in this country and whatever price we pay or whatever price we make to strengthen democracy we will do so.”

Ndoma-Egba in his lead debate, said it is regrettable that the premises of the National Assembly was barricaded while the Senate President, David Mark, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, other senators and members of the House were prevented from gaining access into the National Assembly.

The police action, he said, led to the unfortunate situation of some House members scaling the fence.

Deputy Senate Leader Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central), who supported the motion, described the incident as a coup attempt by the police.

Ningi asked Nigerians of good conscience to rise up and condemn the incident, saying since the return of democracy in 1999, such a thing had never happened.

He noted that since the executive and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had dissociated themselves from the incident, the police should be held solely responsible.

The police, he said, should be reminded that the fact they carry arms does not make them to be above the law.

For him, the police explanation that they were after hoodlums who allegedly planned to invade the National Assembly falls flat since the Senate President and the Speaker

could not be said to be hoodlums.

He warned that if the police could do what they did at the National Assembly, nothing prevents them replicating the same in Presidential Villa.

Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, (Enugu West) said that the action of the police is condemnable.

Ekweremadu who described the incident as a major desecration of the sanctity of the National Assembly added that any attempt on the parliament is an attempt on democracy.

He recalled that the police in 2000 barricaded the house of Senator Chuba Okadigbo, a former Senate President saying that “because the barricade of Okadigbo’s house was taken lightly, that was why the incident of November 20, 2014, happened.

Ekweremadu suggested that November 20th ever year should be observed as a black day with parliamentarians adoring black attires to mark the incident of November 20th 2014 at the National Assembly.

James Manager (Delta

South)said that he also trekked from the National Assembly first gate to the Senate Chamber describing November 20th as “a sad day for everybody.”

Senate Minority Leader, George Akume, in his contribution recalled how he rushed to the Senate President on getting into the National Assembly complex tom inform him that the National Assembly was under siege.

He also recalled that he accompanied the Senate President to the House of Representatives where he (Mark) was rough-handled.

PDP, Mu’azu oppose Tukur’s plot to return

T

HE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its National Chairman, Adamu Mu’azu, have objected to the move by the party’s ex-Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, to return to office.

They argued yesterday that Tukur was going about his plan to return stealthily by seeking to ride on the back of a pending suit filed by a PDP House of Representatives aspirant, Aliyu Gurin, to achieve his aim.

Counsel to PDP and Mu’azu, Solomon Umoh (SAN), spoke at the Federal High Court, Abuja while arguing against an application filed by Tukur.

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

The ex-PDP chairman, in the application (a counter-claim), wants the court to among others, restrain Mu’azu from presiding over the party’s affairs and void his (Tukur’s) purported resignation.

Tukur, who resigned from office on January 15, argued that his purported resignation was a nullity, as he did not comply with the procedure for vacating office as stipulated in Section 47(5) of the constitution of the PDP, requiring he gives 30-day notice pre-resignation notice to National Executive Committee

(NEC).

He also argued that since he did not properly resign, and his purported successor, Mu’azu, not also properly appointed, the best decision for the court was to void both his supposed resignation and Mu’azu’s appointment.

Umoh urged the court to decline jurisdiction over Tukur’s counter-claim on the grounds that it amounted to an abuse of court process.

He contended that Tukur’s filing of a counter-claim in a suit initiated via originating summons was irregular and strange.

Okah challenges conviction

H

ENRY Okah, jailed in Johannesburg for masterminding a series of terror attacks in Nigeria, is to challenge South Africa’s right to try him, his lawyer said yesterday.

Okah was sentenced to 24 years in prison last year for mas-

terminding attacks including twin car bombings, which killed 12 people in Abuja on October 1, 2010, and two explosions in Warri, Delta State.

South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal delayed his appeal yesterday after his lawyers said they

were launching a constitutional challenge to his original conviction.

“We are challenging the jurisdiction of the court that tried him,” his lawyer JP Marais said.

No date has been fixed for the next hearing.

Court bars DSS from APC’s data centre •Ordered to produce detained workers

J

USTICE Mohammed Nasir Yunusa of the Federal High Court, Lagos yesterday barred the Department of State Security (DSS) from the All Progressives Congress’ (APC’s) data office.

He also ordered it to produce the detained workers, Chinedu Atuche, Fayemi Olaposi, Chika Augustine Onochukwu, Ebun Ilori and Esther Enemuwe.

The judge gave two orders in respect of the case of enforcement of human rights filed by APC counsel, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

The court ordered that the DSS should unseal the data office /warehouse located at 10, Bola Ajibola Street, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, forthwith.

It gave an interim order restraining the respondent (DSS) from further sealing off the office or taking further steps in connection with the property.

With regard to the five data entry workers being held in custody by the DSS, the court ordered the respondent to produce them in court tomorrow to explain to it why they are still being held.

The court, however, did not give any order regarding the release of the seized equipment, server and computer.

‘Nigeria still far from democracy’

By Oziegbe Okoeki and Musa Odoshimokhe

T

HE Chairman of The Nation Editorial Board, Mr. Sam Omatseye, said yesterday that the country had not fully embraced true democracy because of the impunity in all departments of government.

He was the guest lecturer at the Fatima Charity Foundation (FCF) democratic symposium, held at Muson Centre, Lagos.

Speaking on a theme: People, Credible Polls and Good Governance, he said what was happening was a military hangover, stressing that the features of dictatorship were practised by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Omatseye said if the governors, who enjoyed immunities like the President, could be prevented from moving freely or exercising their freedom to association, it meant the country was far from being connected with democracy.

He said: “We cannot say we have a civil system. Some, however, have argued that what we have is a military hangover. Under the military, they rule by decree, arrest and do what they like without a sense of accountability. This is what we have now.

“Some equally say we have powerful individuals acting like kings. Though we do not have soldiers at the helm, we have enough instances of power being exercised by the high military command, with the support of the Commander-inChief.

“Only this year, a governor left his state, wished to visit a fellow governor in a re-election bid. When he was about to be welcomed to the warm embrace of his host, the security men stopped him, saying it was an order from above.”

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

4

NEWS

• Lagos State Governor Mr. Babatunde Fashola cutting the tape to inaugurate the Agege Transfer Loading Station Agege...yesterday. With him are Commisoner for Environment Mr. Tunji Bello (right), Managing Director, LAWMA Mr. Ola Oresanya (third left), Commissioner for Education Olayinka Oladunjoye Second left), and Commissioner for Commerce PHOTO: OMOSEHIN MOSES and Industry Mrs. Senapon Oworu.

•Jonathan

Wanted! Better w •From left: Chairman, Angola's Capital Market Commission, Mr Archer Mangueria; Commissioner, Nigeria Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Ugo Ikemba and Director-general Of Sec, Ms Arunma Oteh at the technical session of PHOTO: NAN the 4th Annual Capital Market Retreat in Abuja...yesterday.

In 2011, the Central Bank of Nigeria devalued the naira by 27 per cent devaluation. On Tuesday, it lowered the naira-dollar exchange value by eight per cent, an action many say will persist unless the apex bank finds better ways to achieve an exchange rate stability, write SIMEON EBULU, NDUKA CHIEJINA and COLLINS NWEZE

A

•From left: Director,Brand & Media,African Cable Television,Akpo Gordon,Consultant to the television,Ken Hutton,Chief Executive Officer,African Cable Television,Godfrey Orkeh,Vice President & Chief Operating Officer,African Cable Television,Joseph Chitanta and Director,Programming,African Cable Television,Jide Lawrence at the media presentation of the African Cable Television( ACTIV) in Lagos...yesterday.

PHOTO: BOLA OMILABU

•From left: Relationship Manager, Aplause and Outsourcing Limited, Aletile Jaiyeola, Programme Manager, Supreme Management Consultant, Wellington Osawe, Deputy Chief Consultant, Mrs Bisi Fasuyi, Mr Adegoke Abiodun, proprietor, Vigram Nursery and Prymary School and Training Officer, Supreme Cosultancy Limited, Ademola Idowu at the opening ceremony of the three-daytraining for graduate interns in Lagos…..yesterday.

PHOTO: SOLOMON ADEOLA

COUNTRY’S local currency can best be described as its 'alter ego' or second self. That means, as a country is, so is her currency. For Nigeria, the naira has represented it in every ramification, a currency that has in the past decades, fallen from Olympic heights both at the interbank market (official rates) and at the black market.

So, when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Tuesday rose from its two-day meeting and devalued the naira by eight per cent, many pundits said they saw it coming. The committee also took other drastic measures, which its members believed were meant to achieve exchange rate stability.

The Committee moved the midpoint of the official window of the foreign exchange market from N155/dollar to N168/the greenback and also widened the band around the midpoint by 200 basis points from plus or minus three per cent to plus or minus five per cent.

In short, it virtually touched other key indicators, in what many believed were desperate moves to save the local currency.

The MPC also increased the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), the base lending rate, by 100 basis points from 12 to 13 per cent while the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) on private sector deposits also rose by 500 basis points from 15 per cent to 20 per cent with immediate effect. It also retained public sector CRR at its current level of 75 per cent.

There have been various reactions over the new policy direction.

Currencies Analyst at Ecobank Nigeria Olakunle Ezun said the decision has far-reaching impacts on naira stability and outlook in the short term. He said that increasing the MPR to 13 per cent will lead to a negative effect on the prices of bond items. However, the subsequent rise in bond yields should provide a new re-entry point for investors interested in naira denominated assets, which in turn will help boost

foreign exchange inflows, thereby supporting the naira.

The rise in the MPR, he added, will also push up the short end of the yield curve to 13.5 to 14 per cent.

"We also expect the longer end of the curve to move up, but by a smaller margin. The amount of the rise will be countered by the level of repos the CBN conducts in the days and weeks ahead to rebalance credit demand and supply," he said.

Continuing, he said that by raising the CRR to 20 per cent, additional minimum provision of five per cent is expected from deposit money banks (DMBs) on private sector deposits, which helped sterilize over N425 billion in liquidity from the system.

"While we expect interbank borrowing costs to rise, it may not be immediately due to current market liquidity of over NGN650 billion. By raising the CRR on public sector deposits, the CBN aims to slow growth in money supply and thereby reduce inflationary pressures to sustain a comfortable level of inflation," he said.

Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, said the CBN has by the MPC decision, shown independence, and has finally taken the bull by the horn on its monetary policy stance.

"The 8.4 per cent devaluation of the midpoint official exchange rate, has effectively moved the exchange rate band to N159.6 to N176.4. This move followed a series of intervention measures already implemented by the CBN, one of which is the transfer of approximately 50 per cent of the foreign exchange transactions to the interbank market," he said.

Rewane said the good news is that the currency devaluation mitigates the impact of the 21 per cent decline in oil receipts on fiscal revenue, resulting in an increase in Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations, adding that the CBN now has more leeway to manage the exchange rate,

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

5

NEWS

‘

In view of the high import-dependent nature of the economy and significant exchange rate pass-through, a systematic depreciation of the naira would literarily translate to considerable inflationary pressure with attendant effect on macroeconomic stability. Under my leadership, the CBN will continue to focus on maintaining exchange rate stability and preserve the value of the domestic currency

‘ ways to achieve exchange rate stability •Dr. Okonjo-Iweala

while the bleeding in the stock market is expected to stop as market uncertainty wears off.

Abuja rate Expectedly at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the foreign exchange market has started reacting to the Tuesday's devaluation of the Naira.

Most banks visited were not selling or buying foreign currencies, whether the greenback, or the British Pounds Sterling. When asked why they were not selling forex, officials of the banks visited said they didn't have those currencies in stock for trading. They however refused to answer directly if the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) did not sell the forex to them.

At the popular Wuse zone 4 black market, forex traders were buying a dollar at N182 and selling to Bureau De Change (BDC) operators at N183.5, and to the General public at N184. The Pounds Sterling now sells for N289, while they buy for N285. Where the Euro is available at zone 4, they sell at N230 and buy for N226.

All the traders spoken to said they expected the devaluation, as a result, they were not surprised. Alhaji Tanko Abbas, a trader said there is an unnecessary demand for dollar in Nigeria and this unusual demand has exposed the Naira to intense pressure.

Hesaid they expected the devaluation of the national currency following the fall in price of oil which is the major revenue earner for the country, stating that forex traders are preparing for any eventuality. He also said there is too much Naira pursuing very little dollars in circulation, because of the fear of the unknown.

CBN reacts The CBN said it remains committed to safeguarding the value of the Naira by ensuring that bank notes are not susceptible to counterfeiting. A statement from the apex bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, gave the assurance yesterday, while declaring open the maiden temporary exhibitions of the Currency Museum on "Counterfeit Money: Who Pays?" and "Non-Interest Banking in Nigeria" Emefiele, who was represented at the event by the Deputy Governor in charge of the Operations' Directorate, Alhaji Suleiman Barau, said that educating the public would enable them identify counterfeited notes should they encounter such.

In his opening remarks, the Direc-

•Emefiele

Devaluation of naira is Jonathan’s worst economic policy, says APC

T

HE All Progressive Congress (APC) has said Tuesday’s devaluation of the naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the worst economic policy of the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, told reporters at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja that the party foresaw the curent happenings and warned government against relying solely on oil.

He said: “You know, we have always warned about the calamitous economic policies of this government. I don’t know if you remember that about two years ago, we issued a statement saying that with the introduction of the cracking technology that shale oil and gas discovery, which have remained largely untapped, the US was going to threaten our oil and gas market.

“We went further to warn government that cost of production of oil in Nigeria was the highest in the world. We raised alarm also at the organised theft of crude oil. We were called alarmist.

“We went further to advise the government to diversify our economy. We advised government to spend more resources on finding new reserve and we gave example that while Angola and Brazil have reinvested in new deposit to about 40 per cent, Nigeria had only invested about 2 per cent.

“These are all the issues that we raised. Of course again as usual, they called us opposition. Now, the chicken has now come home to roost. We have three problems now.

“First, is the issue of dwindling oil prices, secondly, we have the issue of our reserve, which is dwindling, even the excess crude account is dwindling. We are now told that we should not worry that our country is not broke. We are now told that we should not worry that the austerity measures would only affect the rich. tor, Currency Operations Department of the CBN, Mr. Olufemi Fabamwo, observed that technological advancement posed a serious threat for national currencies to be counterfeited.

He, however, stressed that the CBN was alive to its role of protecting the country's legal tender from counterfeiting by putting in place appropriate policies relating to preventing and minimizing currency counterfeiting as well as providing the public with basis for easy identification of fake notes.

On the second subject of the exhibitions, Fabamwo noted that the concept of non-interest banking was largely still being misunderstood in Nigeria.

He stated that the activities of non-interest banks are duly regulated by the CBN, and he urged stakeholders to embrace the products offered by noninterest banking, which he noted are universally accepted and profitable to customers.

Oil price decline

The misfortune of the naira seems

From Tony Akowe, Abuja

“When the currency is devalued, it is the worst thing that can happen to any nation. All it means for a country like ours, which is import depended, you will need more naira to buy raw materials, more naira to buy machines.

“It also means that very soon cost of living will go up. But this, to me, should not have surprised anybody. If you sit down today and you hear the amount of money that have been declared missing in the economy, even if you agree that it is only $12 billion and you don’t even take Sanusi’s $20 billion, if you add $12 billion to our reserve today, you know what the reserve is going to be.

“We have the pension scam. Once you have corruption it is going to affect your economy. Every Nigerian has now seen what we have been talking about, but believe me, we are not just being harsh on this government but as long as this government continues with no fresh ideas, the economy can only get worst.

“Now has anybody ever insulted Mr. President, except talked about his policies. If l say that this government is clueless, l am not talking personal. I am only saying that the government has no clear policy of the economy. I am saying that this government cannot tackle insurgency; l am saying that this government has been unable to provide employment . I am stating the facts.”

complex. The thinking is that massive inflow of forex from surging oil prices and the boom in the capital market were responsible for the appreciation of the naira in the past few years. Unfortunately, oil prices have nosedived and Nigeria capital market is in shambles. The fall in the price of oil has major consequences on government revenue, aggregate output, capital formation investment, employment, trade and fiscal balance.

The 2008 global financial meltdown also contributed to the naira's freefall.

Bismarck Rewane, chief executive officer, Financial Derivatives said that Nigeria was unprepared for the shock.

"The Nigerian economy believed to be one of the most resilient in the world was caught unawares by the global crisis," he said.

Analysts said that a gradual appreciation of the currency will require building confidence in the financial system and price of crude oil in international market. "This is what is going to drive the exchange rate now and

beyond. We cannot isolate what is happening in the global economy like the issue of diversification of energy sources", they said.

Failed promises The misfortune of the naira began early November 2008, when it first crashed to N120 to the dollar, down from N118. By the middle of the month, it fell to about N134 to the dollar. The free fall continued in the New Year. By the end of the first week of January 2009, the naira had fallen to about N144 to the dollar and the inter-bank foreign exchange market.

The situation became even worse at the parallel market as the currency exchanged for N147 to the dollar. It later fell to N160 to the dollar, causing greater shocks for international trade.

In its assessment of the Nigerian situation, Goldman Sachs described January 2006 - December 2008 as a period dominated by a stable trading and appreciation of the naira. It however, warns that past performance does not

guarantee future returns.

Against all odds, former CBN Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo said he was taking full charge to bring stability to the economy and restore the glory of the naira. "I can tell you that those who have bought up dollars and are stockpilling them in anticipation for profit will regret because it will soon bounce back," he said.

His successor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi believed strongly on exchange rte stability. Under his leadership, the apex bank consistently pursued a policy aimed at achieving exchange rate stability, banking sector stability and single digit inflation target.

The CBN supported the naira by selling foreign currency at twice-weekly Retail Dutch Auction System (RDAS) to keep the naira within a range of three per cent around 155 per dollar. An average of $600 million is used weekly to support the naira.

Sanusi's successor, Godwin Emefiele, also promised to sustain his legacy on exchange rate stability. He said his administration's key goal would be to maintain exchange rate stability.

"In view of the high import-dependent nature of the economy and significant exchange rate pass-through, a systematic depreciation of the naira would literarily translate to considerable inflationary pressure with attendant effect on macroeconomic stability.

“Therefore, under my leadership, the CBN will continue to focus on maintaining exchange rate stability and preserve the value of the domestic currency," he said during his inaugural speech in June.

Emefiele said he will sustain the managed float regime in the management of the exchange rate, as this will allow the CBN to intervene when necessary to offset pressures on the exchange rate. To support this strategy, we will strive to build-up and maintain a healthy external reserves position and ensure external balance.

He admitted that reducing the interest rate and maintaining the exchange rate are very daunting twin goals.

However, he said the CBN would work assiduously with all stakeholders to device countervailing measures that would ensure that these goals are mutually achieved.

So far, successive CBN regimes seem to have failed to protect the local currency from the value erosion, and this portends grave danger for the economy.

6

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

NEWS Naira exchanges N186 to $1 at ‘black market’ Continued from page 1

The naira fell to a record low of N178.85 to the dollar, shortly after the market opened, but rebounded by around 1 per cent to N176.35 after two oil companies sold dollars. Nevertheless, that was still just below the new target band of 5 per cent either side of N168 to the $1, announced by Emefiele.

The exchange rate for the dollar in Abuja “black market’’ on Wednesday stood at between N182 and N186, an investigation by a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent found.

On Lagos Island and at Ikeja, the state capital, $1 sold for above N180.

This is against the official exchange rate of N168.

The NAN correspondent, who checked near the Sheraton Hotel, Zone 4, Abuja, the rendezvous for most black market operators, found that the closest naira exchange to the official exchange rate was N182.

Some of the operators said the difference between their rate and the official rate was to accommodate the “extra charges’’ they

•IG Abba...yesterday

IG won’t recognise Tambuwal as Speaker Continued from page 1

Assembly on that day on the Salvation Rally by the All Progressives Congress (APC) a day before that.

Abbah said because of the “suspected hoodlums” who followed “Alhaji Tambuwal” into the complex, a tear gas canister “exploded” and the incident “is being investigated”.

His words: “To what Mr. Chairman called the locking of gates of the National Assembly as well as the tear gassing of members of the Assembly, among the background of the deployment, perhaps there’s need to understand why the deployment was made that day...additional deployment because the National Assembly has always been working with police officers as provided in the National Assembly standard security operational procedure.

And that will also answer the question of wether we shared the intelligence or we informed any of the officers (at the National Assembly) at all.

“On the 19th of November 2014, members of a political party, including their leadership as well as aspirants and a serving governor conducted a rally at the Eagle Square after which they proceeded to the headquarters of the Police, blocked it and

made many uncomplimentary statements; among which was of concern to us was the fact that what they were doing was just a tip of the iceberg of what they would be doing subsequent days, promising to come back on the 20th to continue with the procession and with the blockade of the Police Headquarters, and even promising to extend same to other areas including the National Assembly and the headquarters of INEC.” He said “credible” intelligence made available to the police showed that the National Assembly’s security is going to be breached on the 20th and he subsequently gave instructions to secure the NASS, INEC and the Villa.

He said all went well “until when that was disrupted at the arrival of Alhaji Tambuwal”.

“With the disruption of that arrangement at the first gate by quite a number of suspected thugs, the gate was not only closed but a reinforcement was made.

“As for the question of tear gas, yes, the circumstance is being investigated. We saw how the gate was compromised by suspected thugs who scaled the gates.”

According to Abba, this caused the gas canister to explode.

But members were angry

when the IGP continuously referred to the Speaker as “Alhaji Tambuwal”. They expressed disdain with the manner the IGP was disrespecting the Speaker.

The chairman and members insisted that Abbah recognise Tambuwal as Speaker, but the IGP said he would not as the case was in court and addressing Tambuwal as “Speaker” would be “subjudice”.

Hon. Hakeem Muniru (APC Lagos) insisted that “the IGP must retract his statement, calling the speaker ‘Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal’ or I take my leave as I would deem this sitting as an illegal one. Because I can’t participate in a hearing where the office of the speaker through whose authority we are having this meeting is not even recognised by an appointee of the executive”.

A member, Chachangi Rufai Ahmed, insisted on calling the IGP “mister”, saying if the IGP does not recognise the Speaker, then there was no point using his title to address him.

But the Chairman of the Committee sought to put the issue in perspective.

Kumo said: “I believe the IGP does not mean he does not recognise the institution of National Assembly. Mr.IGP, simple question that triggered this hullabaloo is about the statement as perceived by members which

you can correct or which you can assert; whether the Speaker is Aminu Tambuwal as it is today or not.”

IGP: “Mr. Chairman and esteemed members, I think it would be subjudice for me to comment on a matter before the court.

Thank you.”

Immediately, the session came to a sudden end as members angrily stood up after adjourning the meeting.

The meeting ended on a frosty note. The IGP left without the courtesy of the Chairman seeing him off. This was because members of the committee insisted Kumo should not.

They cordoned Kumo off and vowed he would not accord the IGP such a privilege.

Earlier, the Chairman of the committee, while seeking clarification of what caused the deployment of heavily armed policemen to the National Assembly and the subsequent tear- gassing of the Speaker and other members said the parliament was worried at the conduct of the Police.

The IGP rebuffed the invitation of the Senate, sending a deputy.

A week before that, he also shunned the Police Affairs Committee of the House. Rather than honour the invitation, the IGP sent a letter to the Committee, explaining his absence. He also sent Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) S.L. Wakama to represent him.

pay to “dealers’’ they get the hard currency from.

A black market operator, Alhaji Usman Gongola, told NAN that he sold one dollar at N186 and bought one dollar for N183.

Another operator, Alhaji Bello Abdullahi, said he sold at N184 and bought one dollar for N182.

Alhaji Mohammed Bichi sold one dollar at N182 and bought one dollar for N181.

Trading in the next few days will test whether financial markets believe the new target is realistic for Nigeria contending with a 30 per cent fall in world oil prices since June. The country is also battling with insurgency in the Northeast.

Economists welcomed Emefiele’s action as accepting the reality of the naira’s sliding value - in common with the currencies of other oil exporters, such as Russia, in trading between commercial banks.

“Given the move higher in the largely-market determined interbank rate ... the widening of the band around the official midContinued on page 67

Buhari’s plane barred from landing at Makurdi airport

A

CHARTERED plane carrying All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential aspirant Gen. Muhammadu Buhari was refused landing at the Makurdi Airport yesterday.

Gen. Buhari was travelling from Bayelsa State as part of his mobilisation of party members ahead of the APC presidential primary slated for next month.

Sources at the Makurdi Airport said the plane had been cleared and the General was heading for the North Central city when 30 minutes to landing, the aircraft was told it would not be able to land at the airport.

The prevention of his plane from landing halted the trips of the aspirant who earlier yesterday met party faithful in Calabar, Cross River State and Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

Party supporters in Makurdi led by state Chairman Abba Yaro who trooped to the airport were disappointed.

Abba told reporters: “We will certainly react to this ugly incident because what they have done was not only callous and wicked but also unacceptable in modern day Nigeria.”

Aviation authorities in Lagos denied knowledge of the development.

From Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi and Nicholas Kalu, Calabar

Spokesman of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Mr. Yakubu Datti, said the aviation authorities have no control of the Makurdi Airport.

According to him, the military is in charge of the airport.

Earlier in Calabar while addressing APC supporters, Gen. Buhari said: “We have lost so much. What has become of the Nigeria Airways, our shipping lines, railways among others.

Infrastructure is going down and also the rising level of insecurity.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has failed badly in their 15 years of being in charge.

Everything is going down in spite of all the money. What are they doing with the money.

“We must stop PDP from destroying this country. If we don’t get rid of the PDP, PDP will get rid of Nigerians. We are fed up. Whatever your sentiments let us work together and rebuild this country.”

He urged the people to get their permanent voter cards to enable them vote next year.

State chairman of the APC, Pastor Usani Usani, described Buhari as “humble, discipline and intelligent.”

Obasanjo warns Jonathan: economy is in big trouble Boko Haram ‘is big industry in govt’

Continued from page 1

its toll on the economy. The non-investment and disinvest-

ment in the oil and gas sector by the major international oil companies has added its own deleterious impact.

“Our continued heavy dependence on one commodity had not adequately prepared us against any shock in that one commodity on the international plane.

“With the figure of $73 per barrel as benchmark, we will be in a bind if oil price falls. I am made to understand that Saudi Arabia used $68 per barrel as benchmark for its 2015 budget.

The former President’s stunning verdict on the economy that it is in doldrums - drew a thunderous ovation from the full capacity Ladi Kwali Hall of the Sheraton Hotel and Towers.

Obasanjo added: “Our inadequate protection of almost all local industries with heavy cost of energy has dealt a hard blow on most indigenous industries.

The economy is in doldrums if not in reverse.

“The often-quoted GDP growth neither reflects on the living condition of most of our people nor on most of the indig-

F

ORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday attributed the increasing Boko Haram insurgency to what he described as President Goodluck Jonathan’s initial wrong reading of the menace.

He said it took Jonathan more than three years to appreciate and understand the gravity of the Boko Haram insurgency.

Obasanjo asked the nation to realise that Boko Haram is not about anybody’s ambition, adding that the solution to the insurgency is in the application of stick and carrot – his often recommended approach which the Presidency has dismissed.

He said if the Federal Government continues to use force, the insurgency will never be eliminated.

Obasanjo made his views known in an address at the public presentation of the autobiography of a former Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Justice Mustapha Akanbi in Abuenous industries and services where capacity utilization is about 50 per cent.

“We had not adequately prepared for the rainy days in the management of proceeds from oil and gas resources.

“And with crude oil purchase by the US from Nigeria going

From Yusuf Alli, Abuja

ja.

The book launch was crowded with dignitaries who came to honour Justice Akanbi often referred to as “Mr. Clean” – a tribute to his integrity.

The Ladi Kwali Hall of Sheraton Hotel was besieged by jurists, lawyers, academics, researchers and many others.

The roll call: Sultan of Sokoto Abubakar Sa’ad; Emir of Ilorin Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari; Oba of Lagos Rilwanu Akiolu; immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria Mariam Aloma Mukhtar; ex-CJN Muhammadu Uwais; ex-CJN Alfa Belgore; Court of Appeal President Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa; Justice Bolarinwa Babalakin; the Secretary-General Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede and ex-Ekiti State Chief Judge Ademola Ajakaye(the Oluyin of Iyin-Ekiti). There were numerous others.

But Obasanjo stole the show, with his one-hour treatise on the state of the nation.

down by some 30 per cent in the last three years as a result of shale revolution, things are not looking up in the oil and gas sector and hence, in the economy.

“The International Energy Agency (IEA) has predicted that the price of oil has not bottomed yet and that the price will con-

Unmoved by intermittent applause from the audience, Obasanjo, who kept a straight face throughout, faulted the Jonathan administration’s handling of Boko Haram crisis.

He said: “ Let me start with the issue of security. Boko Haram is not simply a menace based on religion or one directed to frustrate anybody’s political ambition. It is essentially a socio-economic problem that is tainted with religion. It is a gargantuan danger to the nation and to all Nigerians.

“Initially, President Jonathan’s understanding of Boko Haram phenomenon suffered from wrong reading and wrong imputation. That is what led us to where we are today.

“It took even the President more than three years to appreciate and understand that it is a terrible mix of poor education or lack of education, misinterpretation of what Islam and the Quran teach and dan-

tinue to go down through the first half of 2015, if not for the whole year.

“With shale revolution and America’s self-sufficiency in energy and possibly becoming a net exporter as well as with the prediction of IEA, we must restrategise.

Continued on page 67

“The position may be that, in future, we will have a budget that cannot be funded. We may have to borrow to pay the salaries and allowances. Revenue allocation to states and local governments has already drastically reduced. Capital projects at all levels of government may have

•Dr. Jonathan

to be drastically cut or stopped.”

On the devaluation of the Naira, Obasanjo said it will lead to horrendous disadvantage for poor Nigerians He said: “Sooner or later, the Naira will have to be drastically devalued without any advantage to our one commodity economy but with horrendous disadvantage to already impoverished Nigerians.

“We will all sink deeper in Continued on page 67

ADVERT HOTLINES 08023006969, 08052592524

THE NATION THURSDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2014

7

NEWS

Lamorde: EFCC can’t ban corrupt candidates

T

HE Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, said yesterday that the antigraft agency could not prevent corrupt candidates from contesting elections because of legal constraints.

He said the commission could only advise authorities and parties.

Lamorde said EFCC was prosecuting anti-corruption crusaders, who abused its Anticorruption Revolution (ANCOR) mobilisation platform.

According to him, it was difficult to tackle corruption in some countries because of the failure by the parties and governments to engage the civil society and the private sector.

Lamorde spoke with reporters after unveiling the new

•‘We can only advise authorities, parties’ From: Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

EFCC-Civil Society Partnership Against Corruption and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja.

He said: “If you are conversant with the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act, only the court can ban corrupt candidates from contesting. We can only advise the authorities and parties. We cannot prevent them unless a court does so.

“You have to know where the responsibility of the EFCC starts and ends. When we take people to court, our duty is to prosecute them. But some of these accused/suspects are tak-

ing advantage of the criminal laws.

“The unfortunate aspect is that when such criminal proceedings are delayed, you start having witness fatigue. Some of the witnesses would have died and some officers transferred.”

The EFCC boss regretted that some cases filed by the commission against suspects, including politically- exposed persons, since 2006 were still pending.

Said he: “We have cases we filed since 2006. We have been going in and out of the Supreme Court because of applications here and there.

“We cannot change what is obtainable at the court because

the laws allow people to go to court. Some people are delaying cases.

“The outcome of these cases would have defined what people will get. The funds to be recovered ought to be used for the development of these states.”

Lamorde admitted ANCOR, which was launched in 2008, was good but was abused.

His words: “As good as the concept was, it was bedevilled by challenges, including some of the vices it had set out to curb. There was for instance, cases of abuse of the programme by members, who fraudulently procured vehicles, sewed uniforms, opened

offices where they received and ‘investigated’ alleged petitions, interrogated ‘suspects’ and blackmailed and extorted the public!

“The commission is prosecuting some of such unscrupulous members of ANCOR. “Administratively, ANCOR was also discovered not to have a data bank of partners and there was poor monitoring.

“It was in the light of these observations that the commission reviewed the ANCOR programme. The MoU signing and unveiling of the modus operandi of the overhauled ANCOR is the outcome of the work of a select committee of representatives, the different sections of the society from which ANCOR had drawn its original life-force.”

The EFCC chairman said the agency was also saddled with the responsibility of preventing economic and financial crimes.

He said it enlisted the support of the civil society to prevent corruption, having realised “the futility of trying to attain the goals of prevention on the strength of its efforts.”

The representative of the civil society groups, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraj said: “We will not only ask the government to act on corruption, we will also hold the EFCC accountable. We will criticise the commission to make it perform to its optimum.”

The Senior Governance Specialist at the World Bank country office in Nigeria, Roland Lomme, said: “We are keen to see the practical results of this collaboration /partnership with the civil society.”

Conference on workplace addiction holds tomorrow

N

IGHTINGALE Mental Health Foundation will tomorrow hold a conference on addiction at the workplace, at the Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

The conference will allow the employers to know about the lawful handling of addiction at the workplace and what to expect from an employee who is suffering from an addiction. There will be advice on what needs to be done in such situation. Other issues, which will offer a comprehensive programme of evaluation, treatment, counselling and support for employees and their families will also be discussed.

Expected at the event are decision makers/ CEOs, human resource professionals, risk managers and labour organisations.

FEC approves N60.9b infrastructure for FCT From Augustine Ehikioya, Abuja

T •Participants at the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission’s stakeholders’ interactive engagement with diplomatic corps in Abuja...yesterday.

Atiku’s aide advises APC on credible primaries

A

HEAD of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primaries, a representative of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the Convention Committee, Mr. Greg Egu, has urged the committee headed by former Ekiti State Governor

From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

Kayode Fayemi, to ensure a level- playing field for aspirants.

He said if internal democracy prevailed, his principal would clinch the ticket.

Egu, a senatorial aspirant from Imo East on APC’s platform, spoke in Ngor-Okpala

Local Government Area of Imo State while briefing reporters ahead of Atiku’s visit.

He enjoined delegates from the Southeast to vote for the ex-vice president, “who always includes Ndigbo’s interest in his plans.”

Egu, however, described Imo State Governor Rochas

CJN assures of judicial reforms

T

HE Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, has spelt out his agenda for the judiciary.

He said he would sustain and improve on the reforms initiated by his predecessor, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, including working for enhanced judicial autonomy, improved deployment of technology in the court process and promotion of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms.

Justice Mohammed, who spoke in Abuja on Tuesday at a dinner party by the National Judicial Council (NJC), in honour of Justice Mukhtar, said his preference for ADR was to address delay in the court process.

He promised to work with the NJC to ensure discipline

From Eric Ikhilae, Abuja

among judicial officers, secure financial autonomy for the judiciary, mass deployment of information and communication technology (ICT) to ensure efficient operation of the court.

The CJN said: “The determination of Justice Mukhtar to defend the independence of the judiciary and secure the integrity of judicial officers is commendable, which, as the CJN and by the grace of God, I will sustain.

“NJC will be committed to entrenching and preserving the independence of the judiciary.

It will ensure a judiciary committed to the rule of law, a financially- autonomous judiciary, a proactive and vibrant judiciary with workers of proven integrity.

“It will ensure a dynamic

judiciary manned by officers with good background, discipline, commitment and competence; a judiciary that is technologically-driven, with courtrooms fitted with proceedings recording equipment and case management system.

“Permit me to speak on a matter that has been agitating my mind. It is the need for alternative dispute resolution.

Overtime, the process of litigation has become more time consuming, complex, expensive and cumbersome.

“Increasing the number of judges in the courts has led to the congestion and delay in dispute resolution. Some disputes are sensitive and confidential in nature and the disputants may prefer to have the case heard in private than in public.

US Consular, Mamora urge peaceful poll

T

HE United States Consulate-General, Lagos, Jeffrey Hawkins, has advised youths and politicians to shun violence and embrace peace, as the elections approach.

He spoke at the just- concluded National Youth Workshop on Electoral Violence and Mandate Protection, organised by the Af-

By Adeola Ogunlade

rican Youth Initiative on Crime Prevention (AYICRIP), in conjunction with the United States Embassy, Lagos.

The programme tagged: “Youth participation and its implication on development”, brought together youths from across the country.

Hawkins said the need for stakeholders to work for a free and credible election was important.

A former lawmaker representing Lagos East, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora, said the most important pillar of democracy was orderly succession through free, fair and credible elections.

Okorocha’s presidential ambition as a good development for the Igbo, stressing: “If he is in the race to negotiate positions for Ndigbo, he has my support because the Igbo are neglected in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government.”

HE Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday approved N60.9billion for a contract to provide engineering infrastructure for Kyami District, Zone C, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Supervising Minister of Information, Nurudeen Mohammed, spoke with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo.

He was accompanied by the Ministers of FCT and Environment, Bala Mohammed and Lauriencia Mallam.

Nurudeen said: “The minister of FCT informed the council that this is in line with the statutory responsibility of the Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA) in providing engineering infrastructure to the FCT. This is one of the residential districts in Phase V of the city with 942.56 hectares.

“Council deliberated on the scope of work, contribution of the project to the development of the FCT, including job creation and noted that due process requirements were met. It approved the award of the contract to Messrs. Mangrovetech Construction and Engineering Nigeria Limited (KaKatar CE Limited) for N60,887,492,656.65, with the completion period of 60 months.

8

THE NATION THURSDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2014

NEWS Aspirant donates N20m to residents From Ernest Nwokolo, Abeokuta

C

HAIRPERSON, Governing Board of the National Ear Centre, Kaduna, Mrs Abisola Clark, has donated cash, medical aid and empowerment materials worth N20 million to expectant mothers, women groups and youths.

Mrs. Clark, who made the donation yesterday when she visited Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, said it was part of efforts to get the people to become agents of growth and development.

She said the donation would help them engage in productive ventures that would enhance their income and ability to support their families.

The former commissioner for Health, who is vying for the Ogun Central ticket on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), said she would give her people quality representation, if given the mandate.

Raid of APC data office condemned

F

ORMER Lagos State Deputy Governor Rafiu Jafojo condemned yesterday last weekend’s “Gestapo style” raid of the Lagos All Progressives Congress (APC) data office by the Department of State Security (DSS).

In a statement, Jafojo said he was disturbed by the increasingly lack of court process in DSS operations. “The DSS is intolerant of opposition political parties. If these actions go unchecked, we have cause to worry that opposition parties might be intimidated, thus sabotaging democracy.

“This action is coming a few days after the police action at the National Assembly, preventing lawmakers from entering the National Assembly and using teargas on them.

“These are bad omen for our democracy, which we must protect jealously.”

Ibadan Poly holds convocation From Tayo Johnson, Ibadan

D

EPUTY Rector, The Polytechnic Ibadan, Adebisi Adeniran, has said the institution’s 30th convocation will hold at the weekend.

Adeniran, who chairs the graduation planning committee, said the convocation lecture, “Polytechnic Graduate and Health Care Delivery in Nigeria”, will be delivered by Ganiyu Areola Olatunbosun of the department of Pathology of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan.

Oyo APC blames opposition for violence

T

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Accord and Labour Party of sponsoring hoodlums to cause mayhem in Oke-Ado, Born Photo-IdiArere, to discredit the Abiola Ajimobi-led administration.

Its Chairman, Akin Oke, made the allegation while briefing reporters on the crisis in Ibadan, the state capital, yesterday.

Oke said the governor had toured 32 local governments and planned to end the tour

•’Allegation baseless’ From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

in Ibadan South West, when the opposition attempted to discredit the exercise by sponsoring the mayhem.

He said the crowds that welcomed Ajimobi across the councils jolted the opposition and this allegedly made them sponsor the violence.

“Last Friday’s unprovoked attacks on our people at Oke-Ado and the ones re-

corded at Born Photo, Popo Yemoja, Idi-Arere and environs on Sunday as well as the mayhem in Idi-Ikan, Opoyiosa and environs on Tuesday showed the script which the opposition had prepared to create a tense atmosphere.

“If the opposition is not sponsoring the attacks, how would street urchins and political thugs be carrying out attacks on the one hand and

the opposition would be reporting it live on the other hand.”

PDP’s spokesman Kehinde Salawu said: “How and where did the PDP perpetrate the violence in Ibadan? Can the APC authenticate this claim?

“The PDP is committed to the peace and well-being of the people of Oyo State. And we warn the APC to desist from tarnishing our party’s image.”

Labour Party’s Taiwo Ibrahim said the APC should put its house in order and stop making false accusations.

Akala, others reject PDP ward congress result S

EVEN governorship aspirants, led by former Oyo State Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, have rejected the results of Monday’s ward congress of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In a petition to the Ward Congress Appeal Panel, the seven aspirants alleged that the congress did not hold as it was skewed in favour of a particular aspirant.

The aspirants, who wrote the petition under the aegis of Concerned Oyo State PDP Governorship Aspirants, comprise Alao-Akala, Ayo Adeseun, Femi Babalola, Prof. Taoheed Adedoja, Hazeem Gbolarumi, Dr. Isaac Owolabi and Prof. Soji Adejumo.

In the petition, the seven aspirants decried the manner in which the Aliyu Idi Hongled state monitoring committee conducted itself at the re-scheduled ward congress, insisting that no result could have come from a congress

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

that didn’t hold.

“In the unlikely event of any result being produced by any person or body of persons, such must have been manufactured and must not be accepted,” they insisted.

The petition reads: “Dr. Hong informed us that only photocopies of the result sheet would be distributed and used for the congress while they would keep the original.

“These original copies would only be filled after the election. We finished the meeting at 2:45 pm and the distribution of materials was done between2:47 pm and 3:30 pm.

“No sooner than local party chairmen were given the materials that thugs engaged by one aspirant descended on the chairmen and forcefully took away the re-

sult forms.

“These thugs came with Alhaji Lateef Akinsola Tokyo, a former National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) chairman and a known sympathiser of Senator Teslim Folarin.

“It was, however, discovered that the Hong committee had given the original result sheets to Senator Folarin.

“Thousands of our supporters were waiting for the materials; these people left after 7pm when no materials were made available. There was therefore no election anywhere in Oyo State.

“We, therefore, distance and dissociate ourselves from the statement ascribed to Dr. Hong over the re-scheduled ward delegate congress that never held.

“It was actually a surprise that the committee could be part of the conspiracy to impose a candidate on our party

•Alao-Akala

in Oyo State.

“It follows that the results submitted by the state ward congress committee is fraudulent and accepting such to favour Senator Folarin will only lead to more chaos and this will not augur well for the party next year.

“The results not being the outcome of any elections cannot therefore be valid.

Choosing one set of results over the other will lead to more chaos and conflict which should be avoided.”

Grassroots my priority, says Ambode

•Ambode

A

N All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant in Lagos State, Akinwunmi

Ambode, has said he will boost grassroots development if he wins the election.

Ambode, a former Accountant-General and Permanent Secretary, spoke at his campaign office at a meeting with members of Lagos Deserves More Campaign Group, an independent group backing him.

The aspirant told the group’s leader, Bode Ojelabi, that he had designed programmes on human capital development.

Ambode said if he emerged the party’s candidate and won the election, he would transform the state’s infrastructure development and urban renewal projects, espe-

TASUED honours Awujale, others

T

HE Awujale of Ijebu land, Oba Sikiru Adetona and President of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) Erelu Bisi Fayemi are among five eminent personalities to be awarded honorary doctorate degrees by the Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijebu-Ode during the institution’s convocation ceremony tomorrow.

Others are world acclaimed scholar, Prof Toyin Falola; philanthropist Adebola Adegunwa; distinguished educationist Olaola Olabode Ogunlana.

Mrs Fayemi, wife of former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi, will receive a Doctor of Science (DSc) honoris causa.

cially at the grassroots.

The aspirant said he had developed programmes to transform suburbs in line with the APC manifesto, which he said, was designed to make Nigeria Africa’s hope and pool of human resources.

Ambode said the focus of his programmes “was to deepen a tradition of continuity in government programmes and projects,” which he said the APC-led government in the state “has been implementing since 1999”.

He said his administration would focus on job creation, food security, affordable health care, integrated transport network, affordable

Oyo lawmaker, council boss die From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan and Bode Durojaiye, Oyo

T

HE lawmaker representing Afijio Constituency in the Oyo State House of Assembly, Akinkunmi Adelakun (aka Century) and the Chairman, Iwajowa Local Government, Tajudeen Salami, are dead.

Adelakun, Chairman, Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, died early yesterday in a private hospital in Lagos; Salami died on Monday at a Catholic hospital in Ibadan, the state capital.

The lawmaker was a major marketer in the Yoruba movie industry. His company’s name is Century Pictures.

The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mrs. Monsurat Sunmonu and the State Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Yekeen Popoola, have commiserated with the families.

They prayed God to give the families the fortitude to bear the loss.

housing schemes and free basic education, among others.

“The APC administrations have been rated high in each of these areas. If given the opportunity, our team will definitely start on a good note given the records of Governor Babatunde Fashola and his predecessor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. ”We have developed people-centric programmes of action. We have, also, worked out strategies to ensure their effective implementation. But we need your support at all levels to make good our plans. We need the support of all Lagos residents to make our promises.”

120 aspirants screened From Damisi Ojo, Akure

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman in Ondo State, Isaac Kekemeke, has described the screening of aspirants as an attestation to the party’s commitment to internal democracy.

Kekemeke said the APC respected the people and their aspirations.

He said the screening was part of the arrangements at ensuring a level- playing ground for all.

The chairman said over 120 aspirants were screened from the 26 constituencies .

The Chairman of the Screening Committee, Nonso Ezedinma, said the screening was in line with the party’s guideline.

T

THE NATION THURSDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2014

9

NEWS

Fashola: steady power supply possible

‘House impasse must be resolved’

S

•Inaugurates Igando resettlement camp

L

AGOS State Governor Babatunde Fashola has said uninterrupted power supply can be achieved in Nigeria.

He spoke at the inauguration of the Lagos-Skippers Engineering Academy at the Government Technical College, Ikotun, yesterday.

He said the state’s partnership with Skipper Seil Group, an Indian engineering firm, would yield 155 megawatts of electricity.

“What we are seeing here today is the simple demonstration of how electricity can be generated.

“We have provided land for them (Skippers) at Ikorodu that will be used to generate 155 megawatts of power.

“Steady power supply is possible. It is not rocket science.

Nobody should deceive you; it can be done,” he said.

F

By Kofoworola BeloOsagie, Miriam EkeneOkoro and Precious Igbonwelundu

The centre boasts of an electrical machine room, electrical/ installation, electrical/power system rooms all fitted with equipment, as well as two classrooms, and a store that holds six months supply of consumables.

The governor decried the incessant court injunctions instituted to stop projects being carried out by the government.

He listed the projects to include the completed Osborne Jetty in Ikoyi and a pedestrian bridge in Iyana-Ipaja, among others.

Fashola also inaugurated the 1,600-capacity Igando Emergency Relief/Resettlement Camp in Alimosho Local Government and Agege Transfer

Loading Station.

Explaining the constraints, the governor noted that residents had allowed private interest to override public interest.

“It isn’t just the state government or the court but we must refrain in understanding the necessary balance between public and private right.

“All over the world, private rights are always yielded for public interest.

“For instance, the owners of this site (Agege Transfer Loading Station), allowed public interest to override private interest.”

He appealed to residents to desist from storing up petroleum products in their homes to reduce the risk of fire outbreaks.

The governor praised the State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) for proper

coordination of emergency situations.

“LASEMA is doing well.

They have received support from NEMA and other stakeholders and I must acknowledge that.

“Let me use this opportunity to appeal to Lagosians to always allow rescue operators access to do their jobs.

Commissioner for Special Duties Wale Ahmed said the facility can take up to 3000 displaced persons.

“This camp has admin block; five hostels to accommodate 1600; 1000 capacity multi-purpose hall; 5000 litres water reservoir;and 150KVA generator.”

How to become good leaders, by Ladoja, don

ORMER Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja and Emeritus Professor Oladipo Akinkugbe have advised undergraduates to be humble and develop strength of character to become good leaders.

The duo spoke at an international leadership lecture for students of tertiary institutions with the theme: ‘Becoming the dream leader.’

The lecture was organised in

YCE chieftain, Babatola, dead

D

EPUTY National Chairman, Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), Chief Joel Ehinafe Babatola, has died. He was 96.

The deceased, it was gathered, died at the Ekiti State Teaching Hospital after a brief illness.

The late Babatola, a member of Egbe Omo Oduduwa and a founding member of the defunct Action Group (AG)/Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), was also a regional minister for Justice in charge of customary courts, Premier’s Office, Home Affairs, Information and Labour in the then Western Region.

He was also a member of the Western House of Assembly, a parliamentary secretary and regional minister in Western Nigeria between 1956 and 1964.

The late Babatola chaired

honour of Ladoja’s 70th birthday by the Reading Awareness Society for Development in Africa (RASDA) in conjunction with the Foundation for Creative Entrepreneurs.

Ladoja advised the students to be focused and hardworking, stressing that excellence remained the yardstick for success.

“Learning is a lifelong experience and it is not limited to schools but everywhere. Excel-

From Bisi Oladele, Ibadan

lence will always create room for you. The difference between failure and success is an extra mile.

“The reason we have not been get the desired leader in this country because everybody wants to rule but a good leader will rather create institutions that will rule.”

Akinkugbe emphasised literacy as a major criterion for

Save us, cry Odua pensioners From Tayo Johnson, Ibadann

R

ETIRED workers of Odua Printing Ltd, a subsidiary of Odua Investment Ltd, have appealed to the company to pay their pension.

The retirees made the plea •The late Chief Babatola yesterday at a briefing in Ibadan. Their spokesman, From Sulaiman Salawudeen, Ado-Ekiti Simeon Taiwo, said of the 17 Nigeria’s Independence Cel- pensioners, five have died.

“Some of us are seriously ebration Committee in Western Nigeria as the Minister of incapacitated. When we reHome Affairs, Information and tired in the 90s, the management was able to pay only Midwest Division Affairs.

Among the early callers at N1.8million. The amount we his home in Ado-Ekiti yester- received was about N100000.”

Taiwo said this prompted day were Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, Prof. Bolaji them to hire a lawyer, who Aluko, Chief Francis went with them to the comDaramola, representatives of pany.

“We had a meeting with the the Ewi-in-Council and Chiefs Resource Manager, Abimbola of Olora Chieftaincy family.

Ilori, on February 18.

What we heard from him ‘Minority impeachment’ can’t stand’ gave us hope that the company will do something urFrom Odunayo Ogunmola, Ado-Ekiti FORMER Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, gent about the matter but to Femi Bamisile, has declared that the “impeachment” of our astonishment, the lawyer Speaker Adewale Omirin cannot stand because “it violates has been avoiding us.

“This is the reason we are the constitution”.

Bamisile spoke on a live interview programme on ADABA 88.9 speaking out, we want the world to come to our aid so FM monitored by our correspondent in Ado-Ekiti.

He said the perpetrators and their sponsors would be brought that we will not die in penury,” he said. to justice.

When contacted, Ilori said The former Speaker called for the decentralisation of the police he was retired and cannot to check the excesses of the centrally-controlled police.

Bamisile, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) comment on the matter.

The company’s spokesman, to the All Progressives Congress (APC), said he left the party because of its “penchant for impunity, lawlessness and unending who pleaded for anonymity, said: “Odua Investment Comthirst to subvert the rule of law”.

He denied the allegation that the APC lawmakers were out to pany is not indebted to the refrustrate Governor Ayo Fayose because their party lost the gover- tirees.

“The N1.8million paid to norship election.

“A leopard can never change its spots, with the way the gover- them was out of pity because nor is going about it, this is the way the state will be run for as long the company, Odua Printing Ltd, where they served has as he remains there.

“The moment he became the PDP candidate, I knew he had an folded up. I don’t know if the company will pay them anyagenda and that was why I left the party.” thing.”

A

•Fashola

becoming an outstanding leader.

He encouraged the undergraduates to imbibe humility .

The don asked them to think beyond the classroom.

“Being literate is the major criterion in the democratic process.

“It is important to link education with democracy because the electorate must understand the happenings around the democratic settings.”

From Adesoji Adeniyi, Osogbo

PEAKER of the Osun State House of Assembly Najeem Salam has called on Nigerians to intervene in the crisis rocking the Ekiti Assembly.

Salam described the “sack” of the Speaker, Adewale Omirin, by seven of the 26-member Assembly as illegal.

He said every Nigerian must stand against the development in the interest of democracy.

Salam spoke yesterday when 19 members of the Ekiti Assembly, led by Omirin, visited him.

The Osun Speaker said if what was happening in Ekiti State was left unchallenged, a worse situation would crop up in the future.

Salam insisted that Osun Assembly would not allow illegality thrive, particularly in neighbouring Ekiti State.

Deputy Speaker of Ekiti Assembly Adetunji Orisalade said it was illegal for seven members of a 26-member Assembly to “impeach” a legally constituted authority.

He accused Governor Ayodele Fayose of perpetrating the crisis in the Assembly, adding that he could not exonerate himself, especially when the bus that brought the seven lawmakers to the House was attached to the state executive council.

Orisalade said there was no reason to justify the crisis, adding that the House met twice with Governor Fayose and promised to cooperate with him.

Ominrin insisted that he remained the Speaker.

He said: “What happened in the state was preconceived because my efforts and that of my other colleagues to ensure peaceful coexistence between the two arms of government were shunned

by Fayose.

“Now, we are calling on Nigerians to rise up against the illegality in Ekiti State. If what is happening is not checked, it is capable of threatening our democracy.”

A

Dinner on Sunday

GROUP, Young Disciples International (YDI), will on Sunday hold its annual YDI Partners’ Dinner at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja.

The Founder and President, Pastor Joe Jesimiel Ogbe, said YDI partnership was open to individuals who share “our vision and mission to the successor-generation”.

Every year, he said, YDI Partners organised events to project the mission/agenda of the ministry to the public.

Ogbe said: “Our vision is about raising modern-day Joseph, Daniel, Esther, Mary and other characters who pleased God with their lives.

“To concretise this vision, we have come up with a powerful mission statement to drive this assignment. We are called to groom highly informed, responsible, impact-making and Godfearing successor leaders who will be relevant to God and humanity.”

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

10

NEWS Borno starts free feeding in schools

Suspected PDP thugs attack Ahmed’s convoy

•Shettima warns against sabotage

B

ORNO State Governor Kashim Shettime has said the insecurity in the state will not stop him from improving the standard of education for the children.

The governor also said education remained the potent weapon against vices.

Shettima spoke yesterday in Maiduguri, the state capital, at the beginning of the free feeding for schools, the distribution of free uniform and security gadgets to the civilian Joint Task Force (JTF) at the

•Governor decries attack •PDP chair: assailants not PDP members

S

CORES of youths, suspected to be Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) thugs, on Tuesday, attacked the convoy of Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed in Kaiama, Kaiama Local Government Area.

The governor was in the ancient town for the N7.9 billion reconstruction work on the Kaiama-Kishi Road and the inauguration of the remodelled general hospital in the community.

He distributed some electricity transformers and held a town hall meeting with the residents.

The suspected thugs, who wielded campaign posters of President Goodluck Jonathan and souvenirs of PDP National Chairman Adamu Mu’azu, were allegedly waiting at the party’s secretariat beside the Emir of Kaiama’s palace, waiting for the governor’s convoy.

They allegedly hauled invectives at the governor’s train as it decoyed from the general hospital to the emir’s palace, where he was to be turbaned as the ‘Jarman’ Kaiama.

The intervention of the governor’s security detail prevented the situation from snowballing into a free-for-all.

Policemen in the convoy of the governor fired teargas canisters into the air to disperse the hoodlums.

The youth, who a resident called loafers, were shouting invectives at former Governor Bukola Saraki and Ahmed as the governor’s convoy drove past the PDP secretariat to the emir’s palace.

Police spokesperson, Ajayi

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

Okasanmi, confirmed the incident.

But he said he had not been adequately briefed.

Okesanmi said: “I am sure some people would have been arrested.”

Ahmed lodged a complaint yesterday with Police Commissioner Salihu Garba on the attack.

In a letter by his Senior Special Assistant on Security and Intelligence, Alhaji B. S. Abdulsalam, the government alleged that the hoodlums vandalised two vehicles belonging to Speaker of the House of Assembly and Kayode Adams in the governor’s convoy.

Also, a statement in Ilorin, the state capital, by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Communications, Dr Muideen Akorede, said: “The complaint also indicated that at 3pm on November 20, suspected PDP youths in Kaiama destroyed some billboards of Governor Ahmed.

“The state government identified some PDP stalwarts in Kaiama as the brains behind the unfortunate incidents.”

The Kwara State APC described the incident as the height of political provocation.

In a statement, APC spokesperson Sulyman Buhari said: “Apparently bitter and terrified by the rousing reception accorded Governor Ahmed and his entourage by APC members and the people of Kaiama, a member of PDP State Executive Committee (SEC) led his armed thugs to ambush the governor’s convoy

near the PDP secretariat, which is not far away from the Emir’s palace, immediately after the turbaning.

“The armed thugs launched unprovoked attacks on the convoy of Governor Ahmed. Many vehicles were destroyed in the convoy while our party members were injured.

“Kwara APC preaches and practices peace, even though all households in Kwara State are quite familiar with the violent antecedents and tendencies of the PDP. We cannot fathom why the few armed PDP thugs on the rampage in Kaiama on Tuesday.

“We condemn the attack on Governor Ahmed’s convoy and APC members. It is the height of political provocation.

“The competence of the security agencies in Kwara State is being challenged by the activities of PDP thugs in the state. If the people in the governor’s convoy cannot be immune from ambush and attack, then the ordinary people in Kwara State without privileges of police escort are at the mercy of rampaging PDP thugs.

“Security agencies should know that the attack on the governor’s convoy is a signal to the well-oiled violence machinery the PDP intends to launch in Kwara State in the build-up to the 2015 general elections.

“We call on the police command and other security agen-

•Ahmed

cies in Kwara State to promptly investigate and bring to book the PDP thugs who orchestrated the attack...”

Kwara State PDP Chairman Iyiola Oyedepo said the alleged attack on Ahmed’s convoy was not from PDP members.

He said: “I want to tell you that the attack was not from members of PDP. I have always been of the view that when people continue to deceive the electorate, the pay day is always around the corner. So, the people may be reacting to years of neglect by the state government.

“It is not the handiwork of PDP and we do not have thugs anywhere, not even in Kaiama.

In any case, how many thugs would have been sent to PDP to do that kind of thing?

“I was told that some of their vehicles were attacked by the people who were dissatisfied by the way and manner they had been neglected. They are not PDP thugs.”

From Duku Joel, Maiduguri

Moduganari Primary School.

The event was put together by the Committee on the Resuscitation of Primary Education System in Borno State.

The feeding scheme will cover free feeding and distribution of uniform, text and exercise books to over 100,000 pupils in 1, 357 primary and junior secondary schools in the state.

Shettima warned those handling the programme to avoid sabotaging it.

Governorship aspirants shun police

O

NE of the 13 governorship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) turned up yesterday at the planned security meeting with the police commissioner.

The meeting, which was at the behest of the police high command in Abuja, came on the heels PDP governorship primaries onDecember 8.

The meeting has accordingly been shifted till Friday next week Addressing reporters in

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

Ilorin, the state capital, Police Commissioner Salihu Garba said only Prof Shuaib Abdulraheem attended; former transport minister, Alhaji Bio Ibrahim and Jani Ibrahim were unable to attend.

The police chief added that other aspirants sent their representatives.

He said: “The meeting is for the aspirants themselves.

IBB Varsity gets new VC

N

IGER State Governor Babangida Aliyu approved yesterday the appointment of Prof Muhammad Nasirudeen Maiturare as new vice chancellor for the state-owned Ibrahim Babangida University, Lapai.

His appointment, which takes effect from January 1,

From Jide Orintunsin, Minna

2015, follows the expiration of the tenure of the outgoing vice chancellor, Prof Ibrahim Adamu Kolo, on December 31.

The letter of appointment of the 51-year old was presented by the Commissioner of Tertiary Education, Prof Kuta Yahaya.

•Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda (right) greeting the Chairman, Appeal Panel Committee on Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries in the state, Prince Austin Obiora Okoli, at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport, Bauchi.

Three arrested for attempting to kill expectant teenager

T

HE Jigawa State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has arrested three suspects for the “attempted murder” of a teenager carrying eight months’ pregnancy.

The NSCDC Commandant Muhammad Gidado Fari said the suspects were arrested at Gusau Quarters in Gumel Local Government Area, where

From Ahmed Rufa’i, Dutse

they allegedly committed the offence.

The NSCDC commander said the suspects allegedly took the expectant mother to a house and attempted to kill her.

He said the corps responded quickly to information it received from the public and arrested the suspects before they

carried out their intention.

Fari said the NSCDC was told that immediately the expectant teenager entered the house, she started shouting for help.

According to him, the officers rushed to the scene, rescued the victim and arrested the suspects.

Fari said the suspects allegedly held the victim by her neck and marched on her

stomach severally in an attempt to abort her pregnancy.

The commandant said preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects, who were close friends, allegedly impregnated the victim, adding: “That is why they tried to abort the pregnancy by all means.”

He said the victim had been handed over to her parents, adding that the suspects would be prosecuted.

Olofa stool: deposed monarch misrepresenting Supreme Court

O

LUGBENSE, one of two ruling houses to the Olofa of Offa stool in Kwara State, has accused the deposed monarch, Alhaji Mohammed Gbadamosi, of misrepresenting a Supreme Court verdict.

The Appeal Court, sitting in Ilorin, the state capital, in July,

From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin

last year, declared illegal the selection and installation of Gbadamosi, Anilelerin’s house candidate, as the Olofa of Offa.

The monarch appealed the judgement at the Supreme Court and filed a motion at the Appeal Court for a stay of ex-

ecution order pending the outcome of the apex court judgment.

In a statement on behalf of the Olugbense House, Prince Saka Keji said: “Our attention has been drawn to the misrepresentation and false information being disseminated to the public (particularly in Offa), by

the camp of Alhaji Gbadamosi that the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which stopped him from parading himself as the Olofa of Offa has been stayed by the Supreme Court.

“This is absolute propaganda, as the Supreme Court did not make such order at all...”

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

11

BUSINESS THE NATION

E-mail:- bussiness@thenationonlineng.net

Sovereign Wealth Funds are managed conservatively.

They don’t borrow money the way banks do, so you can’t compare this business to banking business. This business does not expose itself to that kind of risk. It is not the same thing as private equity •Managing Director/CEO, NSI A, Uche Orji

SNEPCo to pay $3.6b for Bonga oil spill

CBN’s deputy governor nominee justifies naira devaluation

S

A

HELL Nigeria Explora tion and Production Company (SNEPCo) is to pay $3.6 billion for the Bonga oil Spill of December 20, 2011 which occurred as a result of equipment failure.

Over 40,000 barrels of crude oil was spilled into the marine environment in Bonga with the company making no visible efforts to compensate the affected communities.

The Hon. Uche Ekwunifeheaded House of Representatives Committee on Environment which gave the directive yesterday aid it was compelled to adopt the report of the National Oil Spill Detection Response Agency (NOSDRA) after two years of trying to get Shell to compensate the affected communities.

According to the NOSDRA report adopted by the Committee, N63.6 billion is to be paid for direct losses (irreversible damages); N103.192

• Reps Committee adopts NOSDRA’s report From Victor Ouwasegun and Dele Anofi, Abuja

billion for loss of income; N85.785 billion is for water provision while N27.399,520,512 is for forestry and NTFP. The report stated that for indirect losses, SNEPCO should pay N14.350 billion for health hazard; N8.089 million is for injurious affection while the sum of N302.416 billion is for punitive damage.

The Shell crude oil spillage, the report states has harmful chemical pollutants which affected 350 coastal communities and satellite villages.

The report states that SNEPCo agreed “to a oil spill estimate at 40,000 barrels into the marine environment in Bonga on December 2011. The

cause of the spill was equipment failure resulting from a snapped loading hose under water.

Both the NOSDRA and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) accused the oil major of insincerity in the oil spill issue.

NOSDRA’s Director General, Peter Idabor, accused SNEPCo management, of frustrating moves to hold the multi-stakeholders meeting as directed by the Committee.

According to him, at the meeting initiated by SNEPCo, NOSDRA disagreed with the firm’s insincerity on the unilateral adoption of different nomenclature ‘mystery oil spill’ and ‘meeting of SNEPCo palliative’ at different forum.

He said many stakeholders withdrew from the meeting, adding that the Minister of

Environment when briefed on the outcome of the multistakeholders meeting, directed other parties not to attend any meeting henceforth.

DPR’s Manager, Environmental Matters, Agada Jerome, accused SNEPCo of frustrating efforts to find lasting solutions to the problem.

He alleged that SNEPCo at a meeting in Lagos presented false report that DPR certified the dispersant used in the affected communities, adding that the palliative provided so far by SNEPCo was done unilaterally.

Ekwunife who expressed dissatisfaction with the oil firm’s attitude during the investigative hearing and other efforts towards alleviating the suffering of the communities and flouting the environmental laws, insisted that NOSDRA should ensure compliance and report back to the House within two weeks.

• Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson; GE Nigeria CEO, Lazarus Angbazo (middle); and GE's Senior Compliance Officer, Mrs. Bina Idonije; at the recent Practical Nigeria Content summit in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State

NCC blames states, LGs for poor telecom services

T

HE Nigerian Commu nication Commission (NCC) has blamed states and local governments in the country for hindering the development of telecoms infrastructures in the country.

It lamented that only Lagos State has, over the years, developed and implemented policies that accelerated the growth and the development of the telecoms sector.

NCC said the state has

From Blessing Olaifa, (Asst. Editor), Abuja

slashed the cost of right of way (RoW) and the cost of setting up base stations by telecoms service providers, while the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has refused to grant approvals to the service providers.

Its Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Mr Okechukwu Itanyi made the remarks yesterday

during the Fourth Quarter Meeting of the Industry Consumer Advisory Forum (ICAF) organised by the regulator in Abuja.

He said poor quality of services (QoS) could be linked to such development apart from erratic power supply, vandalism, multiple taxation, access to RoW and stealing of generators at cell sites.

He lamented that it takes an average of six months to get approvals for the estab-

lishment of base stations while approvals do not come at all in some states on the excuse that it distort the master plans of the cities.

Itanyi however said the NCC is working round the clock with other stakeholders in the industry to address the issue, stressing that once they are taken care of, the telecommunication industry would assume its rightful position in the development of the economy.

Capital market masterplan for unveiling soon

T

HE Nigerian capital market is designing a 10-year masterplan to help grow the economy and double the size of the market.

Addressing members of Capital Market Committee (CMC) in Abuja yesterday during the fourth annual forum of the CMC, the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Ms. Aruma Oteh urged members of the committee

From Nduka Chiejina, (Asst. Editor)

drawing up the masterplan “to come together and see how the capital market can support our country.”

Giving the current biting economic conditions Nigeria has found itself, Oteh said “this is the time to think about creating wealth and one of the challenges is that there is not just enough ideas even when there is growth that touches

every one of us particularly the ordinary citizens.”

Creating wealth for individuals, she said “is a big issue for our country, through the work that we will do in the next few days, we should come up with truly specific ideas about how we can truly create wealth and opportunity for individual Nigerians.”

She expressed hope that the work the committee would do will help them hone the work that has been done in the last

year on the masterplan.

According to her, “it is good that we will have a guide for the next 10 years like what Malaysia did by doubling the size of its market with a masterplan and now they are focused on another one. It is an important initiative and the technical session should come up with creative ideas to move our country forward over the next 10 years with the Masterplan.”

DEPUTY Governor nominee of the Cen tral Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Joseph Nnanna, yesterday blamed market forces for the devaluation of the naira.

Nnana who spoke while being screened by the Senator Bassey Otu-led Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions in Abuja, urged Nigerians to be patient to enable the leadership of the CBN pursue a policy that would later be a blessing to the country.

Nnanna said: “The Central Bank did not devalue the naira so to speak. It only followed the three principal markets in Nigeria - the official, the retail and the parallel.

“The CBN will not pursue the policy permanently if the agricultural products are exported and we are making more foreign exchange, this policy will relapse.

“We better do it now than later when we will have import control which would bring about essential commodity crisis. Nigerians should be patient.

“Unfortunately Nigerians are always in a hurry. Let us give the CBNtime to pursue a policy that will be a blessing to all of us. I commend the CBN for being proactive with the policy.”

On how to achieve low interest rates in the country, Nnanna said it was necessary to delicately balance the desire for low interest rates, low inflation and a strong currency.

He said: “My take is that since we have development banks like the Bank of Industry, Nexim Bank, Bank of Agriculture, and so on, we can recapitalise all of them and mandate them to lend at a fixed interest rate for the entrepreneurs and other in-

From Onyedi Ojiabor, Assistant Editor and Sanni Onogu, Abuja

vestors willing to invest in the Nigerian economy.

“If we recapitalise the BoI and we tell the Managing Director that we are giving you this money, and ask him to lend at a specific interest rate, he will oblige us because it is the taxpayers money but we cannot force the management of a private commercial bank to lend at a fixed rate who will take into consideration, the risk premium especially when most people borrow without the intention of repayment.

“The non-performing loans in the country is very high and bank balance sheet is landing on non performing loan. We have passed the era of fixed interest rate in the country.

“The issue of interest rate and exchange rate administration calls for sober reflection.

“We just have to make up our minds as a nation, as to what we really need bearing in mind that we cannot have the three things together.

“We cannot have a low interest rate, low inflation and strong currency at the same time.

“It is when we make up our mind that the CBN will pursue the policy for us.

“It is a delicate balancing act. We should appreciate the difficulty in which we found ourselves.

“Since 1973, our economy has become dysfunctional because everybody depends on the oil sector, our manufacturing sector is not real because we merely assemble products.”

He further urged policy makers to be careful in addressing the issue of interest rates, exchange rate and inflation in the country.

Fed Govt recognises Glo, 99 others as top performing firms

G

LOBACOM and oth ers have been recog nised by the Federal Government as the top One Hundred Firms in the country for the 2014 fiscal year.

The top 100 companies list is based on international benchmark set by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). The benchmark includes the amount of turnover, level of investment in the country and the number of jobs so far created in the economy.

Others are the impact that these companies have had in the communities where they operate, level of corporate governance and the amount of long and medium term investment plan.

The list was announced in Tuesday in Abuja by the Chairman, Assessment Committee, Jim Obazee.

Obazee said Globacom and the other companes on the list were creating wealth and jobs for the economy and should, therefore, be

honored for their patriotism and spirit of enterprise.

He explained that the activities of Globacom and the other top 100 firms had gone a long way in creating confidence in the local investment environment. This has gone a long way in drawing other investors into the same environment thereby improving the business climate of Nigeria.

Among other companies named as 100 Top companies in Nigeria are First Bank, Dangote, Chevron and MTN. Globacom is top player in Nigeria’s telecoms sector, boasting heavy investment in integrated telecoms infrastructure and personnel. It has also made the same investments in neighbouring Benin Republic and Ghana through its mobile telephone network; and to Senegal, Ivory Coast and other West African countries through its Glo 1 infrastructure.

12

THE NATION THURSSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

61

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

13

14

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

15

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2014

POLITICS THE NATION

E-mail:- politics@thenationonlineng.net

As Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders intensify the agitation for power shift to the riverine area, the camp of the governorship aspirant, Chief Nyemsom Wike, is swimming against the tide, insisting that the former Minister of State for Education, who hails from Ikwerre, the birthplace of Governor Rotimi Amaechi, should fly the ticket. Correspondent CLARICE AZUATALAM examines the hard choices before the opposition party.

Rivers PDP: Wobbling on to 2015 elections or he will fail in Rivers state. Politics is a game of interest. Our interest is that governorship must rotate in Rivers state.”

The NEC has kept mute. When the National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, visited Rivers State, he gave Wike a pat on the back, saying that “Wike, you are on track.” Other governorship aspirants were not around to receive Mu’azu because they said that they were not informed of his visit.

R

IVERS State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is at the cross roads. The agitation for power shift to the riverine area is mounting. But, it appears that the national leadership of the party is bent of fielding former Minister of State for Education Chief Nyensom Wike - to the consternation of agitators who believe that power should rotate between the upland and lowland areas.

Governor Rotimi Amaechi is working hard to hand over to another All Progressives Congress (APC) governor in next year’s election. But, while the APC is zoning the governorship slot to the riverine area, in the spirit of equity, justice and fair play, the PDP seems to be indifferent to the popular yearning.

Escalation of crisis

Multiple crises The crisis started last year when an Abuja High Court sacked the former Chairman, Chief Godspower Ake, and the Secretary, Hon. Adokiye Oruwari.

Ake and Oruwari were replaced by Chief Felix Obuah and Hon. Walter Ibiba. Obuah has never hidden the fact that he is out to do the bidding of his benefactor, Wike, who is the leading aspirant.

The former minister launched his campaign structure, the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI). The activities of the Wike/Obua coalition triggered the crisis that polarised the House of Assembly. When it reached the climax, it resulted into the fracas that nearly claimed the life of a lawmaker, Hon Michael Chinda. That was when five legislators wanted to impeach the Speaker of the House, Hon. Otelemaba Dan-Amachree and replace him with Hon. Evans Bipi, as a prelude to the to impeachment of the governor.

For about six months, the House was sealed up by the police. Subsequently, the lawmakers were sitting at the old auditorium of Government House. The anti-Amaechi lawmakers shunned the sittings, despite pleas by their colleagues.

Judicial crisis From the legislature, the trouble infiltrated into the judicial arm of government, following the retirement of the former Chief Judge of the state, Justice Iche Ndu. While the governor wanted to replace Ndu with Justice Peter Agumagu, the National Judiciary Council (NJC) insisted that the preferred person for the seat should be Justice Daisy Okocha. Both judges are people of pedigree and repute. But, Amaechi camp feared that, if he did not have his way, his foes could penetrate the judiciary and orchestrate his removal.

Later, some courts were attacked and judiciary staff, who said that their lives were not safe, decided to down tools since April 10.

Crisis of zoning Many believe that Wike is not favoured by zoning. But, he has consistently said that being an Ikwere man is not an obstacle. He therefore, came up with the concept of “Ikwerre North and Ikwerre South,” pointing out that Amaechi is from Ikwerre North and he is from Ikwerre South.

In fact, various groups have endorsed him for the governorship. But,

• Wike

• Obuah

his claim has not wiped out the upland/riverine dichotomy that has made zoning more compelling.

Therefore, the plot to make Wike the consensus candidate has not gone down well with stakeholders.

Party members who have objected to his candidature have been edged out of the party. One of them is the former lawmaker and Commissioner for Transport, Hon. Elemchukwu Ogbowu. Another chieftain, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, has also suffered the same fate for condemning the endorsement.

To resolve the zoning crisis, the Concerned Rivers State PDP Stakeholders met on September 23 at Delta Hotels, Old GRA, Port Harcourt.

The group is led by former Commissioner for Education Prof Israel Owate. But, the move was allegedly frustrated by GDI members. There was commotion at the venue. Some people started throwing chairs and tables. Owete could not flag off the meeting, until the police restored order.

The former commissioner, who is a personal friend of the President, accused Obuah of running a two-man executive committee and selling out to Wike and his group. He also said the executive committee was intimidating members, adding that their activities led to the crisis in the House and the suspension and expulsion of some lawmakers.

Owate argued that the Abuja High court judgment that brought in Obuah and Ibiba did not sack the remaining 12 members of the State Working Committee, and ward and local government officers. He said the politics of exclusion is unconstitutional, stressing that it has turned the party to a “limited liability company of those who claimed they incorporated it in the Abuja High court.”

Owate said that Obuah’s style of leadership “has adversely affected and disrupted the functioning of Rivers state PDP at the ward, local government, senatorial districts and state levels as the party does not have a proper membership register and does not have legitimate and properly constituted party officers at the vari-

ous levels.”

The former university don chided Obah for highhandedness, which led to the alienation of many members.

But, he also chided Amaechi for defecting to the APC along with prominent PDP members. He said the defection “has grave implications for the next presidential and governorship elections.”

Stakeholders’ demands Owate and his team made a six point-demand. These include the dissolution of the two-man committee, the re-registration of party members to produce an authentic membership registers and the re-integration of all returning PDP members most of who are currently stranded.

The group also called for the nullification of the arbitrary suspension and expulsion of members and “the implementation of the PDP constitution, particularly the section that guarantees the policy of rotation and the zoning of party and public elective offices, in pursuance of the principle of equity, justice and fairness.”

Failed reconciliation After the meeting in Port-Harcourt, the National Working Committee, in what appeared to be an attempt to broker peace among the stakeholders, scheduled a reconciliation meeting. But, it was cancelled at the last minute.

The Administrative Secretary of PDP in the Southsouth zone, Mr. Usen Edemekong, said it was cancelled because it coincided with the PDP unity rally in Benin City, Edo state.

But, the rally took place three days after the original date of the meeting. Party members were angry. They thought that the reconciliation meeting would give them an opportunity to address the issues raised in the 22 petitions written by aggrieved members.

A governorship aspirant, Beks Dagogo- Jack, said he had no idea of what prompted the sudden postponement of such an important meeting.”I came for the reconciliation meeting, but we were surprised to be told at

• Bipi

the secretariat that the meeting was postponed. I think that it is important for us to meet and reconcile our aggrieved members”, he said.

A chieftain, High Chief Anabs SaraIgbe, said he was worried that such a crucial meeting could be cancelled, even when it has been widely publicized in the media. He alleged that the party has violated its constitution by declaring that no political office would be zoned.

“The Obuah- led PDP has violated the rule of the party and we don’t want PDP to fail in the state in the 2015 election. Certain provisions of the party restrain the state executive from suspending or expelling certain officers of the party. But Obuah has expelled all commissioners in the state and the entire members of the House of Assembly.

“Nyesom Wike has boasted that he was going to buy everybody that is necessary when the time comes. If this peace meeting does not hold, then, I am afraid, the PDP in Rivers State may be heading for the rocks.”

He added: “We want the state PDP to zone all the political offices because the party’s constitution and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria make provisions for the rotation of offices.”

The National Executive Committee has kept mute since then.

Complaints about injustice The aggrieved members have complained to the Prof. Iya Abubakar-led panel at the Legacy House, Abuja on October 9.

This also resulted to a rain of blows at Owate, Sara-Igbe and others by thugs allegedly brought in and aided

by Wike. Former Commissioner for Water Resources Mr Lolo Ibienye maintained that he was assaulted over his stand on zoning. Sara-Igbe claimed that he was manhandled and his documents and N50, 000 were taken away from him. He said: “If that is what is called reconciliation, I don’t see how that can be reconciliation. The same Wike himself is tearing the PDP apart.

“And if that continues, the PDP will fail. Mr President should listen to us

‘Many believe that Wike is not favoured by zoning. But, he has consistently said that being an Ikwere man is not an obstacle. He therefore, came up with the concept of Ikwerre North and Ikwerre South’

No fewer than 16 aspirants from other ethnic groups are in the race.

They are up in arms against Wike.

They have condemned his endorsement. They also have grudges over the recent flawed ward congresses.

In their view, Wike and his group had hijacked the process and appointed their supporters as members of the Appeal Panel. The said the NEC should “adhere to the policy of rotation and zoning of party and public elective offices” as it is done in Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Adamawa and Enugu states. In fact, they called for the disqualification of Wike for peace to return to the troubled chapter. According to them, “anything to the contrary shall jeopardise the success of the party in Rivers state.”

APC and zoning Amaechi, an Ikwerre, has is at the forefront of the push for zoning. He has said that nobody from his ethnic group will succeed him.

The aggrieved PDP members also believe this line of thought, saying that it is against the tradition for one ethnic group to dominate an elective office. They pointed out that, since Amaechi took over from Sir Celestine Omehia, also an Ikwerre man, it would be unfair for another Ikwerre man to govern the state for now.

This line of argument was also towed by a Board of Trustee member of PDP from Rivers state, Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas, who warned the party against fielding Wike for the governorship. The Obuah-led executive immediately attacked Graham-Douglas, accusing him anti-party activity.But there are indications that Graham-Douglas has since mended fence with Wike and his group.

A source said that the NEC has believed believed the message sold to it by Wike, who was also the Chairman of Amaechi Campaign Organisation in 2011, that it was his efforts that brought the two million votes, which President Jonathan got in the election.

Wike’s strengths Wike controls the party machinery. His men are state, local government and ward leaders of the party.

As minister, he implemented a lot of “stomach infrastructure” programmes for his supporters. At the primaries, he will beat other aspirants.

PDP at crossroads However, Wike’s victory at the primaries may not make the PDP to lose the state in next year’s elections. If he is prevented from contesting, he will feel a sense of personal loss and his camp may not work for the party.

16

THE NATION THURSDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2014

RACE TO 2015 ‘Nigeria can get rid of bad leadership’

Y

such to happen, you must know that such party, through its government, has effected profound changes in the state. Which ever way we look at it, it is democracy that has provided us the springboard to take advantage of our rights as citizens through freedom of association, of expression, and the rule of law? The added advantage that Osun State has is that it has a forthright political party administering the state through a visionary leader. This is the type of political chemistry we need at the federal level. If you reflect on the last 15 years or so of our democracy, though it has brought much benefit to Nigerian the gains could be bigger, if we had an alignment of the right party and right leadership. In my opinion, I thing something is still missing. Speaking specifically, political parties go a long way to determine the quantum, quantity and quality of profit that society gets from politics.

You mean that gains of politics or of democratic government anchor on quality of political party?

Cut in... Yes of course, political party itself gives expression to the will and wishes of the people and so, if a political party is self-centered and lacking in focus, then, the will and wish of the people will be compromised. It grants the people opportunity of choice, which is a prerequisite for good governance. Today, Nigeria has over 20 political parties and with every sense of modesty, the APC as a party stands out because of the way it is run.

It is not only disciplined, but also organized with people-centered programmes and policies.

What school of thought do you belong and what ideology do you subscribe to?

With due respect to the egg heads in the ivory tower, I’m not a theoretical person. This is not to say that we don’t need conceptual frameworks to govern the society. For me, in politics, I try to focus on the bottomline, which to me, first is service, second is service and third is service. If I for one can no longer offer service that brings devel-

In the PDP boat, you have about one million captains. That is why they will never win Lagos State

‘

Pastor Mayowa Ikuforiji is the wife of the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly and the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant, Adeyemi Ikuforiji. While the wife is a pastor, her husband is a Muslim and they have been together for 30 years. In this interview with reporters, she says religion cannot shape Lagos politics because the people are political sophisticated.

Hon. Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a Senior Special Assistant to Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola on Community Forum, spoke with reporters in Osogbo, the state capital, on partisan issues.

OU seem to be excited about your mentor, especially in politics?

Yes, because it is not everybody that is blessed with such a privilege. I wish I had the luxury of time to acknowledge several others who have impacted positively on my life, especially in the course of my formal education.

However, I must reiterate just as you said that I am excited about my political mentor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

This is because my tutelage under him has exposed me to the fundamentals that facilitate the betterment of the society.

Are you saying politics offer profits to the society?

Definitely, through good leadership within a good democratic structure because we can’t talk of politics without acknowledging its nerve center.

Democracy is the nerve center of politics. Though every human society plays politics in one form or the other, we must establish the fact that what we celebrate today in politics is democracy. You may be a political genius, if there is no democratic platform, structure and institutions to function through, you can hardly amount to anything politically, I mean you can’t even become a counselor which is the least, not to talk of other elective offices, like chairman, president, governor or legislator. With these offices, you are better placed to impact the society more, thereby bringing about the gains in politics. These are the fundamentals that bring the kinds of profit you talked about.

So, how would you describe democratic gains in Osun State?

What we have in Osun state is democracy per excellence. This has a lot to do with the quality of its leadership, which is led by a man of vision, an actualiser, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

If you look at the political landscape in the state, it is getting better. Imagine an opposition party of yesterday, now the ruling party and even winning the creme-de-la-creme of the society, even among the opposition. For

‘

9

‘Religion ‘ll never shape Lagos politics’ • Oyintiloye

opment to my people today, I’ll quit politics, afterall, that was the driving force that brought me into politics? I must say this with every sense of modesty that I was doing fine in my career before I switch to politics, I had worked as an academic and successfully in the hospitality industry. My last point of call, before I joined Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, was FITC, which is a foremost capacity development institution in the country, an institution owned by the Bankers’ Committee. So, I believe in progressive ideology, touching peoples lives, enhancing their fortunes, raising their social consciousness and empowering them to lead a good life. I believe in development that allows for long term impact that moves the society to the next level.

My school of thought, if you like, is to see the society becomes better through meticulous planning and diligent implementation of sustainable policies, such as what we are witnessing in Osun state today. I must also say that regardless of school of thoughts we belong to, we must support visionary leaders like Ogbeni Aregbesola and appreciate good works. Osun today parades quantum of projects including upgrading of health centers, roads and education infrastructures, to mention just a few. These are developmental projects and programmes that require the support of the people for more to come and for us to sustain them.

Will you say that your class has done much?

Many atimes, we detach the society from its political leadership. Political class, so called, are seen as a separate entity, but I refuse to agree. Though, politicians are saddled with enormous responsibility to provide direction and meaningful leadership, the interloping between the political class and the people is very strong.

• Lagos State governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Kadir Obafemi Hamzat (middle), submitting his governorship Nomination and Expression of Interest Forms to the National Organising Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso (right), and the Director of Organisation, Mr. Abubakar Kari, at the party’s national headquarter, Abuja.

Y

OU are a pastor but married to a Muslim. How have you able to sustain the relationship without religious rancour?

I will say it is the grace of God and basically I think we worship the same God. We love and understand each other, so basically there hasn’t been any problem. You know it is natural if members of his family want his wife to convert to Islam. It is also natural if a Christian marry a Muslim they would want her to convert but in his case he was understanding and it was sort of an agreement that he will allow me practice my religion. There wasn’t any problem about religion. In fact at times he would pray with me, maybe because he study aboard he has so many Christian friends, probably when he was abroad he was attending churches and he was very conversant with the Bible he can quote from Genesis to revelation and it was easier for him to tolerate my religion because of his exposure, the Bible was not new to him, he has had about Jesus Christ. If he had been a Muslim who doesn’t know much about the Bible it could have been difficult but he understood the Bible very well How has it been since, with both of you practising different religion?

We don’t have any problem, what I know is that we both believe in God and that we must serve him. And his mother was a prayer warrior, he had lost his dad when I met him but his mum was a prayer warrior if you wake up in the middle of the night you will see her praying. He also doesn’t joke with his prayer and he allows me to practice mine. Sometimes he would take me to church Anglican Church in Isolo that was where we stay when we first got married. We got married at Saint Paul Anglican Church, it was a church wedding and a court wedding and he would take me to the church and at times come back to pick me so religion has never been a problem in our home.

What were those things you saw in him that made you decide that he is the one you will marry?

When I first met him, it was during my graduation ceremony. He came with my friend fiancé but I did not even notice him because he came with a friend.

When that my friend was now getting married I was the chief bridesmaid and he was also there. But what I noticed was that he was very caring, he was all over the place making sure that the whole ceremony went well, people were calling him he was very popular and ready to assist. I saw that he was very caring and jovial. He drove all of us from Oyo to ire because the wedding took place in Iree, he turn himself to a driver took us all to ire, he didn’t mind and again I forgot my cloth that I was suppose to wear to the Church thanks giving on Sunday. The wrapper that I wore to the wedding on Saturday he had to wash the top for me in the night so that it would get dry before Sunday morning, most educated young men at that time wouldn’t want to do that. I saw that in him that he was very caring, he wants you to be happy, if he sees anyone that is sad he will try as much as possible to make you happy and he believes he can solves everybody’s problem, that was what I saw and then he has the fear of God in him.

There are certain things he will never do. We have been married for 30 years now; he has never touched alcohol, not even wine.

You never envisaged that he would become a prominent politician. Was there any talk of him going to politics when you first met?

There wasn’t anything like that. He was working in a Bank then. I just wanted to be with him and he wanted to be with me too. We were both too young anyway to start projecting about the future; it was just God that made it to work out fine. We are just two people in love with each other and we felt ok we can make a go of it, not that I thought that he was going to be speaker or anything like that.

Were you apprehensive when he eventually dabble into politics?

You know people believe that when you are into politics you are someone without integrity and that you are there to make money for yourself that is the believe of most Nigerians and I told him that you wants to go into politics they are going to give you a new name that is not yours but he said his life had always been that of service, he believes that when he is into politics that is when he would be able to touch more lives than what he is actually doing now and i believe that when you commit any journey into the hand s of God there won’t be any problem. And I told him that I will give him my support and God has been there for him too. That was how we committed it into the hands of God. How about the kids now? Do they toy your line or that of the dad in religious practice?

For my son he has the inclination to be a Muslim my son went on Umrah with him and the first time he was in Saudi and in all sincerity he went with some prayer requests and he said if God answered me, I will still be going with him and to my amazement he said all the prayer requests were answered so he has been a Muslim. But the girls maybe because they had more inclination towards their mother they are more into church but they don’t follow me to my church anyway. They are all grown up and we allow them to make up their own mind.

I am a pastor and very serious about my religion, he is also a Muslim and very serious about Islam.

He is seeking to become the next governor of Lagos State. What is your view?

If you want to take such a step in life, the first thing anybody needs to do is to seek the face of God. He is the only one that can do such a thing for you. I wouldn’t encourage him if we had not committed the whole • Ikuforiji project into God’s hand.

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

17

COMMENTARY LETTER

EDITORIALS

Double standard •We are still at a loss as to why Ali Modu Sheriff has to be guarded by many soldiers

A

LI Modu Sheriff, former Borno State governor is one man that never ceases to be in the news; albeit for the wrong reasons. At various times, he was alleged to be Boko Haram sponsor and sometimes pointedly accused of playing politics without principles. Since he decamped from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the patronage he enjoys from the centre government has been unsettling.

Recently, Sheriff in his usual controversial manner reportedly held Maiduguri spell-bound during a visit to the ancient town. Even before his arrival, the airport was purportedly cordoned off by security operatives in armoured personnel carriers (APCs), a privilege that even the sitting governor of the state does not enjoy. In June, the Federal Government opened the airport after several months of closure for security reasons when Sheriff newly decamped to PDP. This was done specifically to allow him use the facility.

The drama of his visit is unnecessary.

For, hours after he left the airport in a motorcade this time around, he moved about Maiduguri metropolis with several soldiers, policemen and operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) who followed his convoy while other soldiers stood at various locations just to ensure ample safety for him. In his company were Mala Sheriff, his brother and PDP governorship aspirant; Kashim Imam,

Gambo Lawan and Umara Kumalia. With these men, Sheriff underscored the contempt that the President Goodluck Jonathan administration has for the suffering inhabitants of that state who have been under Boko Haram siege for years.

What is special about Sheriff that the government is according him such preferential treatment? May be the government needs to be reminded that the Nigerian Army is not for Ali Modu Sheriff but for all Nigerians and the institution exists to ward off internal and external aggressions against the country.

Again, why does Sheriff need so much security if he is not scared of his past or afraid of his shadow? Even Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima does not command such large retinue of police and other security personnel, not to talk of soldiers, in conducting his daily routine, yet, someone whose alleged contributions to the fragile security situation in the state is legendary is being unnecessarily given undue state protection.

It is the ordinary people in all parts of Borno State that need police and effective military protection against rampaging Boko Haram onslaughts, not an individual. We call on the authorities to henceforth stop the abuse of the military and even the police, through wrongful deployment. Soldiers in sane societies are meant to protect the country’s territorial sovereignty; they are not to be used to guard and massage the ego and

pride of the privileged.

Once again, we deprecate the private use to which even the police personnel are wantonly put and call for equal treatment of all indigenes and inhabitants of Borno State, of which Sheriff is just a number. The double standard of the Federal Government against the people and government of the beleaguered state must stop in the name of equity and fairness. The people, more than anything else, not Sheriff and his surrogates, obviously need security fortification because the present security arrangement in the state put together by the centre government is suspect.

‘The double standard of the Federal Government against the people and government of the beleaguered state must stop in the name of equity and fairness. The people, more than anything else, not Sheriff and his surrogates, obviously need security fortification because the present security arrangement in the state put together by the centre government is suspect’

Immunisation alarm

•It is a cause for concern that as many as 2.7m Nigerian kids were not vaccinated against measles

F

OR an alarmingly great number of newborn babies in the country, the undesirable possibility of measles infection is not only real but also high, considering the latest statistics released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in separate publications. According to the new data, published in the WHO Weekly Epidemiological Report and the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2.7 million Nigerian children were not vaccinated against measles at nine months of age last year. Sadly, this is contrary to the WHO recommendation, and the reports said such failure increased the risk of serious health challenges like pneumonia, diarrhoea, encephalitis and blindness, among the unimmunised children.

More worrying is the truth that measles

‘The importance of public enlightenment and awareness cannot be overemphasised; and antiscientific sentiments, particularly of ethnic and religious colouration, should not be accommodated. It goes without saying that effective advancements in medical science can bring about the elimination of the disease, and that is the point of the WHO target’

could lead to death in extreme cases. Indeed, the WHO report said: “The vast majority of deaths from measles occur in developing countries.” Furthermore, “over 70 per cent of estimated global measles death” in 2013 reportedly occurred in six countries, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Democratic Republic of Congo. These countries, in that order, were identified in connection with more than 60 per cent of the estimated 21.5 million unimmunised children last year.

It is tragic that the figures showed a rise in the number of deaths from measles, from an estimated 122,000 in 2012 to 145,700 in 2013, meaning that the target of a 95 per cent reduction in measles-related deaths between 2000 and 2015 is unlikely to be achieved. It is instructive that Dr. Peter Strebel of the WHO Department of Immunisation, Vaccines, and Biologicals, was quoted as saying: “Poor progress in increasing measles vaccination coverage has resulted in large outbreaks of this highly contagious disease, throwing the 2015 elimination targets off-track.”

Lamentably, the disease is said to have received a boost in 2013 largely as a result of outbreaks in China, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria. It may be recalled that historically low vaccination levels in northern Nigeria reportedly sank lower from early 2000 following the controversy about the motive for polio vaccines, which radical Islamic preachers claimed was a Western move to make Muslims infertile and infect them with HIV. It is not surprising that this situation reportedly led to a significant increase in cases of measles and the related deaths of hundreds of children in the region.

The wisdom in vaccination may be better appreciated against the background of the description of measles as “an airborne disease that is spread through respiration (contact with fluids from an infected person’s nose and mouth, either directly or through aerosol transmission via coughing or sneezing), and is highly contagious—90% of people without immunity sharing living space with an infected person will catch it.”

So, it is easy to understand that unvaccinated populations, especially vulnerable babies, are at risk from the disease.

In this context, the importance of public enlightenment and awareness cannot be overemphasised; and anti-scientific sentiments, particularly of ethnic and religious colouration, should not be accommodated. It goes without saying that effective advancements in medical science can bring about the elimination of the disease, and that is the point of the WHO target.

Nigeria cannot afford to be seen as a negative factor in the otherwise progressive march towards the elimination of measles. In addition to promptly addressing the education aspect, the country must tackle other problematic issues, particularly its health system; and conflict and population displacement, which are also said to have interfered with vaccination efforts.

Perhaps the last word should come from Dr. Strebel who said: “Countries urgently need to prioritise maintaining and improving immunisation coverage.

Failure to reverse this alarming trend could jeopardise the momentum generated by a decade of achievements in reducing measles mortality.” We couldn’t agree more.

Politics is not a game

S

IR: There has always been this popular but erroneous dichotomy of ‘politicians and the people’. But who are politicians and who the people? Are politicians some extra-terrestrial beings and not people; are the people not also politicians?

It is said that man is a political animal. If a country be a polity then every citizen is a politician. Whatever difference is a matter of degree. While some are active politicians, some others are more passive.

Inevitably those who wield state power, who govern, come from the active members in the polity also known as the political elite while the governed otherwise popularly referred to as the people or masses are the more passive members.

Now, it’s a fact that here, state power has been used mostly unjustly by active politicians who capture it. The politicians who find themselves in government and strategic positions have not just oppressed and maltreated weaker active politicians but worst of all, the passive politicians, the masses.

The sins of the Nigerian political elite against ordinary citizens and indeed the state are legion.

That the privileged politicians perpetrate injustices against the rest is bad enough but to expect the injured to accept the injury politely is utterly infuriating. It is common for instance to see rascals who rig election tell the victim of their robbery to accept the result in good faith and not overheat the polity. Statements like ‘let’s eschew politics of bitterness’ and especially ‘politics is a game’ are quite popular here. And they are often uttered by men and women who not only came to power crookedly but are busy pillaging the public till to the detriment of the rest of the citizenry. In other words the rest of us should keep calm and accept their malfeasances in sportsmanlike manner. What arrant nonsense!

Politics according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary are the activities involved in getting and using power in public life, and being able to influence decisions that affect a country or a society. From the definition, it is clear that it directly affects the life of a people. Politics determine whether roads, bridges, hospitals, schools and all other developmental projects with direct bearing on people’s lives will be available. It determines how a society is run, how the powers and resources of a state is utilized. If a state is run properly the people are uplifted, if not, they are in trouble.

In fact the influence of politics transcends the physical. Yes, it also touches the spiritual and indeed the soul. It is quite difficult to sincerely contemplate the things of the spirit amidst severe material deprivation. Therefore rulers who foist material hardship on their people also harm them spiritually.

Now who says politics is a game, do you play games with people’s lives and souls? Politics is serious and indeed sacred business and must be seen as such. There’s absolutely nothing game-like about it and it must never be left in the hands of dark souls, incompetents or the frivolous.

As the effects of political wickedness and ineptitude bite even harder, it’s time all good men awake from their slumber. It’s time the passive masses see politics for all its seriousness and act accordingly. Never again should incompetent, irresponsible and dishonourable characters be allowed to occupy leadership positions. Those of us currently groaning under the present unjust status quo should begin to see politics as the ‘life and death’ issue that it is and accordingly approach it with all the seriousness it deserves.

• Nnoli Chidiebere Aba, Abia State.

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief Victor Ifijeh

• Editor Gbenga Omotoso •Chairman, Editorial Board Sam Omatseye •General Editor Adekunle Ade-Adeleye •Editor, Online Lekan Otufodunrin •Managing Editor Northern Operation Yusuf Alli •Managing Editor Waheed Odusile

• Executive Director (Finance & Administration) Ade Odunewu

•Deputy Editor Lawal Ogienagbon

•Advert Manager Robinson Osirike

•Deputy Editor (News) Adeniyi Adesina

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

•IT Manager Bolarinwa Meekness

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

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

18

CARTOON & LETTERS

S

IR Today, the truth remains that the federal government is controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The party also controls majority of the state governments in Nigeria. Unarguably, President Goodluck Jonathan is the leader of PDP, and therefore the leader of the Nigerian nation.

It is therefore safe and easy to assume that the critical decisions affecting this country, good or bad, are taken under his care, and the buck stops on his table. It is generally known that actions and in-actions of those in government could enhance or diminish the reputation of the government – in this case, the federal government. It, therefore, beats my imagination for the Presidency to say that it was not aware of the actions taken by the new Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, an appointee of the President, as they relate to the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives.

Is President Jonathan a weakling of sorts, or is he succumbing to

S

EDITOR’S MAIL BAG SEND TYPEWRITTEN, DOUBLE SPACED AND SIGNED CONTRIBUTIONS, LETTERS AND REJOINDERS OF NOT MORE THAN 800 WORDS TO THE EDITOR, THE NATION, 27B, FATAI ATERE ROAD, MATORI, LAGOS. E-mail: views@thenationonlineng.net

Who is the leader of PDP? political forces that are bent on misdirecting him on policy matters? He should promptly query anyone who misrepresents his government’s policy position. Nigerians are quietly holding him responsible for the drift that is becoming so visible with his government. He has allowed his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan, who has no role whatsoever within the PDP to continue meddling in the affairs of the party in such states as Rivers, Bayelsa, Kwara, Oyo, Abia, etc.

In most cases, her actions run and contradict certain norms that would have ordinarily strengthened and brightened up PDP and

its constitution. For instance, in Rivers State, Dame Jonathan saw nothing awful and unbecoming in visiting the home of one of the governorship aspirants Nyesom Wike and ‘handing over’ the governorship ticket to him. Well, that action alone has torn PDP into pieces in Rivers State.

Is it that Dame Patience, who comes from Rivers State, has no patience to interpret the political mood in the state? Or is there no one close enough to Dame Patience to educate her on the proper meaning and the spirit of Chapter 7 of PDP Constitution which enunciated equity, fairness, justice and

a big deal for him to protect life and property as well as providing the enabling template for economic activities and social services to flourish. The task of governance requires that he maintains a cool mien to enable him carry out the affairs of state as humanely as possible. Strong tactics and violence on societal institutions will not forever endure nor can be sustained.

Obviously, winning an election is a different ball game from governance. He has silenced the judiciary, attacked the legislature and will soon turn his gaze to other sectors of the society; perhaps the academics will receive their fair share from him before long. It is nothing new about him or his style. From 2003 to 2006 when he was unceremoniously removed for peace and sanity to return to the state, those were his tactics.

In retrospect the return of Fayose will give us in Ekiti an opportunity like never before to benchmark

what we had been between 2010 and 2014 and the road not taken. The question the people will answer before long is whether the rule of the mob is preferable to humane and predicable governance. Before long, we shall on the plains of Ekiti land to answer if manipulative, offensive and a leadership that openly said it shall supply liquor in the 21st century for the people every weekend is deserving a place in the land of honour. We shall answer if duplicity is a virtue. We shall look back and long for orderliness and transparent leadership. We shall compare methodology with impulsiveness.

For certain, we shall look back in Ekiti and ask questions. I know for certain that we shall ask questions for we are by providence so wired.

As for the moment, cry not my beloved Ekitiland for the horror shall not last for an eternity.

• Rotimi Opeyeoluwa, Ado Ekiti

For Fayose, it’s back to wild ways

IR: The report during the past week of how seven lawmakers and three non-members acting under Police cover and implicit support of Governor Ayodele Fayose sacked the leadership of the Ekiti State House of Assembly of 26 members is still a source of worry to the generality of Nigerians. Only a little less than a month in office and with his now famous inaugural speech of a readiness to work with all irrespective of political affiliation to move the state forward and readiness to forgive all those who had wronged him in the past as if his impeachment in 2006 was faulty, there are already regrets, sadness and gloom in the state post June 21.

The governor’s uncultured style and strong arm tactics can only lead to a predicable end. Leading the state is different from leading the mob and the earlier Fayose settles to the act of governing the better for him. It shouldn’t be too much of

rotation of critical political offices as cardinal points that have nurtured the upland/riverine enduring brotherhood in the state?

The choice before President Jonathan is simple and straightforward: either he abdicates his position as leader of his party or he sits his wife down and talk to her seriously. She is not the first to be Ni-

geria’s First Lady. She is meddling too much into affairs that the constitution excludes her totally. With her behavior, Nigerians are beginning to ask whether they are going to the poll in February 2015 to vote for Goodluck Jonathan or for Dame Jonathan. The president’s handling of national and party affairs in the coming weeks would help Nigerians decide who really we are voting for. Remember, Nigerians have options and alternatives. Jonathan should not allow his wife to create more political problems for him.

• Chief Godknows Johnson, Borokiri, Port Harcourt, Rivers State

We have never had it so bad

S

IR: The present government is the worst thing to happen to this country. We never had it so bad on all fronts, not even under the dreaded Abacha era. A president who said he was not Pharaoh or an army General has turned despotic and politicized all state institutions, breaching the constitution he swore to defend and uphold; ethnicised the country, brought religion into politics even as he goes on Israel jamboree. Now he’s fighting like a wounded lion to cover up his non-performance.

In the wake of the 2011 elections, Jonathan started with deceit and denials – the bane of his incompetent, clueless, visionless and corrupt leadership. He has been getting away with impunity even as his actions and utterances are un-presidential. Jonathan does not understand what the rule of law or separation of powers is in a democracy hence his resort to the rule of the jungle.

My problem is with Nigerians who have elevated sycophancy to an art and are very docile. In a sane clime, tell me why Jonathan should not be impeached?

Could the IGP have acted without Jonathan’s orders? Before now, it was the desecration of the temple of justice at Ekiti where a sitting judge clothes were torn into shreds even as the madness is ongoing in the state House of Assembly where seven out of 26 members could impeach’ the

speaker as in the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) where 16 was greater than 19. Look at the situation in Rivers, Edo and Ondo states. For the first time in Nigeria’s history the president’s wife openly wants to influence important political decisions.

Is ours a banana republic? In the face of all the troubles bedeviling over 85 percent poor and pauperized Nigerians amidst plenty, TAN, looking for crumbs is showcasing Jonathan’s achievements only known to them on paper but not on ground. If Jonathan cannot be impeached because of forces behind him, then his qualification to contest should be pursued vigorously.

He is fighting dirty. For a president who claimed to have done so much even above his predecessors, why can he not wait on his so-called good works to speak for him at the polls? His aide, Doyin Okupe has threatened Governor Rotimi Amaechi for stating the obvious that the opposition would form a parallel government if the 2015 election is rigged as usual. With good conscience and the fear of God what is treasonable about that? Is it lawful to rig? Why must Jonathan and the PDP plan to rig if it has done well in the last 16 years? If the PDP can rig and get away with it, what alibi has the government to clamp down on exam malpractices?

• Dr Mike, Delta State.

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

19

COMMENTS

A

Redeemer’s University at Ede -1

FTER almost 10 years living in borrowed robes by staying in the comfortable Redeemed Christian Church of God’s camp on Km 46, Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, Redeemer’s University finally moved to its own home and its own campus at Ede in Osun State. To many of us who are used to electricity supply 24/7 and regular water supply, as well as peace and security and the opportunity to fellowship with the body of Christ at the camp, and particularly with God’s appointed shepherd, Pastor Adeboye, moving out of the camp has been a wrenching experience even though all of us expected that one day or the other we would have to make this move. When the time came it was like a thief in the night because no one really expected it. Many of our students were praying earnestly that this would not happen in their own time.

Apparently, their prayers have not been answered. The vision of the man of God who is the proprietor of the university was to locate the university in Ede for which several years ago land has been made available to him for the fulfilment of this mission. When the university started in 2005, considerations about staffing, about students’ intake, about proximity to Lagos and all other earthly reasons made the authorities of the university to begin to toy with the idea of building the university along the expressway from Lagos to Ibadan.

Temporary facilities were rapidly built in the RCCG camp at a cost of some millions of naira and it was gradually becoming unthinkable that this vast investment will be abandoned by moving the university out of the vicinity of the camp. The proprietor of the university then began to look for land near the expressway. Several hectares were purchased and paid for sometimes not only once but twice yet people continued to encroach on this land, forcing the authorities to spend billions of naira to open a brand new road through Simawa from the RCCG camp to Ikorodu.

Again, land was paid for but because of the greed and the avarice of the land owners and the mistaken assumption that the church has a deep pocket, they kept demanding for more money and even at a time asking inhabitants of one or two villages to be put on pension without having performed any work for the church. In exasperation, the proprietor apparently seeking the face of God felt that our problems in the university were due to disobedience to the vision God gave the proprietor.

It was in this circumstance that the decision to move to Ede was taken and anybody who has had contact with Pastor Adeboye would know that when he takes a decision inspired

by God, nothing can change it. Within a year of taking that

T

HOUGH the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) knew long ago that it had lost Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, it was still thrown off-balance by his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on October 28. The defection was vintage Tambuwal and it was executed with clinical precision, which left some members of the House of Representatives wondering what hit them long after he hit the gavel on his table to end that day's sitting.

Outside the hallowed chambers of the House, the PDP leadership was dazed. Its national leader, President Goodluck Jonathan, Chairman Adamu Muazu and others had no immediate answer to the calamity that befell PDP. Their dilemma since then is what to do to Tambuwal without being seen to break the law.

Without much ado, the President invited Senate President David Mark and Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha to a meeting at Aso Rock. The main agenda, according to those who should know, was Tambuwal's defection. The President, it was gathered, found it unbelievable that

227 DAYS AFTER

?

WHERE ARE THE ABDUCTED CHIBOK GIRLS?

decision to go back to Ede, billions of naira was deployed to transform virgin forest into a university campus.

The existing master plan was quite grandiose and it would have taken years and perhaps a trillion naira to bring it into a reality. Interestingly, there were local banks and foreign financial institutions, some of them of doubtful integrity that were ready to provide funds of course at interest to the university authorities to build a 21 st century campus.

Redeemer’s University is quite different from other universities even from other sectarian church-inspired universities.

The proprietor does not believe in usury and would not allow the university to go borrowing money from the market. This means then that an action plan within the master plan had to be drawn up. This action plan is what is being followed right now. With less than a year, hostels that can accommodate 4,000 students have been built in modules of 24 students per house and two students staying in one room en suite that is with toilet and bath for two students.

A friend of mine who saw this praised the proprietor for building for students what he called executive accommodation and this is the absolute truth. I remember when I was at the University of Ibadan; on my floor we probably had about 20 students to two toilets and three points of shower. Of course this was the golden years of the University of Ibadan in the 1960s.

When my nephews went to the University of Ibadan, water was no longer available in the hostels for bath and flushing of toilets and my poor two nephews that were studying medicine had to dash home anytime they wanted to ease themselves or to have a bath because the bath and toilets in the university were no longer functional and I am not sure the situation has changed. I do not know of any university in Nigeria whether public or private that could provide this kind of social facilities for their students.

I was myself a Pro-Chancellor of Ekiti State University and I struggled unsuccessfully to build hostels for students on campus and I am still hoping and praying that in the course of time, EKSU will be in a position to build hostels for their students. Without students living in hostels, they will pass through the universities but the university will not pass through them. They will be as raw and uncouth when they graduate as they were when they came in. Students acquire good manners and ethics through interacting with other students, by going to debates and various university clubs, going to theatre, eating in cafeterias and in our case in Redeemer’s University, worshiping together.

I must say that most of what is needed to bring out the

good in students has already been provided even if in a nucleus form in our new campus and come January, we will have our first convocation on campus starting with the convocation play in our brand new Arts Theatre.

I do not want to Jide paint a picture of Osuntokun perfection because the campus is still developing, buildings have not been completed and several facilities are still to come and no single building with the exception of the nursery and primary school has been painted. Staff housing is uncompleted and many of the staff are living rough, I myself have been staying in hotels but all this is to be expected of pioneers.

Pastor Adeboye himself has made a surprising visit to the students during which time he assured them of his support and even told them that as pioneers, all their names will be engraved on the walls of the auditorium so that future generations would know what they went through as pioneers. What is good for the goose should also be good for the gander and I hope in like way those of us who are staff would also be remembered either while we are still there or when we would have left.

‘I do not want to paint a picture of perfection because the campus is still developing, buildings have not been completed and several facilities are still to come and no single building with the exception of the nursery and primary school has been painted. Staff housing is uncompleted and many of the staff are living rough, I myself have been staying in hotels but all this is to be expected of pioneers’

‘Area boy’ democracy Tambuwal could defect on the floor of the House without the PDP members, who are in the majority, doing anything to stop him. He was said to have also met with other political actors and the security agencies on how to address what he sees as the ''Tambuwal challenge''.

Jonathan, sources said, views the Speaker's defection as a challenge because of its capacity to strengthen the North's campaign against his second term bid. Tambuwal is the most prominent core northerner in this administration. Though Mark is a northerner from Benue State, he is not from the core north like Tambuwal, who is from Sokoto and a Fulani to boot. To pay Tambuwal back in his own coin, it was decided that he must go as Speaker. But how do you achieve that without flouting the law? To this end, Tambuwal's security details were withdrawn barely 48 hours after his defection by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Suleiman Abba, who turned himself into a court by interpreting the Constitution to justify his patently illegal action. The IGP was not done yet.

Determined to satisfy his master and also thank him for confirming him as IGP, Abba, ever the obedient servant, went beyond himself last week to stop Tambuwal from entering the House in order to pave the way for the Speaker's removal by those involved in the covert plot. In a society where crime is being committed almost every second, hundreds of policemen were drafted to the National Assembly just to stop the Speaker and his supporters from entering, while millions of Nigerians were left at the mercy of criminals.

I laugh when I hear the police defend their indefensible action. They said they went there following intelligence information that ''thugs''

would invade the Assembly that day. But pray, did Tambuwal and his entourage look like thugs to the police when they were coming?

Here was a man, who submitted himself to screening, yet he was not allowed to access the House. I watched on television how he beckoned on a police officer, asking him to ''approach me; I am Aminu Tambuwal, Speaker of the House of Representatives''. The officer ignored the Speaker because he was acting a script.

Simply put, this is motor park democracy where the powers that be use the security agencies to deal with their opponents. The holidaying lawmakers decided to sit last week following a letter from

T

Jonathan, seeking another extension of the state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. I hate to believe that the President would abort a sitting which he called for to consider his request.

To prove that he has no hand in this misadventure, the President must not spare all those involved, no matter how highly placed they may be. The police also cannot be trusted to investigate the matter because they are biased. They cannot be the investigator in a case in which they are indicted. If we are interested in getting to the root of the police siege to the National Assembly, we should constitute a group of eminent Nigerians to probe the incident.

Anything short of this will serve

Lawal Ogienagbon

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

no purpose because the police have shown their bias in the matter. This is not a police case.

When two elephants fight

HERE is no love lost between Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime. The duo became bitter political foes because of Chime's interest in the Enugu West Senatorial District, which Ekweremadu presently represents in the Senate. As the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State, Chime has been doing everything in his power to make Ekweremadu politically irrelevant.

But Ekweremadu has proved to be a tough nail, absorbing everything thrown at him by Chime and his acolytes. Ten days ago, his medical mission to the state was disrupted by those ostensibly acting on ''orders

from above''. The mission is a yearly project under which over 10,000 people from the five local government areas under Ekweremadu's senatorial district enjoy an all-embracing free treatment for eye-related problems. Those who require glasses, surgery, drugs et al, get them for free.

The question is why would anybody want to disrupt such a programme? Must we play politics at the people’s detriment?

If Ekweremadu wants to bring dividends of democracy to his people should he be stopped from doing so because he is not in the same political camp with the governor of his state? Is it wrong for political foes to join hands to bring succour to the peo-

‘To get to the root of the police siege to the Nation al Assembly, we should constitute a group of eminent Nigerians to probe the incident. Anything short of this will serve no purpose because the police have shown their bias in the matter’

ple? People go into politics to better the lot of their constituents and not to deprive them of the inherent benefits.

Who is the loser in all these? It is the people; not Ekweremadu. So, if Chime has the people’s interest at heart, he would do something about the disruption of the Senator Ike Ekweremadu's Ikeoha Foundation Free Eye Treatment Project at Oghe in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State by thugs allegedly led by two development area administrators (DAAs). Being government officials, there should be no problem in fishing out the DAAs to answer for their action, except if they have the backing of officialdom.

Well, Ekweremadu has vowed to fish them out, no matter what. ''I will do everything within my powers to bring them to book. They can run, but they can't hide; I will smoke all those involved out and ensure they face the wrath of the law''. Nothing will make the people happier than to see those who torment them pay the price for their action.

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

20

COMMENTS

A

S one of those who in 2011 demonized Buhari on account of his human right abuses as military head of state back in 1984, I am daily haunted by the unheeded warning of Sonala Olumhense, one of Nigerian most gifted writers that voting Jonathan would amount to giving him a licence to sell what is left of Nigeria to PDP. The verdict is today self evident. The fight against economic saboteurs Jonathan claimed to have identified at the onset of his administration, the quest for a culture of free and fair election, the battle against insurgency, resolution of the national question through convocation of national confab, at the end were all about what was in them for Jonathan and PDP and not about Nigerians.

Even the celebrated 16 years of unbroken democratic dispensation was at the expense of separation of power - the soul of democracy.

Jonathan has continued to take delight in the subversion of the legislative and judicial arms of government.

To be fair to Jonathan, he inherited the war against separation of power from ex-President Obasanjo who shuffled senate presidents and speakers of both the upper and lower houses according to his mood. He routinely disobeyed court orders. Picking up from where Obasanjo stopped, Jonathan unsuccessfully attempted to plant pliable leaders on the National Assembly.

His failure produced Speaker Waziri Tambuwal. He has however secured more successes in undermining the judiciary which started with his unjust persecution of Justice Isa Ayo Salami for ruling against PDP governors who stole the people’s mandates in Edo, Ondo, and Ekiti and Osun states.

With the exploits of Suleiman Abba who was Rivers State Police Commissioner (2009-2012) before he was promoted above his contemporaries and seniors as IG, he seems to have been specifically recruited to subvert the two other arms of government. Although described by newspapers as an officer with ”vast experience in criminal investigation, intelligence-led police”, he probably left those virtues back in the Nigeria Police before taking on a new cloak of ‘PDP’ Inspector General of

‘If Abba does not understand the implication of his actions for the health of our fragile democracy, we cannot say the same of his principals. Or could it be they just don’t give a damn about the inevitable collapse of a tripod with two disabled legs?’

R

AUF Aregbesola is an enigmatic individual whose trajectory epitomizes the building of a unique brand. And that brand is Ogbeni.

I first came into contact with him sometime in the early days of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s tenure as governor of Lagos State.

A mutual friend had initiated an International Tennis Championship called Governor’s Cup. The press briefing was slated for the National Stadium, Surulere Lagos, with many prominent individuals and potential corporate sponsors and stakeholders in attendance. So impressed was I by the zeal he showed and the uncommon loyalty to his boss, evident in the energy and passion at which he drummed up support for the project, that I unhesitatingly volunteered my own area of support, which I would then sustain for the next six years of the annual championship.

His performance as the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure in Lagos is legendary, and needs no further mention here, other than to say that his days of selfless, innovative service proved to be an incubation which prepared him for his sterling public service delivery being experienced in Osun today.

In retrospect I was happy, not only to answer the call to be part of the people he reached out to in the early days of his consultations preceding his decision to throw his hat in the ring for the Osun gubernatorial race, but also to play a pivotal role in the evolution of his philosophy of peoplefriendly government which we later put in print as his social contract; The Six-Point Integral Action Plan.

Coming from leftist a background, he realized very early in his political life that the welfare of the people is the only reason to be in government.

The six-point integral action plan is a testament of welfarism borne out of a conviction that you can never go wrong if you put in place institutional framework and policies for satiating the yearnings of the masses.

His strategy of happiness in the short run for the masses whilst embarking on long run programmes and projects is manifested in

Jonathan, Abba and PDP Police at work

Police. And he has not disappointed the president and PDP. Femi Falana has just written to him citing three instances where the police had displayed “political bias” since his appointment: the arrest and detention of over 700 leaders of All Progressive Congress (APC),” during the Osun State governorship election which took place on August 9, the illegal ban on Bring Back our Girls campaigners within the Federal Capital Territory (already overruled by the courts) and his withdrawal of the security details of Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, Speaker of the House of Representatives because he decamped from PDP. He has achieved more for PDP. Unfortunately the party’s gain is the nation’s loss.

Now With Abba as PDP-IG, our hard earned democracy seems to have come under severe strain. We have since witnessed an already emasculated Ekiti judiciary which was unable to convict Ayo Fayose after 52 appearances and months of detention by EFCC over charges of corruption and murder brought against him after his impeachment in 2006, subjected to further assault when judges were assaulted in their court rooms by thugs supervised by Ayo Fayose and the PDP Police in Nigerian Police uniform. The legislative arm of government suffered no less a fate in the same state.

There, the only seven PDP lawmakers in a legislative house of 26 members, were ferried in government bus, protected by over three hundred armed police men to the state House of Assembly where they hilariously pronounced the Speaker and his deputy impeached, while naming Dele Olugbemi the new speaker. Few minutes later, the state

governor was telling Channels Television reporters he dalready recognised the kangaroo election of Olugbemi and was prepared to work with him. This charade was quickly followed by congratulatory messages from ‘the conglomeration of the Transport Unions, Commercial Motorcyclists, market men and women, the governor’s main constituency.

Then Fayose told his supporters, many of them thugs, to go and get ready to battle imminent invasion of the state by thugs to be imported by the 19 majority lawmakers from Lagos and Osun states. And taking a cue from the governor, the police quickly followed with a statement claiming that “The State Police Command has received an intelligence report that some group of people are planning to invade the state to disrupt the existing peace and cause break down of law and order”. It is obvious to discernible Nigerians that Fayose’s fabricated information which preceded the socalled police intelligence report are parts of war against the state legislature whose 19 members had given notice of their imminent return from their hide-out in Lagos to challenge the illegality of the governor and the police.

In neighbouring Edo State, bulldozing Abba has on behalf of his principals, demolished the state House of Assembly. According to the state government “four honourable members who refused to abide by their suspension order have continued to hold illegal sittings in the House of Assembly Complex, which is undergoing renovation, with the connivance of five other valid PDP lawmakers and with the aid of the Nigeria Police.” The police that are protecting those flouting court orders was unable to

provide security for the majority 15 APC lawmakers who have relocated to the governor’s office.

Abba has equally bared his teeth in Lagos. A combined team of over 50 security operatives’ from the DSS and OP-MESA stormed the APC Data Centre in Ikeja, pulled down the gates, destroyed over a dozen computers, servers and arrested 25 APC data agents and three security guards, while carting away 31 bags of Ghanamust-go raw data to Abuja. Ms Marilyn Ogar, the spokesman for DSS justified the brigandage saying their action followed a petition that “cloning” of permanent voters card was going on with the intention of hacking into INEC’s database, corrupting it and replacing them with the “cloned” data.’ And without thinking, she added: “We are being proactive on account of the security situation in the country, you know that the Boko Haram has been targeting Lagos and so, we cannot afford the petition lying low.”

If you are wondering what that has got to do with cloning of PVCs cards, then you are also forgetting they need to explain their miserable mission. Besides, since it is only a thief that can identify the footprint of another thief on stone, it is not impossible PDP is engaged in cloning of PVCs in Lagos. Didn’t Fashola recently raise an alarm about missing names of 1.4m voters?

Add that to the bungling of the distribution of the PVCs by INEC in Lagos?

And finally, displaying his enormous and unrestrained power, Abba’s last Thursday assault on the National Assembly carried the signature tune of a president who always plays the ostrich. Obviously, the president employed the debate about emergency as a decoy to plan the removal of Tambuwal as speaker. Abba’s men at about 10:2 a.m, gave the Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha with his full official protocol and convoy, free access into the National Assembly unhindered. So were many other PDP lawmakers including the deputy majority leader Leo Ogor. But the PDP Police could not recognize the Speaker even after formally introducing himself saying – “Gentlemen, my names are Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and I am the Speaker of the House of Representatives”. When the speaker abandoned his car and walked to the National Assembly lobby, PDP policemen paid by Nigerian taxpayers, fired three tear gas canisters at him and fired more tear gas canisters into the lobby resulting in the fainting of two of Tambuwal aides. If Abba does not understand the implication of his actions for the health of our fragile democracy, we cannot say the same of his principals. Or could it be they just don’t give a damn about the inevitable collapse of a tripod with two disabled legs?

Aregbesola: Humanist, leader, compatriot, friend

By Femi Ifaturoti

his unique social safety net programmes such as Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme (OYES), elementary schools free lunch programme, senior citizens welfare programme, programme of succor for people with special needs and the list is endless, which have engendered a bonding with the people he governs.

At the approach of the August 9 Osun gubernatorial election, a governor had just been declared the looser in the gubernatorial election in a sister state under questionable circumstances and the predominant rationale for the electoral failure was lack of due attention to the masses, giving rise to notion that the progressive states, anxious to put in place modern infrastructure and amenities in their domain, often neglected the people and overlooked their hunger, and the obnoxious terminology “stomach infrastructure had just slipped in our consciousness like a thief in the night. He was confronted by the Press with the probability of losing his bid for the second term for the same reason, and this is what he had to say: “Those trying to embark on stomach infrastructure in this late hour will have a lot of catching up to do because we have begun long ago and are four years ahead of them. We are masters of the game”.

June 2014, while granting an interview to Businessday, Aregbesola proudly and confidently gave assurance of his victory in the then forthcoming August 9, gubernatorial election thus: “Let me assure you, the overwhelming majority of the people of the state will vote for us because we have represented them well in our first term, we have been accountable to them and we have served them with passion and integrity”.

Indeed, he would not brook any doubt about

his popularity with his people. He said this again at a public forum: “I am a product of the popular forces, the people and I am part and parcel of them. I emanated from them and I am a product of their struggle.”

August 9, was therefore payback day, and, predictably, the people voted with their hearts, and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was given renewed mandate to govern Osun State for a second term.

When Aregbesola story is going to be told, it would be that of a people-conscious leader, who has put in place some of the most audacious policies in rapid infrastructure upgrade, urbanization, and highest quantum of social service delivery ever experienced in this clime.

Interpersonally, Ogbeni is a good man. He has, over the years been surrounded and followed by a huge community of loyalists who believe in his worldview, and the sincerity of purpose with which he has pursued it. He shows extra-ordinary compassion for his fellow man, and he is quite generous.

When you come into contact with him, you instinctively become cognizant of the strength of his personality. He has read far and wide and has held his own both honorably and with uncanny eloquence in any multicultural and intellectual gathering we found ourselves throughout my foreign travels with him.

As a family man, he is the doting husband of his sweetheart, Sherifat, who, during their courtship provided the much needed encouragement to reconcile this restless young activist with his Creator, and has remained a strong pillar ensuring that he receives all the comfort and succour a General needs whenever he returns home from life’s many battles. It is difficult to believe how a man of the people like Ogbeni could create quality time to attend to the nurture of his children who

are all well behaved and now pursuing their various callings.

In matters of faith, Ogbeni remains unapologetic for his depth of piety, and why should he be? I have said on several occasions, I wish I could be as faithful to my religionas he is to Islam.

Yet he displays incredible understanding of the Bible which he quotes frequentlyand copiously whenever we get into discussions around ethics and morality. Not once has ever displayed discrimination against any religion, rather he is a foremost advocate of equality of the religions, and that is a disposition which is made poignantly clear by the fact that Osun is the only state where prayers are said in the Christian, Islamic and Traditional ways at every public function.

Little wonder that he bedazzles even his most volatile traducers, and continues to wax strong as he pursues, with profound sense of urgency, his truly progressive and peoplecentered developmental agenda. His unique brand of people-friendly government.

May our world be continually populated and enriched with multiple OGBENIS! • Barrister Ifaturoti contributed this piece from Osogbo

‘I was happy, not only to answer the call to be part of the people he reached out to in the early days of his consultations preceding his decision to throw his hat in the ring for the Osun gubernatorial race, but also to play a pivotal role in the evolution of his philosophy of peoplefriendly government which we later put in print as his social contract; The Six-Point Integral Action Plan’

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

21

COMMENTS

T

HE great danger of being part of Nigeria today is that Nigeria tends massively to corrupt everything and everybody. There is hardly anything to look up to in Nigeria. In most directions that one may look, the beckoning is perpetually and relentlessly towards the low, the ignoble and the graceless. Most of the privileged and influential seek nothing but their own. In the reckoning of the typical powerful and influential Nigerian, the masses of ordinary Nigerians are, at best, cannon fodder for the reaching of his warped goals – and at worst, just despicable beings deserving to be ignored in their poverty, their ignorance and their hopelessness. The famous writer, Wole Soyinka, once wrote a book with the title The Man Died. Man with the higher qualities and nobler passions of man has almost totally died out in Nigeria.

Recently, in some other place, I pointed out one relieving feature in this generally depressing Nigerian landscape – namely, the strong spirit of religious tolerance and accommodation among Yoruba Muslims and Christians in a Nigeria in which most other Muslim peoples have turned the great religion of Islam into the reason for the massacres of their fellow men, the destruction of whole settlements, and the disruption of a whole country. But, unfortunately, in the realm of partisan politics, no such relieving feature exists anywhere in Nigeria – not even among the Yoruba. Everywhere in Nigeria, party politics has been bestialized into a horrible and unrestrained civil war in which prominent politicians set up whole propaganda outfits to lie perpetually and to cruelly besmirch opponents – and hire young men to attack, harass and murder political opponents. And the goal of all the beastly lying and the satanic plots to murder is never to gain political positions for the purpose of serving the interests of country and people; it is to enhance the politician’s access to the country’s money and other resources.

Hordes of young people are easily available for recruitment because they are unemployed, poor, and desperate to earn some income - even if it is income from the hand of Satan himself.

All things considered, I believe that most informed observers would agree that one of the saddest aspects of this political debauchery in Nigeria is that it has become strongly entrenched among the Yoruba people, in the

How Nigeria destroys Yoruba South-west, too. This is one of the worst among the terrible legacies that Nigeria has bequeathed to any Nigerian nation.

It should never have found acceptance and root in Yoruba soil. The Yoruba are the inheritors of nearly 1000 years of a supremely orderly political system and governance which respected the sovereignty of the people, emphasized respect of the rulers for the ruled, established powerful instruments for the moderation of the conduct of rulers and influential notables, and made government a reliable servant of the people. In modern times, when the European system of elected governments came to Nigeria in the 1950s, the predominantly Yoruba Western Region easily led Nigeria in orderly democratic politics, free and fair elections, and government that powerfully advanced the well-being of citizens. But today, the Yoruba seem to be very eagerly throwing away all their own wonderful political heritage and avidly grabbing Nigeria’s horrible political heritage.

Sadly, in today’s Yoruba South-west, persons elected or appointed into state governments come into office breathing fire and brimstone against political opponents, thereby destroying orderly cooperation between the constitutional arms of government, and generally giving the people whom they rule the terrible image of an unruly and barbarous people. Yoruba politicians serving in the federal government think that their duty is to launch attacks on Yoruba state governments controlled by other parties, and to use federal power and federal agencies to humiliate and disrupt such state governments. Most leading Yoruba politicians are armed with militias of cronies who are employed in such despicable tasks as mindlessly lying against their boss’s opponents, carrying out assassinations, disrupting the activities and meetings of opponents, and killing at random in order to instill fear into opponents.

In the background to all these is the fact that party membership has been robbed of all meaning. The politician who is powerfully seeking his party’s nomination for an election today, if he happens to lose the nomination, has no qualms whatever about becoming a contestant for the nomination of

I

HAVE had cause to intervene in the recent past on matters affecting my dear state of Akwa Ibom. These interventions have had as the main thrust, the squandering of our common wealth and the evident lack of appreciation of the true essence of governance. Incrementally, actions subsequent to my interventions have been clearly illustrative of the fact that I did not even fully appreciate the extent of the problem. I suspect I have not gotten there yet, but now realize that - ‘they clearly do not get it!’ Governor Akpabio and his teeming fans have coined the term ‘Akpabioism’ to represent his governance philosophy. They have also coined the term ‘uncommon transformation’ to describe the ‘uncommon’ infrastructural development that has resulted from Akpabioism. So perhaps Akpabioism stands for a governance style which produces uncommon infrastructural transformation.

I had in an earlier piece described Akpabioism as a metaphor for delirious leadership. I think it is worse than that!

Akpabioism in my new perspective is rather a metaphor for mismanagement with impunity. Why did it take the building of a stadium in Uyo to bring me to this realization? After all the construction of a stadium in a soccer loving city cannot be misgovernance, without more. So let me now explain the ‘more’.

In rationalizing the sense or otherwise in building the stadium, one ought to arm himself with the facts relevant to coming to a fair determination of the cost/benefit analysis.

Facts like the cost of the stadium, the financial health of the state, opportunity costs, sustainability of the stadium and so on. Unfortunately, the cost of the stadium is not only a state secret it would appear to be the governor’s private secret. All my search and personal contacts have only provided speculative figures. Clearly the peoples money should not be spent by its government in a secret manner and if spent

‘If not for disconnection how can our governor expect that Akwa Ibom will be crawling with sports stars simply because we have the best stadium in Nigeria? Those who are connected build sporting academies and take sports to the grassroots by building sustainable community facilities and can then expect the production of sporting stars’

another party by tonight. Even a politician who has been loyally elected into government on the platform of a party, has no pangs of conscience at all about deserting his party for another party – he does not think of himself as having any duty to the persons who laboured to get him elected. In the context of all this horse trading and betrayal, the traditional sensibilities of Yoruba people are being massively distorted, and Yoruba traditional commitment to good governance is being ruthlessly destroyed.

Thus, for the most part, governors, elected representatives, and political leaders among Yoruba people today are not leaders and rulers of their people in any meaningful sense; they are brigands and desperadoes seeking nothing other than the chance to steal public money and to build up huge wealth thereby - so as to be able to squirrel money out of Nigeria for hiding in secret bank accounts abroad, for buying expensive real-estate properties in other lands, for taking girlfriends on expensive trips, and even buying expensive houses for girlfriends, abroad.

These acts of brigandage contribute greatly to poverty among their people. Of course, the accumulation of all power and resources in the hands of the federal government, and the general mess being forever compounded by the federal government, are the taproot of poverty in Nigeria. But state and local politicians, by their profligate behavior and betrayal of their people, add enormously to the poverty in two ways. In the first place, their stealing of public money adds much to the failure of state and local progammes of development. They leave very little chance of success for plans to improve the schools, to improve state and local roads and water supply, to assist businesses and increase job opportunities for the people, etc.

In the second place, the wild, noisy and unruly politics tends to drive or keep good businesses and employment opportunities away. There are great amounts of investment capital seeking to come from the richest countries to virgin countries worldwide, but no businessman or investor would ever want to bring his investment or business to a place where political life is unstable and frequently agitated. For some of the states of

Gbogun gboro Nigeria, including some states of the Southwest, promises by the governors or aspiring governors to attract businesses and improve employment opportunities are mere lies.

Their disorderly politics makes any fulfilment of such promises impossible. Stable and orderly politics is the first requirement of economic development in any country or state.

All that I have said here about the Yoruba South-west are true of the rest of Nigeria.

Indeed, some parts of Nigeria are much worse than the South-west. The crucial point about the Yoruba of the South-west is that they started off in modern times with a great and enviable political heritage and that, rather than build on that heritage, they have been junking it in recent times.

‘One of the saddest aspects of this political debauchery in Nigeria is that it has become strongly entrenched among the Yoruba people, in the Yoruba South-west, too. This is one of the worst among the terrible legacies that Nigeria has bequeathed to any Nigerian nation. It should never have found acceptance and root in Yoruba soil.

Stadium of uncommon sense

By Edo Ukpong without the transparent process of appropriation, competitive tendering and executive council approval enshrined in our constitution and other laws, it translates to an act of criminal illegality. The mere fact that people of Akwa Ibom have not been told the cost of their new modern stadium is evidence of bad governance, the actual fact that they will not be told even if they cared to know is evidence of mindless impunity and misgovernance at its worst.

So we are left with no option but to dig in the fertile ground of propaganda, doctored leaks, regime reputation guesstimates. In that combustible mix, the figures have ranged from N40 to N140 billion. The figure of $96million provided in the stadium website should and appears to have been discarded by all. If the Uyo Stadium is modelled after the Allianz Arena in Munich Germany, that was constructed locally by another German company for about $425million, it is improbable that Julius Berger will construct the same stadium albeit half the capacity for $96million! My own guess will be a figure of about $700million or N120 billion! Just to put this figure in perspective, Fred Swanniker the Ghanaian founder of African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg is spearheading an initiative that will build five modern, world class 10,000-student capacity universities in Africa at a cost of $100million each.

Let us leave the cost of the stadium for now and turn to the elaborate launch, which unofficial sources have put the cost at N8 billion. I listened to Governor Akpabio on Akwa Ibom television surrounded by ‘Men of God’ regale the congregation about the uncommon feat of hosting three African presidents.

He elaborated on the challenge of advance teams and catering to travelling parties of hundreds per president! In a case of supreme irony, what he regards as uncommon accomplishments, will actually from a good governance perspective, amount to foolishness. How he does not get this is tragic for us Akwa Ibomites! How are the people of Akwa Ibom enriched by squandering N8billion on an opening ceremony of a stadium? Money that can build 2000 quality social housing units at N4million each and given away free to indigenes since we are so rich!

As in the case with personal finances, prudence and common sense must always be applied and there must always be a distinction between needs and wants. You do not move to wants without first satisfying your needs. And what will make sense, will be to only embark on wasteful spending when

adequate provisions have been made for needs. It is one thing to boast about Akwa Ibom having the most modern stadium in the world, or the governor’s conference room being the most modern in Africa or being the richest and most powerful governor in the world. It is another thing to have the best paid and most motivated teachers in Nigeria, to have the best schools in Nigeria, to have the best functional hospitals in Nigeria, to have the best football clubs in Africa and the happiest pensioners to name a few. On average, Akwa Ibom’s share of federally-allocated revenue is five times that of the average state and we are acknowledged as the richest state in Nigeria. The wealth should translate to the achievement of the second set of accomplishments. Only upon the attainment of the second set of accomplishments should we waste any resources on the first set of boastful and meaningless accomplishments. Working towards attaining the meaningful accomplishments is the duty and function of good governance whilst the other is the preserve of the disconnected. If not for disconnection how can our governor expect that Akwa Ibom will be crawling with sports stars simply because we have the best stadium in Nigeria! Those who are connected build sporting academies and take sports to the grassroots by building sustainable community facilities and can then expect the production of sporting stars.

Countries like UAE, with ‘too much’ money, build ‘modern’ stadia for sports stars around the world to come and entertain their people and also contribute to tourism and the economy.

Their people are happy to sit around and watch these stars because unlike my people they do not have to do so on an empty stomach, do not have to trek back home and home you can be sure will not be a thatched mud house! Neither will the home be serviced by just one lantern to be shared by all including the students who need to study. Education is free for the citizens and good teachers have been attracted from all over the world including Nigeria to teach in these schools. The schools are well equipped and not made up of dilapidated unplastered buildings with leaking roofs, as is the case with Ndiya Comprehensive Secondary School, my community school!

If my dear governor thinks that governance is about using the states resources to fete foreign and local dignitaries and build a wonderful stadium, then he must be the most grandiose governor in the world and no wonder he resides in the best state government house in the democratic world!

He just doesn’t get it!

• Ukpong, a legal practitioner writes from Lagos

22

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

23

25

THE NATION

EDUCATION

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

Our burden, by Northeast teachers

Theirs is an unenviable task. As teachers in the Northeast states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe where the Boko Haram insurgency is rife, they are faced with the burden of keeping their schools running. With the schools virtually deserted, it is their lot to ensure that pupils keep coming. They share their experiences with KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE.

I

N the Southern part of the country, pupils go to school with ease. They do not have to worry about being harassed on the way. In the Northeast, where insurgency is rife, it is not easy going to school.

While other parts of the country enjoy an uninterrupted academic calendar, teachers and pupils in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, have to think of staying alive first, before any other thing. In the past one year, primary and secondary schools in the states have been shut for up to nine months in some cases. However, despite the security challenge, states, teachers, pupils and parents have not given up on education. Some teachers, who attended a school safety and security workshop in Abuja last Friday, said they have improvised ways to keep the schools opened, despite the Boko Haram threat.

Mr Buka Modu, Principal of Government Science and Technical College, Gujba in Yobe State, misses his school but cannot go there for now because he said it has become Boko Haram base. The sect sacked the school and destroyed its facilities in July. Though the school has been merged with two others close to Damaturu, the State Capital, Modu said school life is not what it used to be before the insurgency. Many of the pupils have been separated from their parents.

He said: "The insurgency has affected school activities greatly. My school has now relocated to another local government which is about 200 kilometres away from the children's parents. The school's previous site is now captured by Boko haram. Even the school is now their abode; they have destroyed everything in the school. The pupils and their parents are far away now. Some are in Bauchi, Gombe and other states. Now, it is very difficult for those parents to send their children to the school."

Since relocating, Modu said only "40 percent or less" of his pupils have resumed. He also said many of those that have resumed find it difficult to study because of fear. He is concerned that performance in the 2015 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) may be poor.

"They have to stay in a boarding school because there is nowhere to live. In normal days, there is evening prep, night prep, games. But

•Borno teachers at a security workshop in Abuja.

now, we don't have such things because you don't know who will come and bundle you, so you can't come out and play. Now, may be 10 students play at a time, then, after that, another set would make a team and play.

"Concerning the night prep, there is no light; almost everything is disconnected. And you cannot put on the generator because the sound would not allow you to hear if anything is happening in the environment. So, we cannot even put it on for the pupils to read at night. Students come to class only in the day time. By 2 or 3pm, the school has closed, and the students go back to the hostel, take their bath and read two or three pages of their books and that’s all. So, you see, it is very difficult for them to pass the SSCE, because you have to read in the night to pass your exams.

But, at night you don't know what is happening. You can't even sleep let alone read. The mind is just somewhere else. Even the sound of a balloon scares you," he said.

Modu urged the government to improve security so teachers and pupils could face the tasks of teaching and learning. He said some parents actually wait for their wards throughout school hours, to take them home.

‘In my school, particularly, we have displaced persons. Despite that the school is rowdy, we still make effort that the students, if not all, at least the finalists, are kept in place for them to face their WAEC. Managing students and displaced persons is the greatest challenge that we are now facing’

INSIDE

Private varsities overregulated, says VC

-Page 27

"You know when this happens, at least, we expect the security details around. When you see them around, your mind would be at rest.

Our minds, both the teachers’ and pupils’ are not at rest to pass the teaching and learning process. All the school needs is to have security. When something happens, they will come. But, sometimes, they will say they have come, we don't even know the time they came," he said.

Mrs Aishatu Mohammed Bakare of Government Day Secondary School, Bungere in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, is also worried about performance in the 2015 WASSCE. "We are more than two steps backwards because we have not been operating schools in Adamawa State. We closed and resumed late due to the Ebola problem; then, we just started for about three weeks and we had to close schools again because of the insurgency.

Now, everybody is at home - the public schools. Only the private schools are still on.

Actually we do not know what will become of our pupils, this year, especially our SS3 pupils," she said.

She said even before the government ordered schools to close, parents had stopped

Shekarau: entrepreneurship can end insurgency -Page 45

CAMPUS LIFE

their wards from coming to school.

"Parents actually stopped their children from coming to school. Then, finally, we just had to close. Every minute we hear different rumours that they are coming to Yola, so we had no options than to close temporarily," she said.

Alhaji Abubakar Hayatu, Principal of Government Secondary School, Mayo-Belwa, Adamawa State, said most schools have closed down. But some of his pupils still attend school - thanks to hunters who provide security. He said they are funded by the school's Parents-Teachers' Association.

"Well with the help of our teachers, the PTA, and hunters, we are able to hold classes. In the night, they patrol within the school premises. The hunters are helping us. We are paying them with the meagre resources we get from the PTA," he said.

Though situated in the Borno State capital where there is relative safety, Mr Adamu Wakawa, Principal of Government Girls College, Maiduguri, has to cope with running a school that also serves as a camp for internally-displaced people.

"In my school, particularly, we have displaced persons. Despite that the school is rowdy, we still make effort that the students, if not all, at least the finalists, are kept in place for them to face their WAEC. Managing students and displaced persons is the greatest challenge that we are now facing. As far as I’m concerned, together with the government, effort is being made to see that students do not lose. Apparently, some schools have been opened. Students can now go to school to

•A 10-page section on campus news, people etc

‘It was face-to-face with terror’ -Page 29

• Continued on page 26

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

26

EDUCATION

New Crescent VC promises progress

T

HE new Vice Chancellor of Crescent University, Abeokuta, Prof.

Ibraheem Gbajabiamila, has assured he would consolidate on his predecessor’s achievements.

Gbajabiamila made the promise while meeting workers to brainstorm on how to further move the nine-year-old institution forward.

At the forum, Gbajabiamila who praised workers for being instrumental to his appointment, said value is what he had come to add to the university founded by the former judge of the world court, Judge Bola Ajibola.

“Universities drive economies and we as private universities exist to add values,” he said.

By Adegunle Olugbamila

Having understudied his predecessor over the last four years, Gbajabiamila said he is now set to wear the garb as the institution’s helmsman.

He assured that his administration would remain committed to the Proprietor’s mission and vision of ‘breeding well nurtured products in character and learning.’

Gbajabiamila stated that since graduates produced by Cresent University are hotcakes in the job market, his tenure would consolidate on this, nurturing more products endowed in knowledge and character, as according to him, one without the other is not desirable.

“Producing brilliant peo-

•Prof Gbajabiamila

ple without good moral conduct is a waste of efforts,” Gbajabiamila added.

Gbajabiamila said coming from the lineage of teachers was not by accident. He noted that the zeal to add value, which informed his grandfather’s establishing AnsarudDeen Society in his family compound in IsaleEko, Lagos in the 1930’s, equally informed his choice.

•THE Vice Chancellor, Ibrahim Badamasi University, Lapai, Niger State, Prof. Ibrahim Adamu Kolo presenting the University Banerret to Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, who was conferred with a fellowship of the university.

Our burden, by Northeast teachers • Continued from page 25

• Participants at the workshop

Schools learn to cope with insurgency

T

HE Exam Ethics Marshals International (EEMI) gathered heads of primary and secondary schools located in the insurgency at the Nugget Hotel, Abuja last Friday to learn how to keep their pupils and workers safe from the activities of insurgents.

At the event, 1,350 Safe School Kits endorsed by the United Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) were distributed to 114 schools, State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEB), National Union of Teachers, Nigerian Institute of Teachers, Nigerian Union of Journalists, and State Emergency Management Agencies in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States, which are currently under emergency rule as a result of Boko Haram insurgency.

Each primary school got 13 kits, while secondary schools were given 10 of the kits. The other institutions got one each.

Founding Chairman of the EEMI, Mr Ike Onyechere said the kit, consisting of a Safe School Manual, Video DVD and Audio CD on security tips, as well as a bottle of hand sanitizer, was the result of research conducted years ago which revealed that schools would need education on how to manage insecurity.

He said: “In Exam Ethics, one of the things we do is that once every five years, we conduct a SWOT analysis of the education sector. It is part of our strategic think tank moving forward. And we say what is going to be the major challenge.

And in 2010, one of the things that

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

we had on the top of those challenges was safety and security.

And when we came back from that 2010 conference in Ghana, we took the report to the government. And we made a proposal that we need to prepare a situation where the administrators of schools have the skills for best practices in security and so we need to prepare. We were able to convince the police, the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ministry of Police Affairs to work with them.

“So we started what we call the Safety and Risk Manual in 2011. It was on until 2014 when the Chibok thing happened. It became a wakeup call for us to hurry up with it, so we fast tracked it. We were able to launch it at the National Universities Commission on August 1. It was at that event that UNESCO came and they were very impressed that this is the first document they can see in Africa where there is an organised body of knowledge for schools to know what to do in emergency situations and promised to work with us.”

In her speech, Prof Hassana Alidou, Director, UNESCO Regional Office, Abuja, who was represented by Mrs Ifeoma Amanze, Head, Education Desk, UNESCO, said the agency got involved in the donation of the kits because of the need to intervene in the emergency created by the insurgency in the north.

She praised EEMI for coming up with the manuals.

She said: “UNESCO is a member of the Child Protection and Education working group for North-East established in May 2014 as a result of the need to coordinate development responses aimed at ensuring access to education under safe schools initiatives and the restoration of the protection rights of children in the north east.

“We are also working with all the UN Agencies in Nigeria to intervene in North East through an integrated support package within which this donation is supported.

“We commend the Exam Ethics Marshals International for painstakingly developing the manual and kit. We know you are here today, not only because UNESCO wants to make this donation but because you are committed to exploring and engaging in every discourse that would bring back normalcy in your communities including schools and education institutions.”

Presenting a paper titled: Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness Tips and Best Practices for School Administrators, Principals, Teachers, Students, Parents and Other Stakeholders, Major Gen Mathias Efeovbokhan (rtd) gave the participants practices they could incorporate into the school administration to protect them as much as possible.

Many of the participants lauded the workshop and suggested it should be organised in all the affected states to reach all stakeholders involved.

cover up what they had lost, so far," he said.

Mohammed Musa, Principal of Government College, Nguru, Yobe State, said the lack of perimeter fence around his school worsens the feeling of insecurity.

"Any time there is an attack close to the school, you see children and teachers disturbed. Most of the schools are vulnerable because they don't have fences. But it is not all about fencing; whether there is fence, it cannot stop these people.

Government ought to provide security. If security personnel are posted to schools, at least students and teachers will feel secure because somebody is around - at least there is somebody to confront them. But as teachers and students, we cannot confront any insurgent using just your hand and your biro and whatever, but the presence of security personnel on the school premises is very necessary. And to cap it all the school ought to be fenced, not just this bare fencing; the fencing has to be a little bit high with barb wire on top so that it will prevent anybody scaling thorough," he said.

To encourage pupils to go back to school, Suleiman Maina, the state national representative of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), Borno State, said the union has partnered with the government and other stakeholders to keep as many schools as possible open in and around the state capital.

"Our state governor has formed a high-powered committee by name Primary School Resuscitation Commitee. The committee has sat down with NUT, head masters and stakeholders and now our primary schools have been opened. Out of about 1,000 primary schools now 400 in maiduguri and outskirts are running. It is so encouraging because now in schools, teachers are performing their jobs," he said.

Mrs Jebu Babe of Government Girls Secondary School, Buni Gari in Yobe State, said her school was relocated to Government Girls

Unity College, Damaturu, after it was attacked about the same time that Boko Haram killed about 40 pupils of the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi.

"Our administrative block was totally burnt down in February 2014. Presently, where my school is located is the most dangerous area of Yobe State. Most of the students are from that area and were also affected personally. Currently, the school is in Damaturu because the state government has moved it from that area to safety," she said.

However, since it reopened at its new location, she said not all the pupils have resumed. To encourage the pupils to return to school, Mrs Babe said the government has mounted a publicity campaign for them to resume and continue their education.

"Not all the students have reported to that school because of that thing. Parents have left their homes, and gone to other places, especially Gombe State, because we are bordering them. But three-quarters of the students are back because the government is making everything possible to see that the students are back. They announce over the radio, television, telling them to come back to school, and by whatever means. I personally as the principal, and other teachers communicate to them through the phone and we tell them to come back; 'that it is safe here', 'come and continue your schooling'. The government is trying by making the parents aware that it is very important for them to send their children; continue their education because of tomorrow. " She added that the reopening of schools, despite the insurgency is important so the insurgents do not achieve their goal of stopping the education of the citizenry.

"They should not close our schools because this is one of the things they (insurgents) want. So, let us stand our ground and make sure that we follow the truth. Once the parents feel secure enough, feel that the government is on their side, the students will come," she said.

‘Any time there is an attack close to the school, you see children and teachers disturbed. Most of the schools are vulnerable because they don't have fences. But it is not all about fencing; whether there is fence, it cannot stop these people. Government ought to provide security’

27

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

EDUCATION

Private varsities overregulated, says VC - 24 bag first class

T

HE Vice Chancellor of the Igbenedion University, Okada (IUO), Prof Eghosa Osaghae, has complained that private universities are over-regulated yet do not benefit from government grants, particularly the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

He said this at a pre-convocation press briefing on Tuesday, where he also announced that 24 graduands of the university bagged first class honours degree.

Osaghae said that first and higher degrees would be awarded to 773 graduands at the 12th convocation of the institution holding on Satur-

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

day.

Addressing the non-inclusion of private universities as beneficiaries of TETFund grants, the Vice Chancellor, who lamented over regulation of private universities, said every institution training individuals should have right to the education fund.

He said private universities were ‘under siege’ in the country because statutes establishing some funding bodies barred them from supporting them.

“The time has come to address TETFUND. We train professionals like other public universities. Why

are they depriving us. The money in TEFFUND comes from private sector. We are ready to compete for the fund. Let them challenge us to produce good doctors and get money.

“They over regulate private universities. Those public universities also enjoy endowment. Education fund is a commonwealth and every institution has a right to that fund.

It is an intervention funding meant to help in emergency. We are building universities and we must build them irrespective of whether it is private,” he said At Saturday’s convocation, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Bala Mohammed, Ambassador Martins Uhomoibhi, and Chairman,

JABU FILE Pioneer VC bids farewell

•Prof Osaghae

Ashaka Cement, Alhaji Umaru Kwairanga would be conferred with honourary degrees of the university.

Four new libraries for Lagos schools

New council inaugurated

A

S Nigeria joined the world to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Convention of the Right of the Child last Thursday, pupils of four public primary schools on Lagos Island and its environs had their rights to education assured– courtesy of Zaccheus Onumba Dibiaezue Memorial Libraries (ZODML), which donated libraries to the schools.

The schools are Holy Cross Cathedral Primary School; Lagos Island Local Government Primary School (L.I.L.G); St. Saviour School; AnwarUl-Islamiyat Primary School, Elegbeta and Anwar-Islam Girls Primary School, Olushi Street – bringing the number of ZODML libraries in Lagos public schools to 10.

ZODML’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mrs Ifeoma Esiri, said at the event that education is an essential right of a child that should be given utmost attention, adding that one way of ensuring that it is safeguarded is by promoting projects that increase literacy.

She blamed the low literacy level on the absence of functional school libraries, lamenting that many children leave primary schools unable to read and write properly.

She urged the government to pay more attention to the funding and development of the education sector and remove duties on importation of books.

“This brings me to the grave con-

• Mrs Careena (second right) and Mrs Esiri (right) and other officials watch pupils read in one of the new libraries.

By Evelyn Osagie

cern I have over newspaper reports alleging that the government is planning to impose 20 per cent import duty on books. An imposition of an import duty of whatever amount can only turn a very bad situation as seen in the extremely low literacy level into a monumental catastrophe,” she said.

But rather than criticising the lapses in government, Mrs Esiri said ZODML has gone a step further to be part of the change it wants to see in schools by establishing libraries.

The libraries are called ‘Oasis Librar-

ies’, and equipped with over 1,000 books for young readers.

“Our work in the schools, where we have libraries, has shown that literacy levels are extremely low and the absence of functioning school libraries has a lot to do with that situation. Our first Oasis Library was established 10 years ago at St George’s School for Girls at Falomo and what we saw from that was that many pupils were leaving school unable to read. Each of the four new libraries has a collection of 1048 books,” Mrs Esiri said.

The event was held on the premises of the Local Government Education

Authority, Lagos Island, where keys to the libraries were presented to head teachers of each school. It was attended by the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LSUBEB), Mrs Gbolahan Daodu, who was represented by the Board’s permanent member, Mrs Bimpe Careena; Lagos Island Education Secretary, Mr Moshood Mayegun; LSUBEB, Director of Library Services, Mrs R.O. Oguntimehin, among others.

Mrs Daodu said ZODML’s gesture would not only impact learning, but the reading culture of the pupils, adding that the board would continue partnering with ZODML.

Nigeria seeks pact with Japan on maths, science education

N

IGERIA has approached the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for support in running the third cycle of the Strengthening of Mathematics and Science Education (SMASE) programme for teachers at the preservice level, the Minister of Education has said.

SMASE is a programme initiated by the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI) with the support of JICA to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics and science in Nigeria through the training of teachers and use of enhanced techniques and tools.

Addressing the Cycle Two, Fourth Cohort of the SMASE training for teachers drawn from Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Benue, Imo and Yobe

THE pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU), Ikeji Arakeji, Prof Christopher Olubunmi Oshun (October 2006-Feb 2011) has been officially sent-off by the university in an elaborate event.

The event was attended by the President of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Worldwide, Pastor Abraham Akinosun; JABU’s Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Governing Council, Professor A.M.A Imevbore; members of the Board of Trustees; Governing Council; Senate and all Heads of Departments and Units of the University.

Prof. Oshun was praised for his contribution to nurturing the university until it was approved.

The CAC President, Pastor Akinosun, likened Oshun to the biblical Joseph, who was a faithful servant, transparent, humble, God-fearing, determined and devoted.

The incumbent Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sola Fajana, said when he came in July 2011, he met a university, built on solid foundation.

Responding, Oshun thanked all who supported him during and after his tenure as Vice Chancellor.

“I have served as a fellow labourer and your humble servant. I profoundly thank my employers, the Senate and the entire University staff and students,” he said.

From Abdulgafar Alabelewe, Kaduna States at the NTI headquarters in Kaduna last Monday, Minister of Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, said the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) was also considering the proposal for the third cycle for teachers trained in the colleges of education.

Shekarau, who was represented by the SMASE National Coordinator, Mr. Joseph Aguiyi-Ironsi, said planning for the third cycle is in full swing as the national coordinating units have been meeting with the stakeholders to ensure the success of the programme.

“The third cycle of SMASE would introduce the programme to teach-

ers at pre-service education level.

NCCE is considering our proposal, while a proposal has been sent to JICA for consideration. Having gone through the primary school with success, the federal government has approved the content for the secondary school phase to be developed.

“The federal Ministry of Education implemented SMASE phase one between 2006 and 2009, while phase two ran between 2010 and February 2014 with JICA support. JICA withdrew its support in February and since then there has been expansions with all 36 states and FCT as pilot states.

“During the second phase only four inset cohorts were run, but since February, NTI has been able to implement three cohorts of cycle

two and we are here for the fourth cycle,” the Minister added.

The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NTI, Dr Aminu Ladan Sharehu said NTI has trained 413 teachers on SMASE and conducted seven cohorts of cycle one from all states and the Federal Capital Teritory (FCT) except Lagos State.

“We have trained three cohorts of cycle two this is the fourth cohort.

SMASE training is progressing and succeeding and NTI is fully committed to Smase training and improvement of teachers’ education in the country. We have included computer training in SMASE inset training with a computer laboratory while we are on the verge of completing our science laboratory.”

MEMBERS of the newly-inaugurated Governing Council of JABU have been urged to be more committed to their mandate.

Quoting Luke 19:13, the Chairman of the university’s Board of Trustees (BOT) and President, Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Worldwide, Pastor Abraham Olukunle Akinosun, who inaugurated the Council, urged its members to ‘occupy till I come’, according to the mandate of Jesus Christ to his disciples.

He emphasised the need for members to always lead by example and use their expertise, knowledge and experience to make decisions that would bring growth and development.

The Chairman of the Governing Council, Prof A.M.A. Imevbore, appreciated the church for the confidence reposed in him and other members, and pledged to work with selflessness, integrity, objectivity and accountability.

Members of the new council include Pastor C.S. Fasuyi (Vice-Chairman); Prof Sola Fajana (Vice-Chancellor); Pastor E.E. Mapur; Pastor J.F. Omitinde; Pastor J.O. Owoeye; Pastor A.O. Fashina; Pastor Ayo Olabisi and Pastor G.C. Osuigbo.

Others are: Pastor E.O. Oyinwola; Mr. John Mairafi (NUC Representative); Pastor Sola Ajidagba; Pastor J.A. Adenle; Pastor I.A. Fabuyi; Elder J.O. Agboade; Professor E.A. Bamgboye; Prof A.K. Omideyi; Prof Kayode Ogunmoyela; Lady Evangelist O.A. Oyebadejo; Deaconess A.R. Ogunbiyi; Prof A.A. Odutuga; Prof A.O. Adeola; Prince Aderemi Adekile; Dr. V.O. Olaniyi, and Wale Aderibigbe (Secretary).

500 complete ELAT OVER 500 Chairmen of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Worldwide, that participated in the “Enhanced Leadership and Administrative Training” programme (ELAT) organised by JABU have graduated.

The ceremony, which was held amidst praises, special songs rendition and award of certificates, was well attended by the CAC Authorities, members of JABU’s Governing Council, graduands’ spouses and wellwishers.

The church President, Pastor Abraham Akinosun described the success of the three-week intensive training, which was in four batches, as the long awaited change that the church desired. He urged the participants to put into good use what they had learnt; in order to disseminate the knowledge acquired.

28

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

EDUCATION

Studying abroad better than monetary gains International study may be expensive but the career prospects and returns on investments for the students come in many folds reports SAMPSON UNAMKA

L

EARNING new skills and starting a new life have become the popular catchy phrase for European and American universities competing to recruit Nigerian students into their campuses.

Across the globe - Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, there is a growing belief that Nigerian students are just the raw intellectual diamonds waiting to make their academic classes more engaging. The best must come in return for scholarship and the promise of a good life.

And to Nigerians, the fees don't matter, the night spent in isolation while gradually being forgotten by friends and family are not daunting, neither are the strange accents and languages that sound baffling.

Overseas studies come in many shapes and shades. It might be a six-week holiday camp, a semester programme, a year foundation study or a full undergraduate degree to postgraduate studies.

The benefits of studying abroad are as bright as broadening your mind, improving your career prospects and making friends from all over the world, according to Ms Ayobami Adebayo of Euro-American Study services, who represents over 60 universities and colleges across nine countries including United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Holland and Ireland.

But investigations have shown that many of these universities charge the equivalent of millions of naira in foreign currency as tuition fees.

For instance, an average foreign university charges about two and half million naira per session while a local private university charges about one third of that amount. Ayobami agreed that cost can be an issue, but she said the prospect of scholarship and global recognition of the certificates cannot be wished away.

“Wherever you go, the value of overseas study is far more than the monetary gains.

Living and studying in another country offer a unique perspective, and provide the chance to travel, learn languages and meet people. In fact, the skills acquired by those who study overseas are clear. They are, by and large, better at communicating complex details.

They’re also used to being put in group situations and are better at building a rapport quickly,” Ms Adebayo said.

She added that universities in Holland charge either low or no tuition fees with a relatively low cost of living, while others like

UK and US schools offer a lot of scholarships, bursaries and grants to take students through their programmes.

“As you are looking at courses and fees, it’s important to check how the qualifications are regarded because while many degrees from local universities are recognised locally, European, American, Canadian and Australian universities enjoy a growing academic reputation.

“Therefore, their qualifications are internationally recognised and well thought of and that can make you more employable in many ways too, as we are operating in an increasingly global economy, where knowledge of different markets, cultures and languages is very important,” she said.

An IT specialist, Mr Kehinde Ogunleye, who studied for his Bachelor of Science degree in the U K, also averred that infrastructure must be significantly improved in Nigeria for the local universities to compete with overseas schools.

More so, he said, having a taste of another world cannot go wrong. “In fact, it was the best decision I ever made. I would definitely vote for an accomplished university in a developed society because of the global recognition of its certificates and the offer of different social activities. I was able to learn a lot of life skills, develop my sporting ability and now have friends all over the world. It was the best time of my life so far,” he said.

A Lagos based educationist, Mr Chuka Ikediashi, said the government and privately owned universities in Nigeria have not been on top of their infrastructure in terms of maintenance just as they have issues with curriculum despite the potential and human resources to be leaders world wide.

“I have seen some local universities offering computer studies with old style desktop computers scattered around a room called laboratory with cables lying all over the place in the name of connecting to internet. And the teachers are not properly motivated -not even a personal ipad of their own to catch up with

the latest updates worldwide. So it is still very helpful to send our students out to learn more in the area of sciences, engineering and management sciences if that would help us to catch up with the rest of the world,” Ikediashi said.

Mr Ishola Shittu of Divine Assurance Travels noted that the government versus lecturer squabbles over pay resulting into endless industrial actions cause students to remain stuck to the same level for long and that do not portend well for good curriculum development.

“I have actually seen one ironic situation where a student purchased his ticket from my company to start undergraduate studies in the UK and returned after seven years with a Ph.D in engineering for his NYSC while an intern in my office already undergoing a diploma programme the sametime the boy was traveling overseas, who was only able to complete her first degree and they both met again at the NYSC camp for the national service,” he said.

Findings showed that applying to study abroad even come with the advantage of lower entrance requirements, flexible intake route and longer application window in January, April and September when compared with the local universities requirements in terms of admission eligibilities, which include course options and sticking to the single September admission window.

Overseas, the academic choices are as varied as you might find. For example, the US is known for continuous assessment, whereas in Europe, courses are more specialised and passing depends on one or two examinations.

And this is in addition to its perks, which Ayobami described tourism magnets such as multicultural Europe; the Australia waves and the cultural quirks of the US and Canada.

Ayobami, a former banker, who runs a tourism and hospitality business provided further insights into the recruitment and the admission process of Nigerian students by these foreign universities when asked about the leading destination of Nigerian students.

‘Wherever you go, the value of overseas study is far more than the monetary gains. Living and studying in another country offer a unique perspective, and provide the chance to travel, learn languages and meet people’

•Ms Adebayo

“I would say many Nigerians prefer the UK, US and Canada in that order while Australia and New Zealand are just emerging as a force because of its offer of employment and other opportunities after studies. Many were able to find employment and support their families back home after their studies.

Regarding the admission process, she said: “We facilitate the process all year round through our partnership arrangement with the universities and other organisations. We engage with the prospective students to help them decide on the country, course, city and university. This is very important for suitability purposes. We then proceed to verify their documents to ensure they are genuine. And thereafter complete the admission forms and forward to the school with recommendation on behalf of the prospective students.”

When asked if the negative news from Nigeria does not deter the foreign schools from coming to recruit more Nigerian students, Ayobami said the integrity of agent/partner such as Euro- American Study Services, have been very helpful. “The Universities trust us to act on their behalf because of our longstanding integrity and straightforwardness in dealing with students issues such as identifying genuine students, verifying their certificates, helping with selection of courses and completing the placement arrangement including travel, ticketing and overseas accommodation arrangement.

While some argue on the cost of oversea’s education, many are of the view that the benefits of studying abroad - such as broadening your mind, improving career prospects and making friends from all over the world can make digging out your passport really rewarding.

King’s College inducts 509 JSS1 pupils

M

ATRICULATION is usually the preserve of tertiary institutions. However, King’s College, Lagos conducted one to welcome new sets of Junior Secondary School (JSS) 1 and Senior Secondary (SS) 1 pupils into its fold.

The colourful event for the 2014/ 2015 academic session held at the Victoria Island annex of the college last Saturday. The programme was conducted with a procession of the teachers and the new pupils wearing academic gowns; swearing to be of good behaviour and signing the matriculation oath.

There were speeches to admonish them on good behaviour, special songs to inspire them and cutting of the matriculation cake to commemorate the event.

Principal of the 105-year-old college, Otunba Dele Olapeju, said he introduced the programme at the start of the 2010/2011 academic session – the session that the junior secondary school arm of the college was reintroduced into Federal Unity Colleges after a five-year break.

Olapeju said since the JSS was restored to the colleges, the quality of pupils produced by the colleges had improved.

This session, he said, the school admitted 509 boys, who scored at

By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

least 84 per cent in the National Common Entrance Examination into JSS1 classes (compared to the national merit score, which was 69 per cent). They represent 10.18 per cent of the 5,000 that applied to the school.

“The admission process for this year’s set of matriculation began with the call for entry and registration, which was followed up with the conduct of two examinations for placement into King’s College, which is a single gender school.

Over 5,000 applicants were registered–with more than 2,500 shortlisted for the post National Common Entrance second test,” he said.

Fifty-nine pupils were admitted into JSS2, and 69 into SS1 on transfer from other schools.

However, the number admitted by the school into JSS1 also represents 30 per cent above its carrying capacity, which is 400. To deal with the extra numbers, Otunba Olapeju said parents have provided extra facilities in the college dining hall.

Olapeju counseled the new intakes to be studious in order to excel in the school that has produced many prominent professionals.

“It is a great achievement to be so privileged to matriculate in the col-

• The new JSS1 pupils.

lege. But this achievement would not make meaning except you pass out of King’s College in glowing colours in order to attain great heights as expressed in our school anthem, which says others went before you and attined the height, where they wait to cheer you victors in the fight.

It is my prayer that the Lord will give you resounding victory,” he said.

The Guest speaker, Prof Oladapo Afolabi, told the new pupils to count themselves lucky to have been

admitted, a feat he failed to achieve in his own time. He counseled them to work hard.

“Let me say I am proud of you because in my time in 1964, I couldn’t make it into this school. Because you made it, congratulations. In the early 60s and mid 80s, graduates of this school were controlling the wealth of this country. For those of you who are matriculating, what you need to do is to be better than your peers and your teachers,” he said.

The new pupils were also counseled by the General Secretary of the King’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA), Mr Lucky Idike Jr, the School Captain, Malami Saeed and the Chairman of the Parents/Teachers’ Association (PTA), Mr Emmanuel Oriakhi.

Idike told them that their six years in the school would be critical to their success in future, while Malami advised them to embrace patriotism, integrity and honesty as true Nigerian children.

How to end insurgency by Oritsejafor

*CAMPUSES

An envoy’s wise counsel for students

*NEWS *PEOPLE *KUDOS& KNOCKS *GRANTS

Page 42

Page 31

THE NATION

CAMPUS LIFE 0805-450-3104 email: campusbeat@yahoo.com THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

Website:- http://www.thenationonlineng.net

email:- campuslife@thenationonlineng.net

‘It was face-to-face with terror’ •Seven killed •Students relive ordeal in clash with community It was a bloody day at Ekosodin, a host community of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), last Thursday. Seven persons were killed in a clash between indigenes of the community and students suspected to be cultists. The Edo State government has imposed a curfew on the area to restore peace. WALE AJETUNMOBI reports.

E

KOSODIN, a residential neighbourhood close to the main campus of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), is always lively. It is mostly populated by students. With the ongoing examination at the university, movement in and out of the community has been hectic.

Last Thursday, the peace of Ekosodin was shattered as guns boomed at 7pm. There was pandemonium. Residents ran for dear lives to escape being hit.

It was gathered that some suspected cult members and Ekosodin indigenes engaged in gun battle. When the dust settled three hours later, seven people including five students and two indigenes of the town had been killed.

CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the fight followed a misunderstanding between one Mr Lawrence, an indigene, and a graduating student with the nickname, London Boy, who was said to be a suspected cult member.

Lawrence, it was gathered, almost hit London Boy with his car on Edo Street in Ekosodin. It was learnt that London Boy and his friends were holding an “after-convocation party” on the street when Lawrence drove by.

London Boy was said to have accused Lawrence of reckless driving.

London Boy: “Old boy, you won jam me with your tokunbo car? Abi them send you come?

Lawrence : “Yes, I won jam you; you no sabi talk abi? Who you be for this Ekosodin sef? Here na your papa house? Na road side them for dey hold party?

According to an eyewitness, an infuriated London Boy slapped Lawrence, who retaliated, leading to an exchange of blows. CAMPUSLIFE learnt that passers-by tried to separate them.

The eyewitness said: “Mr Lawrence went to gather his fellow indigenes and went to disperse students at the party.

London Boy and his gang went to Mr Lawrence’s house, but they did not meet him. His pregnant wife was beaten to a pulp.”

When Lawrence was informed, he was said to have mobilised more Ekosodin residents, who came out with cutlasses, guns, broken bottles and other sharp objects, chanting: “All cultists must leave Ekosodin”, “The cultists have crossed their boundaries”, “We are tired; they must go”.

Guns boomed for several hours. Students, who were caught

•A deserted street in Ekosodin

in the crossfire, ran back to the campus. But, some Ekosodin indigenes blocked the access gates, leaving the fleeing students to run into the bush.

The armed indigenes, it was learnt, ransacked the students’ hostels in the community, searching for London Boy and his gang.

During the clash, petty thieves looted supermarkets in the community and students’ properties.

The first names of two of the dead students were given as Kpowe and Pedro. The identities of other victims could not be ascertained.

The university’s rear gate was barricaded till noon of Friday by the community. UNIBEN security officers forced the gate open but the indigenes overpowered them and shut it again. Students trekked to the Benin-Lagos Expressway, where they took buses to Ugbowo to access the campus through the main gate.

Following the fracas, the management cancelled all papers slated for Friday.

The Dean of Students’ Affairs (DSA), Prof V.E. Omozuwa, went to Ekosodin with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Admin•Continued on page 30

•College students protest ‘exorbitant fee’ P32•Excitement as Coke Studio hits UNILORIN P42

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

30

CAMPUS LIFE

Pushing Out

Our loss their gain A FTER fixing my car recently, my mechanic asked me a question that I never expected from him. “Sir, how much will it cost to send my son to a university abroad?” As a result of that simple question I had to stay an extra thirty minutes hearing him out on why he wants his son to attend a foreign varsity and not a local one.

“I was told that graduates from Nigerian universities remain jobless for years while their counterparts from foreign universities, upon their return home, get jobs easily” was the singular reason he wants to send his son abroad. He said his son just wrote his SSCE and he has been saving to ensure he “travels out, even if it’s to Ghana, Togo or Benin Republic.” My attempt to convince him that there are still credible varsities in Nigeria fell on deaf ears. I had no choice but to take out time – in lay man’s language – to explain the process he would pass through for his son to study abroad.

As I drove back to the office I started reflecting and asking myself – over and over again - when and how we lost our education sector, especially the university system.

I went to the university at a time when tuition was free, throughout my five years stay - one year added due to the first ASUU strike - I paid less than N10, 000 to complete my tertiary education! I only took care of my personal needs and books. Like those in my generation, I owe the Nigerian tax payers a huge debt of gratitude for making it possible.

Consequent upon this, some of us are doing our best to impart the knowledge we acquired to the next generation that did not pass through the rigorous research regime we did. I therefore try my best - within my professional capability - to take fresh graduates and train them in the art of reporting, writing and morals. I’m glad today that it has not been in vain.

As a result of our collapsed system – our loss-, some countries have stepped in to cash in on this and make it their gain. Even the most casual observer cannot fail to notice that Nigeria is now one huge “untapped” market for agents and marketers of foreign varsities.

I have attended some of the so called “edu-

cation fairs” and most instances one is inundated with all sorts of offerings and incentives, some realistic with while others are simply outlandish.

They include scholarship opportunities, work-study offers and frag08116759750 mented fee payment schedules, opportunities for jobs, permanent resi(SMS only) dency if one so desires and a host of •aagboa@gmail.com other “juicy” offers.

I’ve had course in the past to engage some agents, marketers or representa- are not in the league of the Harvard’s of this tives of some of these institutions and it is world, but are equally credible nonetheless. amazing how a number of them turn out to Those in the lower middle class and those be charlatans looking for unsuspecting par- aspiring to enter that class make do with varents and students to fleece. Because most par- sities in Ghana, Togo, and Republic of Benin.

We still have those – like my mechanic – ents – like my mechanic – want their wards to study abroad, critical question are unfor- who don’t mind their children attending a tunately not asked. There are hidden charges foreign “portakabin university” established which only pop up once the student is settled by some “smart” Nigerians in these countries. It will astound most Nigerians that our in.

I quite agree that we are in the knowledge citizens form 80 percent of student and lecera and knowledge has become an interna- turers population in some of these institutional commodity of sort, but I also hold the tions. Note that in all these institutions, fees view that this ever-expanding international are usually paid in dollars, or in some ineducation market has benefitted immensely stances, in pound sterling or Euro.

About two years ago, Mr. Brian Wilson, from Nigeria’s deeply troubled tertiary education sector. The evidences are manifold and Programmes Director at British Council revealed at an education exhibition that 18,000 there for all to see.

Like most things Nigerian, the quest for Nigerians were currently pursuing various foreign education is in categories. At the top undergraduate and post-graduate courses in echelon are children of politicians, business Britain. Without doubt, I believe the figure moguls and the elites who prefer studying will have risen since he made this revelain the United States of America, the United tion.

This may be mere figures until we do the Kingdom and some European Union countries. In some of these countries, the fee is math then we will realise how dare our situstructured in ways where foreign students ation is. Remember also that we are talking pay twice what citizens pay. The extra fees here about just one country out of a host of foreigners pay are used to subsidise the fees others that Nigerians go in search of educaof at least two of the host country’s citizens. tion. Let’s take £30,000 as the average amount Within this group, we also have politicians spent by a Nigerian studying in the UK. The and businessmen who have the wherewithal figure in Naira at an exchange rate of N250 to send their children to the best universities would be N7.5million. If we multiply £30,000 in the west no matter the cost; but because of by 18,000, it boils down to £540,000,000. Concorruption charges and the fact that they – or vert £540,000,000 to naira and you get a whoptheir children – cannot enter the west, they ping N135billion.

To me, the irony of the whole situation is make do with countries in the middle east like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. In this: Nigerians lampoon their country as a these countries, questions are not asked as place where nothing works and a country you can simply walk in with your money, no without a future. But it is from this same country that the funds to sponsor students matter how dirty it is.

The next category is the upper middle class abroad come from. I know quite a couple who send their children to universities which of Nigerians who fund their home mort-

Agbo Agbo

‘Face-to-face with terror’ •Continued from page 29

istration), Prof Lawrence Ezemonye, on Friday, to assess the situation. He pleaded with the students to remain calm and urged the community to embrace peace.

Omozuwa was booed by the angry students, who accused him of neglect, when he wanted to address them. He promptly left with Ezemonye “The DSA is a wicked man; he has never visited us for once. All he does is to sit in his office and bark orders. I wonder why he was made the Dean, because the man is totally anti-student,” a student said.

Students relived their ordeal during the fracas.

Timothy Osarogiuwa said: “The incident was a sad experience I don’t pray to witness it again. I thought the end has come. I was in a barbing saloon charging my phone when the fight started. I ran out in fear but when I got into my room, bullets hit the roof. I quickly called my roommates in school not to leave the campus. My phone rang continuously because my parents were calling to know my whereabouts.

All through the night, my parents kept calling to know if I was safe.”

A final year Law student, who did not give his name, said: “I have stayed in Ekosodin for five years and this is the worst incident I have experienced. We used to witness cult clashes but this time around, it was community versus students. I

was returning from school and when it happened. I saw people armed with guns, cutlasses and broken bottles. I ran back to the school gate. When I got there, I discovered that the gate, which I passed a few minutes ago, had been locked and barricaded by some indigenes. I hid myself in the bricks. I prayed to God not to let stray bullet hit me where I was hiding. It was face to face with terror.”

A student, Unity Obuse, who was in church when the fight started, said: “Students ran into the church for safety. When we heard gunshots, we stopped the service immediately.”

A grocery shop owner, who simply identified herself as Madam Iyabo, said: “I was attending to a customer when I heard gunshots. I locked up my shop and left the remaining goods outside. I slept in the shop till the next morning. When I opened the shop the next day, some of the goods I left outside had been carted away. But this does not bother me, because I am alive.”

Faith Ogbebor and Grace Eromosele, who are students of Agriculture, alleged that they were robbed by some armed men during the fight.

When our correspondent visited Ekosodin last Monday, the lively community was a ghost town. A dusk-to-dawn curfew has been imposed on the area. Many students have left their hostels to squat with friends on campus.

gages abroad from the money they earn in Nigeria, some even have families doing nothing abroad who are catered for with money earned from the home front.

Can you imagine what would happen if these fund is injected into our local economy? However, this is issue for another day.

How did we get here? Brian Wilson echoed the minds of millions of Nigerians, when he advised the Federal Government to do more toward improving the standard of education in Nigeria. With more than 129 Universities offering less than 300,000 slots in a country where over one million candidates seek placements every year, many anxious parents with enough funds have been persuaded to seek alternative placements for their wards in foreign Universities. Some, after many years’ attempt to gain admission to a local university proved futile choose this option while others migrated because they could not scale the UME, and post UME hurdle.

However, where a particular parent sends his or her wards to depends on a combination of factors. While Universities in the USA, Canada and the United Kingdom (UK) are considered relatively safer for Nigerian students, the required fees are beyond the reach of many. Many American Universities charge foreign students about $40,000 (N6.8million) annually.

The cost is far less in countries like Malaysia, India, Ukraine and Cyprus where foreign students get to pay about half of what they would have coughed out in western tertiary institutions. In these countries, parents are hoodwinked about security, social and other issues thereby leading them into taking poorly informed decisions that in some sad cases has led to the loss of their loved ones.

Studying abroad undoubtedly has its merits, including opportunity to attend top-class universities in different cultural settings and, of course, brighter international career opportunities, but what about our home front?

Unfortunately, much of the resources of our varsities end up as recurrent expenditure – payment of salaries and spending on noncapital projects. The precarious situation is ever bogged down by poor funding as well as ill-conceived, inconsistent and outright failure of government policies. Research is almost nonexistent. So what happens after we milk the cow (Nigeria) dry?

Unknown gunmen kill Kogi varsity lecturer

•The late Otitolaiye

A

LECTURER at the Department of Agricultural Economics of the Kogi State University (KSU) in Anyigba, Dr Justice Olurotimi Otitolaiye, has been killed by unknown gunmen. He was killed three days to the defence of his professorial thesis before the Senate. The deceased was said to have been abducted by the gunmen while running an errand for his family.

CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the lecturer was abducted at 9pm on Friday around the campus. A colleague of the slain lecturer, who did not want his name in print, described the late Otitolaiye as a man who never “bore no grudge against anyone”, saying he maintained cordial relations with everyone, including students.

Reacting to the incident, the Dean, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Prof Charles Oyewole,

From Mohammed Yabagi KSU said the late Dr Otitolaiye was lively and loved by all. He wondered who could have killed Dr Otitolaiye.

Oyewole said: “Dr Otitolaiye was friendly. Everyone that had contact with him can testify to this. Every student and staff of the university was his friend. He had a nickname for everyone in the faculty and they had nicknames for him too.”

A top member of management, who was among those that retrieved the lecturer’s remains, told CAMPUSLIFE that the body was found at Ejule, a neighbouring community,

‘Everyone that had contact with him can testify to this. Every student and staff of the university was his friend. He had a nickname for everyone in the faculty and they had nicknames for him too’

following a tip-off by residents.

A lecturer said the late Otitolaiye’s wife informed his colleagues when her husband did not return home on time. It was learnt that the slain lecturer left his residence at 3pm and was seen in company of his friends drinking at a restaurant close to the campus.

CAMPUSLIFE learnt that the deceased left the restaurant to pick up a bag of Semovita for his family. This was when his assailants came and reportedly bundled him into their vehicle.

A source said: “Dr Otitolaiye’s car was seen across the road by one of his friends with the front door left ajar. So, when the friend came down from his own vehicle to try to find out what was going on, he found the car empty. He called Otitilaiye’s phone and learnt it was off. He then raised the alarm as to a possible case of kidnap.”

Stella Madu, a student of Agricultural Economics, fought back tears when she learnt about the death of her lecturer. She said: “Dr Otitolaiye was like a father to many of us.”

Meanwhile, the management of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences has paid a condolence visit to the family of the slain lecturer.

The late Otitolaye is survived by a wife and three children.

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

31

CAMPUS LIFE The Centre for Igbo Studies at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) has held a memorial lecture in honour of the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe. President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor spoke on the challenges of insurgency at the event. OLADELE OGE (Mass Communication) reports.

How to end insurgency,

by Oritsejafor

T

HE presence of Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, president of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) in Enugu State, last Tuesday, was seen as a blessing by students. Reason: they were itching to get him to speak on his alleged involvement in the botched $9.3 million arms deal in South Africa.

But, Pastor Oritsejafor, the guest speaker at a memorial lecture in honour of the late Dr Nnamdi Azikwe, organised by the Centre for Igbo Studies, chose to speak on insecurity in the Northeast.

The event took place at the Princess Alexandria Auditorium.

Dignitaries, including former Anambra State Governor Chukwuemeka Ezeife, and National Chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) Chief Victor Umeh graced the event, but all eyes were on the CAN president.

As Pastor Oritsejafor stepped out to read his 41-page paper titled: Nationalism and the Politics of National Security: The Christian and the Boko Haram Challenge, there was pindrop silence in the auditorium. Those who expected the clergyman to speak on his ordeal in the failed arm deal were

•Pastor Oritsejafor displaying a plaque and certificate presented to by the organiser. With him are Chief Umeh and Prof. Augustin Obachukwu, who represented the vice-chancellor Prof. Benjamin Ozumuba.

disappointed. He spoke mainly on the activities of Boko Haram in the Northeast.

In his lecture, Pastor Oritsejafor identified what must be done to find a lasting solution to the security challenges. The nation, he said, must stop the pretence that the Boko Haram insurgency is not a product of religion.

He urged the people to continue to pray for peace, adding that the military campaign in the Northeast must be strengthened and made effective by the support of the people.

He advised the security agencies to step up efforts to bring the crisis to an end and urged the service chiefs to cleanse the military of personnel, who are sympathetic to the Boko Haram’s cause.

The clergyman, however, said that the war against the insurgents could only be won through effective collaboration between the political class and religious leaders. The CAN president called on Muslim leaders and traditional rulers to devise means to reach out to the grassroots and in-

form the people on what he called “dangerous ideologies” of the Boko Haram fighters.

He said the Boko Haram belief was against the tenets of Islam and Christianity. “Our respected Muslim brothers must help to meet the grassroots and build into the heart of the average Muslims on what Nigeria stands for. We have no option but to remain united as one people with diverse ethnic and religious groups, while government on its part must seriously tackle the problem of

our porous borders and ensure right people are chosen to secure our borders,” he said.

Pastor Oritsejafor, who is also the founder and president of Word of Life Bible Church in Warri, Delta State, urged Nigerians to put their political and religious differences aside and forge a common front to fight the Boko Haram monster, which, he said, knew neither brothers nor friends.

He Nigeria would remain a strong and indivisible entity, despite the divisive activities being perpetrated by enemies of the country.

Umeh urged Igbo people to see their culture as pride, saying the tribe would gain nothing for abandoning its language for alien languages. He also advised the youth to promote love and work hard to build better future for themselves.

On the challenges facing the black race and how to restore promote the speaking of local language, Ezeife said the people must unite and exchange idea on how to take Africa out of poverty. He said the good climate, natural resources and presence of vast fertile land for agricultural activities should spur development in Africa rather than crisis.

In an interview after the event, Pastor Oritsejafor urged citizens to live in harmony, saying promoting peace in the North should be business of everyone, because violence does not ask for religion and tribe.

He urged the Federal Government to step up efforts to free 219 schoolgirls kidnapped in Chibok in Borno State. When reporters asked about his opinion on the failed arm deal, one of Pastor Oritsejafor’s security aides drove journalists away and said: “You have had enough.”

Seven university students have presented their proposals on how to promote the cash-less policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), using Verve e-Cash tool. They made their presentation during the My Cash-less Campus Challenge organised

by Verve International and Enactus Nigeria. WALE AJETUNMOBI reports.

T

HEY came from different higher institutions but their motive was the same- to develop business strategies aimed at entrenching the cash-less policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in tertiary institutions.

The seven undergraduates presented their designs on ways to launch cash-less transactions on their campuses at the My Cash-less Campus Challenge, a business-oriented contest, organised by Verve International and Enactus Nigeria.

The event was held at Verve’s head office on Victoria Island, Lagos, last Thursday.

The contest, according to the organisers, was to promote the adoption of Verve e-Cash, an innovative electronic tool that allows users to conduct online transactions, including cash transfers and payments.

As part of the strategy to drive the cash-less campus campaign, Enactus has held several workshops on campuses to empower students with information on how to explore the Verve e-Cash product. To enable students to drive the strategy, the contest was introduced to challenge them to develop innovative solutions on their campuses.

Michael Ajayi, the acting Country Director of Enactus, said more than 400 students sent in proposals to participate in the competition. He said: “After the physical and online workshops held for students, we received more than 400 entries but we trickled them down to 20 after preliminary screening.

We finally got the seven undergraduates whose proposals could help drive the Verve e-Cash product.”

The seven contestants were attached to mentors for two weeks, during which they learned tips on how they could improve the mar-

ketability of their strategies.

Ajayi added that the whole process took more than 12 months before the competition was finally held.

The seven finalists presented their proposals on a projector, detailing how they would achieve the cashless economy on their campuses. Their proposals were perused by a panel of judges comprising Information Technology (IT) and business development experts.

Tony Ossai, a student of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), said theft by employees was rampant in the university and threatened the growth of small-scale businesses on the campus. He designed an IT strategy on how to solve the problem.

The first task, he said, is to design a quick-teller application for smart phones that would make it possible for customers to make payments via online platform. After this, Tony said: “There would be campus-wide awareness to orientate students on how they can use the interface to make payments for the services without having to carrying cash.”

If there is no cash exchange between customers and employees of small-scale businesses, Tony said sharp practices would be reduced and students would be encourage to invest.

For Gbolahan Ajijola, a student of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), the use of electronic ticket for the payment of transport fare, could provide jobs and save time. He designed a Mobile Ticket Interface, an electronic platform that would enable commercial drivers on campuses collect fare without exchange of cash.

How would this happen?

For a cash-less campus •Ms Akah (left) joined by Ajayi (right) to present the cheque to the Gbolahan

Gbolahan said: “Mobile Picket Interface can only work in a controlled environment. The number of drivers and passengers must be known before the application can be operated. Staff and students who use commercial transport will register on the platform through their mobile phones and make payments for their journey. With this, the drivers get their money without hitch and argument with anyone.”

At the end of the two hours challenge, Gbolahan’s proposal was

declared the most feasible by the judges. He got N500,000 cheque.

Rowland Briggs, a student of UNIPORT, came second and went home with N300,000 cheque; Emmanuel Chikaodiri, a student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), got N200,000 cheque for coming third.

Ms Oremeyi Akah, Country Manager of Verve International, described the students’ proposals as “brilliant ideas”, saying the firm held the contest to develop students’ in-

novative minds to drive the cashless policy on campuses.

She said: “We are leveraging on the Verve e-Cash platform to explore the innovative minds of the youth and I got excited as I listened to the students’ presentation. I could see the youth are endowed in so much potentials, given the detailed researches they did on how cashless policy can work on their campus. If we implement just one of the ideas, the impact would be so enormous and how much more could we get if we invest in all the proposals.”

32

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

CAMPUS LIFE

•Olusegun (middle) with other students’ leaders addressing the protesters

A

CTIVITIES were grounded at the College of Health Technology in Ijero-Ekiti, Ekiti State on Monday when students protested what they called “exorbitant tuition” and “poor learning environment”. The students demanded the sack of the Provost, Pastor Bayo Ojo, and a reduction in fees.

They embarked on the protest, following the management’s alleged refused to meet their demands.

The protesters said they paid between N90,000 and N120,000 as tuition, yet hold classes under trees. The school, they said, lacks adequate facilities, including hostels, library, functional hospital

•The students during the demonstration

Students protest ‘exorbitant fee’ From Temitope Yakubu ADO POLY and classrooms to aid learning. The students said non-availability of electricity is making their stay on the campus sad. They accused lecturers of exhorting them through the sale of handouts and academic materials they could not get in the library.

The students barricaded the road leading to the institution, chanting solidarity songs. The protesters were led by the Deputy Senate President of the National Associa-

tion of Nigerian Students (NANS), Olusegun Famuyibo and chairman of Ekiti axis of Joint Campus Committee (JCC), Adetunji Bankole.

Olusegun said he started the agitation for a better welfare, noting that the protest was not to blackmail anyone in the institution but to rescue the college from collapse.

He said: “We shall not, at any point in time, negotiate our stand on the welfare of the students and standard in the school. We shall always stand on the side of justice, good administration and qualitative education. We will continue to

unite, mobilise and protest until the management accedes to the demand of students.”

Adetunji said education had been made exclusive preserve of the rich.

He said: “The exorbitant fees are anti-poor and unaffordable. The extortion policy contradicts the vision of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and it is calculated to take education out of the reach of the children of the civil servants because Ekiti State is a civil service state. Bankole urged Governor Ayo Fayose to reduce the fees and provide facilities.

The college’s Students’ Union Government (SUG) president, Ifeoluwa Adewuyi, appealed to the government to improve funding of the school. He said the protest was the first in the history of the college.

While the protest was going on, the Provost drove to the scene to placate the students but he was not allowed to speak as the protesters chased him away. Efforts by CAMPUSLIFE to reach him were futile as he did not pick calls and reply to text messages sent to his phone number.

IMSU gets ICT Centre, Law building

T

HE Imo State University (IMSU) has got two new buildings, courtesy of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

The projects are Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centre and an ultra-modern building for the Faculty of Law. They were commissioned by the Minister of State for Education, Prof Viola Onwuliri, who represented President Goodluck Jonathan. The buildings are close to each other.

Prof Onwuliri urged management and students to make good use of the facilities, saying they were important assets for the school’s development. She said the Federal Government was committed to transforming the education sector by ensuring projects meant for tertiary institutions were provided without political consideration.

The minister also revealed that the government was planning to execute another N1.5 billion project in the university. She said: “The Federal government is making effort to ensure that education in Nigeria is something other nations will envy and copy. We want

S

TUDENTS have been advised to create wealth and values out of their passion.

Prof Olusegun Ogunba, a lecturer, said students must develop their latent abilities to be self-reliant, given the growing unemployment.

Ogunba was the guest lecturer at the launch of Dunamis, a magazine published by Funke Oshin, a graduate of English Language and Literary Studies at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in IleIfe, Osun State.

Ogunba, a senior lecturer at the

From Ekene Ahaneku IMSU students to reciprocate this gesture by shunning examination malpractices and cultism.”

The Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Ukachukwu Awuzie, said the institution had been on sustained development since 1992. He said TETFund intervention would complement the effort of the state government to provide adequate facilities in the university.

The VC said the school could boast of e-library with the help of TETFund, praising the agency for its effort to promote quality education.

The chairman of TETFund, Dr Musa Babayo, represented by the agency’s Secretary, Mallam Suleiman Bogoro, said the agency had spent N4 billion on various projects in the university in the last seven months. He said: “Aside infrastructural development, TETFund also promotes human development through capacity building for students in various institutions.”

Some students, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, hailed the agency for investing in the university.

Callistus Mbam, a 300-Level Theatre Arts student, said: “I am privi-

•The Faculty of Law building

leged to witness the occasion and I could feel the usefulness of the building to improving quality of teaching. The projects will affect us in positive ways.”

Victor Unegbu, a 400-Level Law student, said: “We will always be grateful to TETFund, Federal Government and the management for making these projects a reality. For the Law students, we are happy to have been given the best building as our faculty. The conduciveness of the building will make us improve in our studies and knowledge.”

•Prof Onwuliri joined by the school’s principal officers to commission the projects

Create wealth from your talent, students told From Afees Lasisi OAU Department of Estate Management in OAU, praised the publisher, saying he could not publish a magazine as an undergraduate despite his passion for writing short stories and articles.

He told members of the audience, who were mainly youth, to

see education as a tool to explore their innate abilities, while charging them to be focused and set their targets.

Student, he said, should not come to university only to get grade, but also to think of what they can do to affect the well-being of their environment and people around them.

He said: “Funke has shown the world that despite the challenges facing students on campus and after graduation, they can still exploit their condition to do something that will benefit humanity.”

Funke, who beamed with smiles as she responded, advised students to discover their potential and explore their talents to create wealth and values. She said: “You have to

start up; you have to take the bold step and you will be surprised to see that it will come out well.”

Narating how her love for book motivated her passion for publishing, Funke said: “I chose to study law, but I was given English Language and Literary Studies. I thought it was a disappointment and my parents thought I would one day change to law. Since I started studying English and Literary Studies, I have developed passion for writing and this brought the dream for Dunamis Media in 2011.”

Newspaper of the Year

AN 8-PAGE PULLOUT ON SOUTHEAST STATES

N100m fake products burnt in NAFDAC crackdown •PAGE 34

Anger as voter card’s distribution ends in Imo

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

PAGE 33

Safety orientation for FRSC staff, motorists

•PAGE 34

•PAGE 40

•An attempt at fixing one erosion site on Onitsha-Owerri Road

Erosion agony in Anambra

The pain is not just that their soil is breaking up and giving way. Or that the residents are losing property. The torment of Ekwusigo Local Government Area in Anambra State is that nobody has come to their aid. Now, erosion is claiming lives, reports NWANOSIKE ONU

I

T is not a pretty pastime, yet every resident counts their losses. Their houses collapse into the depths of red earth. So do farmlands. Many buildings could follow suit. Now they are counting their human losses, too.

Communities in Ekwusigo Local Government Area, Anambra State epitomise the horrors of much of the Southeast, but in this council, the people say they have a reason to feel doubly hurt. Why? No one is listening to them even though they started crying out well over a decade ago.

Two brothers of the Igwemadu family in Urumabiam community

‘

in Ozubulu have died of a heart attack, the latest victims, the people said, of their horrible present and an uncertain future.

Their appeals spanning over 10 years to the federal and state governments have done nothing to address their pain.

The people recall that only the Peter Obi administration made an attempt to look their way but even then, it was in the twilight of his second term: too little, too late.

The House of Assembly member representing the people, Hon Pauly Onyeka has been in tears over what his people are going through.

Onyeka said his people believe

We do not want to lose more lives before they come to help us. To tell you the truth, we are suffering and smiling. Our major concern is every time election comes, all of them including the Governor will come and promise heaven and earth, but after voting them in, they will abandon those that voted them to die slowly; it is unfortunate

,

that Governor Willie Obiano will one day visit the suffering people and begin palliative work on the sites since they know that the situa-

tion is beyond the state government.

One of the elders in Ihembosi community, 74-year-old Ichie

Ezekwem Ezeana, told The Nation that the community alone has about 14 erosion sites, and that the residents have been living in fear.

When The Nation visited the area, the sites were horrible to behold. The agony of the people is immense.

The old man, in tears, said, “I cannot say that our government is a listening one, otherwise it would have noticed the devastation in these areas” “We do not want to lose more lives before they come to help us.

•Continued on page 36

ge 33

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

34

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT N100m fake products burnt in NAFDAC crackdown

T

HE National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has taken its crusade against patrons and manufacturers of counterfeit, fake and substandard drugs to the Southeast, destroying unhealthy drugs valued at N100 million in Enugu.

The counterfeit products confiscated from traders, drug manufacturers and dealers included beverages, drugs particularly those of malaria, cosmetic products and drinks.

The Director of Special Duties, Dr. Abubakar Jimoh who stood in for the NAFDAC Director General Dr. Paul Orhii supervised the destruction.

Jimoh said NAFDAC was committed to ridding the nation of such products because of their harmful effect on the public.

He said that the exercise which began in Kaduna with the destruction of fake products worth N50 million, would be a continuous one as the agency would not relent in its determination to rid the country of counterfeit and substandard products which are harmful to humanity.

He also disclosed that the agency

From Chris Oji, Enugu

would destroy 20 trailer loads of counterfeit drugs in Kano, 10 trailer loads of such illegal products in Onitsha, Anambra State and other states where such bad products had been impounded.

He urged everybody to join NAFDAC in fighting the menace of counterfeit drugs because no one knows who will fall victim.

Jimoh therefore enjoined everybody including the drug manufacturers, the media and security agencies to help out in the battle against counterfeit drugs, which fight, he said, NAFDAC has started winning with the type of technologies already deployed for the exercise.

He stated that in past years, the fight against counterfeit drugs have been yielding results because the rate with which the country was dogged with counterfeit drugs has reduced to the barest minimum while they were still trying to reduce it to zero tolerance.

The DG, Special Duties pointed out that what has been helping in the fight is the cutting edge technology employed by the NAFDAC boss, Dr. Orhii to fish out fake and counterfeit drugs as well as the

•Unhealthy drugs being burnt

‘

•A heap of the unhealthy drugs about to be burnt in Enugu hand device used by NAFDAC officials that can detect fake drugs from markets and pharmaceutical stores in the country.

Jimoh also pointed out that NAFDAC is not alone in fighting the counterfeit drugs as the agency was working in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, WHO and other world class agencies that are partners in ridding the society of counterfeit products not only in drugs but also food including water for consumption.

He stressed that NAFDAC has been working assiduously to rid the country of counterfeit drugs but some people misconstrued them and think that they had gone to sleep whereas they are working silently.

“Some think that NAFDAC has gone to sleep in the fight against fake drugs but it is not so; we are working silently through well-coordinated approach. We are winning the war against drug counter-

Some think that NAFDAC has gone to sleep in the fight against fake drugs but it is not so; we are working silently through a well-coordinated approach.

We are winning the war against drug counterfeiting

,

feiting,” he said.

Jimoh noted that what spurred NAFDAC into action was because Orhii who had been to developed countries of the world found out that they had achieved zero tolerance for counterfeit drugs coupled with the fight that his predecessor, late Prof. Dora Akunyili had started

the onerous task of ridding the country of such illicit products that are harmful to health.

The destruction of the drugs was witnessed by various organizations including members of the NYSC, the Custom, Immigration, and Civil Defence Corps, the Media as well as drug manufacturers.

Anger as voter card’s ‘ distribution ends in Imo With what I have seen, it is obvious T that INEC was not prepared for the

HE distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and Continuous Voter’s Registration has ended in Imo State with a call for its cancellation. Aggrieved voters called the exercise a flop.

The exercise which started on a shaky note left much to be desired as over 20 million PVCs were reportedly missing. The exercise was characterised by heavy protests and severe criticisms.

For instance, in most of the local government areas visited by The Nation, there was a large turnout of people but the few capturing machines were either slow or totally out of service, resulting in chaos at most of the centres.

In the absence of INEC staff, the ad-hoc personnel told agitated people waiting to be registered that the setback resulted from lack of sustainable power to run the machines.

At Umudagu Mbieri and Ezinihitte Mbieri both in Mbaitoli Council Area of the State, the situation was worse as aggrieved indigenes accused INEC of systematically disenfranchising them.

At Orie-Agu Central School in Ehime Mbano Council Area, for-

From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

eigners from Niger Republic were caught with Permanent Voters’ Card (PVC), while many others caught registering.

The State Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere, who monitored the exercise on the first day, blamed INEC for the shortcomings.

He noted that the electoral body was not prepared for the exercise, “with what I have seen today, it is obvious that INEC was not prepared for the exercise. You can see the impressive turn-out; the people have been waiting but none of the machines are functioning and that is quite appalling”.

In the first two days, the voters endured the frustrations of waiting endlessly at the polling units to collect their PVC, but when it became obvious that the names of some of those they were registered in 2011 were no longer on the INEC list, all hell was let loose as the people took to the street in mass protest against what they claimed was a ploy by the Commission to compromise the 2015.

On that fateful day, thousands of

exercise. You can see the impressive turn-out; the people have been waiting but none of the machines are functioning and that is quite appalling

,

angry voters who could not collect the PVC overrun the INEC Headquarter in the state, calling for the immediate redeployment of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Selina Oko. The protest which resulted in heavy gridlock along the busy Port Harcourt-Owerri Road and other parts of the capital city, crippled activities at the INEC Secretariat as the REC and other staff of the Commission were held hostage by the protesters who locked up the entrance gate and prevented vehicles from going in or leaving the premises.

Addressing reporters, Victor Okonkwo alleged that INEC colluded with some politicians to hijack the PVC, saying that the Commission has proved that it cannot be trusted to conduct a free and fair election in the state.

Expressing his doubts over the 2015 general elections in the state, Okonkwo described the withholding of the PVC by INEC as ‘electronic’ rigging, which he said was one of the newly introduced measures to undermine the conduct of the election in the state.

According to him, “we demand the immediate release of our PVC.

Let this not be an electronic rigging, INEC, our PVC is our right, let us be real Nigerians, why hijack some booths, INEC has failed.

About 20 million PVC are missing in the state”.

He threatened further that, “there won’t be election in the state until INEC does the right thing. INEC should not disenfranchise Imo people, we say no to this plot”.

Meanwhile, addressing the protesters at the Government House, the Commandant General of the Rochas Campaign Organization and Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Barr Iheukwumere Araribe, assured that the obvious malpractices will be urgently addressed.

He noted that the reported malfunctioning of the machines could be one of the ploys by INEC to disenfranchise the people.

Also irked by INEC’s poor performance, the State Governor, Rochas Okorocha also called for the total cancellation of the ongoing voters’ registration in the state.

He insisted that the exercise has grossly fallen short of standard and •Continued on page 37

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

35

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

•Prof Mbonu (middle, in suit) with Dr. Akabuike (second left); Dr. Ikeakor (right) and others at the presentation of the equipment

H

OW do you discourage people from travelling abroad to treat almost every ailment, and save money? It is by equipping the hospitals at home, says the Chief Emma Bishop Okonkwo Foundation.

The foundation demonstrated this by donating some high-value items to the Anambra State University Teaching Hospital (ANSUTH). The gesture thrilled staff of the hospital.

The equipment, according to Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Joseph Akabuike, will stop what he described as medical tourism through which millions of naira is lost.

Some of the donated equipment included four units of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, fowler beds, plain beds, attending beds, emergency recovery trolleys, obstetric labour tables, obstetric labour examination

A healthcare boost in Anambra From Nwanosike Onu, Awka

tables, bedside lockers and over-bed tables.

Others were wheelchair folders, hydraulic operating tables in wooden boxes, crash carts, IV stands, monitor trolleys, instrument trolleys and dressing trolleys, all in varying numbers amounting to 58 units.

The cash donated was not mentioned but The Nation gathered that the equipment given out was worth over N200 million.

Akabuike said the administration of Governor Willie Obiano is committed to boosting medical infrastructure in the state teaching hospital.

This, according to him, is a means of ending what he called capital flight through overseas travels for medical attention.

He said the Obiano administration is focused on attracting rich individuals from other states to Anambra for medical care rather going abroad.

Furthermore, he said the state is encouraging rich individuals and corporate organizations to donate medical equipment for the upgrade of the hospital, adding that Obiano’s dream of making the state attractive will be realised.

Again, Akabuike said that in countries like Nigeria, donor agencies are very rarely regarded, adding that rich

•Governor Rochas Okorocha in a handshake with Prince Gill Ogbonna, General President of Ohaji/Egbema Elders Council on a visit to Government House, Owerri.

individuals who should help tend to invest more in politics than helping the poor.

“Here today, we have a man who knows the importance of donating to charity; he has always done so and we appreciate him” “This institution has a lot of potentials and the management team here has been managing it well, even with the meager resources available”.

“Government is committed to giv-

ing Anambra a world-class health facility that can meet the health needs of the people and even stop medical tourism”.

“We call on other rich individuals to make contributions as government cannot do everything for us, but with the help of some individuals, these things will be achievable” The former President General of •Continued on page 37

‘Ohaneze council coming’

A

RE Ndigbo discriminated against in Abia State because they hail from elsewhere? If that is true, an Ohaneze development council in the state will correct that.

That is the position of Chief Friday Nwosu, a governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said he will create such a council if he succeeds Governor Theodore Orji next year.

Addressing a rally convened by the Nzuko Ohanaeze Ngwa Na Ukwa and Ukwa/Ngwa Peoples Council at the Ngwa Cultural Centre in Aba, Nwosu said that the creation of such a council has become necessary to unite Ndigbo rather than discriminate against them as non-indigenes in sister states.

“If I become governor, I will create an Ohanaeze Local Government Development Council to take care of all Ndigbo who are not from Abia State; they will become indigenes.

Ndigbo will no longer be regarded as non-indigenes in Igbo land. The dichotomy between the Ukwa/ Ngwa and non-natives will be gone forever. We must ensure the unity of Ndigbo wherever they find themselves.”

Speaking for their organisations, National Coordinator, Nzuko Ohanaeze Ndi Ngwa Na Ukwa, Mr. Maurice Uchechi and Chairman, Ukwa/Ngwa Peoples Council, Prof.

Benjamin Eheazu, endorsed Nwosu as their consensus candidate for the

From Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

2015 governorship election in the state, insisting that he remains the right person to succeed Governor Theodore Orji.

The two Ukwa/Ngwa socio-political groups attributed their decisions to endorse Nwosu to his sterling performances in the past and his contribution to the sustenance of peace in the state party, adding that the guber aspirant has the best capacity to take Abia to the next level among his contemporaries.

According to them, “The people of the nine local government areas of the Ukwa/Ngwa bloc want a grassroots person who has always identified with the cause of the people. Barrister Friday Nwosu perfectly fits the bill; his integrity, levelheadedness and godliness towers above other aspirants. With Barrister Friday’s Nwosu’s attributes of honesty, transparency, godliness and untiring dedication to the cause of the people, Ukwa/ Ngwa gladly presents him to Abia people as a consensus candidate for the position of governor in 2015.”

“The Ukwa/Ngwa people cannot fail to present the right candidate to Abia people; we adopted Nwosu because he has proved his mettle over the years.

“We have adopted Barrister Friday •Continued on page 38

‘ THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

36

37

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

•Pa Azodo (right); Hon. Onyeka and family members at the back of his erosion-threatened house

•Anazodo's house under threat of erosion

Erosion agony in‘Anambra

•Continued from page 33 To tell you the truth, what we are doing in Ekwusigo is suffering and smiling.”

“Our major concern is every time election comes, all of them including the governor will come and promise heaven and earth, but after voting them in, they will abandon those that voted them to die slowly; it is unfortunate”.

Also, the building belonging to 76 year old Pa Onyejiaka Anazodo is at the verge of being swept away by the same menace and the septuagenarian is in his knees begging Obiano and other governments for help.

The fence of the building is already gone. Should the house cave in, the man and his family have

nowhere to go.

Furthermore, The Nation was told that the traditional ruler of the area, Igwe Dr. Daniel Udoji has made appeals and representatives to the government, all to no avail.

Chukwulobe Ifeanyi said the erosion problem in the area began in 1996 and then escalated because of the activities of the construction firm, Consolidated Construction Company (CCC) when it began reconstructing Onitsha- Owerri Road, a federal way.

He said, “the construction company failed to direct the erosion to Ekulo River, so all the water from Ichi, Ifite, Oraifite were all channelled to this place” “And if the thing is allowed to continue, by next rainy season, this area will be swallowed and many

lives will be lost, while uncountable numbers of buildings will equally go.”

It was discovered that the erosion problem has cut off some communities from others, two of them being Awo and Ifite.

A student of Saint Paul University Ufondu Emenike told The Nation that Awo Road linking Ifite was passable up till 2012 until the rains came and swept off the place.

The erosion menace has equally consumed the house of one Gabriel Asuzu. The site of the erosion is believed to be the longest in West Africa, measuring about four kilometers.

It is also said that the building belonging to one Ikechukwu Asuzu is on the verge of being swallowed up by the erosion.

Our former governor, Mr. Peter Obi, sent a delegation for palliative measures before he left office and I know that our new governor, Chief Willie Obiano, is an environment-friendly governor and will not allow his people to perish. We cannot continue in this manner; nobody knows what the future holds for these people, every community in Ekwusigo has at least 10 erosion sites. Therefore, we need help and urgent attention

•Echezona, one of the indigenes from Ozubulu

erosion, one of the residents of Ozubulu community, Anaeto Echezona said that many people in the area have started what he called movement of Jah people (Exodus) to other communities.

“We are almost dead in these ar-

eas, we need somebody to rescue us from this problem of erosion; the people of the different communities do not feel comfortable any more in their own land.”

However, The Nation discovered that some of the erosion sites were man-made, caused by land excava-

,

Speaking with The Nation, one of the rural women, Mrs. Catherine Mbonu said the problem began about 15 years ago and has attracted no form of help from anybody or government.

Following the rapid surge of the

Anger as voter card’s distribution ends in Imo ‘ •Continued from page 35 expectations.

The Imo Governor noted that the shoddy manner the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has handled the registration exercise as well as the distribution of the Permanent Voters’ Card (PVC), has shown that the Commission was not ready for the exercise, stressing that INEC should cancel every other activity relating to the registration until it is seen to be ready.

The Governor while meeting with leaders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) from the 27 Council Areas of the State, who had, through their individual reports given worrisome accounts of how the exercise failed in the areas, frowned at the indifferent attitude adopted by INEC, despite the widespread complaints against the exercise.

Meanwhile before the meeting, various groups had also described the INEC exercise as a sham and a deliberate attempt to reduce the voting strength of the state.

According to the Governor, ”I

have gone round myself to over 20 wards and I found out that there is no evidence to show that the INEC voter registration exercise is designed to succeed in the State. I saw lengthy queues of people without any registration going on. And the machines are not available in most of the places. And the few available ones are not working. Either the battery is dead or the printer is not printing or the computer cannot register anybody”.

He added further that, “some people have been to most of the wards for more than five times since the exercise began to register but, they have not been registered.

At some places where the old machines are available you see only ten people being registered between 9am and 4pm. The aim for which we declared public holidays appears to have been defeated.

“So, from all indications the exercise is designed to fail. It is obvious INEC is not ready for the exercise. So, I would advice INEC to cancel this registration exercise and come up when they are fully prepared. People are suffering for desiring to play their civic role. And INEC wants to end this registration

tion especially at Egbema Ozubulu which had gone five feet deep, while others are caused by natural disasters.

Chief Goddy Ulasi, the Vice president General of Ozubulu Development Union (ODU), told The Nation that the Urumabiam erosion site had been there for the past 20 years.

He claims that some of the people have relocated to other areas where they would be safe, while the government at any level allowed people to be consumed.

“This erosion has cut off brothers, sisters, relations and neighbours from their people, this village is no more, we have suffered in this place, we can no longer communicate with our people” The lawmaker, while lamenting in tears, told The Nation that it is unfortunate that villages and communities that used to live in harmony had been separated by erosion, yet the governments are still adamant.

“Before now, our former Governor, Mr. Peter Obi sent a delegation

for palliative measure before he left office and I know that our Governor now, Chief Willie Obiano (Akpokuedike) is an environment friendly Governor and will not allow his subjects to perish”.

“We cannot continue in this manner nobody knows what the future holds for these people, every community in this my constituency in Ekwusigo has at least 10 erosion sites, therefore, we need help and urgent attention” “What we are doing is to bring them to the notice of the state, Fed-

eral Government, International Donor agencies, before now, Anambra State had been known as erosion ravaged place from Oko to Nanka to Agulu but today, it is Ekwusigo, we are half dead” “This place should be declared erosion disaster area, all the erosions in other areas combined cannot equate those of Ekwusigo, these communities need help” Onyeka lamented.

A healthcare boost in Anambra •Continued from page 35 Ohaneze Ndigbo worldwide, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, who chairs the hospital board, thanked the foundation for the donation.

The Ohaneze boss who had been in Medical practice for 56 years said his years in the field, the equipment donated to the hospital by the foundation were of highest grade and obtainable in world class institutions.

Also, while speaking with the Nation, the Chairman of the foundation, Prof. O.O. Mbonu, said the donation was borne out of the objective of the foundation to assist in provision of quality and affordable healthcare to the needy through various programmes.

Though, he refused to mention the

From all indications the exercise was designed to fail. It is obvious INEC is not ready for the exercise. So, I would advice INEC to cancel this registration exercise till they are fully prepared. People are suffering for desiring to play their civic role. Also, INEC should register our people in their respective polling booths and not giving one machine to a ward with some of the wards having about 20 booths that do not make any sense

‘

,

by Monday which will see hundreds of thousands of our people willing and ready to register not doing so.

“I also want to call on INEC to register our people in their respective polling booths and not giving one machine to a ward with some of the wards having about 20 booths that does not make any

•Azusu's house under threat

meaning. I therefore call on Imo people to remain calm while we hope that INEC will do the right thing”.

However in her response via a radio broadcast, the REC appealed to the people who were yet to get their PVC to remain calm as efforts were already on top gear to get it distributed.

price of the equipment, Mbonu said the foundation hopes that the equipment would improve healthcare in the hospital.

The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Lawrence Ikeakor, said the equipment will help the state in its drive to obtain one of the goals of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which he said is the reduction of maternal mortality.

He said, “The equipment will help us function better and also bring out the professionals in us” “This equipment will help us reduce maternal mortality and attain development goal faster” “Ours is an institution that has potential, by next year (2015), we are graduating our first set of medical doctors and all we can assure the foundation is that we will put the equipment to optimal use” Ikeakor said.

Government is committed to giving Anambra a world-class health facility that can meet the health needs of the people and even stop medical tourism. Other rich individuals should make contributions as government cannot do everything for us, but with the help of some individuals, these things will be achievable

,

•Angry residents protesting in Imo

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

38

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

Igbo in Lagos relish culture

N

OT even the downpour could stop them. For Enugu State citizens in Lagos, what lay ahead of them that day was too precious to miss. It was their annual cultural day.

So to Ikeja they all headed, locking up their shops, their offices and homes. They arrived at the venue, Bishop Vinning Cathedral Field, clad in their traditional best.

The event, organised by the Association of Enugu State Development Union, Lagos (AESDU) was to showcase the cultural heritage of the Igbo.

Dignitaries attended the event, royal fathers. Among them were Eze Hyacinth Nwabueze Ohazulike Mkpume II; Omereoha Eze Ndigbo Lagos State, Eze John Nwosu; Eze Ndigbo of Mushin, Chief Chuka Eche, among others.

Masquerades were part of the star attractions, thrilling the audience in a rare appearance.

There was a march past by the communities.

•From left: Past President, Mr Nnabuike Edechime; Eze Ndigbo, Lagos, Igwe Ohazulike; Mrs Chuka Eche, Chairman, Cultural Day, Mr Chuka Eche and the current President, Mr Martins Nnebedum

By Emmanuel Udodinma

Expectedly, politicians, especially those aspiring for elective positions, cashed in on the event to sell their programmes to the people.

In his address, the Chairman of

‘Ohaneze council coming’

•Continued from page 35 Nwosu as a consensus candidate for the governorship position because we know those of our son who can deliver on such tasking assignments. He is somebody who doesn’t succumb to any kind of inducement; financial or otherwise. I think this is the problem that he has with the powers that be.

Ukwa/Ngwa people have been longing to produce a governor of Abia State; we won’t like a situation where when the seat is given to us, it is given to somebody who can’t perform because of one reason or the other or to somebody who have acquiesced to a lot of pressures. In a situation like that, at the end of the day, such a person will mess up things and they will say, is it not Ndi Ukwa/Ngwa who wanted to be governor. Now we have given them the seat and they have messed up. We won’t allow such a situation to happen. We believe that Barr. Friday Nwosu is above this and would truly serve the people.

the Cultural Day, Chief Chuka Eche emphasised the need to unite and promote the Igbo cultural heritage wherever they may be.

“Enugu State,” he said, “is doing very well. Our people in the state are proud of you in Lagos.”

He stressed the need for unity among Ndigbo, saying every community should preserve and uphold their cultural values so that the younger generation will know their origin.

Eche described Ndigbo as very hard-working.

The cultural day, according to the president of the association, Mr. Martins Nnebedum, a lawyer, was to re-awaken the cultural consciousness of the people who have lost touch with their background.

He said that the significance of culture in any group of people cannot be underestimated.

Nnebedum said that culture can be defined as including everything from

language to religion to cuisine, social habits, music and arts. “Through culture, people are governed by norm and customs, which are pillars of any society. If these pillars are not properly followed in our society, our culture will resemble a perfume with no smell,” he said.

He said: “Here in our association, we regard Enugu State as the cornerstone of culture in Igboland, hence every year, we invite thousands of people from all parts of the state and beyond to attend our cultural day to witness the beautiful culture, history and amazing natural phenomena which our state is blessed with.

“Apart from our hospitality, which is legendary, you will also witness our food, our songs, our costumes, our dance stops, just to mention a few.”

The Association of Enugu State Development Union Lagos is the apex organ embodying all 161 town unions and autonomous communi-

ties with 17 local government areas of Enugu State in Lagos and its environs.

A document released by the association said: “Apart from the propagation of culture, other objectives that informed the formation of the association is using it to mobile and galvanise the teeming population of indigenous Enugu people in Lagos under one family and inspire and motivate our people in all walks of life to initiate and tackle projects of developmental content in their various town unions.”

The cultural fiesta is also used to honour their notable kith and kin, who helped to lift the profile of Enugu State.

Chief Innocent Chibuike was honoured with the “Most Outstanding Security Administrator of the Year. Chief Alexander Chukwudimma Nwokeabia was honoured with the Most Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year.

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

39

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

40

THE SOUTHEAST REPORT

•Road safety Abia Sector commander Mr. Rindom Kumven personnel of the corps

Safety orientation‘ for FRSC staff, motorists

M

ORE than any other season, the Yuletide presents a peculiar challenge: more people hit the road, necessitating more vigilance by road safety personnel. That was why the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) directed that its staff as well as motorists be properly oriented in the run-up to Christmas and New Year festivities.

Such a sensitisation has just ended in Aba, with attendants from the five states of the zone. Its theme was “Road Safety, a Shared Responsibility”.

The Commanding Officer, RS9, Corps Marshal Samuel Obayemi told reporters that the exercise was carried out to “remind all road users in the zone and the country that they have a responsibility to ensure there is safety on the roads within the festive period and beyond.

Obayemi who was represented at the event by Gojara Yahaya Yusuf, the zonal Head of Operations said that the expectations of the command was that by the end of the exercise,

From Sunny Nwankwo, Aba

FRSC personnel that would be deployed on the roads would work optimally and drivers drive with safety knowing fully that they needed to get to their various destinations safely.

Yusuf also said that having patrolled on major roads in the zone where vehicular activities are going to be on the increase, they have been able to access the roads and spotted out some of what he described as black spots, assuring that they would advice government appropriately.

According to him, “The Yuletide is fast approaching and it is expected that by December, there will be heavy inflow of vehicles on roads in the southeast and other cities. People from this area (Southeastern States) usually travel from their different locations across the country to visit home for one festive activity or the other and so it is usually a hectic period for us.

“But we are not relenting and that

We are warning drivers to avoid overloading their vehicles which puts their lives and that of their passengers in dangers. Anyone caught overloading or going against the road traffic codes will be booked and punished appropriately

,

is why we have come to train our personnel and also sensitize drivers on the need to be safety conscious on the road and to avoid anything that will make them go against traffic rules and regulations.

“The same exercise we are having here is replicated across other states in the southeast. We are going to deploy a handful of our staff on the roads. We are going to station ambulance at some strategic areas along

the expressway. We have been able to notice that Obolafor-Nsukka, Okigwe-Umuahia, Umuahia-Aba, Aba-Ikot Ekpene and among others usually witness traffic gridlock within the festive period and we are going to pay special attention on the aforementioned roads.

“We are warning drivers to avoid overloading their vehicles which puts their lives and that of their passengers in dangers. Anyone caught overloading or going against the road traffic codes will be booked and punished appropriately. We are also made arrangements with government hospitals to accept and treat accident victims brought to their

hospitals, at least to save their lives, while we appeal to private hospital owners to do same in order to save accident victims’ lives,” Yahaya pleaded.

Abia State Sector Commander, Rindom Kumven in a separate interview promised that the State Command was going to build on the exercise to work optimally during the anticipated hectic period.

Kumven appealing to public spirited individuals, states and federal government to assist the agency in meeting logistic challenges facing them said that they were going to make use of the available limited resources within the command to ensure that road users had a smooth ride in and out Abia State during the festivity.

He urged drivers to make sure that they double check their vehicles to make sure it was in good shape before embarking on any trip and warned alcoholic merchants in and around motor parks to relocate their trade, adding that any driver caught driving under the influence of alcohol will be fined or prosecuted.

They later took to the highway where they educate drivers and as well carried a thorough check to ensure that they maintained safety standard.

‘Don’t use students as thugs’

A

•Students of the Coke Studio Campus Concert at Enugu State University (ESUT)

HEAD of the 2015 general elections, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has warned politicians to desist from hiring students as political thugs, stating that they should instead be meaningfully engaged in the planning and implementation of campaign manifestoes and programmes.

The student body threatened to expose all politicians involved in the act of conscripting students and other youths to execute violence during elections and at other times.

In a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the Students’ Union Government, Imo State Polytechnic, Ezekiel Nwankwo, NANS also condemned the recent killing of “harmless” students of the Government Science School in

From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

Potiskum, adding that “we state that nothing could be more dastardly and wicked and we condemn it in its entirety”.

The statement added further that, “our bond of unity and brotherhood should be made stronger by this act rather than weakened. Boko Haram should look into the future and see the futility of their fight against the unity of Nigeria”.

The students however praised the gallantry of the security agencies in combating the insurgency, despite obvious poor service conditions, assuring that NANS will continue to support the military in its effort to end the killing of innocent Nigerians by the Boko Haram insurgents.

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

41

CAMPUS LIFE Excitement as Coke Studio hits UNILORIN

T

HE University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) erupted in excitement last weekend when popular hip-hop artistes stormed the institution for the Coke Studio, a campus-wide musical concert sponsored by Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited.

The event, tagged: Naija rhythm, collabos of life, is a gathering of African artists showcasing their talent on various genres of music in Africa. It was also aimed at bringing together youths for positive changes.

Thousands of students trooped to the university stadium for the show, which featured a dance contest. Five students displayed their dancing skills before their colleagues. Aisha Omoniyi, a 400Level Library Science student, won.

She received some grand prizes and also performed alongside one of the guest artistes.

The event also featured musical performance, where campus artistes entertained the audience.

The venue was literally electrified with the performance of Reminisce, one of the guest artistes, who sang his popular songs to entertain the students. The artiste got a rousing welcome. Other artistes included Jaywon, Dammy Krane and DJ Zeez.

Abdulbasit Yakub, a 200-Level Law student, described the show as the best social event on the campus, saying it afforded students opportunity to relieve themselves of academic stress. “Work without play makes jack a dull boy,” he said.

From Afis Odeyemi UNILORIN Jiboye Kalejaiye, a 200-Level History student, said: “This is fun and exciting because all the artistes rock my world. Coca-Cola has done it again. This is the best way to free my body of stress.

For Damilola Abdulsalam, a 300Level Microbiology student, the show was an opportunity to explore the world of fun.

Adesakin Adebukola, a 300Level Education History student, said: “It is exciting to have a firsthand feel of artistes we see on television screen and see how they look like. I am so impressed to have them perform live on our campus.”

The Students’ Union Government (SUG) executive led by the president, Yakub Ishowo, praised Coca-Cola for sponsoring the show. He hailed students for their calmness and peaceful conduct while the event lasted.

‘It is exciting to have a first-hand feel of artistes we see on television screen and see how they look like. I am so impressed to have them perform live on our campus’

Students kick against management’s policy

S

TUDENTS of the Redeemer’s University (RUN) in Ede, Osun State are not happy over some policies of the management. The students lodged their complaints at a forum held in the university auditorium after the routine Bible Study Programme.

The students complained that church services are unnecessarily prolonged. This development, they said, is preventing them from devoting enough time to their studies and other extra-curricular activities. They are seeking proper time management during religious services.

The complaint followed the disruption of the Freshers’ Night, a social event held on the campus. The guest artiste popularly known as Orezi was sent out before he could perform.

Besides, the students are complaining about the quality of food being served at the school cafeteria. They claimed that many of them always felt like vomiting after eating some of the food. They pleaded with the management not to shut down privately-owned cafeterias on the campus because those were the places they could get the food they wanted.

The students expressed displeasure with the absence of banks in

•DJ Zeez performing at the event

From Inimfon Otung RUN the school, saying the only Automated Teller Machine (ATM) on campus does not dispense cash regularly. The development, they said, has resulted in stress because many of them travel to Osogbo to get money.

The president of the Redeemer’s University Students’ Association (RUNSA), Doyin Adelekan, said he would channel the complaints to the management for action.

He told his colleagues that the management is worried over about the manner of dressing of some of them, especially the girls. He pleaded with the female students to dress decently and in line with the rule of the university.

Doyin said: “The school made the rule of three inches skirt below the knee for the female students and closing of slit skirts. But if students continue to disobey this rule, the management could be moved to make it six inches below the knee.

We will inform the authorities about your complaints and everybody will hear the feedback.”

He added that the school had been lenient with the students and given them privileges, which must not be abused.

‘The school made the rule of three inches skirt below the knee for the female students and closing of slit skirts. But if students continue to disobey this rule, the management could be moved to make it six inches below the knee. We will inform the authorities about your complaints and everybody will hear the feedback’

•Students at the show

L

ACK of soft skills among graduates is responsible for the massive unemployment in the country, the Chief Executive Officer of J. Soji-George and Co., a management consultant firm, Dr Soji George, has said.

He said his meeting with job seekers at interviews showed that many graduates were not employable because they lacked the soft skills needed at job interviews.

George, a former lecturer at Greenish Ways University in the United Kingdom (UK) and a senior lecturer at the Department of Business Administration of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), spoke at a seminar by the firm for unemployed graduates held at the Nigerian Medical Institute in Yaba, Lagos. The event was sponsored by SEPLAT Oil Development Company.

He said: “Graduates have skills in certificate but do not know how to dress to job interviews and what to say. They do not know how to present themselves at the interviews session neither do they know how to write curriculum vitae.”

He said the firm had conducted interview for multinational companies and discovered that many

Lack of soft skills causes of graduates’ unemployment’ From Olatunde Odebiyi LAGOS graduates did not have the soft skills, which employers wanted. He said the seminar was held to train graduates in the skill that would improve their employment chances.

He added: “The aim of J. SojiGeorge and Co. Management Consultant is to teach the participants how to be employable by developing their soft skills. We teach them how to write curriculum vitae, help them to edit it, send it back to them and groom them for job interviews.

“This seminar is to tell the government that the problem is not unemployment but lack of employability skills on the part of the graduates. If this must stop, higher institutions would have to upgrade their curricula to include teaching students on soft skills.”

Dr Oluwakemi Owoyemi, one of the facilitators, spoke on dressing and presentation at interviews. She

said potential interviewees should always be conservative in dressing by wearing dark coloured clothes and prepare mentally for the exercise.

She said: “Ladies should use moderate make up, jewelry and avoid unnecessary piercing. Their skirts must be below the knee and they should avoid high heels. Men should avoid dreadlocks, beard and ensure that they keep the hair well combed.”

She advised the graduates to eat before they go for interviews and ensure they have a fresh breath.

Prof Kayode Oguntuase, a psychologist at the School of Management Sciences, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), told the participants to improve on their knowledge and live fruitful lives.

Dr Tayo Otubanjo, a senior lecturer at Lagos Business School, urged the participants to engage in personal branding to increase their chances at interviews.

Group seeks improved literacy campaign

T

HE 14th biennial conference of the Reading Association of Nigeria (RAN) has been held at the Oodua Auditorium of the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti.

Prof Dele Orisawayi of the Achievers University in Owo, Ondo State, while speaking on Literacy for good governance, said literacy challenge was a universal concern facing many countries. He said illiteracy was still prevalent in Nigeria, noting that socio-cultural and political factors as responsible.

He said reading and writing provided the basis for good governance, saying: “What is written derives its inspiration partly from reading and partly from direct exposure and ex-

From Akinola Oluyi ADO-EKITI perience. Both provide the baseline of communication and interaction with the human brain.”

He urged students and scholars to imbibe the reading culture, stressing that it was the fundamental root for achievements and development.

The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Oladipo Aina, lauded the efforts of RAN, saying the association remained the effective society promoting reading culture and enlightening the minds of the young generation.

The VC, who described reading as the best road to knowledge, urged supports for the association

remove the traits impeding development of minds.

The National president of the association, Prof Olu Oyinloye, said: “When we beamed our searchlight into the political situation in the country because of the problems of unemployment and insecurity, we discovered that lack of education was the cause. This is why we came out with theme of the event to promote literacy and good governance.”

Speaking with CAMPUSLIFE, two of the participants, who are students of EKSU, Ayodeji Ariori, 400-Level Chemical Engineering and Bukola Owatoye, 400-Level Political Science, promised to share what they learnt at the conference with their colleagues.

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBR 27, 2014

42

CAMPUS LIFE

•Dr Kolade with the participants

D

O students have a role to play in the 2015 general elections? Former Nigeria High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Dr Christopher Kolade said apart from participating in the exercise as voters, students must drive the process to ensure hitch-free elections.

The former envoy spoke at the 2014 BrandiQ Magazine Symposium with the theme: Politics, business and 2015 general elections: Driving stakeholder’s participation through deliberative engagements, held at the Civic Centre on Victoria Island, Lagos. In attendance were students from the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Redeemer’s University (RUN), Bells University of Technology (BELLS), Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) and Lagos State University (LASU).

Other speakers at the event included the Dean, School of Media and Communications of Pan-Atlantic University, Prof Emevwo Biakolo, Editor-in-Chief of BusinessWorld Mr Ray Echebiri, former Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) Registrar Dr Josef BelMolokwu, former Lagos State Commissioner for Environment Dr Muiz

What role do students have in the 2015 general elections? Dr Christopher Kolade, former Nigeria High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, who spoke at a symposium organised by BrandiQ Magazine, wants the youth to drive the process, reports BALIKIS MOYOSORE.

Kolade to students: show interest in politics Banire, and former Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) chief, Apostle Hayford Alile, the chief host.

Kolade advised the youth to drop their apathy for politics and election, saying: “You must not sit back and say that you have no business in politics and leave it for the politicians.

Whatever the results from the game of politics will affect everybody, including students.”

Politics, he said, is one of the most important stakes the people have in Nigeria. “You should not allow yourselves to be deterred by the antics of people who are called practitioners in politics. It is when we have good governance that everybody will have chance to actualise our stakes. If activities leading to good governance

are being carried out without your participation, then you will blame yourself eventually for the bad outcome, because you failed to participate,” he said.

The Editor-in-Chief and Managing Director of BrandiQ, Mr Desmond Ekeh, said the aim of the magazine was not only to report brands, but also the packaging and content of the Nigeria. He said: “The paucity of skilled hands in the industry necessitated the magazine to go into training of students to equip them with skills that will make them function optimally in the industry.”

Prof Biakolo examined the idea of a nation-state in relation to Nigeria, stressing that there were many misconceptions that accompany it. He

observed that only a few states could claim to be nation-states, which, he said, were not sustainable in a multiethnic and plural society. While pointing out how difficult it would be to attain cohesiveness among the various ethnic groups in Nigeria and drive political participation among Nigerians, he said the idea of cohesiveness itself was foisted on the country by colonial regime.

Speaking on the effect of politics on business, Echebiri blamed the present woes of the NSE on politics.

He noted that trading in the stock market was becoming weak because of the forthcoming elections. He lamented the rate at which foreign investors were selling their shares and leaving the country, saying the im-

plication would be grave on the economy.

Echebiri explained how government policies affected business climate in the past, saying privatisation policy saw many government enterprises including banks privatised.

He, however, welcomed some government policies, such as the ban on importation of drinks and poultry products, which, he said, had helped to grow local production. In his submission, Echebiri said since government politics affects business, every Nigerian must participate in politics to formulate quality policies, which make the economy to grow stronger.

A social media strategist, Ms Chioma Agwuegbo, urged the youth to walk the talk in politics. She identified voters’ registration as the first step in the process of political participation, urging them to go for the exercise. She said: “We can’t be stakeholders if all we do is go on social media and tweet out our thoughts and complaints. We must take advantage of our demographic superiority to effect changes in government through our participating in politics.”

Many students of the Federal Polytechnic, Offa (OFFA POLY) never believed in the leadership of the Students’ Union Government (SUG). They have been made to change their minds by the union’s achievements within a short time, reports AFEEZ ADEYEMO (Mass Communication).

A union’s landmark project HEN the Festus Adedejiled Students’ Union Government (SUG) at the Federal Polytechnic in Offa (OFFA POLY), Kwara State was inaugurated, only a few students gave it chance to succeed. For long, students have come to see members of the union as stooges of the management because of the circumstances of their election. The elelction was held when majority of students had returned home because of the then Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) strike.

But with time, the union proved itself by taking some decisions bordering on students’ welfare. The Festus Adedeji-led administration would be remembered for its achievement within a short time.

Among others, the union completed the construction of an ultramodern relaxation centre in the school’s mini campus. The over N300,000 project was commissioned last week amid panache and razzmatazz.

The building, which is beside Aluta Ground, is conducive for refreshment and relaxation. Before it was constructed, the campus was without a relaxation centre.

Students and members of staff have hailed the union leaders for their action. Some of them shared their views with CAMPUSLIFE. To Ayomide Aladegboye, a ND II Computer Science student, the

W

union leaders’ feat dwarfs the achievements of the former SUG leaders. He said Festus is best performing and active union leader in the polytechnic’s history.

Ayomide said despite the controversies that trailed Festus’ inauguration, the union has done well. “I salute Festus and other members of the executive for their courage to bequeath a relaxation centre as good legacy. We expect more from him as a capable leader that is ready to serve students,” he said.

Mariam Eniola, a NDII Mass Communication student, said she was proud of the union leaders, saying the project would reduce students’ stress. She said: “Many students never gave the present leadership of the Students’ Union a chance when it came on board. In short, students turned the union leaders to butts of jokes in my hostel, because of the manner in which they came into the office. But surprisingly they have made everybody proud despite the controversies. Indeed, they are worthy to be called leaders.”

A ND II student of Accountancy, who identified himself as Zedikus, said: “Sentiment apart, this is a great and wonderful achievement. Festus has shown the students that he is a true leader. While many had thought he would dance to the tune of the management, he surprised us and make students’ welfare his priority.”

•The SUG relaxation centre

Another HND 1 student of Accountancy, Yussuf Kadre, said the centre should have been sited on the main campus, where the management is planning to move all students. He said projects sited in the mini campus would be useless when the management decided to move all academic activities to the permanent site. “So why not initiate developmental projects on the main campus?” Yussuf wondered.

Festus, in a chat with

CAMPUSLIFE, narrated how his administration came about the project.

Despites the challenges and castigation by students, he said, the union members have resolved to carry out more projects. The union leader said he derived inspiration from the students’ criticism.

He said: “Although it was rough and tough at the beginning. We were faced with scathing criticisms by students but for every visionary mindset, challenges and obstacles

must be prepared for. It was unbearable for us but we had no excuse than to make students believe in us.

“The ability to prepare for challenges and the capability to address them in a very pragmatic manner is simply what makes this project achievable.”

He, however, praised the management for the approval of the project.

He assured students of better living condition in the remaining period of his tenure.

43

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

CAMPUS LIFE

V

ARIOUS efforts have been made to fight the terrorist group known as Boko Haram. Various theories, also, have been postulated, with expectations that these efforts would have put a definite end to the inimical activities of these enemies of our nation. But it is saddening that all efforts, so far, have yielded little or no results.

However, Nigeria and Nigerians remain undaunted and firm, with hopes that soon, Boko Haram will become a thing of the past.

As much as we hope we find a way around this, we should consider some factors that could be helpful in achieving the complete annihilation of this anti-human group. We should begin to explore pragmatic steps and approaches that could promote the achievement of this goal to be free from the wicked grip of the fundamentalists.

First is the place of history and information. With what is made available to the public from time to time on Boko Haram, it is as if Nigeria and Nigerians do not really know what and the whom we are dealing with. It is as if it is not really clear to the nation and her citizens what Boko Haram really constitutes - their aims and intents.

How can we address a problem that we do not understand? How much do we know the background of those involved - where they come from, and the exact reasons they are rising against us. We do not know whether or not there are different cells within the same cult, what those cells are, and where they operate from. We do not know the processes of enlistment and where and when. We do not know their worth in number, arms and ammunition, training, fund support, external backings and many other resources that could have equipped them with boldness and effrontery to hold arms against a State of Nigeria’s stature. We just need to know a lot about this terror group for us to achieve success in ending their reign of terror. In fact, adequate knowledge about them will help us a great deal in curtailing them. Imagine how they have been playing pranks with us on the issues of amnesty and dialogue in the last five years. This underscores the fact that we do not really know whom they are.

We must bear in mind too that what is witnessed now did not just befall us suddenly. It is a product of strings of events. One thing, somehow, led to another. As a result, getting a lasting solution will require tracing their roots, and getting the right information. It will also be required of us to get

We can stop Boko Haram the information right and raw; examining and analysing these historical facts to detect the processes, causes of the existence of this dreaded group and their deadly intent. We should also know, and for certainty, their dynamics, and if possible their sympathies.

As for their sympathizers, the State seems to be in the dark as regards those whose supports in one form or the other buoy the activities of Boko Haram. It should be laughable, anyway, if this is the claim of our leaders. We should worry that the State seems not to understand (or may be State actors feel unconcerned with) the possible consequences of their composures and calmness which suggest that they do not know sponsors of this evil-wreaking people.

This is laughable and thus unbelievable to every rational mind.

Building on these, it is not an understatement to conclude that Nigeria has not done enough in the area of intelligence gathering in the course of the fight against terrorism. Apart from the fact that the moves and various modes of operations of the group have been elusive to Nigerian security, the group now has access to first-hand information about the activities of the Nigeria Army. As gathered from news reports, ambushes were laid on Nigerian troops and they were dislodged. How the information about the operations, which should be highly confidential, slipped into the hands of enemies of the State has remained a mystery yet to be unravelled.

No doubt, such sensitive information could not have been leaked if terrorists’ sympathisers were not within the Army. With these, the case seems to be that they have better and more effective intelligence gathering than Nigeria. This should not be. In every measure, Nigeria should be ahead. We should know their moves even before they reach any logical conclusion. We need to improve on intelligence.

Equally, the Nigerian state has failed in our inability to detect the existence and harmful activities of our enemies disguised as one of us. These traitors and unpatriotic elements, not minding the opportunities of life and service afforded them by our country, are the ones orchestrating the leakage of the plans and moves of the Nigerian military into the hands of terrorist group.

Imagine this: commands are issued to withdraw troops some

hours to the planned attacks of Boko Haram. This is just the supportive contributions of enemies of Nigeria, disguised as friends, even when they have opportunities to serve Nigeria and to benefit from the proceeds of Nigeria.

Sponsors of Boko Haram, however influential they may be, they are enemies, just disguised as Nigerians. There are also ideologists sympathetic to Boko Haram, clerics employing their influences on their followers in promoting and encouraging innocent Nigerians to take up arms against their country. They are enemies disguised as Nigerians. Another group of enemies of this state are those who do not rise to condemn the act of terrorism, through their influence.

They have remained indifferent.

People like these should face appropriate punitive measures. Since we cannot identify these turncoats, it is increasingly becoming difficult for us to sleep with our two eyes closed because many of our leaders can no longer be trusted with power.

Nigeria needs information about the activities of heads and political office holders in the defence sector, if we won’t risk the exterminating intents of Boko Haram.

It is no more news that some top brass in the Army and other services are helping themselves with funds meant for the running of the parastatals. Money meant for the remuneration of their men especially the rank and file are also pillaged. Without mincing words, officers involved in this are, and should be tagged enemies, not friends of Nigeria. It should be noted that the greed of these Generals in these services is among the motivating factors for revolts that were staged recently in the Army.

Call to memory the rioting officers at the 323 Artillery regiment, the case of the troop sent to Liberia for peace-keeping mission and some other issues not yet unearthed. I wish to state categorically that it is not cowardice that is exclusively responsible for the so-called tactical manoeuvring of our men, but the effects of welfare deprivation caused by those entrusted with public opportunities.

Truth must be told, and frankly.

Our men are always good-to-go.

This is the dilemma of our officers: security agents are poorly paid.

Any rational being suffering under these unjust situations especially in climes like ours, where justice is hard to be found will prefer a soft landing in which case his

‘Truth must be told, and frankly.

Our men are always good-to-go. This is the dilemma of our officers: security agents are poorly paid’ philosophy of life, and sworn oath of duty might be affected. This is simply why Army officers go rampaging, daring the consequences.

Since they are not sure, with evidences available at their disposal, reading from prevalent recurring patterning, that their dues will be adequately delivered to their next of kin, they prefer to stay alive by all means. This seems to them somehow not losing on both sides.

The corrupt ones in the army, dealing with our funds should be exposed and dealt with. This will help a great deal as the morale of our men will never have to be tampered with in any way. It will even make it look more honourable to die for one’s country. What kind of equality do we call a situation where my boss enjoys my sweat while I go ahead to die and suffer while my boss’ family members have a swell time?

And more ridiculously, my boss will not thank me. Even, if he does, what help does that give to me on my way to the great beyond and to my family left behind? This is just the simple reasons our men are not ready to fight.

As for the citizens, we do also have some roles to play in making our society safe. An abridged version of the much-cited word of J. F. Kennedy goes thus ‘… ask what you can do…’ This encourages citizens to see themselves as a very important part of the processes of efficient move to achieving success in every aspect of statehood. Particularly, in security, the government and security experts cannot do it alone. We should recall the extent of effectiveness achieved when the civilian JTF rose to the challenge of joining in in the policing of their societies. We really do have great roles.

I mentioned earlier that history must not be neglected if we must achieve success. Going through the annals, we would find out that the areas where Boko Haram had hit mostly are areas where they have

T

By Habib Oladapo National Association of Nigerian Students’ (NANS) president, Yinka Gbadebo, who feels President Goodluck Jonathan is worthy of a return ticket. However, Yinka Gbadebo had forgotten that the clueless President Jonathan was the man, whose tenure had showcased many antidemocratic issues, ranging from Nigerian students’ strikes in universities, polytechnics as well as colleges of education to insecurity resulting to the Boko Haram insurgency.

According to Dr Christopher Kolade, the youth are the most active in any activities of Nigeria, but it’s a pity that the youth do not seem to get their bearings on issues in the country. However, a political zombie is believed to be politically lifeless- one that seems to be alive, but not involved in any aspect of politics as well as someone who is capable of influencing the political scenes but unable to do so.

A great implication of the political indifference of youths in the University of Lagos is the administration of

many faculties within the institution.

At the Faculty of Education, under the control of Rasaq Olamilekan and Adebowale Titus, we see great example of visionless students’ leaders and individuals who are bereft of the fundamentals of politics.

According to Aristokrat, a political historian and public analyst, most youths are in the institution of political zombie save a few. Most of them are not political contributors and remain s political liabilities and not political assets. Most youths are political spectators and not key players. Most youths are great destroyer of political value. Most youths are political “pacekeepers” and not political pace setters; and the youths feel less concerned to fight for justice, liberty, freedom and happiness just because we do not want to get questioned or crucified.

We must understand the fact that our meagre contributions towards our societal political murkiness will go a great extent in healing our many wounds.

Adewale is a History Education student of University of Lagos, Akoka

Tolulope, is a Master’s student at the Department of English, UI

Know thyself

The era of political zombies HE many controversies rearing their ugly heads in the political scene of many nations, especially in Nigeria, calls for the need for total, massive and positive youth participation in all political affairs in 2015 election.

The youth are vital and inevitable stakeholders in the political activities of Nigeria. Our roles as stakeholders transcend the workings of the social media. It incorporates physical and strong political involvement, engagement and mass participation. A political stakeholder does not voice his opinion on social media alone.

Someone has observed that there is a great necessity for drastic change of the political attitudes of the youth come 2015 election. It is however a pity that most youth cultivate a culture of low expectations, and political apathy. The youths must always remember that all politics are local, although in Nigeria it’s murky. However, there are many opportunities for us to get involved.

The implication of our political indifference is simply maladministration by the zombies in politics. This is so obvious in many students’ unions and most especially that of the erstwhile

got sympathies. If they do not find any form of tolerance, it will be very difficult for them to operate.

The fact is when the society does not appreciate nefarious activities and members expose all evil doers, and create no hiding place for them, the morale of the perpetrators will be dampened and they will lose their footings.

Apart from non-cooperation with these criminals, as citizens, we need to build trust in ourselves and in our soldiers. We should strongly believe that this present situation will not engulf us and that we will soon come out strong from it. We should hold strong faith that our enemies are not invincible as they think, they are conquerable. This must be our thought pattern, our guiding philosophy even as we execute this war against the enemies of our souls. In addition, our faith in the Army will help them to do more.

We should support them by believing very strongly in success and hoping that the present situation, which looks like the war is lost, could be turned around in our favour.

Our discourses should be balanced, not tilted in favour of the course of the State’s enemies. We should not promote them by the information we spread and images we create especially in the minds of the less-knowledgeable.

I believe what Nigerians want and what is good for Nigeria is the complete suppression of this group of perverts. We do not in any form subscribe to their selfprofessed invincibility. What Nigerians desire is that they are rooted out in such manner that Nigeria will never have to witness their return. It is sure that Nigeria and Nigerians will not cave in to the venomous ideologies, tactics and intents of the terrorists; we won’t be discouraged in our quest to fight them to the finish. Also, our soldiers will not be demoralised and they will continue pursuing the course of our safety and the protection of our territorial integrity, with evident successes at every point of the war, such that within the shortest imaginable period of time, we shall celebrate their defeat and exit from our sacrosanct society.

These, from evidences from past records of fundamentalism around the world, might seem impossible, but if we join hands to see the permanent end of terrorism in Nigeria, it will happen, and soon this will be achieved.

By Tolulope Ogunleye

F

OR those who are acquainted with the Hellenic epoch in philosophical thought, the above assertion rings a bell. It is a popular maxim attributed to the great Greek philosopher, Socrates. It was based on his academic contributions during his time and an attempt to inspire selfawareness by pushing man to ask fundamental questions concerning his being.

Socrates was known for his sincerity in the quest for truth and knowledge in Athens with his

strong belief that ignorance was a crime. He knew that truth liberates the individual from the captivity of his soul; be it physical, mental, social, emotional or demonic.

I have critically observed the socio-economic, educational and political life in the society since I began to follow the trends of happening in Nigeria and the world at large. I discovered that most people are living with a lot of fundamental human problems of which some of them could have been averted if the people are well informed and properly guided as they jungle the different phases of life.

Many people either neglect or misuse their potentialities and thereby become unable to live purposeful and productive lives.

They have forgotten that we are in a society where the formal edu•Continued on page 44

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

44

CAMPUS LIFE College to train UTME applicants

Honour for CAMPUSLIFE man Ahaneku

O

N two occasions within a week, Ekene Ahaneku, a 300-Level Medicine and Surgery student and CAMPUSLIFE reporter at the Imo State University (IMSU) in Owerri, was honoured by the departments of Medicine and Optometry.

Ekene was honoured with Most Creative and Versatile Medical Student of the year by the IMSU Medical Students Association (IMSUMSA) at the association’s award night. He was recognised for the development of campus journalism in the university.

Ekene, who was the Students’ Union Government (SUG) Public Relations Officer and the Editorial Board chairman, wrote several articles, which made authorities to respond to matters concerning the welfare of students.

Commenting, the IMSUMSA president, Venatus Nzoma, said: “The award is well-deserved and also to appreciate Ekene for making the College of Medicine proud as SUG spokesman.”

The institution’s chapter of the

From Chukwuebuka Okonkwo and Eziuchechukwu Uzoma IMSU

From Helen Olawore OYSCAI

T

Nigerian Optometric Students Association (NOSA), during its award and freshers’ night, also honoured the CAMPUSLIFE man with an award of excellence at the event, which took place at Mavis Suite Works Layout in Owerri.

The NOSA president, Chidera Mbadugha, said the award was in recognition of Ekene’s excellence in student leadership and demonstration of goodwill to succeed.

Responding, Ekene said: “These awards are the first of their kinds and I pledge to continue with my support to the associations in no small measure. I cherish the award and also the support of my colleagues.”

Also honoured are some of the SUG members, including the president, Christian Ogbu, Transport Director, George Ikeanyionwu and Treasurer, Chiamaka Onyedeke.

HE Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology in Igboora (OYSCAI) has announced training in ComputerBased Test (CBT) for applicants ahead of the 2015 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The college has recently been approved as a centre for the next UTME, where candidates will write the computer-based examination.

According to a statement by the Registrar, Mr Niyi Fehintola, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centre of the college has been equipped to register applicants for the exercise.

“Applicants for UTME are free to choose the college as centre for the CBT examination. The college will provide the opportunity for them to undergo CBT training before the examination,” the statement said.

•Ahaneku displaying the plaques during the IMSUMSA dinner

On and Off Campus By Solomon Izekor 08061522600

Candidates get UTME scholarship Award

T

HE Special Adviser to Ondo State Governor on Forestry, Hon. Andrew Ogunsakin, has scholarship to the natives of Okitipupa community to write the 2015 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The beneficiaries were selected at an event organised by the Federation of Igbotako Students’ Union (FISU) in Igbotako, Ondo State. They will be given the forms next years.

Ogunsakin said the scholarships was his own little way of giving back to the society, noting that he believed education was the best legacy the older people could bequeath to the youth.

Ogunsakin, who is an Igbotako indigene, congratulated the beneficiaries and advised them to strive for success in the examination, assuring them of his support.

He said the youth must have access to education for them to shun hooliganism and other vices.

He said: “The scholarship is my own little way of contributing to the development of my commu-

From Yomi Ayeleso AKURE nity. I choose this path because education is the best legacy to give to any youth. I advise the beneficiaries to be focus because an educated person will not get involved in hooliganism and crimes.”

The chairman of the event, Hon. Niyi Adebusoye, praised the benefactor for the gesture, saying the move would improve literacy in the community.

Some of the beneficiaries who spoke thanked their benefactor, promising never to disappoint him and the community.

Mr Tunde Akindeji, one of the beneficiaries’ parents, said the political class and the wealthy should emulate Ogunsakin’s gesture, adding that the effort would speed up development in the community.

Comrade Jimoh Adebayo, FISU president, prayed for Ogunsakin, wishing him long life and peace of mind to make him do more for the youth in the area.

‘The scholarship is my own little way of contributing to the development of my community. I choose this path because education is the best legacy to give to any youth. I advise the beneficiaries to be focus because an educated person will not get involved in hooliganism and crimes’ •Continued from page 43

cation does not develop the potentialities and the human endowments effectively as to enable the beneficiaries to adapt and cope with the changing social and material world and live creative and purposeful life.

As youths whose opportunities are limitless, if one can break free from the shackles of ignorance and needless excuses, life would take a rewarding turn. Our backgrounds should not be the yardstick for how far we can go in life. Most people tend to blame

Anger trails results’ release From Afeez Adeyemo OFFA POLY

F

RUSTRATION and anger have trailed the release of results of NDII part-time students of Mass Communication Department of the Federal Polytechnic Offa (OFFA POLY). The results were released last Monday, months after the students wrote the examination.

When the results were pasted at the department on Monday evening, information spread through the social media, urging the students to check their results.

A few students, who live around the campus, rushed to the school for the result.

But on that Tuesday morning, the results got ‘disappeared’ on the notice board it was pasted, resulting in disappointment and anger by students, who came to the campus to check their results.

They were rumours that the results had been torn by a set of aggrieved students, because of their poor performance.

But CAMPUSLIFE learnt that the department withdrew the results because of errors from the office in charge of results. The results were pasted with candidates’ names and scores, instead of matriculation number and grades, which is the normal culture.

While the students await the corrected version of the results, many of them wondered why it took the management months for the release. They urged the department to make the correction properly and make the results available on the Internet for easy access.

Know thyself their inadequacies, weaknesses, failures, disappointments on others because they live unrealistic life.

I have listened to series of tapes, read books and even participated in forums about living a purposeful life and the correlation I can draw between all this is what has come to be termed three D’s of success: discover, develop and dominate.

First, one has to discover who he

is and what their purpose in life is. All these will propel one in achieving set goals.

And then, a firm belief in oneself is key as much as one is working in accordance with set goals. There is absolutely no limit to what you can achieve. It is only in the understanding of one’s gifting that man finds true happiness and wholeness.

Tolulope, NYSC Kebbi State.

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

45

EDUCATION

T

HE Minister for Education, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, has said the promotion of entrepreneurship education can address social and economic insecurity.

Shekarau, who disclosed this in Abuja at this year’s Annual National Entrepreneurship Week (ANEW), said the challenges of economic insecurity such as graduate unemployment; poverty; youth restiveness that usually results into cultism; drug abuse and terrorism are indications of poor knowledge and skills of entrepreneurial education.

He said: “The introduction of entrepreneurship education as a compulsory unit under the General Studies (GST) programme in Nigerian universities places emphasis on the nation’s yearning to assist the youth gain economic independence.

“Entrepreneurship education is compulsory in all 129 universities in Nigeria. In addition, some universities offer Entrepreneurship Education at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Today, the course has been adopted as one of the universities’ strategy of producing functional graduates.”

Represented by the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okogie, Shekarau explained that the attainment of Nigeria’s Vision 20:2020 hinges on the support and commitment of stakeholders to promoting entrepreneurship education.

“I would like to encourage the industry and entrepreneurs to collaborate with universities in fine-turning their efforts in providing functional education,” he said, noting that this year’s ANEW programme was an initiative conceived by the NUC to join the global community in celebrating the World Entrepre-

UNILORIN LIFE Dons win $25,000 grant

•Prof Okojie (right) inspecting the Babcock stand at the event

Shekarau: entrepreneurship can end insurgency neurship Week.

In his remarks, Prof Okogie explained that ANEW was aimed at strengthening university industry relationship as well as promoting knowledge-base enterprise development.

“It is a platform that would help strengthen university and industry collaboration as well as entrench the entrepreneurial culture in students to “think business” rather than employment opportunities or white

From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

collar jobs,” he said.

The programme featured a competition tagged: Make your Mark, which required undergraduates to proffer solution from bottom up.

University of Uyo won the first prize, while Babcock University came second.

Their teachers were impressed with the exhibition of some research works, which include inte-

grated mushroom pulp production

by Dr. Richard Omenka; sweet potatoes flour and bread by Dr Adebayo Onigbinde; potential herbal cure for arthritis by Dr Godswill Anyaso, a path-finder device for the blind; software on pension fund management; poultry farm management data and marketing management, and a locally made stove using Gel fuel, which burns longer, cheaper and eco- friendly.

AUN gets approval for PhD

Don becomes fellow THE Director of UNILORIN Archives and Documentary Centre, Prof. R. A. Olaoye, has been conferred with the Fellowship of the Historical Society of Nigeria (HSN).

The honour was conferred on Prof. Olaoye at the congress of the society, which took place at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

According to the HSN, Olaoye was selected for the Fellowship because he “met the scholarly and moral standards” for the Award.

In his reaction, the new HSN Fellow said: “The Fellowship goes with responsibilities. He pledged “to use the new status for more commitment to service to our University in particular and humanity in general.”

154th Inaugural Lecture today

T

HE American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, has been given approval by the National Universities Commission (NUC) to run PhD and MSc programmes in Business Administration, effective from the 2014/2015 academic session.

It is AUN’s first PhD programme The accreditation was conveyed to AUN in a letter dated October 29, following a resource assessment visit in August by a team from the NUC. The letter was signed by the NUC Director, Academic Standards, Dr. G.B. Kumo, for the Executive Secretary, Prof Julius Okojie.

Reacting to the accreditation, an elated President Margee Ensign said: “I am pleased to announce that AUN, only 10 years old, has received approval to run its first PhD programme.”

The Dean of School of Business & Entrepreneurship, Prof Linus Osuagwu, explained that the school is fully set to commence admission into the M.Sc. and PhD programmes next year.

In April last year, the NUC reassessed the university’s human and material resources of programmes that were first accredited in 2008 and gave the school another five-year full accreditation.

The accredited programmes are Accounting; Business Administration; Finance; Management & Entrepreneurship; Marketing; English Language & Literature; Telecommunication & Wireless Technology; Information System; Computer Science; Software Engineering; Economics; International & Comparative Politics; and Mass Communications (Communication & Multimedia, Advertising, Print Journalism, Television/Film, Multimedia Design.)

THE Director, Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies , University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Dr. Mahfouz Adedimeji, and two other lecturers of the Centre, Dr. Abosede Babatunde and Dr. Shittu Raji, together with their partners at the University of Ibadan (UI), Dr. Adefemi Isumonah and Saferworld, Kenya, Mr Manasseh Wepundi, have won a research grant of $25,000.

Their research proposal: “Institutional Capacity for Managing Religious Extremism in Nigeria and Kenya”, is among the six selected in Africa by the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESTRIA) Comparative Research Networks for 2014.

PROF. Charles Nwabuisi of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, will deliver the 154th Inaugural Lecture of UNILORIN today at the University Auditorium, beginning from 5.00p.m.

The lecture titled: “Antimicrobials and Bugs: The Survival Game” will be chaired by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof.

AbdulGaniyu Ambali.

VC counsels against strikes •Prof Ekpo (right) congratulating one of the Ph.D graduands at the convocation.

Jonathan to graduates: be job creators

P

RESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has called on Nigerian graduates to take advantage of the Federal Government’s Youth Empowerment Scheme to create jobs for themselves.

The President, who gave the advice during the 19th and 20th Convocation of the University of Uyo, in Akwa Ibom State, urged them to stop seeking unavailable jobs in the labour market.

Represented by a member of staff of National University Commission (NUC) and former Vice Chancellor, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Bauchi, Prof. Hamisu Mohammed, the President said the Federal Government would continue to empower youths by helping them set up small scale businesses in the country.

He explained that the challenges of unemployment would be surmounted through Youth Empowerment Scheme and other Federal Government programmes.

“Government will continue to empower our youths to enable them set up small scale businesses under the Federal Government’s

From Kazeem Ibrahym, Uyo

Youth Scheme (YES). We will also look at other programmes, so that collectively, we can deal with the challenge of unemployment.

These will enable us turn individual graduates into job creators other than job seekers,” he said.

The President added that the entrepreneurship education, which has been introduced in the nation’s universities, should advance the course of development.

He called on the universities to pursue researches seriously with a view to lifting the status of the country’s economy to that of the global scale.

He also said the security challenges facing the nation has adversely affected the financing of the education sector, urging the management of the various universities to be prudent in utilising their funds and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

President Jonathan sought the support of the private sector for tertiary institutions to enable them produce high quality

graduates.

He said government remained committed to the various agreements and forms of understanding reached with all unions, associations and other stakeholders in the education sector.

Akwa Ibom governor, Godswill Akpabio, who was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Valerie Ebe, urged the graduates to be good ambassadors of their alma mater.

Akpabio asked them to use the knowledge gained from the university to brighten the path for Nigeria and Africa to emerge from the shadows of under development to development and prosperity.

The university Vice Chancellor, Prof. Comfort Ekpo, urged the graduating students to uphold the values they have learnt and develop themselves to be better future leaders in the country.

At the convocation, 1,602 graduands were awarded with Postgraduate Diplomas, Master’s and Ph.D degrees, while 6,700 bagged First degrees, diplomas and certificates.

The UNILORIN Vice-Chancellor, Prof AbdulGaniyu Ambali, has urged health workers to stop incessant industrial actions that often paralyse the public hospitals.

Prof Ambali made this plea last week while receiving the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Association of Radiographers of Nigeria (ARN) in his office.

The Radiographers, led by their President, Dr Mark Okeji, were in Ilorin for the 46th Annual Conference and Scientific Workshop of their Association.

Ambali, who was represented during the visit by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Management Services), Prof. Yisa Fakunle, said: “It is important for all professionals in the health sector to work together to put an end to strikes.”

He added: “We appreciate your commendations and honour.

However, if you appreciate the need for non-interruption in academic calendar, you will also appreciate the need for non-interruption of health care delivery system in Nigeria because it is health we are talking about here and no one knows who will be sick next. It is, therefore, important for all professionals in the health sector to work together to put an end to strikes.”

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

46

CAMPUS LIFE IBBUL FILE VC inaugurates PG board

I

N its readiness for its Postgraduate programmes in the 2014/2015 academic session as approved by the National Universities Commission (NUC), the management of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, has inaugurated the board of the School of Postgraduate Studies.

Speaking at the inauguration at the Senate Chamber of the university, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ibrahim Adamu Kolo, applauded the rare commitment and doggedness of management and Senate that worked tirelessly towards bringing the postgraduate school to fruition.

With the PG school, and the accreditation of undergraduate programmes, Kolo said IBBUL has come out of the woods and is aiming to become one of the learning centres in the country.

Kolo charged the board members to be above board by justifying management confidence in them, and ensuring that best practice in the academia is maintained at the school for all the programmes.

Amina Yunusa Ndayanko, a lawyer, is to serve as the board’s secretary.

Abdulsalami pledges support

F

ORMER Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar, has assured the management of IBBUL of his support and cooperation.

He gave the assurance when the university management called on his hilltop residence in Minna to perform his investiture as one of the grand honorary foundation fellows of the university.

Gen. Abdulsalami who said he was impressed with developmental works of the management, also commended it for initiating research projects that are beneficial to the Niger State and the country.

Presenting the insignia of the honorary award to Abubakar, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Kolo had earlier disclosed that the university was proud to be associated with Abdulsalam. He expressed appreciation for laying a solid foundation for the institution’s Endowment Board.

He thanked Gen. Abdulsalami for his sacrifices and contributions to the development of IBBUL. He appealed for gestures that would facilitate further developmental drive.

SCHOLARSHIPS APPROACHING DEADLINE

Lund University Global Scholarship Programme

Lund University

B

ACHELORS/Masters Degree Brief description: The Lund University Global Scholarship programme is a selective, merit-based scholarship programme that recognizes top academic students from outside the European Union/European Economic Area (and Switzerland).

Host Institution(s): Lund University in Sweden Field(s) of study: All Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree Programmes offered at the University Number of Scholarships: Not specified Target group:

Citizens of countries outside the European Union/ European Economic Area (and Switzerland) Scholarship value/ inclusions: The scholarships may cover 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of the tuition fee. Please note that scholarships are toward tuition fees only and that living costs are not covered.

Eligibility: To be eligible to apply for a scholarship you must meet all of the following criteria: • You must be a citizen of a country from outside the EU/ EEA (and Switzerland) and are required to pay a tuition fee • You have applied for Bachelor’s or Master’s level

studies in the regular application rounds for a minimum of one semester of study (30 ECTS) Application instructions: PLEASE DO NOT APPLY if you do not meet the admission requirements to Lund University or if you cannot secure the funding needed to cover living costs, as required by the Swedish Migration Board.

To apply for a Lund University Global Scholarship, you must first apply for the programme(s) or free-standing course(s) you wish to study at Lund University using the online, national application website, www.universityadmissions.se during the application time for autumn

semester studies. You then complete the LU Global Scholarship online application where you need to upload your scholarship “motivation letter” (maximum 500 words). The deadline for applications for admissions is 15 January 2015.

It is important to visit the official website (link found below) to access the online application form or for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship.

Website: Official Scholarship W e b s i t e : h t t p : / / www.lunduniversity.lu.se/ admissions/bachelorsmasters-studies/scholarshipsawards/lund-universityglobal-scholarship

three decade-old institution.

ASUU Zonal Coordinator (Lagos) Dr Sola Nasir, said the union had met with Obafunwa on several occasion but the latter merely pretends to listen, only to backpedal on any agreement reached by the two parties.

For instance, Nasir said members’ promotion for last year was inconclusive, adding that no measure has so far been taken on this year.

Said Nasir: “No APER (Annual Performance Evaluation Report” form is circulated among academic staff. However, advertisement for appointments has been sent out.

True to the character of the present administration, appointment is being used to replace promotion.

Openings were advertised to promote some individuals who are oiling the ego and assisting the vicechancellor in his scheme of destruction. This is not the acceptable culture in the academia. ASUU would not allow any form of patronage in the system,” the union said.

Nasir also questioned the rationale for the appointment of the new HoDs. He noted that though, such appointment is the prerogative of the vice-chancellor, yet they were not done in line with best practices.

According to him, those whose names were submitted by the deans of various faculties (who are supposedly closer to the departments) for such appointment were rejected by management.

ASUU further lamented that some academic misfits were being elevated at the expense of deserving members.

“The vice-chancellor appointed and promoted candidates that are neither appointable nor promotable. He appointed a candidate to the position of a Senior Lecturer with two academic journals in the Faculty of Law. He also appointed an individual as a professor with less than 15 papers contrary to the principles and rules governing promotions and appointments. These 15 papers included lecture notes and conference proceedings while the percentage of acceptable papers could not have earned him a Senior Lecturer status.

ASUU, SSANU seek another visitation panel in LASU T HE Senior Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) Lagos State University (LASU) chapter, has said it is pitching its tent behind the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of the university by inviting a visitation panel to review activities under the Vice-Chancellor Prof John Oladapo Obafunwa.

Both unions are alleging that management is victimising their members, and stalling members’ promotion, issuing unwarranted queries and setting up kangaroo disciplinary panel for members on unsubstantiated allegations.

ASUU also accused management of encouraging a parallel senate, irregular appointments, improper composition of Council, doctoring of documents and misguiding Governing Council on the true state of the institution, among others.

Of greater concern to both unions however, is the review of all appointments and promotions under the present administration some of which the unions contends did not follow due process, but were rather done to favour Obafunwa’s friends and cronies.

Nearly, four years ago, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, set up a visitation panel to review activities of LASU,under the previous administration headed by Prof later Akanni Hussein.

The Chairman of SSANU-LASU Comrade Oseni Saheed, told The Nation at the union office in LASU on Friday, that the union has not

By Adegunle Olugbamila

gone to bed over its agitation; rather it has decided to keep a low profile in order not to be labelled a clog in the wheel of progress.

“All the things we have been agitation for including promotions of our members are still there,” Oseni said. “Remember that we even staged a protest during the last convocation which got the attention of the governor. However, we do not want government to see us as enemies or unnecessary trouble makers; that is why we have decided to suspend every agitation for now.

“But we have a shocker for the management. We won’t tell them when to strike but they will hear from us soon. SSANU-LASU is also using this opportunity to appeal to government to visit LASU to a get true picture of situations on ground. Our management is not telling government the truth.”

ASUU-LASU chairman Dr Adekunle Idris, said the call became necessary to salvage another imminent chaos in the university and to also ensure members’ interest are safeguarded.

In a briefing at the university premises on Wednesday last week, Dr Idris said ASUU had made all necessary steps to toe the line of peace, noting that management is bent on compound situation in the

• Minister of State for Health, Dr. Khaliru Al-Hassan (middle) flanked by the Founder Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) Aare Afe Babalola (left) and ABUAD Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof Micheal Ajisafe at the dinner in honour of Al-Hassan shortly after the Federal Government and ABUAD signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the upgrading of Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ido-Ekiti to Federal Teaching Hospital for the clinical training of ABUAD's Medical students and allied professionals.

Fed Govt to upgrade facilities

T

HE Minister of State for Education, Prof Viola Onwuliri, has said the Federal Government is committed to upgrading existing facilities in the nation’s universities to meet world-class standards.

She noted that excellence in the education sector is one of the key components of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda.

Speaking during inspection and inauguration of Federal Government projects in tertiary institutions in Imo State, Onwuliri disclosed that government has spent more than N10 billion to upgrade infrastructures in Imo State University (IMSU) within three and half years of its administration.

Onwuliri, who represented the Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, said in less than one year, IMSU through TETFund projects had received over N4 billion for upgrading of its Faculty of Law, Department of Engineering, as well as other infrastructure in the tertiary institution.

She said as as part of intervention fund set aside for all universities, the Federal Government has just allocated N1.5 billion to IMSU for iconic projects, and another N1.6 billion worth of engineering equipment.

“The Federal Government is de-

•Prof Onwuliri From Okodili Ndidi, Owerri

termined to turn around faculties, increase capacity building and improve facilities in the nation’s universities,” she said.

Onwuliri added that government had also disbursed N1 billion to Federal University of Technology Owerri, (FUTO) for the construction of science park in the university.

She said the Federal Government has not discriminated against any institution be it federal or state in its funding, adding that some state institutions even receive more funding than federal.

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

47

EDUCATION

GSS Wuse wins Abuja science exhibition G OVERNMENT Secondary School (GSS), Wuse Zone 3, has won the Vision 2020 Youth Empowerment and Restoration Initiative Awareness and Youth Empowerment Workshop held in Abuja. The school won with 73.3 per cent.

Vision 2020 is a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), which organises life career counseling workshops for young people in order to position them for future careers. Vision 2020 functions through career counseling, industry awareness and youth empowerment.

From: Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

The conference covered the relevance of good character, secret of academic excellence, preparation for the work and 21st Century Entrepreneurship competencies that will accelerate both the development of individuals and nation.

The Deputy Director/Zonal Coordinator West African Examination Council (WAEC), Mrs. Comfort Agu, told the participants to focus on set targets and be disciplined if they want to succeed life.

In a lecture titled: “Basic requirement for academic excellence in the

West African Examination Council (WAEC)”, Adu identified other ways pupils can pass their examinations.

She said: “Order your priorities, avoid distractions and keep the right friends. Have a personal study time-table, giving more time to subjects you find difficult, plan on when and how you study, plan for specific periods for social and physical activities.”

Of the eight schools that participated, the second and third positions went to Government Science Technical College, Garki and Command Day Secondary School,

Asokoro. While the latter’s work on ‘Flood erosion desertification control’ earned it 71.3 per cent, the latter secured 65.3 per cent to earn third place with its ‘Gum powder and fireworks synthesis’.

The schools were judged on parameters such as creativity, innovation, originality, building design and operability.

The event witnessed more than 300 participants comprising pupils and teachers from the secondary schools and colleges.

Juliet Kai, who is the Project Coordinator for the NGO, said: “These awareness, competitions, debates and scientific exhibitions provide

Nigerian youths the opportunity to learn from each other and what other youths are doing elsewhere in the world and vice-versa. This is a laudable step in moulding productive minds that become great assets to the economic development of Nigeria.

“It is also the solution to the unemployment syndrome. Vision 2020 is thus positioned to mentor youths in the 36 states of the federation, thereby eliciting support of the federal and state ministries of education, industry, science and technology, youth development, and the private sector.”

Our pay couldn’t ‘ve bought us new cars, Lagos teachers confess

F

• The winners of the Vision 2020 technology competition, Government Secondary School, Wuse Abuja pose with their cheque.

NGO partners education ministry on ‘peace education’ A FRICAN Foundation for Peace and Love Initiative (AFPLI), has partnered Lagos State Ministry of Education on the International Day of Peace Lagos Creative contest involving over 100 secondary school pupils across the six education districts.

The event, which took place penultimate week at the Nigerian French Language Village, Lagos, had as its theme: “Promoting peace education and peaceful atmosphere for the right of peace to people during and after 2015 election.”

In his welcome address, President of the Foundation, Rev Titus Oyeyemi, said the organisation is revolutionalising peace education by engaging many channels, which include inuaguration of school and community-based peace clubs.

According to him, some of these initiatives include the African Children of Peace Clubs for children in basic schools, the Youth Peace Alliance Clubs for teenagers, and KAIROS Peace and Love Clubs targeted at undergraduates in tertiary institutions. The fourth is the New Peace Legacy Clubs, targeted at young graduates undergoing their one year compulsory National Youth Service Commission, (NYSC).

The foundation, Oyeyemi explained, is also taking peace educa-

By Adeola Ogunlade

tion to a higher level by designing, developing and publishing education curriculum and text books suitable for contextual needs, applications and adaptations.

Oyeyemi said the foundation has been participating at the International Day of Peace and other United Nations (UN) programmes and events since 2006.

“Regrettably, the voice of the Nigerian children and youths are constantly missing from the political affairs of the nation. For this reason, pupils from the six education districts have been invited to present dramas and playlets to promote peaceful 2015 general election,” he said.

Representative of Akran of Badagry, Aholu Menu Toyi, Chief Harrison Ajose, advised people to stop violence by encouraging the use of the word ‘please’ and giving children right grooming at home, knowing that they are the future leaders.

“Grooming of children is a partnership with parents, the school and the government. We should use this occasion to ascertain peace, build better character in our children and good neighbourliness,” he said.

Ajose appealed to Nigerians to consider peace and togetherness by rededicating themselves to creating a better Nigeria.

The pupils presented dramas, songs and poems on the need for peaceful election. At the end, District IV came first in the song category with 25 points, while District II and District III emerged first and second runners up with 21.4 points and 13.5 points respectively.

With 28.5 points, District III topped, district II and I with 21.4 and 20.1 points to clinch the star prize in the drama category.

Also in the poem category, District II led others with 25.8 points, followed by District I with 22.5 points and District III with 18.2 marks.

OR Mrs Bose Deji-Oderinde of Wesley Girls Junior Secondary School, Yaba and her counterpart at African Church Primary School, Mosan, Alimosho, Mrs Akinlade Funmilayo, owning a car wouldn’t have been possible if they had saved their salaries for two years.

The duo, who emerged best teachers in Lagos State, won Hyundai i10 and Kia Rio cars each at the annual Lagos State Ministry of Education awards for public school teachers.

Deji-Oderinde and Akinlade beat hundreds of their peers to clinch the star prize at a coloufil event held at Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa Ikeja.

Speaking to The Nation, Mrs DejiOjerinde recalled that the last time she drove a car was 2009, adding that she was not contemplating buying a car soonest.

She explained that she is passionate about her job and love the pupils. “I did my best and I was rewarded for it even though I didn’t intend to be noticed.

“I tried to use different teaching methods. I tried not to be wicked. I just made sure I was close to the pupils and made them to love me because when they love me, they would love what I teach and at the end of the day it would benefit us all,” she said.

For Akinlade, who has never owned a car, the gift is a motivator to do better.

“Even if I worked for two years, I would not be able to save enough money to buy a car. My husband used to have one, but it got bad and since then we have abandoned it, and new focus on children’s edu-

By Medinat Kanabe

cation,” she said, adding: “Because of this, I taught them (pupils) well and ensured they love me and my subject.”

Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, described the event as an annual exercise where the state recognises and honour deserving individuals.

“It is part of reform programme in the education sector to motivate teachers and schools in order to improve productivity in furtherance of government’s commitment to quality education delivery and the ideas of excellence in service,” she said.

Nine of the recipients, she said, will have to compete with their counterparts from other states for the President’s Teachers and Schools’ Excellence Award later this year in Abuja, a contest, which she said, Lagos won consecutively in 2012 and 2013.

Oladunjoye encouraged others to continue to discharge their duties with dedication in order to clinch awards in the next edition.

Chairman of the event and former Head of Service, Prince Adesegun Ogunlewe, noted that in any organisation, leaders play a very important role.

Ogunlewe said there is a need for the government to utilise its Department of Human Resources to recruit dedicated and qualified teachers for the state.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Media Vision LTD, Mr Fela BankOlemoh was honouredfor his contribution towards the development of education in Lagos state through sports.

Actor offers scholarship to students

A

N aspirant to the Lagos State House of Assembly, Desmond Olusola Elliot, has offered scholarship to 15 undergraduates of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

He also paid for medical health insurance scheme for 20 elderly men and women in Surulere Constituency 1 through his campaign platform, DOE. The beneficiaries were given letters of admission to study at NOUN. The exercise was designed to boost academic performance and help benefi-

•

By Emmanuel Udodinma

ciaries acquire knowledge, Elliot said.

Elliot, who also distributed health insurance certificates to the elders, assured that students will also be eligible for more scholarship if they excel in their education.

Elliot told the beneficiaries: “You all should begin to think like undergraduates. Think of how to pass your examinations and make it big.”

The Nollywood actor said he would continue to prioritise education because it is the bedrock of development.

• Mrs Nneka Isiadinso of HealthPlus Pharmacy sensitizing pupils of Lekki British International School, Lekki about diabetes to mark the World Diabetes Day.

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

48

EDUCATION EDUTALK

with

Safe School manual initiative laudable

T

HE efforts by the Exam Ethics Marshals International (EEMI) to produce a manual for school managers to learn steps they can take to keep their schools Kofoworola safer in the face of insurgency is a good one, albeit coming rather late. Such a project ought to have Kofosagie@yahoo.com been carried out by the Federal 08054503077 (SMS only) Government years ago when the Boko Haram insurgency became a real threat.

However, that EEMI finally got the project, which it started since 2011, off the ground is highly commendable. It is also good that it got the input of the Nigeria Police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Fire Service, National Emergency Management Agency and others in producing the manual. sLast week, with support from UNESCO, it distributed the safe school kits - made up of safety manuals, video DVD and audio CDs - to primary and secondary schools and other institutions in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, which have suffered repeated attacks from the Boko Haram sect.

While the initial distribution of the 1,350 safe school kits is commendable, the project needs to be followed up with a lot of training. The training about safety tips needs to cascade down to other stakeholders all teachers, pupils and students, their parents and community members. Everyone is involved in the fight against insurgency because everyone is affected by it. The manual provides a lot of useful information - even what to do when in captivity to increase chances of survival, how to manage bomb blasts, security identification in schools, However, as all stakeholders learn measures to keep safe, it is important for the government to play its part - which is to secure our land. All the education about how to keep safe may be of little use when insurgents overrun our communities.

Belo-Osagie

•Participants at the event.

Firms ‘employ’ 25 school leavers for one week I T was a remarkable time for 25 school leavers in Lagos State who spent one-week in five companies learning about their careers.

The companies, SAP, Hartford, Green Consulting, Serve Consulting and C2G Consulting firm, partnered with the African Youth Empowerment and Change Initiative (AYECI) to coordinate the career mentoring programme.

The programme was designed to help secondary school leavers from disadvantaged background develop skills, knowledge and experience in an enriching workplace with the aim of understanding their career choices and learning how to run their own businesses.

The 25 school leavers – 18 from public and six from private schools – were chosen based on making at least three distinctions in the recent Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE).

They showcased what they learnt during the mentoring programme at the grand finale last Friday held at SAP’s office in Victoria Island, Lagos.

One of the participants, Mariam Bakenne, 17, who graduated from Government Senior College, Agege, and has secured admission at the Lagos State University

T

By Jane Chijioke

(LASU) to study marketing, likened the event is an eye opener.

“I got the information through the internet and applied for it.

When I came I was not expecting something this big. I learnt a lot about how to manage my own company in practical terms. I also learnt what marketing is all about.

I have now developed an interest in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The environment was so friendly. We interacted as if we were co-workers. I feel so proud and honoured. It is really an eye opener,” he said.

Ayinde Abdul Quadi, a graduate of Amdel International School, Lagos who said he reluctantly applied with the help of his aunty’s husband, attested that the programme is life-changing.

“I can’t even express my joy in words. It is really a life-changing opportunity. It has built my charisma, confidence making you realise that there is so much in you which you must put out for the world to see. With what I have learnt through the week, I feel like starting up my own business right

away,” he said.

The mentees were awarded certificates and mini-tablets at the event.

Mrs Ayo Ayuba, SAP Channel Development Manager, said they got involved in the project to enlighten the young ones about their ambitions and also support them to navigate career choices.

“What we are doing is recognising that the future is critical. How we can begin to get them to think around their future? The teenagers here would either be the future of SAP or SAP partners or consumers.

So we are keeping an eye on the present while engaging the future.

This is an informal way not only to help the society but also support the education system in educating the pupils outside the classroom. Education is life. What we have done is to put the tools of life in their hands,” she said Executive Director, AYECI, Ifeoma Adibe-Chukwuka, said the idea was to assist pupils mainly from public schools who had outstanding result by giving them the opportunity to experience the workplace and position themselves for the future. She noted that they are the firm is looking forward to empowering at least 300 pupils. she implore the help of companies for support.

Lagos plans e-learning centre

HE Lagos State Commissioner for Education Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, has disclosed that the state government is building an ultra-modern ebased learning outfit that will incorporate e-instructional television, e-classroom and e-drama, among others.

She spoke in Lagos on Monday at the close of the Festival of Instructional Materials organised by the Ministry of Education to showcase creativity and promote the use of e-based instructional materials for the educational development of children.

The theme of the programme was: “e-based instructional materials: Helping the curious mind to achieve greater things.”

She said upon completion, the elearning outfit would be accessible to all learners and teachers in Lagos state and beyond.

“Let me stress that this platform will be accessible to all learners and teachers in the state and elsewhere in the world,” she noted.

The commissioner said e-learning is the trend in education as it offers flexibility and convenience to learners, facilitates communications between teachers and learners as well as expose learners to varieties in learning experience with the use of multimedia and

non-verbal presentation of teaching materials among other benefits.

“In today’s technology-driven world, our children should not lag behind in embracing new sources of increasing their knowledge so as to be at par with their counterparts in the civilised world,” she said.

She pointed out that the realisation of the importance of instructional materials informed government’s decision to invest heavily in the provision of relevant instructional materials to empower teachers, make their lessons more interesting, clearer, lively and enjoyable to pupils.

She explained that no fewer than

T

600 secondary school teachers have been trained on Special Audio Visual Media Workshop and Mobile capacity building programmes for teachers in rural and riverine areas of the state to improve their capacities.

The commissioner, therefore, charged teachers to redouble their efforts and show more commitment to their jobs.

The event also witnessed the exhibition of instructional materials by schools and teachers. Mrs. Grace Okwudiri Njoku of Isolo Senior High School, Isolo emerged winner in the teacher’s category while Lagos Progressive Senior Secondary School, Surulere won in the school category.

FUOYE gets car donation

HE Federal University OyeEkiti (FUOYE) has taken delivery of a 2014 model of a Toyota Corolla car from Fidelity Bank Plc. Speaking on behalf of the bank, its South-West Regional Head, Mr. Mobolaji Omotoso, said the gesture was in fulfillment of the bank’s social responsibility practice of rewarding customers. He said the bank has enjoyed a beneficial relationship with the institution since its establishment in 2011, describ-

ing the school as a generous patron.

He also said education is one of the tripod on which the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility rests.

The others are environment and social welfare.

Omotoso promised that the bank was prepared to take its corporate relationship with the university to new heights.

The bank chief praised the Vice Chancellor, Prof Isaac Asuzu, for sustaining the relationship since he took over in 2013.

‘However, as all stakeholders learn measures to keep safe, it is important for the government to play its part - which is to secure our land. All the education about how to keep safe may be of little use when insurgents overrun our communities’ From my Inbox Re: Rescue our teachers from EVD countries (published November 20, 2014) Hi Kofoworola, our government should not make people to see their service to their fatherland as a curse. Must government wait until those teachers start losing their lives to the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) before an attempt is made to bring them back home? God forbid. If American teachers were involved as you guessed, I am sure the American government would have done everything within its power to evacuate its citizens. Albert Simeon, Seme Border.

Re: No to UI's PG Discrimination Hello ma, as a reader of your column and a staff of the University if Ibadan, I wish to clarify the information in your Edutalk today.

1. The test organised by the PG school is a test of English language for all students applying into the University given the deplorable knowledge of the English language exhibited by many students these days. The admission process comprises two stages. Stage I is for the candidate to pass test of English at 40% or above. Stage 2 is applying the departmental criteria of admission 2. The test does not represent a test into any department but just to be sure that the candidate has enough understanding of English language necessary to complete a PG degree.

3. On the basis of scoring 40% in test of English language, the candidate is then considered qualified to be assessed for entry in his/her respective department. THE TEST OF ENGLISH SCORE IS NOT USED TO RANK STUDENTS FOR ADMISSION. Every student whether those who score 100% or 40% are qualified equally to be assessed in their department of choice.

4. Each department has its criteria for admission which is stated explicitly and can be explained with adequate transparency. Some departments conduct departmental screening test some do not.

5. In a programme that I coordinate in the University we admitted candidates with 2.2 from private universities.

6. These are my personal clarifications.

Olanrewaju Olaniyan, Department of Economics, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.

Dear Sir, It happens that the candidate in question, a graduate of a private university in Oyo State, applied to study Economics, made a 2.1, but was told by three different members of staff that the department's criterion was to take only First Class graduates from private universities. So, where did the misinformation come from?

50

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

51

52

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

53

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

NATURAL HEALTH

Cold, Cough, Swollen legs, Congestive heart failure

T

HE seasons are changing gear, and many people are coughing, sneezing, wheezing or their noses are running. But, mind you, not all coughs follow the ebbing of the rain season and the onset of harmattan. Some people, especially the old, may be coughing because their hearts are enlarged and, thus, weak, two weak to pump blood out of the lungs. The lungs, overfilled with blood, are irritated, and are trying to expel the irritant. This may be a sign of congestive heart failure, often misdiagnosed as a stubborn cough and treated with cough mixtures. It was the cause of the deaths at 76 of one of my uncles and an auntie. My uncle watched television till about 11p.m, retired to bed soon after, and began to cough at about 1.00am. It is possible he may have survived the cough if he went to hospital immediately. One was opposite his house. But old people do not always wish to attract attention to their health status. Perhaps he should not have taken some water to douse the cough. For this could increase the blood volume and give a fatigued heart more work to do. He did. And, as the cough worsened, he had to be walked down the stairs and across the road. He remarked on the way that his legs were becoming heavier. Obviously, not enough blood was reaching them. He didn’t return home!

Two weeks ago, I had a cold which ran my nose and gave me a tickling cough. It was a reminder to me that the rains were rounding off and the harmattan warming up. Like the back of their palms, fruit sellers know of the seasons than many of us. They know hawks flutter in the sky when the new yam flourishes in the farms. Cough tends to be widespread at this time. Among chickens, this is the critical time New Castle disease goes for their jugular. When I reared native chicken in cages for an experiment, I found that they survived New Castle and Gomboro if I gave them garlic or onion, both of which are respiratory herbs. From the women in the chicken market who may keep about a thousand birds in seemingly airless stacks of cages, I learned of the wonderful effects lime or lemon juice has on the health of these animals. In the drinking water of these birds, the women would cut lime or lemon into bits and keep them in the water pans or troughs. Mortality among these birds is low or non-existent in many cases. Dr. Lind in about 1842 had shown English people how good for health lime could be.

Remember that English sailors of those days returned from long voyages with some of their teeth fallen off. Dr. Lind discovered that was because the sailors didn’t have enough fresh fruits on board. While we may think today that all fresh fruits are useful, for they are Vitamin C, it has been found that Vitamin C alone does not effectively stop gum disease or loosening of the teeth in their sockets. There are other factors, including bioflavonoid, plentiful in the pith of fresh fruits which we throw away co-opted by Mother Nature to help Vitamin C do this job. When Dr. Lind gave lime to British sailors, their nightmare ended. From then on the British government by law made British ships keep lime on board for sailors. It was from this culture that the gin and lime culture evolved. Dr. Lind and the women in the Nigerian live chicken markets may not have heard about Limolene. It is an oil found in the peel of orange and some other citrus fruits. When I find people coughing or beset with a cold, I advise that they extract this oil or cut the peel into tiny pieces and boil in a little amount of water. They are to gaggle with the solution of this oil which collects on the heated water, and then swallow it. To the surprise of many people, the cough goes soon after. If I wish to excite such people, I give them a Limolene soft gel, ask them to keep it in the mouth for one minute and then tell me what they think it is. ‘Orange’, many of them often exclaim. Thereafter, I tell them about limolene and how, apart from helping coughs and cold, it has been found to be an anti-histamine which may help some asthma attacks. Rex Adams says in his Miracle Medicine Foods that asthmatics can dry orange peel and keep it in cellophane packs kept in a refrigerator. From time to time, especially if they sense an attack is coming, asthmatics can chew these dried orange peel cuts.

A physician’s dilemma

W

HEN we have a cough or a cold, our first reaction is to try to knock it out. I found myself in this boat about 30 years ago when, on the eve of an important spiritual event, which takes place once in a life time for many people, I suddenly developed a cold and cough. Of course, I took Vitamin C and Zinc lozenges which in Europe and America, is said to cut the duration of a cold by an average of seven days, according to Dr. Elson Haas, one-time director of Marin Clinic of Preventive Medicine and Health Education in California. Chicken soup, said to also help, was not immediately available. What I believe gave me the magic wand was garlic perle. As suggested by Rex Adams, I took two gels every four hours or so. And, by the following day, my throat was clear and my nose was free. But this was a clear case of suppression of a natural process which could backfire.

In that natural process, coughing is regarded as a part of the immune system and respiratory defence mechanism. In that process, a sudden burst of air and fluid from the respiratory system (trachea, bronchi etc) support expulsion of dust, microbes, chemicals and other toxic substances from the-air passages. But a cough can also be a warning signal of infections in the breathing system such as bronchitis, asthma, lung cancer and heart problems. This then means that the underlying cause of a cough has to be determined before a decision is taken about how to clear it. If it is a simple case of the body trying to expel pathogens (invading germs) or irritants, the diet may be supplemented with remedies which, for example, help the immune process. The common cold is

caused by rhinoviruses which plant themselves on the adhesion molecules which attach human immune cells on the lining of the respiratory tract. It is a wonderful scenario.

When lymphocytes, a member of the mobile immune cell family, attacks these rhinoviruses, the body produces more ‘lymphocytes’ for back up defence. This means more adhesion molecules have to be produced for this stand-by reinforcement. That means, also, that more breeding grounds for rhinoviruses have been produced. A huge war must, therefore, rage, which causes those tell tale signs of watery eyes, sneezing, wheezing and coughing. Sometimes, the body temperature goes up, so that some of the pathogens can be eliminated through the pores of the skin during sweating.

Even the mucus and the phlegm are ways and means of evacuating the irritants and dead or expended immune cells.

This is why it would appear no pharmaceutical drug can cure the common cold. For it tries to suppress the immune process, not to support it. Other than garlic, one remedy I know works well for the common cold by supporting the immune system is Golden Seal Root. It is a berberine containing herb. Berbering is a chemical which coats the lining of hollow tubes in the body, such as the nasal cavity and the intestine, thereby preventing adhesion by microbes. Adhesion gives microbes the opportunity to extract proteins from the body’s cells and grow their own population accordingly.

Thus deprived of nutrition, these microbes become weakened and are easier to deal with by the immune soldiers.

Golden Seal root may not be used longer than seven days at a time, with breaks of seven days rest in-between onslaughts, because it may dehydrate the mucus membrane. It is important to follow this therapy with high grade vitamin A supplements which support cellular hydration.

When the process is disturbed, the germs may be driven underground, someday to cause troubles such as bronchitis, bronchiestasis, emphysema or, pneumonia. We all know too well that water will always find its level. If we block its flow one way, it doesn’t immediately angrily challenge us.

It will await us, someday, where we least expect to find it!

Herbal medicine would rather support the immune system.

For example, oregano oil or spray helps in dilating the nasal passage to enhance speedier evacuation. Clove oil dropped in hot water produces vapour which may be inhaled for this purpose.

Coltfoot tea releases serious congestion and dry cough.

Garlic activates the production of more Macro-phages. These are germ-eating giant immune cells. Maitake mushroom contains a substance which kills viruses, and is effective for persistent colds. A proprietary blend known as Maitake DFraction is popular in cancer therapy. Maitake Gruffria goes well, as a detoxifier, with the D-fraction. Reishi Mushroom is known to prevent colds from aggravating asthma. It is rich in anti-histamines and compounds which inhibit platelet activating factor (PAF), the hormone which causes bronchial airways to constrict. Siberian Ginseng prevents cold after exposure to toxins. As an adaptogen, it enhances the body and makes it face and stand tops over challenges. Vitamin C is known to work as a scavenger for trash, including those of viruses.

In the doctors book of home remedies, researchers at mount Sinai Medical Centre, Miami Beach, are reported to have discovered that ‘a hot chicken soup either because of its aroma or its taste, appears to possess an additional substance for increasing the flow of nasal mucus’.

They add: ‘These secretions, what comes out when you blow your nose or sneeze serves a first line of defence in removing germs from your system’ I believe this is what old people try to achieve when they use snuff. I have found that one or two capsules or two capsules of cayenne pepper every day helps to improve blood and other circulation and warmth.

Congestive Heart Failure S I said earlier, many people try to suppress stubborn cough with cough medications without realising their cough may be a sign of an underlying heart disease.

There are many people who go about their daily lives with swellings in the lower limbs which refuse to respond to aspirin or warfarin or some other blood thinners which the doc-

A

e-mail: femi.kusa@yahoo.com or olufemikusa@yahoo.com

tors prescribed to free the congestion and relieve the heart of damaging overwork. Many of such people run kidney function tests which give their kidneys beautiful testimonials. But some doctors advise laboratory testing kits do not catch subclinical malaise. They detect problems only when the damage has begun to seriously manifest. The same may be true of clean bills of health given to many ailing hearts. In this scenario, some doctors opt out of medical technology and return to their gut instinct, or rather intuition, relying on the art of medicine, and not the science of medicine.

In this case, the question may be asked: •Does the swelling disappear when the patient is walking?

•Does the swelling persist when the patients is asleep at night, on a plane surface?

•If the swelling persists in No. 2 above, can this be a kidney problem?

There are some cases that fail to fit a module. In such cases, the holistic physician begins to think not only about kidney health but about liver health as well. In the books, ‘Your body’s many cries for water and you are not sick, you are only thirsty’, Dr Batmanghelidj, now of blessed memory, says it is “criminal” to give diuretics in oedema conditions because, in his view, the body is using the eodema as a storage for water which is becoming scarce or likely to be given a current trend towards dehydration. In eodema, the regular doctor advises against sodium intake, believing elevated sodium blood level caused fluid to accumulate. Dr. Batmanghelidj says capital no.

He says sodium is needed to hold water in the intestinal fluid, that is fluid which surrounds the cells, and that a shortage of sodium in the diet was causing such loss of water, as advised the body, to create water storages by retaining sodium to do the job.

Whatever the doctors are thinking or saying, it appears fairly settled that congestive heart failure is a condition in which the heart muscles are unable to pump blood fast enough to supply all the nutrient and oxygen needed by the body.

Among the symptoms are fatigue and weakness, especially on exertion, and swelling associated with fluid retention.

According to Japanese Kampo Medicine by Robert Rister: “Fluid retention in the lungs can also cause shortness of breath since congestive heart failure, arrhythmia, and heart attack are inter-related”, all three conditions are discussed in this entry.

Congestive heart failure may be acute (sudden) or chronic (long standing). Sudden cases may be caused by myocardial infarction or heart attack. This is when enough blood does not flow into the heart through the coronary (heart) arteries. This may be caused by blockage of cholesterol, blood clots or homocysteine. Some heart attacks are silent, producing no prior symptoms. They can cause heart failure. Both may arise from coronary artery disease in which one or more of the arteries are blocked. Infections of the heart muscles can also cause acute heart failure. This condition is called cardiomyopathy. As the name suggests, Chronic congestive heart failure is usually an effect of high blood pressure or heart valve problems or previous heart attacks. Other causes suggested for this condition include diabetes, hyperthyroidism, extreme obesity. In the train also as contributing factors are chronic lung disease such as emphysema and anaemia. Sight should not be lost of arrhythmia, a slow, fast or irregular heartbeat. This condition may be mild or worrisome. A worrisome heart beat irregularity is ventricular fibrillation. In this condition, the beat is rapid, uncontrolled and ineffective and, so, the heart cannot pump blood well into the arteries. Some of the symptoms of congestive heart failure are: •Enlarged heart and •Fluid retention. Enlargement occurs when the heart has to work too hard to pump out blood. The blood vessels may be hard (arteriosclerosis) or blocked (atherosclerosis) or the major organs (liver, pancreas, kidneys or spleen) may be blocked and resisting blood flow.

Intially, enlargement helps the heart, but weakens it in the end, decreasing heart pumping action. To support a weak heart, the body retains sodium and fluid, to increase blood volume.

In the end, the excess fluid seeps into surrounding tissue, causing oedema.

Diuretics, such as dandelion, increase urine flow, and relieves the heart of pressure. Kidney proprietary supplement, such as kidney Rescue and kidney KDY-CL clean, heal and tone the kidney. Vasodilators such as Hawthorn Berries, Garlic, Bilbery (also good for the eyes and blood sugar) enlarge blood vessels to reduce tension. Co Enzyme Q-10 energises the heart. Hawthorn increases mechanical pump action, according to many studies. Rex Adam suggests that a combination of Vitamin B1 and Garlic helps to shrink enlarged heart. Shepherd’s Purse, known for stopping bleeding, also helps to muscularise muscles, which is why it is used for the womb, a muscular organ, and should be good for the heart, another muscular organ.

Magnesium helps in arrhythmias. I have not discussed homeopathic/biochemic cell salts. Ferrum phos oxygenates and removes blockages. Magphos stops palpitations. Lion’s Man should improve nerve flow and improve nerve action in arrhythmias. Rister suggests that 200Mg of Thiamine (Vitamin B1) improves functions of the left ventricle, which pumps bloods to all parts of the body.

One of the herbs I would like to suggest for heart disorders is Hawthorn Berries of which about 300 species are available. It has been used medicinally by many cultures for many medicinal purposes for many centuries. In Europe, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the most single significant cause of untimely death. Modern research into the medicinal uses of hawthorn has, therefore, concerned its effects on the cardiovascular system, that is the heart and the blood vessels- arteries, veins and capillaries.

Tel: 08116759749, 08034004247, 07025077303

54

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

55

56

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

SHAO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION C/O Postal Agency Shao, Kwara State

18th November, 2014 Your Excellency, Alhaji [Dr] Abdulfatah Ahmed, The Executive Governor of Kwara State, Government House, Ilorin.

Dear Sir,

OPEN LETTER TO YOUR EXCELLENCY ON THE GRADING AND UPGRADING OF OBAS AND CHIEFS IN KWARA STATE AS IT AFFECTS THE OHORO OF SHAO’S STOOL.

W

ith all sense of humility, we, the undersigned members of the Ohoro-in-Council, prominent members of the community and the entire members of Shao-Community, write on behalf of the entire members of Shao Community, to inform your Excellency that we join thousands of Kwarans in Nigeria and Diaspora, in giving thanks to Almighty Allah for granting you divine wisdom and strength to paddle the affairs of this state within the last three years. May your Excellency continue to record more successes in your effort at taking the state to the greater heights of your dream in the remaining part of your 4 years tenure and beyond.

Having prayed for Your Excellency, we are however constrained to let you know our grievances on the above subject matter. We heard the announcement in the print and electronic media in September this year that Kwara State Government had graded and upgraded seventy [70] Traditional Rulers which showed that eleven [11] more traditional Rulers were added to the Royal Fathers that had earlier been recommended by Alhaji Abdulwahab Issa’s Chieftaincy Panel set up in January this year. To our utter surprise, the stool of Ohoro of Shao was excluded. The grading and upgrading was said to have been based on the Report and recommendations of the above – named panel.

The panel, before the commencement of its assignment demanded/requested all interested communities in the state to furnish it with the following details:[i] Population of community [ii] Historical antecedent of the requesting community [iii] Development efforts of the community [iv] The customs, tradition and values of the community [v] Any other useful justification that can assist the panel.

In response to the clarion call, Shao Community submitted memoranda. As demanded by the committee, our community state the following:[i] That population is between 40,000 to 50,000 peoples. [ii] On historical antecedent, the community pointed out in its memoranda, that Shao is an ancient town with a very rich history. Our oral and written history made it clear that Ojo Isekuse [Adeyemi] who founded our state capital – Ilorin was a guest of Ohoro Shao for 15 days before proceeding to found Ilorin. [iii] On development efforts, we stated in our memoranda, among other things that we built the following from our communal efforts:[a] Construction of Ilorin-Shao road in 1948 [b] Building of LGEA Primary School in 1962 [c] Town hall in 1970 [d] Awon-ga High School Shao built in 1980. The first ever community owned college in Moro Local Government Area of this State. [e] Postal Agency was built by communal efforts of Shao peoples. [f] Completion of Magistrate Court of Shao [g] Construction of the network of roads within the town through communal efforts.

Etc, [h] New ultra-modern town hall now under construction [i] New divisional police headquarters now under construction [iv] That our customs, tradition and values are not different from all other communities in Yoruba land, here we also mentioned our peculiar Awon Mass Festival which holds once in a year. [v] On our justification for the request, we made it clear to the panel all efforts made in the past on the grading/upgrading of the Ohoro stool.

With all these said and done, the State Government announced the grading and upgrading of 70 [seventy] Traditional Rulers from the South Senatorial District, leaving out the remaining two [2] Senatorial Districts, one of which Shao belongs i.e North Senatorial District. Despite the fact that our community gave the panel all required information/details, it still went ahead closing its eyes to all detailed information above and excluded the stool of Ohoro. This did not go down well with Shao peoples as there was no other justifiable reasons for the exclusion of Ohoro stool in the list as it contained in The Herald, pages 1 and 3 of 28th, September, 2014.

RECOGNITION/GRADING OF THE OHORO STOOL IN THE PAST On this, we wish to intimate Your Excellency with the fact that the stool of Ohoro had been graded 5th class during the Colonial era [to be specific, in 1919]. This fact is contained in the Report by the then Ilorin Resident, one, Mr. Philips Lonsdale, published in Ilorin Gazetter.

The Ohoro stool was also up-graded in 1983 to 3rd Class Status by the State Government under Late Governor Adamu Attah of blessed memory. The Military Administration under Group Captain Salaudeen Latinwo revoked the grading for no justifiable reason. The 3rd class status was restored in 2002 by Late Governor Mohammed Alabi Lawal. Unfortunately, the 3rd class status of Ohoro was revoked by the Administration of our Governor, now a Senator in the Central Senatorial District, Dr. Bukola Saraki, a political Leader in Kwara State. The reason for the withdrawal of Oba’s gradings and upgrading as not made clear.

Since the last withdrawals of the Ohoro’s 3 rd class status, there were been frantic underground moves by Shao Community to reach out to the State Government including the erstwhile Governor nor=w the Senator, Bukola Saraki representing the Central Senatorial District. During his 2nd term tenure, there were two or three Chieftaincy Panels set up by his Administration. Each time a panel was set up, Shao Community in its tireless efforts wrote memoranda for either the restoration of the status of Ohoro to 3rd class or upgrade the status to a higher level but all to no avail. In the year 2010, the Ohoro-in-Council mandated the Ohoro himself to book appointment with the former Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki with a view to discussing with him on two issues: grading of Ohoro status and construction for the network of roads in the town. The Governor was so kind to grant the Ohoro the needed audience on 14th April, 2010. His Excellency listened very well to the submission/requests and promised to look into them.

Since then, our peoples have been waiting for His Excellency to put smiles on our faces in Shao like his administration was doing for other communities in the state but this was not to come for any reason. Now that Your Excellency is in the saddle of power, we implore you to look into the issues passionately once again.

At this juncture, we wish to draw Your Excellency’s attention to rumour making rounds in the state during the last grading/upgrading exercise by people that it is not the usual practice that where Emirate system is in vogue, no Oba or Chief should be graded. To us in this community, we have not heard or read any provision of law, edict establishing the Emirate/ Traditional Councils in the states or Nigerian Constitution which stipulated this, here in Kwara State, Edu Local Government Area in Nupe-Speaking part of this state, there are 3 [three] Emirs that were graded there. They are the Emirs of Lafiagi, Shnonga and Tsaragi.

These three Emirs are living peacefully and comfortably with one another without any

rancor or friction. Another typical example is Baruten Local Government Area. These four Emirs are the Emirs of Ilesha, Gwanara, Ojuta and Yashikira. Examples are also abound in the Northern part of this country, most especially in Kaduna State during Makarfi Administration. During his period in Kaduna State there was crisis in Southern part of Zaria that bothered on chieftaincy matter. The areas affected are Kafanchan, Kwoi, Seminaka, Sango Kataf etc, over non-recognition/grading of their chiefs. When the matter got to a crisis stage, resulting to destruction of property, maiming and killing of people, the leading to the crisis in the area. As a result of the recommendations of the panel, many Chiefdoms and Kingdoms were created. Since then, there has been peace and tranquility in the state. Hashidu Administration in Gombe State also created 14 new Emirates and Chiefdoms from the existing Emirate for peace to reign. Theophilus Bamigboye did the same when he was the Military Governor of Bauchi State. There, he created Das, Ningi etc Emirates out of the existing Emirate. The examples given above negate any notion, rumour or insinuation that where the Emirate is in operation, there should not be any Oba, Chief or Emir in the Emirate.

At this juncture, we want to state here, for purpose of clarity, that Shao Community is not writing this Open Letter to Your Excellency to grade the Ohoro of Shao as an Emir or want to compete the exalted position of the Emir of Ilorin. We rcognize His Royal Majesty as the Chairman of Kwara State Council of Chief. What this community now wants from the state government is to grade the Ohoro stool within the context of Yoruba culture and tradition.

Our strict adherence to maintaining our identity of Yoruba culture is our fundamental human right. This is not tantamount to destroying the extant system. After all, the status of Ohoro was recognized/graded 3rd class in 1983 and 2012 respectively, there was no breakdown of law ad order in the state. It is our belief that if Ohoro is grade by your administration, it will further enhance the cordial and good relationship which has been hitherto existing throughout the state.

It is pertinent to say now that with the exclusion of Ohoro in the latest grading and upgrading, Shao people have been marginalized, alienated. Dejected, disappointed and even lost the sense of belonging to the state. The state government under your able and dynamic leadership should please revisit the issue of Ohoro status. It now appears as if we are being treated as conquered slaves. With the age of Shao, its population, size of the town and political support given to the former administration of Dr. Bukola Saraki and the administration of your humble self since you have been in saddle of power are enough to consider the stool of Ohoro of Shao for appropriate elevation.

Without any malice whatsoever to Obas and people of the communities we are going to mention below if they could enjoy the recent grading, we make bold to say that by what yardsticks/parameters used by the AbdulWahab Issa’s panel to qualify Aran-Orin, Amoyo, Labak, Omido, Oko-Ode, Bayagan, Jimba-Oja, Kabba Owode etc for grading and upgrading that should not also qualify the Ohoro of Shao? They are of yoruba stock in the South Senatorial District while Shao town is also a Yoruba town that belongs to the North Senatorial District. What is good for goose is also good for gander. We also want the state government to know that we have denied our fundamental human right of fair play, justice and equity.

It is our belief that justice delayed is justice denied.

PRAYER/DEMAND In view of the foregoing we want to conclude by saying once more that on behalf of the Ohoro-in-Council and the entire members of Shao Community, we wish to plead passionately that the stool of Ohoro of Shao be re-visited with a view to restoring/upgrading the status to 3rd class or 2nd class. The reason we write your Excellency this open letter is to know our pathetic and unhappy mood of our people. What even make our people very unhappy is that almost all Traditional Rulers who were graded 3rd class in 1983 alongside the Ohoro of Shao have since become 2nd class Obas and Chief in the state. The special adviser to your Excellency on Chieftaincy Matters was reported to have advised the Obas and Chief who have not been graded or upgraded during the last exercise to keep calm, that it would soon be their turn. We hope the state of Ohoro will be considered as soon as possible.

It is our fervent prayer that Almighty Allah in His Infinite mercies will continue to give you long life, sound health and divine wisdom to enable you live more years in the service of this state in particular, the nation and humanity in general.

We thank Your Excellency, for giving our request/demand a favourable consideration in advance. Shao people are a peaceful and law-abiding community. We pledge our unalloyed loyalty and support to you and your Administration Sir.

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

57

58

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

59

60

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

62

EQUITIES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DAILY SUMMARY AS AT 26-11-14

DAILY SUMMARY SUMMARY AS AS AT AT 26--11-14 25-07-14 DAILY

Investors rush equities despite increased interest rate V OLUME of transactions at the stock market rose by almost 80 per cent yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as investors scrambled for banking stocks, a day after the apex bank announced increase in benchmark interest rate by 8.3 per cent and devalued the naira.

With more than two gainers to every loser, the stock market responded positively to the monetary changes announced two days ago by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Aggregate market value of all quoted equities rose by N155 billion to close at N11.418 trillion as against its opening value of N11.263 trillion.

The benchmark composite index that tracks all quoted equities at the NSE, the All Share Index (ASI), rose by 1.37

Stories by Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

per cent to close at 34,583.29 points compared with its opening index of 34,115.84 points.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the CBN on Tuesday announced 100 basis points increase in the monetary policy rate (MPR) from 12 per cent to 13 per cent, the first change in three years. It also increased the cash reserve ratio (CRR) for private sector deposit from 15 per cent to 20 per cent. The apex bank also devalued naira exchange rate to N168 per dollar with a wider band of plus or minus five per cent, that is, N160-N176 band, as against the previous N155 with a band of

plus or minus three per cent, that is, N150-N160.

Aggregate turnover rose above average as investors staked N9.96 billion on 642.91 million shares in 5,351 deals.

Financial services dominated the activity chart with a turnover of 562.85 million shares worth N6.66 billion in 2,925 deals.

Banks dominated the most activity chart with Zenith Bank leading the pack with a turnover of 149.71 million shares valued at N3.12 billion in 387 deals. FCMB Group followed with a turnover of 117.98 million shares worth N383.64 million in 109 deals. FBN Holdings placed third with a turnover of 97.62 million shares valued at N984.55 million in 611 deals.

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

63

MONEYLINK

Reps ask CBN to regulate interest rate spread on loans T HE House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to regulate the interest rate margin at which banks lend to their customers.

Speaking during the first batch of 2014 oversight function of the Committee on the CBN in Lagos, its Chairman, Hon. Jones Chukwudi Onyeriri, called for a policy shift that requires the regulator to punish banks that take advantage of the 100 basis point raise on benchmark interest rate from 12 per cent to 13 per cent.

The legislator who was accompanied by other committee members, said policies of the CBN should have direct positive impact on lives and businesses of banks’ customers.

Onyeriri called on the CBN to

F

•Seek inputs in MPC meetings

make provisions that allow the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to consult with the House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency before taking decisions.

He advised the CBN to come out strongly as lender of last resort, adding that the regulator should ensure that interest on loans do not go beyond certain rates.

He said the CBN should also promote policies that help the middleclass to achieve their life ambitions.

CBN Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Adebayo Adelabu, gave as-

surance that the committee will not spare any bank that lends at excessive interest rate on loans, adding that such has been a constant practice at the CBN. “We have been doing that by monitoring the interest rate spread on loans. High interest rate is controversial one. We are committed in our medium to and long term vision to ensure that Nigeria returns to single digit interest rate. This will facilitate improved production in the economy,” he said.

The committee moved the midpoint of the official window of the

loyalty.

He noted that the product became necessary to caution the effect of uncontrollable challenges faced in the course of businesses. The product is also meant to reduce cost of banking especially with a cash support of N1 million on any loss resulting from fire or flood on the business.

Bakre explained that the new product which is run in partnership with Cornerstone insurance will also provide

customers who operate accounts in their individual names, the opportunity to carry out any volume of transaction, without Commission on Turnover but at a rate not higher than N1, 500.

He said: “As a bank, considering the concern that we have for our customers, we decided to partner with a very reliable and dependable allied, Cornerstone Insurance to be precise, to provide insurance cover for any such

dressing a train the trainer workshop organised by the FRC on FRC for SMEs in Lagos.

Ibrahim also underscored the importance of compliance with IFRS which are a set of globally acceptable accounting standards.

“At the financial reporting standards setting level, the global solution was premised on

internationalisation and harmonisation of financial reporting standards and jurisdictional financial statements regulation. This is the path the administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan addressed by enacting the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria Act, 2011 and adopting the International Financial Reporting Standards effec-

Stories by Collins Nweze

foreign exchange market from N155/US$ to N168/US$ and also widened the band around the midpoint by 200 basis points from plus or minus three per cent to plus or minus five per cent.

He said the MPC also increased the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), the base lending rate, by 100 basis points from 12 to 13 per cent while the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) on private sector deposits also rose by 500 basis points from 15 per cent to 20 per cent with immediate effect. It also retained public sector CRR at its current level of 75 per cent.

Adelabu said the CBN cannot afford to keep defending the naira, adding that the CBN is trying to curtail inflation. He advised Nigerians to increase their patronage of locally made goods.

FCMB launches insurance-based product

IRST Monument Bank (FCMB) has launched a new product tagged, FCMB Personal Business Account, which allows the lender provide insurance cover for customers’ goods up to N1 million.

The Executive Director, Olufemi Bakare, who unveiled the product in Lagos yesterday, said the product was developed in line with the lender’s plan to promote seamless business transactions and improved customer

S

Name

Offer Price

AFRINVEST W. A. EQUITY FUND ARM AGGRESSIVE GROWTH BGL NUBIAN FUND BGL SAPPHIRE FUND CANARY GROWTH FUND CONTINENTAL UNIT TRUST CORAL INCOME FUND FBN FIXED INCOME FUND FBN HERITAGE FUND FBN MONEY MARKET FUND

152.19 9.17 1.12 1.19 2,237.65 1.39 1,710.65 1,092.63 115.26 121.16 1,117.51 1.2147 1.2858 0.7802 1.0972

• UBA BALANCED FUND • UBA BOND FUND • UBA EQUITY FUND • UBA MONEY MARKET FUND

SYMBOL O/PRICE PZ 24.40 SKYEBANK 2.46 MAYBAKER 1.40 MOBIL 149.90 FCMB 3.20 FLOURMILL 43.58 CUTIX 1.41 CAVERTON 3.44 NASCON 7.50 DANGSUGAR 6.15 DIAMONDBNK 5.76

C/PRICE 26.90 2.61 1.47 157.39 3.36 45.75 1.48 3.61 7.87 6.45 6.03

C/PRICE

DATA BANK Transaction Dates 17/11/2014 10/11/2014 06/11/2014

1,116.70 1.2072 1.2858 0.7666 1.0972

CHANGE 2.50 0.15 0.07 7.49 0.16 2.17 0.07 0.17 0.37 0.30 0.27

CHANGE

CHAMPION

9.85

9.36

-0.49

AIRSERVICE

1.66

1.58

-0.08

AIICO

0.88

0.84

-0.04

IKEJAHOTEL

3.78

3.62

-0.16

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Inflation: October

8.1%

Monetary Policy Rate

12.0%

Foreign Reserves Oil Price (Bonny Light/b) Money Supply (M2)

Buying (N)

Selling (N)

$37.6b

US Dollar

164

165

$79.98

Pounds Sterling

258.2344

259.809

Euro

204.2948

205.5405

Swiss Franc

169.8074

170.8428

Yen

1.3924

1.4009

CFA

0.2868

0.3068

235.4875

236.9234

Yuan/Renminbi

26.7114

26.8752

Riyal

43.7054

43.9719

SDR

240.1288

241.593

N17.2 trillion

Primary Lending Rate (PLR)

16.5%

NIGERIAN INTER-BANK OFFERED RATES (NIBOR)

Tenor

11-11-14 Rate (%)

Amount Sold in ($) 499.93m 399.97m 349.96m

Currency

N16.42 trillion.

Credit to private Sector (CPS)

Amount Offered in ($) 500m 400m 350m

CBN EXCHANGE RATES November 26, 2014

Rate (%) 12-11-14

Overnight (O/N)

10.54

11.17

1M

11.94

12.18

3M

13.08

13.33

6M

14.03

14.17

FOREX RATES

3.08

2.95

-0.13

UAC-PROP

10.85

10.53

-0.32

R-DAS ($/N)

157.29

157.29

VITAFOAM

3.85

3.75

-0.10

Interbank ($/N)

162.75

162.75

26.60

26.00

-0.60

STERLNBANK

2.38

2.33

-0.05

Parallel ($/N)

167.50

167.50

ACCESS

8.00

7.85

-0.15

INTBREW

•AMCON CEO Mustafa Chike-Obi

RETAIL DUTCH AUCTION SYSTEM (RDAS)

LOSERS AS AT 26-11-14

O/PRICE

tive January 1, 2012; using a phased transition”, she said.

According to the phased transition programme Nigeria adopted via the IFRS Adoption roadmap, SMEs are expected to prepare their financial statements according to IFRS for SMEs for the year ending December 31 this year.

Bid Price

GAINERS AS AT 26-11-14

ETERMA

A

SSET Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), said it has completed the sale of the entire issued and fully paid up ordinary shares of Enterprise Bank Limited, to HBCL Investment Services Limited, sponsored by Heritage Bank Limited, for a consideration of N56.1 billion.

In a statement, AMCON said the transaction was structured as a broad public auction process, which attracted interest from multiple domestic and international bidders, with HISL emerging as the preferred bidder.

Completion of the transaction, followed the fulfillment of the terms and conditions stated in the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) executed between AMCON and HISL. The transaction has been approved by the Board of Directors of AMCON and relevant regulatory approvals have been obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Citigroup Global Markets Limited (Citi) and Vetiva Capital Management Limited (Vetiva) acted as Financial Advisers to AMCON while G. Elias & Co. acted as Legal Advisers to AMCON on the transaction.

FRC charges SMEs on IFRC compliance

MALL and medium entities (SMEs) have been implored to comply with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the preparation of their financial statements.

This charge was given by the Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), Hajia Maryam Ladi Ibrahim, while ad-

SYMBOL

hazards that may happen to any of our customers. The additional advantage is that no matter the level of turnover in their respective accounts, we don’t charge them more than N1, 500 unlike the conventional turnover that competitors are charging”.

Bakre also said that in cases where losses incurred are above N1 million, the bank will guide affected customer with the assistant of the insurance company on how it could be best addressed.

AMCON completes Enterprise Bank’s sale to Heritage

WAUA

GOVT. SECURITIES YIELD – SECONDARY MARKET

Tenor

Nov. 12, 2014

Rates

T-bills - 91

9.85

T-bills - 182

9.98

T-bills - 364

10

Bond - 3yrs

12.61

Bond - 5yrs

12.77

Bond - 7yrs

12.73

64

THE NATION THURSDAY NOVEMBER 27, 2014

66

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

NEWS Gunmen kill policeman, passenger in Bayelsa From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

G

UNMEN, in separate attacks in Bayelsa State, have killed a mobile policeman and a boat passenger.

It was gathered that the mobile policeman was killed at Akenpai I in Yenagoa, the state capital, and his rifle stolen by the killer.

The policeman, said to be a corporal, was reportedly shot dead at 7am on Monday at his duty post.

It was also gathered that the deceased was an idigene of Ekeremor Local Government Area.

His assailants were said to have shot him at a close range.

An eyewitness, who simply identified herself as Comfort, said the gunmen ambushed the policeman.

“He was shot from behind,” Comfort said.

Police spokesman, Lawrence Eboka, confirmed the incident.

He said: “He (the policeman) was shot dead and his rifle is missing. We are making efforts to apprehend the killers and recover the stolen weapon.”

In the second incident, five gunmen, suspected to be pirates, shot dead a passenger on a boat last Sunday on the Akassa-Yenagoa waterway.

It was gathered that the bandits, who wore masks, also stole money, handsets and other valuables.

The boat driver was said to have escaped with gunshot wounds.

The boat, it was learnt, was plying Bekekiri, a settlement in Akassa, Brass Local Government Area, and the Swali UltraModern Market in Yenagoa, the state capital.

“The body of the victim has been handed over to the marine police in Yenagoa. The boat owner is also receiving treatment in Yenagoa,” a source, who spoke in confidence, told our reporter.

Immigration deports 40 aliens in Edo

•Gen. Buhari...yesterday

Buhari urges Bayelsa voters to kick out PDP

A

LARGE crowd of All Progressives Congress (APC) members and supporters trooped out yesterday in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, to welcome a presidential aspirant of the party and former Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

The party faithful and other residents besieged the state APC secretariat on Erepa Street to see Gen. Buhari, whose slogan is: “Zero tolerance for corruption”.

The aspirant was in the state to address the delegates ahead of the party’s presidential primary.

The former head of state and his entourage were received by APC State Chairman Tiwe Oruminighe and members of the State Working Committee (SWC).

Addressing the delegates, Gen. Buhari decried the deeprooted corruption in Nigeria, which he blamed on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration.

The former head of state noted that the PDP had brought nothing but hardship to Nigerians, adding that another four

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

years of the PDP would further plunge the country into a worse misery.

He urged the people to compare 1999, when the PDP took over power, with the present realities.

According to him, everything had gone from bad to worse.

Gen. Buhari said Nigerians should either make a wise choice in the next election by voting the APC or remain in perpetual suffering.

He said: “If you want to know how much we have been suffering under the PDP since 1999, try and imagine what our condition was in 1999. We used to have the Nigeria Airways; we used to have the Nigerian National Shipping Lines. The roads were not too bad; even light was not too bad.”

The APC leader noted that under the PDP, many industries had closed, leading to industrial backwardness.

Gen. Buhari said the ruling party had shown total disrespect for democratic in-

stitutions and a lack of political will to stop corruption.

He said: “What is wrong is massive corruption. If we don’t kill corruption in Nigeria, corruption will kill us.”

The former Head of State said corruption had made it impossible for the country to develop its potential.

He recalled that under the PDP, many panels of enquiry were set up and people were indicted for corruption in the Petroleum and other sectors.

But he said none of the indicted persons had been prosecuted and convicted.

Gen. Buhari said: “The message is absolutely clear and every Nigerian knows. If you don’t remove the PDP next year, be prepared for more suffering. Unless Nigerians destroy corruption, corruption will destroy Nigeria.”

The APC leader said the party was formed to right the wrongs of the PDP. The aspirant urged the people to trust APC to deliver on its promises.

He advised Nigerians to get their permanent voter cards (PVC) and prepare to vote out

the PDP in 2015.

Gen. Buhari said: “Nigerians should use their weapon - the voter’s card - to participate in the elections. You must go and vote and ensure that your votes count. We are prepared next year to take over power from the PDP through the voter cards.”

The former Head of State also urged APC candidates to vote for him in the primary to make him the party’s presidential standard bearer.

He said: “I am hoping that you have armed yourself with the permanent voter card. If you don’t have a permanent voter cards, you are wasting your time. With your PVC, you make sure on the election day that you vote and you make sure your votes count.”

Oruminighe said the delegates would vote wisely in the presidential primary.

He said they would assess the aspirants to know who among them would build bridges in the creeks for Niger Delta residents.

The chairman assured that the state APC would do the right thing.

From Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

M

EMBERS of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly are at daggers’ drawn with Speaker Kombowei Benson over a statement he allegedly made against President Goodluck Jonathan.

The lawmakers were said to have expressed displeasure with the Speaker for making what they called “degrading and inciting” comments against the President.

They reportedly held a series of secret meetings in Yenagoa, the state capital, where they discussed and condemned the Speaker’s tirade against Dr Jonathan in an interview he granted a regional tabloid.

‘Buhari’s discipline will spur Nigeria’s prosperity’

T

From Osagie Otabor, Benin

A

HEAD of next year’s general elections, the Edo State Command of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has begun the deportation of illegal migrants in the state.

About 40 aliens are expected to be returned to their country today.

Over 250 aliens were arrested yesterday by the NIS and they were being screened.

Some of them were allowed to go after they showed documents that they were legal immigrants.

Edo NIS Comptroller Olusegun Alana said the command carried out the operation for security reasons and to prevent aliens from participating in next year’s elections.

Olusegun explained that the command was being proactive to prevent politicians from using the aliens as thugs.

He said: “We have screened them. Those who are Nigerians have been released. The purpose is to weed out some undesirable elements among them and for security reasons.

Tension in Bayelsa Assembly over Speaker’s comment

•The Oko Baba plank market, Lagos after it was razed by fire...yesterday

PHOTO: ABIODUN WILLIAMS

HE All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant, General Muhammadu Buhari, is not against the rich and the affluent in the society, the Southwest Coordinator of Buhari Support Group Centre, Ayo Fatola, has said.

In a statement in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, the coordinator said Gen. Buhari was disciplined enough to ensure that the nation’s comatose sectors were revived immediately, if he was voted to power as President in the 2015 elelction.

Fatola noted that those spreading falsehood and the campaign of calumny against the former Head of State usually did so from their conjectures to give him a bad name.

The governor said Gen. Buhari had an unblemished record in serving the people at various levels.

He said the former Head of State’s return to the political field at a time the nation was witnessing maladministration, especially at the federal level, would end hunger in the land and placate the angry.

67

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

FOREIGN NEWS

Ferguson shooting: Protests spread across U.S.

Policemen arrested over beating in Hong Kong

K

A

DOZEN US cities have seen new protests over the decision not to charge a white policeman who killed a black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri.

Demonstrations from New York to Seattle were largely peaceful but rioting broke out in Oakland, California.

There was some unrest in Ferguson itself, with police making 44 arrests, but the town did not see destruction on the scale of Monday night.

The officer who killed Michael Brown there says he has a “clean conscience”.

Darren Wilson, who shot the 18-year-old on 9 August, told ABC News that in the struggle which preceded the shooting, he had felt “like a five-year-old holding on to [US wrestler] Hulk Hogan”Download Flash Player now Officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed Michael Brown: “I know I did my job right” Many in Ferguson’s predominantly African-American community had called

•Hundreds of demonstrators marched through the streets of Los Angeles before a smaller group briefly shut down

for the officer to be charged with murder, but the grand jury’s decision means the police officer will not face state criminal charges over the shooting.

Lawyers for Mr Brown’s family denounced the grand jury’s decision, saying they “strongly objected” to the way prosecutor Bob McCullough laid out the case, while condemning the violence that followed.

Oakland in the San Francisco Bay area saw some of the worst unrest on Tuesday night A T-Mobile store was among businesses attacked by rioters in Oakland At one point a fire set by protesters burnt across four lanes of Oakland’s Telegraph Avenue.

Protesters in Seattle blocked traffic St Louis County police chief Jon Belmar said Tuesday had

been “generally a much better night” in Ferguson, a town of 21,000 people.

Tear gas was fired just once, he said, when rioters smashed windows at the Ferguson town hall. There was only one report of shooting, he added, when a car was set alight.

Some 2,200 National Guard soldiers were deployed to assist police in keeping order in and around the town.

Protests were reported in 13 cities: St Louis itself as well as Philadelphia, Seattle, Albuquerque, New York, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Oakland, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Portland, Chicago and Boston.

Demonstrators across the US chanted the refrain “hands up, don’t shoot” in reference to some witness statements that said Mr Brown was raising his hands

in surrender when he was killed.

But many protests also referred to police killings in their own city, including a man in New York who died after being placed in a “chokehold” by a police officer.

In Oakland, in the San Francisco Bay area, rioters vandalised police cars and attacked businesses in the centre during a second night of unrest in the port city of 406,000 people.

Long-standing grievances about Oakland’s police department are believed in part to be fuelling the protests there.

There’s been confrontation outside Ferguson town hall where a police vehicle was burnt earlier and tear gas still hangs in the air. There’s a heavy police presence with several armoured cars and vehicles.

EN Tsang was photographed on 15 October being taken away by policemen, shortly before his alleged beating PHOTO:AFP Seven Hong Kong policemen have been arrested in connection with the beating of a pro-democracy protester.

A police statement said the officers, who had already been suspended, were detained on suspicion of “assault resulting in grievous body harm”.

The incident took place on 15 October amid clashes while police cleared an underpass by the Admiralty camp.

Civic Party protester Ken Tsang was filmed being led away in handcuffs and beaten for several minutes.

Local TV network TVB later aired footage of his assault, and Mr Tsang’s lawyer said that the beatings had continued after he was taken to a police station.

The authorities immediately moved to suspend the officers and launched an investigation shortly after the clip was aired.

A video filmed by the Apple Daily newspaper appeared to show officers beating a handcuffed protester Images such as this one allegedly showing marks on Ken Tsang’s back have caused outrage On Wednesday, a police

spokesman said they had not delayed investigations into the case, and that Mr Tsang had promised to show up to identify his assailants, but failed to do so.

The spokesman called on Mr Tsang to “assist the police in investigations as soon as possible”.

The police also rejected previous criticism of their handling of the case, saying that their investigations had consistently followed the procedures for complaints against police officers.

“If any other officer is suspected of illegal behaviour, the police will investigate impartially and not show favouritism,” said the spokesman.

Police used pepper spray and batons on 15 October to remove protesters from Lung Wo Road, arresting 45 people who had resisted the action.

The clearance operation continued on Wednesday as bailiffs, backed by police, began removing barricades Since then the authorities have attempted to clear parts of the three protest sites in Hong Kong, after the high court granted injunctions to several groups.

Wednesday’s announcement by the police came amid efforts by bailiffs, aided by the police, to clear the Mong Kok protest site, which resulted in more clashes. More than 140 people have been arrested.

NEWS Boko Haram ‘is big industry in govt’ Continued from page 6

dy for, poverty, unemployment, injustice, drug, gun trafficking, human trafficking, fallout from Libya, revenge, frustration, struggle against inequality, imitation of international terrorism, leading to training and part absorption by international terrorist group or groups and general poor governance, including corruption.”

The ex-President said it was time for the nation to collectively address the insurgency.

He added: “I have always maintained that solution to Boko Haram or any organisation like it lies in application of stick and carrot .

“We must remember that there is nexus between security and development. Without security, you cannot have development and without development, your security is seriously impaired. Prolonged lack of development is a fertile breeding ground for insecurity.”

Reeling out statistics, Obasanjo said there were marked gaps between the situations in the South-West, South-East and North- East.

On education, he gave the breakdown of the literacy level of the three zones as follows: Males: South-West(77%), South-East(66.1%) and NorthEast(18.1%) and females: South-West(79.9%), SouthEast(69.9%) and NorthEast(15.4%).

For infant mortality, Obasanjo said while about 78 per cent of children born in the NorthEast are from mothers without formal education, the SouthWest is 20.9per cent.

The infant mortality rate per 1000 live births in the three zones is: South-West (59),

South-East(95) and NorthEast(109), which is the highest in the country.

The ex-President added: “It us glaring from these figures that there is marked disparity or gaps between the situations in the South-West or South-East and North-East.

“Those who say that Boko Haram is a menace waiting to happen are evidently correct.

Some people have blamed the governments of the zone at the state and local government levels for the unacceptable economic situation in the NorthEast. Of course, they must accept part of the responsibility.

But, I would rather say it is a collective responsibility and, collectively, the situation must be addressed. The beginning of redressing the situation is education.”

Obasanjo asked the government not to rely solely on use of force to curtail Boko Haram.

He said: “I have never been against application of force in dealing with insecurity situation but we must understand the genesis, the content and the context of each situation to determine when, where, how and what quantum of force to apply and what amount and type of carrot to feed in.

“Let me make bold to say that

if we continue to apply force alone, since Boko Haram has become an industry within the government circle and within the Boko Haram itself, it may be suppressed for a while but it will not be eliminated.

“To deal with the menace root, stem and branches requires effective development programme for the zone of incubation and existence of the menace.

“Carrot must involve not excluding negotiation at the appropriate time for ceasefire, laying down of arms and peacemaking terms and intervention with positive socio-economic measures to deal with apparent root- causes of the conflict and violence.”

On the war against corruption, Obasanjo said he did not establish the EFCC and the ICPC to witch-hunt his enemies as insinuated.

He said: “I completely disregarded the campaign of calumny and fought with my supporting field generals like Justice Akanbi, followed by Justice Ayoola in the ICPC and Nuhu Ribadu in the EFCC. “It is worth being mentioned here that suggesting that I used these supporting generals to witch-hunt my enemies of which I have none, is to insult

them and cast aspersions on their character and integrity. Of course, those who did so are men without character.

“Our efforts and achievements have gone into history and people can see that the difference is clear.

“We have shown that corruption can be successfully fought.

If, therefore, it is not, it is the fault and responsibility of those who should have led the fight and who, consciously or unconsciously, wittingly our unwittingly, become accomplices in the act and consequently promoters of corruption.”

Justice Akanbi said the nation was “ indeed in a difficult time and there is need for someone to show us the way.

“Ex- President Obasanjo’s epoch-making speech will forever linger in our memory.

When we were looking for the chairman of the book launch, we considered the state of the country and our target audience. We decided to give him a platform to show us the way, to show the road we must go.

Akanbi said Obasanjo never interfered in the activities of ICPC during his administration.

He said: “Obasanjo gave me a free hand to operate.”

Naira sells for N186 to $1 at ‘black market’ Continued from page 6

rate, and the setting of the midrate at 168 were the right moves,” said Razia Khan at Standard Chartered bank.

Analysts also said Tuesday’s widening of the band from 3 per cent either side of the target rate would help to build in some flexibility. The stock market received the devaluation positively, rising by 1.5 percent.

However, continued downward pressure on the naira threatens to stoke inflation by pushing up the cost of imports, on which Africa’s biggest economy relies for around 80 per cent of its consumption.

Over the past two years Nigeria has enjoyed historically low inflation in single digits, a target the Central Bank is keen to keep meeting. A surge in living costs

would be a headache for President Goodluck Jonathan less than three months before general elections.

Though Nigeria grows much of its own food, a number of staples, particularly wheat and rice, are largely imported. The statistics office in 2012 estimated that about 60 per cent of Nigerians were living on less than a dollar a day in 2010.

Obasanjo: economy is in big trouble Continued from page 6

poverty except for those who have corruptly stashed money abroad and who will start to bring such illegal and illegitimate funds back home to harvest more Naira. All the economic gains of recent years and the rebuild of the middle class may be lost.”

To the former President, “the political will, the discipline, the ability to take the hard measures to reverse the trend will appear not to be there at the leadership level, if the understanding is not there”.

He painted a gloomy picture of the future, saying: “In the end, more businesses will close down, business men and women, entrepreneurs and investors will incur more debts. Foreign investors may temporarily stop investing in a downturn economy.

“Because of the Naira depreciation, workers, particularly in the public sector, will ask for pay increase, which may be justified but will sink us deeper in the swamp.

“The scenario, which may sound alarmist, is hard to imagine but the signs are there and it would appear that those who should act are dancing slow foxtrot while their trousers are catching fire.”

Obasanjo cautioned against the crushing of the opposition by the government either at intra and inter-party levels.”

In Obasanjo’s view, Nigeria “is on a moral abyss”. “It is the responsibility of all, especially the leadership in government by their words and actions, to put the country on a high pedestal of integrity, honour and morality.

“The greatest indictment against any administration is to be the destroyer of our fledgling democracy. To try to crush opposition, even within the same party let alone within the national political system, is to destroy

democracy.

“For democracy to endure, it needs certain dexterity and subtlety to handle differences of opinions and views including those that are hostile. Management of democracy, without resorting to brute force, dictatorial, violent and unilateral tendencies, must be cultivated.”

Obasanjo described the National Assembly as corrupt especially the execution of constituency projects.

He said: "Today, every aspect of our national life is riven and riddled with corruption-the Executive, the Legislature, the Judiciary, the military, the civil service, the media and the private sector.

"The legislature which shrouded its corruption in the opaque nature of its budget had been encouraged through direct payment of money to the legislature to cover up wrongs done by the Executive thereby making the Legislature fail in its oversight responsibility.

"Apart from shrouding the remunerations of the National Assembly in opaqueness and without transparency, they indulge in extorting money from departments, contractors, ministries in two ways, on the so-called oversight responsibility.

"They do similar things in their so-called enquiries. But the Executive make it worsens when they pay members of the National Assembly slush money not to investigate or to cover up misdeeds of corruption and misconduct.

"Corruption in the National Assembly also includes what they call constituency projects which they give to their agents to execute but invariably, full payment us made either little or no job done.

"Most members of the National Assembly live above the law in their misconduct and corruption."

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

68

CITYBEATS

CITYBEATS LINE: 08023247888

Why I took to armed robbery, by musician

Oil marketer, 77, arraigned for N65m ‘fraud’

A

A

77-year-old oil marketer, Alhaja Mulikat Shonekan, was yesterday arraigned before an Ikeja, Lagos High Court, for an alleged N65million fraud.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned the septuagenarian, her company, Mujekanm Petroleum Nigerian Company Limited, and Martins Ogiogwa, for the offence.

They were arraigned before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye on a five-count charge of conspiracy, advance fee fraud, theft, fraudulent conversion of funds and issuance of dud cheque.

An ailing Alhaja Shonekan was assisted into the court by her relations as she could barely move even with the aid of a walking stick.

The EFCC, represented by its counsel, A.B.C. Oziokwo, alleged that the defendants defrauded a company, Kuta Stones Limited, of N65 million., They were alleged to have fraudulently obtained the money in September 2008 under the pretence of buying 90 acres of land at Kemta Ososun Village in Odeda Local Government Area of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, for the company., The EFCC alleged that they collected the money from a director of the company, Mr Danladi Verheijen, but failed to deliver the property three years after.

Alhaja Shonekan was also alleged to have issued a dud N5million GTBank cheque through her company’s account on July 15, 2011 as part repayment for the N65million she allegedly collected from the company.

The commission said: “The cheque was dishonoured and returned unpaid when it was presented for payment”.

The offences, according to the agency, are contrary to and punishable under Sections 8(a) and 1(3) and 1(1) and 1(3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14 of 2006; Section 390

•Alhaja Shonekan...being assisted into the court...yesterday

By Adebisi Onanuga

of the Criminal Code Cap. C17, Vol. 2, Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2003; and Section 1(1) of the Dishonoured Cheque Offences Act, Cap. D11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004., Alhaja Shonekan and her fellow defendants pleaded not guilty.

She was granted N5million bail with two sureties, one of who must be her relation.

The surety must also be resident in Lagos with a tax clearance covering the last three years.

The second defendant was granted N10million bail with two sureties, one of who must be his relation.

Justice Ipaye ordered that the sureties must forward the surety sum in a bank cheque issued in favour of the Chief Registrar.

One of the sureties of the second defendant must also present a N5million bond.

The judge ordered that the septuagenarian remanded in EFCC custody, and the second defendant, in pris-

on custody., Counsel to Shonekan and her company, Bamidele Ogundele, urged the court to remand her in the EFCC custody pending when she perfects her bail conditions.

Ogundele argued that the woman was ill and had been rushed to the hospital thrice while in EFCC’s custody.

Oziokwo, while not opposing the defendants bail, however, objected to the remand of the first defendant in EFCC’s custody of the commission because it “does not have hospital in the event that she falls ill again.”

Justice Ipaye said: “Justice must have face of compassion. Having noted the inability of the first defendant to walk, the prison may not be the ideal place to keep her. I order that she be kept in EFCC custody pending the perfection of her bail conditions”.

She adjourned the matter till January 23, 2015 for trial.

25-year-old musician, John Sunday, yesterday told the police in Lagos that he took to armed robbery in order to raise money to launch his album.

He was paraded with Onyekachi Oshomi (24), by Commissioner of Police Kayode Aderanti.

“I am a musician from Ikofepepe in Akwa Ibom State. We were three in the gang, but one is on the run.

I needed money to launch my album, Tureke Reggae; that is why I went into robbery. I was targeting N100,000,” Sunday confessed.

Aderanti said on November 21, at 10pm, he got a tip-off that some robbers were planning to unleash terror on Lagos. He said he directed the Officer-in-Charge, Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police (SP), to go after them.

“With two decoy teams, they stormed their hideout and arrested Onyekachi Oshomi and John Sunday with a revolver pistol.

During interrogation, they confessed to the crime including snatching of several cars within the metropolis. Efforts have been stepped up to arrest those that are still at large,” Aderanti said.

•Sunday

By Ebele Boniface

Onyekachi, who hails from Enugu State, said: “I was a commercial bus conductor. We were operating on the Agege Total-Oshodi route. I just got married, but my wife is still in the village. I was looking for money to feed her whenever she comes to Lagos; that was why I went into armed robbery.”

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ken Nwosu, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), also displayed some fake police vests, two AK47 rifles and ammunition recovered from the suspects.

Foundation begins training

A

NON-GOVERNMENTAL body, Home of Change Foundation (HOCEF), has begun a two-week skill acquisition programme at the Oriade Local Government Development Centre in Satellite Town, Lagos.

Its Director, Mrs. Celine Anyogu, said yesterday that about 20 participants were being trained in fashion design/dress making and crocheting; hat making, shoe/bag making, soap making including liquid/bath soap, hair shampoo and conditioner; bread making/wire work, air freshener, antiseptic products (including Izal and Dettol); paint making, fumigation, event planning, cake making/decoration and toilet washing.

She said HOCEF would empower the participants after the training.

The foundation, she said, had spent over N2 million to train and empower people this year.

HOCEF will hold an end-of-year charity awards cremony next month, where friends of the organisation would be honoured for their support, she added.

The awardees, she said, include outgoing officials of Oriade Local Council Development Area (LCDA), businessmen and professionals, among others.

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

69

70

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

71

THE NATION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

SPORT EXTRA 2015 FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

Falcons know foes Dec 6 N IGERIA women’s team, the Super Falcons, will know their

• Falcons’ player in action during the AWC

group opponents at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada on December 6, when the draw will take place in Ottawa.

This is Nigeria's seventh appearance in the tournament, having qualified for each previous edition of the competition.

Nigeria's best performance was at USA 1999 when they were knocked out in the quarterfinals by Brazil with a golden goal after finishing second in their group.

A record 129 nations entered the qualifiers and that the finals will, for the very

first time, feature 24 teams – eight more than at Germany 2011.

The World Cup will be played from June 6 to July 5 next year.

Host cities are Ottawa, Moncton, Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Other participating nations are: Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Canada, USA, Norway, Sweden, England, Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain, China, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Colombia, Korea Republic, Japan, Thailand, Austaralia and New Zealand.

2015 AFCON

NFF crisis didn’t cause ouster, says Obobona

S

UPER Eagles’ defender Godfrey Obobona has refused to accept that the current crisis in the NFF led to the elimination of the African champions from the 2015 African Nations Cup holding in Equatorial Guinea.

According to the former Sunshine of Akure strongman, the elimination of the Eagles from the

From Patrick Ngwaogu, Abuja tournament remains one of mysteries of football "it is wrong for anybody to attribute what happened to the crisis in NFF. We as players, our attention is fully focused on the pitch, we don't have business with the administrative aspect. What happened is one of those things that

happens in football. Today, you would be a shinning star, tomorrow, you would be struggling. It is very unfortunate, but am very optimistic that we will bounce back in a stronger way".

He confirmed that though, his defensive combination with Kenneth Omeruo may not the best for now, but in future, Nigerians would come to appreciate them.

From Segun Ogunjimi, Abuja “With the caliber of coaches appointed to coach this team namely Samson Siasia, Fatai Amoo and Alloy Agu, I am confident of having a good team that

will put smiles on the faces of Nigerians. I have seen some (boys) players here (at the Goal Project Center, Abuja) who are eager to prove that they can play for Nigeria’s U- 23 national football team.”

‘Siasia ‘ll excel with Dream Team’

T

HE Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Honourable Gbenga Elegbeleye has thrown weight behind the Chief Coach of the U- 23 national team, Samson Siasiatodrivetheteamtosuccesses.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014

A

THICK, dark and damp blanket falls on the land. It is cloudy. Unusually.

Visibility is poor. The skies are stripped of their illuminating brightness.

Nature seems to be angry, perhaps provoked by some extraterrestrial forces. The rains again? Not quite.

What ails the beautiful city? Downtown in the heart of the capital, a thousand sirens are blaring, like a thousand war planes taking off at the same time. Women are crying and kids are screaming. Ambulances are racing to a rundown hospital where overwhelmed doctors and nurses are sweating and swearing.

“Oh what a day! Lord have mercy,” a young woman prayed, tears snaking down her powdered cheeks. “Father, show thy face,” she cried as the ambulances deliver their troubled cargoes.

A hobbling old man, his shaking right hand clutching a walking stick, watches the scene in utter amazement. He shakes his head several times before launching into a soliloquy. “Is this the biblical hell? Who has done this to our land? Who have we offended? Where is the Commander-in-Chief?

Where are the troops?” Poor man. He gets no answer.

As he prods his weak feet to haul him out of the scene of horror, he is joined by a fellow pensioner, who speaks as if he heard the old man. “I understand the big man left today for a meeting. I learnt from a reliable source that another big man duped him of a hefty sum of money. He has gone to retrieve the cash,” says the pensioner.

“As for the troops, I learnt they all left town while the city was asleep, abandoning it to take care of itself.”

Some Hilux vans ferrying some strange men in camouflage, rifles at the ready, drive past. They look like rampaging city thugs duped of their pay after some violent political enterprise. At the head of the convoy is a sturdy fellow with thick, dark beards, holding a mobile public address system into which he screams: Asalaam alekun.

But the city has lost its form. Many residents, scared by the uncertainty in the streets, have refused to venture outdoors.

They remain indoors, awaiting news about the strange fate that has suddenly become their lovely city’s lot.

The vans are heading for an imposing, glittering building that stands solidly there in the heart of the city as a testimony to the excellent taste of the men of power and as a symbol of their profligacy. The architectural masterpiece is the home of the oil giant, the city’s business and financial numero uno. Troops mass round it, forming a human shield for the jewel of a skyscraper.

The old man reaches for his mobile, an old machine that has seen better days, which also serves him as a transistor radio. The once bold lettering has disappeared. So is the

RIPPLES I’M NIGERIA’S BEST PRESIDENT–Jonathan

••• even as the DOLLAR is heading for N200?

TRUTH IN DEFENCE OF FREEDOM

VOL. 9, NO. 3,045

TODAY IN THE NATION ‘To get to the root of the police siege to the Nation al Assembly, we should constitute a group of eminent Nigerians to probe the incident. Anything short of this will serve no purpose because the police have shown their bias in the matter’ LAWAL OGIENAGBON

COMMENT & DEB ATE EBA

GBENGA OMOTOSO

EDITORIAL NOTEBOOK

gbenga.omotoso@thenationonlineng.net

•Editor of the Year (DAME)

Oh what a day!

•A scene of violence.

brand name that was etched deeply on it. It is a great homage to the hands that wrought the little machine that it still works. But, the way it is, only its owner can press it to service. No other person can, except with special instructions from him.

“All trunks are busy; please, try again later,” the pre-recorded voice pierces through his ear.

He hisses and tries again. “The number you’re calling is either switched off or out of the coverage area. Please, try again later.” He accepts the advice, tarries a while and tries again. “The subscriber you’re calling is on another call. Please, hold on or call again later.”

Frustrated, he pushes the handset into his left pocket, rejecting mildly his friend’s advice to keep trying. Suddenly, the phone rings. “Hello!”

The old man’s face lights up a bit as he listens to the caller he has been battling to reach.

“Nna, kedu. How e be for ya side? Yawa don gaz here o. Alarm don blow!” .”Na so for here o, Na wa!”.

Ground no level at all.

As the conversation proceeds, voices are heard in the background. A mass choir? No. The song is strange. Usobu usobu! Enyimba enyi! Usobu usobu! Enyimba enyi! ”What is going on?” ”Na so we see am o. Na serious matter; the matter no laugh person at all.” And the line goes off. “All trunks are busy.

Please, try again later.” The man hisses and shoves the phone back into his pocket.

He shakes his head and immerses himself in another round of thoughts. “Why didn’t our leaders listen? Didn’t we see this coming?

Now the chicken has come home to roost.

Anarchy. Who do we turn to now? Are we doomed?”

Amid his search for answers, his friend’s phone rings. “My brother, bawo ni o? Prof, are you there? You’re breaking off. Can you hear me?”

“I can hear you. The campus is jammed. We seem to be fast approaching some catastrophic conflagration of seismic proportion. The whole place is a huge cauldron of gangsterism, hooliganism and cataclysm. The dragon is here, swept in by a huge earthquake.”

“Please, please, please, this is no time for some grammatical gymnastics. Tell me, are we at war? Hospitals here are jammed. People are crying and dying. And there seems to be no government in sight. Who is in charge?

And … “ The line goes off.

The old man smiles. “Is this not the anarchy we warned them against? Now that they have set the place on fire, where are they? Shouldn’t greed and ambition have their limits? When is enough really enough?”

He reaches out for his phone again. He dials a number and strikes the little machine in a particular part. The speaker phone comes on.

“Hello!”. “Hello sir!”. ”How’re you, my son?” “I’m fine sir, but the

town is in turmoil. The whole town seems to have poured onto the street, bearing sticks, cudgels and cutlasses. Many are carrying arms and charms, singing, waving white handkerchiefs and daring anybody to stop them.” ”What kind of song are they singing?”

Gidigbo, gidigbo!. Eh! .Gidigbo, gidigbo! Eh! Bole ya koya o, bole ya koya Ojo pewe koko, Bole ya koya.

All the radio stations, except one, a strange one, are off the air. It keeps relaying the legendary Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s number– “No agreement”. No talks.

Later, another station manages to come on air. It reports that somewhere in another city that is no stranger to violence, some youths carrying green leaves are singing: “Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar.” This is a prelude to some ominous event, says the announcer.

The old man switches off the radio. “Low battery,” he says in a low voice.

His friend, now dejected by it all, asks him: “Where are we heading for?”

The man shakes his head mournfully. His voice trembling, he says: “The other day, they ordered the police to lay siege to the National Assembly. Instead of apologising for sowing the seed of confusion, they went after the people who scaled the fence to prevent a looming tragedy.

“When they shut down the courts in Ekiti, we warned them that anarchy is the alternative to the rule of law; they never gave a damn. We warned when they insisted that 16 was greater than 19. They never gave a damn.

But for Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s vigilance, they would have insisted that five is greater than 27 in Rivers. We warned but, as usual, they never gave a damn.

“Now in Ekiti, seven is said to be greater than 19. Weird. They will never give a damn.”

The pensioner, suddenly gripped by petrification, asks the old man: “What do we do now?”

But the man continued in his loud thoughts.

“You call it impunity: wise people call it madness. Now, the fruits of impunity are ripe.

Jos. Nasarawa. Add Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. Now, they want to give a damn so as not to be damned in 2015. It’s too late; damn too late.”

Suddenly, the alarm sounds. Daybreak.

All bright and sunny, but my head is pounding. Oh my God, what a dream!

Haba Abba!

P

OLICE chief Sulaiman Abba was yesterday at the House of Reps to justify the November 20 show of shame. He refused to recognise Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as Speaker, saying a case was in court. The lawmakers called off the meeting.

The blistering attacks attracted by the senseless withdrawal of Tambuwal’s security would have sobered any officer worthy of his rank. Not so Abba. He seems to be impassive to reason and logic.

With a contemptuous Inspector-General like Abba, justifying the tear gassing of the number four citizen and the invasion of the National Assembly, we should hope for the best and prepare for the worst in 2015.

•For comments, send SMS to 08111813080

•Hardball is not the opinion of the columnist featured above

H

ARDBALL loves this guy, Governor Ayo Fayose; he makes this job so easy and exciting that writing about him gives one virtual orgasm! He is a script-writer’s delight, the great antihero; the proud, quintessential badman in those bad Cowboys and Indians flicks; the perfect doppelganger and who is also a governor to booth! All the elements are so mixed in him that even the Muse leaps for joy.

How one envies the good people of Ekiti; they have just earned themselves a long block-buster of a tragic-comic Nollywood farce. Lucky folks of a star state with a star governor; on hopes they would make the very best of it – an entire four years of non-stop thrill at the speed of a rocket.

As someone once sang, it’s going to be 60 thrills a minute for Ekiti people all the way.

By the time this bionic Gov is through they will be begging to exhale. And if you reckon that a rocket is a phallic symbol you would have learned the deal.

Attaboy Fayose! Hardball will be damned if he does not die of excitement, what a cruise we are on to and to think that we have just begun. Pity Hardball is such a slow coach; but isn’t it foolhardy for a coach

‘Attaboy Fayose, I love this guy! to deign to race a rocket? He has already left us in the dust but not matter, we will trail behind; we will take our time and bask in the afterglow of Fayose’s thundering typhoons.

Let’s attempt a recap of the great moments so far. When he returned to contest for Ekiti top seat early this year, many thought it could not be done; not after his disgraceful ouster in 2004. He did not only win; but as if he applied juju, he trounced the incumbent in a manner that remains a mystery till this moment.

Now someone tried to mess around with him by getting the court to make a pronouncement on his eligibility to contest ab initio. He simply routed the court, the judges, the state and the people to submission. Again, it seemed like a magical act; some form of zombification of Ekiti people (wow, this will make a good title for a book; see what I mean about loving this guy!). Pum! Pum! He

just vaporised the environment and everywhere was calm.

His inauguration was a case of grandiose meeting grandiloquence; and he sucked it to his snotty detractors when he created an office for Stomach Infrastructure, elevating banality to grand statecraft and putting paid to all that intellectual distractions.

Now Fayose is officially a governor.

Attaboy! He was hunting game with bare hands and they said he was a champion hunter; now he has a gun and he brings home the entire forest – and a few skulls too. The Speaker of the House of Assembly was going to mess around with Mr. Governor and Mr. Speaker’s petrol station was promptly shut down. He still did not get it; just because he is Speaker he thought Ekiti was still a democracy.

Sorry sir, this is Fayocracy. He simply commandeered seven Fayocrats out of a House of 25 and they simply announced that the Speaker had been impeached.

The Speaker and his 18 democrats were shooed out of town (mind you they were not pursued).

And the rest is becoming Ekiti history…to be continued.

Published and printed by Vintage Press Limited. Corporate Office: 27B Fatai Atere Way, Matori, Lagos. P.M.B. 1025,Oshodi, Lagos. Telephone: Switch Board: 08034505516.

Editor Daily:08099365644, Marketing: 01-8155547 . Abuja Office: Plot 5, Nanka Close AMAC Commercial Complex, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja. Tel: 07028105302. Port Harcourt Office: 12/14, Njemanze Street, Mile 1, Diobu, PH. 08023595790. WEBSITE: www.thenationonlineng.net E-mail: info@thenationonlineng.net ISSN: 115-5302 Editor: GBENGA OMOTOSO